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All existing lenses and accessories are both backwards and forwards compatible between the old and the new models. The Phase One 645 (and its twin the new Mamiya 645 AFDIII) are based on the previous Mamiya AFDII.
CONTAX 645 CAMERA LICENSE
The Mamiya / Phase One camera is an open platform, the interface is non-proprietary, and any film or digital product from other manufacturers can be attached without license fees. In fact, any Mamiya mount back from any manufacturer, including Hasselblad, Sinar, and Leaf (and of course Mamiya itself) can be used on it. The back mount on the cameras is a standard Mamiya mount and any Phase One back with a Mamiya interface can be used on it. No magic formulas, no special features, no unique firmware.
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The Phase One 645 camera is a Mamiya 645 AFDIIIwith a Phase One logo on it. I like to think that I simply try and give an honest appraisal of all products that come my way. If you asked Kevin he’d probably tell you that I give the company a harder time than I might normally to prove that I’m not influenced by our relationship. So – because we are friends, are my reviews of Phase One products biased? That’s for you to decide. And for the record, Kevin and I became friends afterI bought my first Phase One back, not before. I am offered no freebies, and wouldn’t accept any even if they were. All were purchased at retail from the Canadian distributor Vistek. Over the years I have owned a P25, P45 and currently a P45+. I own and use a Phase One back on my Hasselblad system. Kevin is a friend of mine and frequent shooting companion. The production cameras are apparently much faster responding and smoother).
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( I am told that pre-production cameras that were circulated during May and early June did not have final firmware, and any testing of them done should therefore be discounted. The camera I used was the first off the assembly line with final production firmware, and was provided for testing by Kevin Raber, Phase One’s Marketing VP for North America. In mid-June I had an opportunity to spend a week working with the new Phase One 645 camera and a P45+ back on a shoot in Newfoundland. ( My report on the camera’s announcement is found here). Availability of some AF lenses appears to be a concern though.Įarlier this year Phase One announced that they were going to be bringing out their own camera to be based on their new association with Mamiya, and in May first samples became available to dealers worldwide. The Hy6 came on the market earlier this year from both Sinar and Leaf. Hasselblad’s decision, which I denounced then and still do ( in part because I personally own a Hasselblad system consisting of two H bodies and five lenses) has probably not had the positive effects that the company had hoped it would, and in all likelihood, as reported by many Hasselblad dealers, has apparently had the opposite effect. Much has been written on this site about each of these topics during the past almost two years.
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Leaf and Sinar announced their adoption of the new Hy6 cameraplatform, and Phase One announced that they were forming a strategic alliance with Mamiya.
CONTAX 645 CAMERA SERIES
Hasselblad announced that their H3 series cameras would no longer allow digital backs from other manufacturers to be used. In September 2006, at Photokina in Cologne, Germany, a number of important announcements were made in the medium format industry that are still reverberating.