The Mega-Pixel wars are still hot with the introduction of Hasselblad’s new 50MP Digital Back (H3DII-50) and Phase One’s new 60MP Digital Back (P65+)…but, really, who is the market for these new bleeding-edge systems? Does anyone really need 60MP? Can anyone besides my dentist really afford it? Click on the audio logo for more! By Stephen Schaub.
Figital Revolution 
I work in a commercial photo studio as a post-production digital artist. We have 2 P45s and 2 1DS MRKIIIs. We do a lot of beverage photography, mostly for Miller Brewing. Most of our beer shots are done using 8×10 cameras with a stitch back. We get requests for 46inches @ 300ppi. Also, we are pressed with deadlines that would be impossible to hit shooting film. Now you do know of someone who does need and will get the P65+ when they are released.
The issue we are hitting with the p45 (39MP) is that is is out resolving our lenses (similar to if you overscan an image) We are looking into some of the new view camera lenses that have been upped to perform better in the digital world.
Scott- Thanks for your thought-provoking reply!
A few thoughts…
I understand that a client’s deadline will ultimately drive your purchase of the new P65+ once released… but part of my point in the audio blog was to point out that quality and longevity are not the driving force.
Consider that you can get an Aztek Premier Drum Scanner for around the same $$ as the P65+ and produce a 3 Gigabyte file from a 8×10 – scanned at 2,666 optical dpi. Doing the math, this would produce an 88″ width at 300 dpi which of course opens lots of options…your required print width of 46″ at 300 dpi would now support not 175 line screen but 300+ line screen on press or even a larger print!
An even cheaper option would be to get a Howtech 4500 (under $10K used)…or send it out to a lab. A friend of mine uses the Aztek Premier and at around a $150 for a 3 Gigabyte scan (he is a very good scanner and photographer) of an 8×10 neg you could do 267 scans before you reached $40K- nothing to sneeze at. As an added benefit, this scanning expense is passed directly to the client (unlike the initial $$ for the P65+.)
Scanner Name: Lenny Eiger: http://www.eigerphoto.com/
(Note: at Indian Hill Imageworks we only scan up to 4″ X 5″ and 6x17cm on our Imacon (wet or dry)…but we do a great job…had to get a plug in somewhere!)
In the end- of course- the client’s needs win as it is their deadline BUT also consider the saved computer time! (all that stitching of files)…
Great conversation. Viva la Revolution!!
Stephen Schaub