Exclusive: Phase One and the new camera, fresh air in a small market

Exclusive interview with Henrik Håkonsson, Phase One CEO

The danish-japanese baby

Mamiya's good old times

The grandparent

In an attempt to understand a little better what is going on in the high-end digital photomarket at this very moment, we asked Henrik Håkonsson, CEO of Phase One, about their latest strategic move on the digital arena. The PhaseOne camera brings with it the heritage of a legend: Mamiya Corporation, a company that has been part of most of professional photographer's life for at least five decades. According to the wikipedia, "Mamiya originally achieved fame for its professional film cameras, especially medium-format film cameras such as the Mamiya RB67, RZ67, and C-220/C-330, used by advanced amateur and professional photographers. Mamiya also heralded the establishment of the 645 format for professional photographers, of which its current 645 model is the 645AFDIII. Mamiya has been recently developing digital products, namely the Mamiya ZD products and a new D range of quality lenses, Mamiya ZD" (click to read more about Mamiya). Henrik is confident about Phase One's move and decided to share some of his view with us:

1 - Is the partnership with Mamyia just a counter-strike on Hasselblad or is it part of a larger strategy? If it' s part of a larger strategy, can you tell us about the roadmap?
Phase One takes a long-term view. It is the driving force in innovation for the professional photographer. For more than 15 years, Phase One has been pushing the limits of digital imaging, which has made the Phase One P+ digital backs and Capture One raw converter the preferred choice of the world’s top shooters today. To help photographers realize their aspiration for delivering the world’s best photographs, it’s a natural move for Phase One innovate even further. The partnership with Mamiya and the release of the Phase One 645 camera system is just the first step in this direction.    

2 - How would you convince a photographer to get yet another piece of equipment? How is P1 planning to win hearts and minds?
The hearts and minds of photographers are won by those that are able to best help photographers achieve their aspirations. Making dreams and ideas into great images through photographic tools. At Phase One we believe deeply that photographers deserve the freedom to choose their preferred photographic tools at all times – whether it’s digital back, camera body, lenses or raw conversion software. That is why Phase One is the key driver in the industry to innovate on an open medium format camera platform, providing the professional photographer maximum choice.  
This commitment to driving open systems has already been greatly appreciated by many photographers who are regretting the choice of other medium format vendors to move into closed DSLR-like camera systems. Photographers want to make investments for the long term and not have to worry.
Phase One offers the industry’s leading warranty and service; the pros know they can count on us wherever they are in the world. The Phase One 645 Camera comes with a warranty for three years or up to 300.000 shutter releases.
Phase One’s new Capture One 4.1 raw conversion software complements the benefits of the new platform. We are now able to optimize all components of the camera system, which amongst other improvements has resulted in new, camera specific features in Capture One to ensure the highest image quality even at challenging shooting conditions, correcting chromatic aberration, purple fringing and bringing out even the finest details of the image.

3 - Does P1 really believe that the pendulum will turn to P1/Mamyia' s side? How much of R&D and marketing is P1/Mamyia ready to invest on that? For how long?
This is a long-term commitment. Phase One and Mamiya Digital Imaging are already today investing in a number of innovative initiatives through combined R&D competencies in digital capture, camera and lens design and production. While Phase One is already known as providing the world’s best digital backs – both in regards to reliability and image quality -- Mamiya’s strengths have been understated. We feel sure that through continued communication of the facts this perception will change and allow photographers to make informed decisions.
One of the interesting facts is that the Mamiya lenses already years ago were tested to be of superior image quality. Today, with the new Mamiya Sekor Digital lenses, Mamiya is pushing the quality of the lenses even further.

4 - Are you ready for the next strike from Hasselblad? Do you have any idea of what the guys will be capable of in the near future and in the long run?
At Phase One we are confident in our roadmap -- designed with photographers for photographers. While we have been disappointed by the direction of Hasselblad, which is limiting photographers’ choice, we stay focused on delivering the world’s best photographic tools. We are always open for expanding our collaboration with other companies, as this is accelerating innovation, which is important for the health and success of the industry.

5 - Tell us about the camera. We are all excited to grab it and take some shots. Can you give us some sound specs about the quality of the lenses, the raw materials used etc?

We also are eager to publish the details of this camera – look for an announcement soon regarding full specifications, which we will issue with volume shipping.

6 - Can you tell us about the feedback from photographers worldwide in the last few weeks, I mean after the announcement? How did people react (considering that most of us knew that something was coming...)

The responses have been very positive. They reflect the demand for innovation in the medium format market serving the professional photographers. Photographers appreciate Phase One and Mamiya driving the open platform and have commented on key features like the new ergonomic grip, ease of use and image quality. Stay tuned – there’s much much more to come.

Our humble opinion: We really hope that the strategy pays off. Everyone benefits from an open system. We also believe that the Company could make the whole open system proposition more consistent, by taking 2 simple measures: First, make the RAW file specs available to anyone, so developers all around the world can build new functionality; secondly, release Linux/FreeBSD/Solaris versions of its wonderful software. That would win hearts and minds of developers worldwide and bring thousands of supporters overnight. That would really be a blow on Hasselblad's plans.