Mamiya Announces Its 22MP Back and Introduces the First $10,000 Medium Format System

Although lately, Mamiya has been swimming in murky waters, the company is not planning to give up the medium format fight with Hasselblad and Phase One.

On June 1st, Mamiya Digital announced the first truly affordable medium format system, priced at $9,999. This is quite impressive, considering that a 16,6MP Hassy back alone is available for approximately $10,000.

Anyway, the Mamiya ZD 645AFD II Digital System consists of the Mamiya 645AFD II medium format camera with 80mm f/2.8 AF lens and the fresh Mamiya ZD 22 Megapixel Digital Back.

Speaking about the new digital back, the new product uses a 36mm x 48mm Dalsa CCD with 22 megapixels. The back is able to work with CF and SD storage options, has a built-in 1.8 inch LCD imaging preview screen and allows for tethered FireWire (IEEE1394) shooting.

Unfortunately, it only works with three Mamiya bodies, the Mamiya 645AFD II, 645AFD and RZ67 Pro IID cameras. I am sure many photographers would have enjoyed using the cheap digital back with other brands of medium format cameras.

Regarding the platform, Mamiya officials reinforce the solid communication between the back and the body by saying that "Mamiya's communication protocol MSCE (Mamiya Serial Communication for External) has optimized two-way communication between the 645AFD II and the ZD Digital Back, producing an operating experience identical to using a one-piece digital camera."

The $9,999 price tag also includes the Adobe Photoshop Lightroom software, which offers a great solution for the digital workflow of today's professional photographers.

Mamiya has also announced two new digital lenses - the Mamiya Sekor AF 75-150mm f/4.5 D and a full-frame 28mm f/4.5 D Aspherical - that are designed to work on the 645AFD II with both film and digital backs.

Many photographers are looking for affordable solutions for digital medium format photography and Mamiya's new offer might be exactly what they need. Additionally, this move might force other players on the market to rethink their pricing policies.

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