I got the new German Phase One newsletter yesterday, announcing a significant price drop on P series backs with limited availability. Here's a copy of the German wording:

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RAW NEWS Special
January 2008
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Der Preis ist KEIN Thema

Gönnen Sie sich jetzt eines der besten digitalen Rückteile für Mittel- und Großformat-Photographie: die Phase One P-Serie

In begrenzten Stückzahlen verfügbar, können Sie jetzt ein werksüberholtes Rückteil aus der P-Serie mit deutlichem Preisvorteil erwerben

31 Megapixel bekommen Sie schon ab 8.990,00 € netto

P für Photographie und Performance
Wählen Sie zwischen verschiedenen Digitalrückteilen, mit bis zu 39 Megapixel Auflösung
Rauschfreies Hochleistungs-Photographieren, mit einer Bildrate von bis zu 1 Bild /s
Überragende Bildqualität: Mehr Photographie, weniger Nachbearbeitung inklusive der preisgekrönten Workflow-Software Capture One DB
Umfangreiche Kameraunterstützung (Mamiya, Hasselblad V & H, Contax und alle gängigen Fachkameras)

Werksüberholte P-Systeme – so gut wie neu
Die werksüberholten Systeme von Phase One durchlaufen die gesamte Produktionskette, als ob das Digitalrückteil neu gebaut werden würde. Dies beinhaltet:

Gründliche manuelle und automatisierte Tests
Firmware-Update auf den neuesten Stand
Generelle Rekalibrierung
IR-Filter / CCD-Reinigung (und ggf. ein Austausch, falls notwendig
Visuelle und mechanische Inspektion
Dazu erhalten Sie die wohl beste Bildqualität weltweit, um immer und immer wieder damit zu arbeiten.

Nehmen Sie mit Phase One Kontakt auf, um weitere Informationen zu erhalten.

HIER ERFAHREN SIE MEHR

Weitere Informationen zu den digitalen Rückteile von Phase One

Weitere Informationen und Preise erhalten Sie von Ihrem Phase One Händler

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The example of the P30 - now available as from Euro 9k (+19% vat) - demonstrates a considerable drop from the Euro 10k + vat I paid a week ago for a refurbished P25 for my Contax, negotiated with P1 in Germany in November!
I contacted them by mail this morning - and hope, that there will perhaps be an upgrade solution for a recent buyer!

This offer is - in any case - an interesting move in the current phase of MFDB-market.

I could be wrong but I strongly think that the p25 is more expensive than the p30...
less MP on p25 but bigger sensor

You right the price of the P25 is still above the P30 because of the sensor size.
The new promotion from PhaseOne on the refurbished units with one year classic warranty and cannot be upgraded for 12 months, but there-after they are eligible .
I have noticed (not unusual) that some mounts are in better supplies than others.

Since pricing has been posted in the previous posts, I will post below what the promo prices are:
P30 $11,990
P25 $13,990
P45 $17,990

From my experience the Mamiya mount refurbs are the hardest to come by.

PhaseOne also has decided to run the Free Mamiya promo again. This is the one that ran through the end of last year. With the purchase of a new in the Mamiya 645AFD mount :
P20+ or P21+ you receive a new Mamiya 645afdII body
P25+ or P30+ you receive a new Mamiya 645afdII body + 80mm lens
P45+ you receive a new Mamiya 645afdII body + 80mm lens + Mamiya 28mm - best value- $29,990 (classic) priced separately it is about $40k.

Also with the above Phase One is offering the people who take advantage of it to pre-order the new PhaseOne 645AFD camera system w/ 80mm lens for $2500 - this also comes with a 3 year warranty on camera (value added package). Yo do not have to pay for the new camera until it ships. Even though the pricing has not been set for the new platform as a standalone , I do not think it will be this low.

If you have any questions please pm or email.

Have a good weekend.

L
Lance Schad
Capture Integration - Miami/Atlanta
Phase One Dealer of the Year
305-534-5701 office
305-394-3196 cell
877-217-9870
Capture Integration , Phase One Dealer
lance@captureintegration.com

Yes, the P25 is much more expensive than the P30. I asked P1 once if it was possible to exchange a P25 for a P30, and they responded "Why would you want to do that? We'd consider that a downgrade", and the price reflects that.

It's interesting to hear about this promotion which I think is a step into the right direction to broaden the user base.

At the same time I wonder where MF digibacks will go in the future. Bigger than 39 Megapixels is of no use to most people. It's the quality of pixels that needs to be improved and not the quantity. Speed may be an issue to some, to many it's not (flash recycle time, or static subject like architecture).

The P21/P30 and P45 are now somewhere around 3 years old. PhaseOne once comitted that they'd inform their users 18 month ahead of time about the product roadmap. As far as I remember the + backs have not been announced 18 month in advance either. And I haven't heard any real announcements beside the 6000$ wireless upgrade that I have never seen or heard anyone use yet. Shouldn't the wireless option be available already since over two years?

Reference (all the way down look for wireless):
http://www.letsgodigital.org/en/news/artic...story_3764.html

So is the top end of the industry still shooting P25/P25+, P30/P30+ and P45/P45+ in 5 years on old cameras that have waaaaay slow x-sync times and don't provide once features and LCD's that are nothing more than a joke?

I think we're probably gonna see updates this year, or maybe early next. There's still a lot you can do and I predict more MP (not really something I care about personally), better and higher ISO, new LCD technology, faster FPS, and more. I might upgrade in the future, but right now I'm more than happy with my P25 + canon combo. If anything I look forward to the new Mamiya and the announced leaf shutter lenses.