The Basic Problem Is...
Phase One is a very successful HARDWARE manufacturer - it is the dominant player in a relatively small but very valuable niche market for high-end digital backs. It originally created Capture One as a necessary means to an end - to process the images produced by its specialist hardware at a time when raw converters were a novelty in the general photographic arena.
Today things are very different. Raw converters are the norm for any serious photographer, whether professional or amateur, and whatever the digital camera format is used. Phase One now finds itself forced to enter the mass-market race (even if at the top end of that market)... something that is culturally and technically alien to it. As I have already discussed >elsewhere on this forum< , Phase One simply do not understand what it takes to be a relatively small but successful SOFTWARE producer of a commodity product (for that is what raw converters are rapidly becoming).
I can only echo what a number of other posters have said here over the last few days - arrogance did indeed kill the Titanic. In this case however a market crash of Capture One is unlikely to kill Phase One... Although software production generally has a higher gross profit margin than hardware manufacturing, I suspect Phase One's absolute profit figures from its digi backs dwarfs those from its sales of Capture One.
And therein lies the reason Phase One CAN get away with its apparent arrogance - its software division is relatively unimportant to its overall profitability. And if that profitability becomes excessively compromised by a failing software division, it can always sell the division to a company more suited to mass-market software production. Without wishing to engage in the rumour mill, I note Microsoft's product catalogue lacks a credible professional raw converter...
Today things are very different. Raw converters are the norm for any serious photographer, whether professional or amateur, and whatever the digital camera format is used. Phase One now finds itself forced to enter the mass-market race (even if at the top end of that market)... something that is culturally and technically alien to it. As I have already discussed >elsewhere on this forum< , Phase One simply do not understand what it takes to be a relatively small but successful SOFTWARE producer of a commodity product (for that is what raw converters are rapidly becoming).
I can only echo what a number of other posters have said here over the last few days - arrogance did indeed kill the Titanic. In this case however a market crash of Capture One is unlikely to kill Phase One... Although software production generally has a higher gross profit margin than hardware manufacturing, I suspect Phase One's absolute profit figures from its digi backs dwarfs those from its sales of Capture One.
And therein lies the reason Phase One CAN get away with its apparent arrogance - its software division is relatively unimportant to its overall profitability. And if that profitability becomes excessively compromised by a failing software division, it can always sell the division to a company more suited to mass-market software production. Without wishing to engage in the rumour mill, I note Microsoft's product catalogue lacks a credible professional raw converter...
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I am not sure how true that is.
I have been a fan of C1 since v1.0 with mostly top end Canon cameras. I came very close to buying a MF system when the !Ds3 was not announced at Photokina. At that time I would have bought a Phase One back so I could use a single workflow.
Indeed I am still thinking that it might be approprriate to go MF (for some work at least) when my 1Ds3 has paid for itself. However if I do not stay with C1Pro (depends when Pro is launched and its facilities) then I will look at my wider options. So I would consider Hasselblad, Leaf, etc and perhaps Phase One as I will have to change my workflow and possibly use mutltiple converters anyway.
The point is if I am no longer tied to C1Pro then Phase One will have to work a lot harder for my MF business. And I guess I will not be the only one.0 -
Yes I guess that's true... PO's hardware sales may be affected by CO bombing, but it's not clear by how much. Also, if Adobe (or an-other raw converter) sees a sufficient market demand for MF back support, they may be tempted to add it ( however it seems unlikely they'd get much tech data from PO, although that hasn't stopped CO from writing its own algo's for DSLR raws....) 0
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