Hi David,
T/S stands for tilt/shift the technique to control perspective and focus used with cameras that allow the lens to be shifted and or tilted related to the standard position.
Try to use the quote function at the bottom of a post to copy the text in that post and show it is used as a quote. That makes it easier to find what you are commenting or asking about.
The price drop for the H3D31Mp was announced before the general drop of 40% on all H cameras.
The only reason I can think of was an attack at the Mamiya ZD camera.
Keep in mind the H3D31Mp has the smallest sensor of all H series cameras.
Small sensors are on the way out in MF.
If a small sensor does not bother you the H3D31 Mp is alright.
On the other hand the H3D39 single shot is not so much more expensive at 14.995 euro
Paul
Actually Paul, quite the contrary ... hardly going the way of the Dodo, the 4872 X 6496 sensor MF digital cameras are more popular than ever, and have become the lead horse in drawing new users into MF digital photography. It is the larger sized 22 meg sensors that are on their way out ... Kodak stopped production of them. The 31 meg sensor is now the entry level camera.
For example, Sinar just announced their new entry level camera with the fully integrated Hy6-65 that uses the exact same 31 meg Kodak sensor as the Hasselblad H3D/II/31. Phase One also has bundled the Phase One/Mamiya camera with their popular P30+ ... same sensor. The H3D-II/31 remains the least expensive of the lot, (IMO, probably due to the success of the promo, and because they have been making a bundled 31 meg camera "system" longer than the others.)
Clarification: The original H3D-II/31 price reduction was a promotion until Dec. 2008 ... with the Photokina announcement, Hasselblad made the lower promo price permanent. There was no further reduction. BTW, as I understand it, the 40% drop is not applicable to all H cameras ... it is "up to" 40%.
David, the lens selections for the H3D (or all the H cameras), is primarily full coverage. The exception to this is the HC/28mm which covers all current H Digital sensors ( 31 meg., 39 meg., and 50 meg,) but does not cover a full 645 frame. The other exception will be the new shorter zoom. All other HC lenses: 35, 50, 50-110, 80, 100, 120, 150, and 300mm cover the full 645 frame and can also be used with a film H camera with full coverage.
In addition, using the ingenious CF adapter, all C, CF, CFi and CFE Zeiss manual focus lenses made for the Hasselblad V system can be used on the H cameras ... The H camera is programed to recognize the CFE versions, and allows you to to select all the other non CFE focal lengths with the LCD grip menu ... the lenses remain auto stop down, and the H camera provides in-camera focus conformation which makes focusing wide angle Zeiss optics in low light much, much easier. I have most all of these lenses and use them on my H digital cameras ... making it one of the most extensive systems in the world.
As to the difference between the 31 and 39 ... under normal circumstances one would be hard pressed to tell the difference in image quality. If one plans to shoot with a technical camera like a Sinar P or Rollei Xact using tilts and shifts, then the 39 is the better choice as the micro lenses on the 31 can cause color shifts. This, however, is not true for the new T/S adapter from Hasselblad since they have programed software corrections for the 31 sensor.
On the other hand, the 31 provides and extra stop of ISO (800) and is a faster camera to use.
