geogphotos Posted June 23 Share Posted June 23 (edited) After the digital phone images thread how about something different? I realise that medium format is in many ways overkill for stock but I'd be interested in the views and experiences of others. Way back in 199I I returned from an overseas job and before the money went on sensible things like home repairs I went out and bought a lovely Mamiya 6 rangefinder camera. I still own it and have film ( long out of date) in the fridge. I've been looking in a daydreamy sort of way at medium format digital systems and wondered what wisdom there would be on the forum. Any takers? Edited June 23 by geogphotos 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Steve F Posted June 23 Share Posted June 23 Moving back to full frame from medium format. Thomas is the only YouTuber I follow that uses medium format. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ho2Cyfs-bZE https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zmlmhrXVfeU&t=23s But I'm sure you can also find a bunch of videos extolling the qualities of medium format... 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Harry Harrison Posted June 23 Share Posted June 23 I haven't watched Steve's videos yet but Fuji have really done 'medium format' well. That said I think you'd find it hard to put your finger on why you might want one, what you could do with it etc. A Canon mirrorless R5 on the other hand...(or any other mirrorless full frame of course but you have Canon I think), that would be a step up from a DSLR. That Mamiya 6 is a nice camera though, fantastic lenses. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Harry Harrison Posted June 23 Share Posted June 23 I think that any self-respecting celebrity portrait photographer just has to have one, as do 'fine art' landscape photographers. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Harry Harrison Posted June 23 Share Posted June 23 'Just sayin' but Canon have a fantastic range of Tilt/Shift lenses now. One of those would be fun given your line of subject, the 24mm is probably the most useful. I have the first version (film era basically) but the current version is much better, really excellent in fact. I have the 17mm but it terrifies me with all that expensive glass sticking out the front. https://www.canon.co.uk/lenses/tilt-and-shift-lenses/ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alexander Hogg Posted June 23 Share Posted June 23 40 minutes ago, Harry Harrison said: it terrifies me with all that expensive glass sticking out the front. Don't blame you I actually did drop a Canon R 24-70mm lens that was attached to the camera onto my driveway and broke it It was repairable Expensive mistake Ended up buying a new one and still got the other one to sell at some point Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Harry Harrison Posted June 23 Share Posted June 23 48 minutes ago, Alexander Hogg said: I actually did drop a Canon R 24-70mm lens that was attached to the camera onto my driveway and broke it It was repairable Expensive mistake Ended up buying a new one and still got the other one to sell at some point A horrible feeling I'm sure. I should sell it but fortunately it's a fantastic lens and they still make it so it's holding its value well. There is a very nice deep bayonet cap for it but that bulging glass out the front.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alexander Hogg Posted June 23 Share Posted June 23 34 minutes ago, Harry Harrison said: A horrible feeling I'm sure. I should sell it but fortunately it's a fantastic lens and they still make it so it's holding its value well. There is a very nice deep bayonet cap for it but that bulging glass out the front.. Had to buy another one while it was in for repair as I was going to be travelling for 3 weeks There is another lens I'm wanting to get and got some gear to sell towards the cost Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MDM Posted June 23 Share Posted June 23 (edited) Hold the topic. There are two main usages for large MP cameras, not just medium format but also the high MP (say 36 MP or higher) Nikon DSLRs and mirrorless, Sonys and Canons. One is for making very large prints or for display on high resolution screens where very high levels of detail are desired e.g. landscape, architecture, studio macro etc. Two is the ability to crop heavily, especially useful for ahooting where there may not be time to compose in camera e.g. news, action, weddings,nature macro etc. The size and weight of medium format cameras precludes the latter usage so they have a very narrow range of potential usage - definitely tripod required for most use cases. On the other hand, a 45MP camera with top quality lenses can produce excellent results that can probably come very close to what a 100MP medium format camera can do. Then there is pixel shift technology which can produce really excellent results with doubling of the image size in post, giving a top quality 90MP file from a set of 45MP originals that can probably match what a 100 MP camera can do, again assuming high quality lenses. GIven the much greater flexibility of a quality full frame camera and the very large difference in cost as well as weight, one would need to have some very specific usages in mind and be happy to preclude other usages before investing in a medium format system. Edited June 23 by MDM 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alexander Hogg Posted June 23 Share Posted June 23 MDM Totally agree with you on your comment Now I'm done Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MDM Posted June 23 Share Posted June 23 (edited) 58 minutes ago, Alexander Hogg said: MDM Totally agree with you on your comment Now I'm done I'm not sure I entirely agree wth myself having done a bit of checking of what is available now in medium format 😀. Some of the cameras are pretty competitive in terms of price with decent mirrorless cameras and not necessarily too heavy either (at least compared to the 45MP Nikon mirrorless). In any case, I think the flexibility in terms of likely usage argument still holds as well as the quality obtainable from high MP mirrorless cameras. Edited June 23 by MDM 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
geogphotos Posted June 23 Author Share Posted June 23 (edited) I realise that the comparison isn't all that direct with today's cameras but with my Mamiya I only had the 50mm lens compared with my Fujica 35mm + zoom. Just going out with the Mamiya made my approach to photography different. Obviously film costs come into it. Not sure if that would be similar today - probably not, but perhaps. Yes, I know I could always load the Mamiya with film and scan to create digital images. Must try it one day. Edited June 23 by geogphotos Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rebecca Ore Posted June 23 Share Posted June 23 Two words: sensor size. The original film medium format cameras were just about right for depth of field from portraiture to landscape. The sensor sizes on medium format need to be bigger than the 35mm standard to make a significant difference over a high MP 35mm standard sensor size. Checking B&H, Hasselblad has new mirrrorless cameras that feature a digital sensor which will also work with the old film Hasselblads. Lenses mount is for their later series of lenses. B&H prices are $6,500ish and up, so not anything I could get. If the back is sold separately, and if someone still has an old style Hasselblad, it might be worth checking to see if the back is available separately. My guess is that this wouldn't be financially sensible for anyone who's only doing stock, but might be useful for someone doing other work. Or might be good for someone who has the money for nice stuff. Sensor description: "43.8 x 32.9mm 50MP CMOS sensor, which yields high-resolution imagery with a wide 14-stop dynamic range, 16-bit color depth, and an ISO 100-25600 sensitivity range." Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Harry Harrison Posted June 23 Share Posted June 23 (edited) 23 minutes ago, Rebecca Ore said: Sensor description: "43.8 x 32.9mm That's the problem with the Hasselblad version really, a smaller sensor compared to the original 56 x 56mm film size, so a crop factor coupled with the fact that the camera needs to be turned on its side for 'portrait'. Edited June 23 by Harry Harrison Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sally Robertson Posted June 24 Share Posted June 24 Although more often used by landscape photographers, I found out that a local West Australian bird photographer, Shelley Pearson, uses Fujifilm medium format which is interesting. These are her comments on the Fujifilm GFX 100 II when she was first testing it out: https://fujifilm-x.com/en-au/stories/gfx100-ii-bird-photography-x-shelley-pearson/ You can apparently choose whether you even want to track the left or right eye. Fujifilm have put out a 500mm prime for GFX too ($6000 here in Australia). I hadn’t thought of medium format for wildlife, but there is certainly some advantage in the capacity for cropping and still having a high resolution image. I cannot afford to buy into such a system but it’s interesting to know what’s out there and what people are doing with it. Of course everything about the system is very expensive and I think insurance would be absolutely necessary. I think as you mention Ian using a different camera system makes you think differently, which I imagine applies across all subjects of photography. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Harry Harrison Posted June 24 Share Posted June 24 (edited) Perhaps what you actually liked about your Mamiya 6 with (for you) its single 50mm wide angle lens was its relative simplicity, something you could just pick up and take out on a walk, and to maybe give a different perspective on life. If that were true then you could buy any high MP full frame mirrorless from Canon, Sony, Nikon, Panasonic or Leica (new or secondhand), put a 24mm prime lens on it, and just leave it there. You could also set it to 4:3 format, or even square, that instantly makes you think differently. Edited June 24 by Harry Harrison Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Inchiquin Posted June 24 Share Posted June 24 20 hours ago, Alexander Hogg said: Don't blame you I actually did drop a Canon R 24-70mm lens that was attached to the camera onto my driveway and broke it It was repairable Expensive mistake Ended up buying a new one and still got the other one to sell at some point 40 years ago I dropped a Canon 28mm lens about 20 ft onto a stone floor in Luxembourg and it just carried on working (and still does). More recently, my Canon 24-105 swung off my shoulder and whacked into a stone wall. Apart from a slight dent in the filter ring (which I never use these days anyway) there was no damage at all. Alan 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
geogphotos Posted June 24 Author Share Posted June 24 1 hour ago, Harry Harrison said: Perhaps what you actually liked about your Mamiya 6 with (for you) its single 50mm wide angle lens was its relative simplicity, something you could just pick up and take out on a walk, and to maybe give a different perspective on life. If that were true then you could buy any high MP full frame mirrorless from Canon, Sony, Nikon, Panasonic or Leica (new or secondhand), put a 24mm prime lens on it, and just leave it there. You could also set it to 4:3 format, or even square, that instantly makes you think differently. Good ideas Harry. Also back then the best stock agencies were primarily interested in medium format rather than 35mm. These days, with obvious provisos about cropping, large prints etc, the atactual 'need' for medium format is much less obvious. That's why I am interested to learn the views and experiences of other Alamy contributors.. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ric Holland Posted June 24 Share Posted June 24 (edited) Feel of a camera is important and that’s where the Mamiya 6 scored. It is of of top build quality and has a beautiful feel. Feel is mentioned in this thread re digital medium format (Fuji GFX100S II more precisely): Edited June 24 by Ric Holland Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Harry Harrison Posted June 24 Share Posted June 24 (edited) 34 minutes ago, Ric Holland said: Feel is mentioned in this thread re digital medium format (Fuji GFX100S II more precisely): I like your (tongue in cheek) thread, I must have missed it at the time as I'm not in the market for one of those Fujis. I did pick one up at a show and it felt good actually, you can if you want to set the aperture on the lens and the shutter speed with the dial on the top plate which is what I tend to do with my X-T2 so there is an 'analogue' feel. I also thought of recommending the Leica Q2 or Q3, beautiful full frame quality with a fixed 28mm lens and preset digital zooms for 35, 50 & 75mm views (cropping in other words). I don't think that they offer anything other than the 3:2 aspect ratio though, probably because they invented it. I may be wrong. Edited June 24 by Harry Harrison Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gervais Montacute Posted June 24 Share Posted June 24 Leica Q3 aspect ratios are 3:2 4:3 1:1 and 16:9 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Harry Harrison Posted June 24 Share Posted June 24 10 minutes ago, Gervais Montacute said: Leica Q3 aspect ratios are 3:2 4:3 1:1 and 16:9 Thank you! I reckon that makes it a contender, it would do for me anyway. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gervais Montacute Posted June 24 Share Posted June 24 (edited) 2 hours ago, Harry Harrison said: Thank you! I reckon that makes it a contender, it would do for me anyway. First camera I ever had was a Kodak Instamatic in 1964. I was off to Italy for 6 weeks and my parents bought me the camera and a load of cartridges for it. Since then I've had a few cameras and one of my favourites was the Nikon Fe. Film camera. And so on. The Leica Q3 is very hard to beat in todays world. Naturally it's a fixed 28mm lens. So it's a waste of time comparing to very good zoom lenses and non fixed lens good cameras. I would definitely check out the Fuji X100 IV. 35 mm equivalent fixed lens but it's hard to be disappointed with it apart from Fuji's looney menu system. The best camera you ever have is the one you've got with you. So was my Kodak Instamatic. It's like anything. It depends what you want it for at the time. Edited June 24 by Gervais Montacute Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Harry Harrison Posted June 24 Share Posted June 24 1 minute ago, Gervais Montacute said: I would definitely check out the Fuji X100 IV Thanks, I've had my X100 since 2012, still use it of course. I kind of wish that the influencers hadn't discovered the X100 series, secondhand prices of all iterations have really shot up and are staying there. Great for Fuji though. Probably not a wide enough view to compare with Ian's 50mm on a Mamiya 6 though. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Michael Ventura Posted June 24 Share Posted June 24 I think digital medium format is overkill for most applications, especially stock. And the high costs make it even more so. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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