Medium Format Photography in the Digital Era

Today I went to a Medium-format marathon on the Internet. My main goal was to learn more about the Medium-format camera system and see is there is any future to those ultra-resolution bulky cameras. The digital era has reshaped the whole photography industry. Some photographers still don't want to give up film yet, but most of them have quickly adopted to this change . If we look at the digital cameras' market, we can clearly see that it is being ruled by DSLR and Mirrorless cameras. The Medium-format was meant for passionate photographers that won't compromise on image quality and are willing to pay the hefty price.

A Little Bit of History

The Medium Format history starts back in 1890s.  In the film days, Medium format cameras have been used by both professionals and enthusiast amateur photographers. Even today you can find photographers who shoot both with DSLR and Medium format cameras. Medium format images are captured on larger sensor or film, larger than conventional 35 mm. Because of its high image quality, it has been adopted by the military, scientists and other high other industries. In 1969, NASA has equipped its Apollo 11 astronauts with a modified Hasselblad 500EL Medium format camera. The original camera was actually a Haaselblad 500C with a Planar 80mm f/2.8 lens, but NASA has made some modifications to the Hasselblad 500C to make it more suitable for Apollo 11 space mission to the moon.

Surviving the Digital Revolution

No doubt that Hasselblad has a long history and reputation when it comes to their medium format cameras. However, at the digital age, the medium format industry has changed tremendously. Leaf was the first company to release a digital back for its Medium format camera back in 1992. When digital medium format cameras entered the market, the film's medium format sales have started to drop. Even so, Hasselblad wasn't going to give up the race so soon.  Hasselblad has collaborated with Imacon and Fuji to develop their own digital Medium format cameras for the digital era.

Even with all the tumbles in the Medium format industry, Medium format cameras still remain very expensive. They mostly used by photographers who won't compromise when it comes to image quality. Companies like Leaf, Mamiya, Pentax, Hasselblad, Sinar and Phase One, all wanted to grab what was left from the Medium format market share. Phase One has taken a different approach with its open platform, in order to differentiate itself from the competition. It has collaborated with Mamyia in order to compete against its tough rivals.

Analysts in the photography field think that the Medium format days are numbered. Medium format cameras are very expensive, and they mostly appeal to professional photographers for Wedding, Portrait and landscape photography. Some of those photographers even work for large advertisement companies that need a high resolution for large prints. From a popular format it became more of a niche product for those who could only afford it. Even the DSLR market continues to shrink towards the mirrorless camera's market, especially in European countries and Japan. This trend will continue to expand its boarders and will bring new technology innovations with it.

Modern Digital Medium-Format Cameras

It doesn't mean that you need to create a cheap mass market product to become a successful company. Even so, companies will need to adopt new technologies and new marketing strategies to survive the change in consumer preferences. Many Medium format photographers have switched to full frame digital SLR cameras. The technology is getting more advanced and the marginal advantage has begun to shrink.

Leica S2
For many artists, every thing is not all Black & White. Many photographers are emotionally connected to their camera gear, and won't replace it for any DSLR camera in the world. Leica is one company who falls into this category. On 2008, Leica Camera AG has announced its new medium format single-lens reflex digital camera, the Leica S2 and its corresponding Leica S-SYSTEM. The Leica S2 medium-format DSLR employs a 30 x 45 mm 37.5-megapixel camera. Combine this prestigious camera with Leica's state-of-the-art S-Lenses and you get a really high quality medium format system.

You can judge the Leica S2 image quality yourself by looking at full high resolution images here, and here.

Here is a video about the Leica S2 (Look more like a James Bond movie :):

Pentax 645D

Even so, the battle for the Medium format isn't over yet. On 10 March, 2010, Hoya corporation Pentax as entered the digital medium format market with the Pentax 645D medium format DSLR. The 645D utilizes Kodak's 44 x 33 mm high CCD sensor with 40MP.
You are probably eager to know why Pentax has decided to enter the medium format market, when it doesn't yet have a full frame DSLR?
I am troubled with this question myself. If Pentax wanted to enter the professional market, it could have done it with a FF camera. It seems that medium format cameras and FF DSLR cameras are intended for different markets. The Pentax 645D is not an open platform system like the "Phase One" system. It looks more like a DSLR camera, with many buttons and dials. After reading the specs, it seems that the 645D is a  medium format camera which intended for the pro-amateur market . It contains features which are  inherited from Pentax DSLR cameras. Even so, with a estimated retail price of $9,400, not every DSLR owner can afford it.

You can find more information about the 645D here and here.



Different Aspect Ratio Formats
Medium format cameras come in various formats like:  6 x 4.5 cm (56 x 43 mm), 6 x 6 cm (56 x 56 mm, Squared image), 6 x 7 cm (56 x 72 mm), 6x9 cm (56 x 92 mm), etc. The 645 format (6cm x 4.5 cm) is a very popular format, because its image aspect ratio to is very close to the 8x10" print format. Both the Pentax 645 (which I mentioned above) and the Phase One 645DF use this format. You can look at Phase One digital backs tech specs and you can observe the CCD dimensions of their digital backs:

• P 65 + : 53.9 x 40.4 mm
• P 45 + : 49.1 x 36.8 mm
• P 40 + : 43.9 x 32.9 mm

The above are the effective size, but the sensor aspect ratio fits into the 6 x 4.5 (645) category.  The 645 format is also known as 4:3 image ratio, which is used by many consumer digital cameras today. Most of today's DSLR cameras have a 3:2 image ratio sensor. The Leica S2 camera has a sensor with 3:2 aspect ratio, which is the same as in 35mm full frame DSLR cameras.

More in-depth information on Medium (and large) formats can be found on Ken Rockwell website (highly recommended if you are new to this stuff).

Medium-Format Photography Books

If you are interested in shooting with the medium format, there are some really good books about Medium format photography out there. I went to amazon searching for the most popular books related to Medium format photography and fine a few really good ones.

The Medium Format Advantage, Second Edition - This book by Ernst Wildi will present to you the benefits and capabilities of medium-format cameras and how to take advantage of them. The books will teach you special techniques on how to shoot great pictures in different applications. This book is a great book that will introduce the medium-format for beginners that are making their first steps into the MF world.  Even if you are familiar with 35mm cameras, you will find that you haven't seen nothing yet. You will learn how to take better pictures and learn how to improve your skills. The book is packed with more than 200 gorgeous images of both medium and large formats.




The Hasselblad Manual, Seventh Edition - This is another medium-format related book by Ernst Wildi, a craftsman in the Professional Photographers Association that won many awards in his career. This popular book will take you o a journey to the depths of the exciting Medium-Format world. The book will also give you important insights about Hasselblad camera systems. Ernst Wildi has been shooting with Hasselblad camera since 1957 and gained lots of experience in that field.  He is one of the most renowned medium-format photographer in the world. In his book, he teaches you everything you need to know to get started with medium-format photography. Every page in his book is professionally written with illustrations and in-depth instructions.




Hasselblad System Compendium  - This is one of my favorite books about Hasselblad in particular. It takes you to a long journey of the history of Hasselblad, which was founded by Victor Hasselblad. The book contains historical 760 black-and-white and color pictures. Hasselblad System Compedium is a highly recommended book for any photographer who is passionate about photography. If you are interested in Hasseblad history, this book will take you back to the past, and you will understand why so many professional photographers admire Hasseblad achievements and why they choose to shoot with Hasselblad photography gear.





Hasselblad Masters: Emotion - This book will probably be a big hit. "Hasselblad Masters: Emotion" is a special book. This book is the 2nd book following the "Hasselblad Master" 1st version. Hasselblad has carefully handpicked 10 finalist photographers from 1700 photographers who have submitted their photos to Hasselblad.  The company gave them  access to Hasselblad's finest equipment. In this book, Hasselblad has decided to emphasize on the photographer interpretation of the word "Emotion". The results are just stunning. This is a must have book for medium-format and passionate photographers alike.

Famous Medium-Format Photographers
There are many professional photographers who shoot in medium-format camera like: Amanda Marsalis, Ernst Wildi (wrote some of the above medium-format related books), Kevin lynch, Ron Kimbal (I love his animal photographs), Kevin Lynch and many others.

For a full list of famous Hasselblad photographers click here. You can visit their portfolio page with sample images they have taken with their Hasselblad camera.

Summary

As you can see, the digital medium-format is very popular among professional and passionate photographers. It is mostly used for nature and portrait photography. Medium format cameras have been niche products for many years. The expensive price explains its low demand. Not everyone can afford himself a camera that costs more than $10,000. Even so, I can doubt the fact that the image quality that comes of medium-format cameras is absolutely gorgeous. The dynamic range, micro contrast and color tone is absolutely top-notch. I have seen some amazing studio portraits that just blew me away. I can really understand why professional photographers will prefer a medium-format camera over a DSLR for special applications. The main reason why photographers choose to shoot with MF its because of its image quality. The large CCD sensor provides much higher resolution when compared to DSLR cameras.

I also think that prices will get lower and lower in the future. Pentax is trying to make the medium-format more "affordable" by entering the market with its 645D ~$9000 camera. Leaf, Hasselblad, Mamiya, Phase One and Alpa, all have great cameras. This article wasn't meant to compare the companies one vs. the other, but to give you a quick overview of what a medium-format camera is. There are many reviews on the web that compares the latest models with sample images at high resolution. I hope that after this overview, you became more familiar with the term "medium-format".