Preface

The majority of photographers do not start in the medium format. Most often they move up from a smaller film size, such as 35 mm, hoping to produce better quality pictures or more saleable images or to simply become more successful photographers. All this is possible, but only by being aware of the possibilities and limitations of the format and equipment.

There are also professionals normally working with larger negative sizes who move down to the medium format because of its convenience, faster shooting capability, and portability. This is happening more often today because of the superb definition of the modern color and black-and-white films. In the words of many photographers, large format image quality is now obtained on medium format roll film.

These trends of moving up as well as moving down have made the medium format truly the format in the middle. It combines many of the benefits of 35 mm photography with those of the large format, making a medium format system an excellent choice for almost all types of photography from candid action with a handheld camera to critical studio work from a tripod. Special chapters are devoted to these different applications and the type of equipment that most likely meets your photography needs.

You may also want to consider the medium format seriously if you see electronic imaging in the future. Some medium format cameras can be used for digital imaging by simply attaching a digital back to the existing camera in place of a film magazine. This allows using the same camera system with all the lenses and accessories for recording images on film or electronically.

Since a medium format camera may very well be used in so many different ways and applications, choosing the right system is of utmost importance. You need to choose a medium format camera with more care than you would a 35 mm camera because medium format camera systems produce images in different formats and vary greatly in size, weight, design, and operation.

You should put a lot of thought into your choice of a camera because a move into the medium format can be a fairly costly undertaking if you are looking at a complete system with lenses, finders, and film magazines rather than just a basic camera. All components, especially the lenses, are larger and consequently more expensive than in 35 mm. This book explains clearly the medium format’s benefits, advantages, and disadvantages and provides a comparison of the medium format to other formats so you can decide whether it is right for you and your photography. It lays out the different camera and lens designs and gives a photographer’s view of which features are important for specific applications and in different fields of photography.

For photographers already working in the medium format, the book is a guide for using the medium format camera and its features to obtain the best possible image quality regardless of your field of photography or the purpose or use of the image.

The book is not a camera instruction manual. The instructions come with the camera and should be studied carefully before you start using the camera. Even expert 35 mm photographers should not assume that they know everything about the camera. Although some medium format cameras look and operate like 35s, some are quite different, especially if they feature interchangeable film magazines and lenses with leaf shutters.

There is one more objective I tried to accomplish: to inspire you to use your cameras, lenses, and accessories not just to record things as you see them, but to experiment and to use photography’s unique capability to create a different world of images. Medium format cameras are well suited for creating images that are different from the way we see the world; they are, in my mind, the best and most versatile photographic tools for this purpose and for experimenting in many different ways.