Medium Format Goodness

Saturday 28 August 2010 at 7:28 pm Digital is definitely here to stay but film has a certain something that you can only reproduce digitally by messing with the image. The current fad for camera phone apps that reproduce the polaroid, pin-hole or cheap russian camera look would appear to indicate a predilection for the imperfect.

The trend also manifests itself in the lomography movement - cheap film cameras that have flawed optics leading to quirky images. Lomography has also led to a resurgence in the use of medium-format film. Medium format film leads to much bigger pictures than 35mm film and allows for much more detail to be captured in a variety of sizes. Medium format cameras are now also very cheap and accessible as everyone off-loads their film cameras for digital.

I picked up a Mamiya RB67 for about $400 and a Rolleiflex for $500. This may seem a little pricey but these would have each cost a small fortune when purchased new. The RB67 takes 6cm x 7cm pictures and the Rollei takes 6cm x 6cm pictures. If you use a colour-slide film (like Velvia) you'll get a roll of developed negative from the developer you can shine a light through and project onto a wall. Its pretty darn cool.

Of the two I prefer the Rollei, its easier to carry, has a built in light-meter and the square 6 x 6 images look great. The Mamiya is a beast of a camera, it really needs a tripod and it will hurt your back carting it around (it weighs about 2.5kg!) - although when you see the sharpness of the pictures you will find the weight bearable.

Digital medium and large format photography also exists - but the cost is generally prohibitive. Getting a medium sized digital sensor camera package is going to set you back the equivalent of a mortgage down-payment on a house.