Hasselblad 500C camera for NASA during the Gemini IV space mission. Sadly I couldn’t put my hands in a medium format camera, but in my top list for size is a Fuji GA465z1, a medium format point and shoot; a Bronica GS-1 that is a 6×7 camera. Since its introduction it has been widely regarded as the king of medium format cameras for shooting portraits and wedding photos. We keep these two cameras as a combo pack because they are relatively similar and offer quite consistent images between the two. The lenses handle architecture, urban motifs and people perfectly. If I had the money and time I would 100% buy one of these cameras. Your email address will not be published. Big, high-contrast rangefinder focusing patch. The camera has most of the traditional “look” of a rangefinder, with a slim body and a lack of prism viewfinder (obviously). This specific model was built in 1954 and was used for portrait and documentary photography. When looking to get a new camera … – although instagram forced the square back (unbelievable) into the picture.. One lens is what the camera will capture – the ‘taking image’, and the other image is what you are seeing through the mirror in your viewfinder, which you will be looking at through the top of your camera, usually held at waist level. Compare this to a Mamiya RB67 with a 75mm lens, which weighs in at just under 106 oz. Check out our tutorial for loading and un-loading the Mamiya RZ67 below: Next on our list is the infamous Hasselblad 500C. No, I mean literally, add one number and you’re right. It was replaced in the 1960s for journalism use by the Rollei medium format TLRs. You can support this goal by contributing your thoughts, work, experiences and ideas to inspire the hundreds of thousands of people who read these pages each month. Finally got round to reading this. Rather than rotating your camera to change from portrait to landscape, you will rotate the camera back, allowing you to easily shoot without changing your body position. For example, with a modular camera, you are able to interchange camera lenses, the viewfinders, the ground glass, film winders, and even the film backs. They are well suited for working in the city. Highly regarded as one of the best medium format cameras available on the market, the Contax 645 is an absolutely incredible piece of equipment. For $1000 you can’t beat the Mamiya 6 in terms of size and image quality. Sign up for updates and get access to the FREE Quick Start Bundle! Yes, I know that you can get an RB67 system for just over $300 if you’re lucky, but as with all cameras, it’s a balancing act. The mask sits horizontally in front of the film plane, meaning you literally get just as many shots as when shooting 6×6, just cropped down to a 6×4.5 aspect ratio. EMULSIVE is a space for film photographers of all backgrounds to spread knowledge, experience and thoughts about everything related to film photography. The good thing about the Mamiya 7 is that it was introduced in the late 1990’s so it is still relatively new which means there are quite a few lenses available on the market for it if you are able to get your hands on one. As I mentioned above, I had a few requirements for my medium format camera system and the Mamiya 6 MF checked all the boxes. I thought that I was going to need one camera for the field and one camera for the studio. If you can get your hands on either, do it. Don't miss an update! In all of these cases these cameras are limited by the small film format and limited choice of film … That Pentax I have always wanted, but if I buy even one more camera, my wife will beat me….again. About a year and a half ago I finally bit the bullet and bought my very first medium format camera, a Mamiya 6 MF. Let me be clear before all the Hasselblad purists come after me with pitchforks and torches: I believe that the Mamiya 6 MF is the best medium format camera ever created …for me. Yup, you heard that right, the lens mount retracts. Last but not least, the Yashica Mat 120G is a twin lens reflex camera that offers a crank advance method  and typically features a 75-mm 3.5 Lumaxar taking lens and a 75-mm 3.2 Lumaxar viewing lens. Avoid cameras taking 620 film… Sure, you can nitpick and pixel peep scans all you want, but when it comes to real-world, useful image quality, you won’t find many systems with better lenses and stronger images. For professionals looking to get near perfect accuracy when it comes to color reproduction, a top rated medium format camera … View all photographs taken by EMULSIVE on 110 format film. One of the biggest factors that set the 500C (&C/M) apart from the competition holds barely any meaning now. View all photographs taken by EMULSIVE on 120 format film – 6×6, 6×7, 6×9, 6×12 and 6×17. This website uses cookies. One final point to the Mamiya 6 MF. It’s a camera that will largely appeal to analog photographers looking to … And about 10 years ago.. digital caught up to mid-format film resolution in general. Take one look at these numbers, and you’ll see why, with one of my most important requirements being size and weight, the Mamiya 6 MF won almost instantly. The Mamiya 6 MF is not that much bigger, and so much better. “Medium format” has become a somewhat obscure term in the modern photography community following the rise of digital cameras. Both have a range of around 50 lenses in both Zeiss and Schneider glass. Check out the submission guide here. How to Set up Your Photography Business From Scratch, How to Start a Photography Business With No Money, Create Stunning Instagram Designs Easily with FocoDesign. Owning a medium format camera is a dream for most professional photographers and film-makers. Vintage Cameras 101. Leica MP. Thank you for the article sir. With a locking exposure compensation dial, it’s amazingly easy to make this correction, just set it and forget it, no need to worry about bumping the dial randomly. What is the Best Portfolio Builder for Photographers? no?” someone wrote here. Regardless of this minor setback, this medium format film camera is still noted as one of the most clean, professional cameras available for film photographers today. All medium format cameras support a 120 roll. The medium format camera provides photographers and filmmakers with a horizontal shot compared to the common, small, 35mm-size camera. Charlie is a photography student in his second year of his undergraduate degree. With a modular camera build, this means you can modify and change/add on whatever you would like to your camera. Here’s what I cover: It is another camera in the long list that may be accurately called a “plastic fantastic”. Folding cameras have been the typical amateur camera from the beginning of the 20th century to the 50s, mostly using either 120 or 620 medium format film. Honestly, most of the time I use the camera in aperture priority mode, altering the aperture in order to change both settings (aperture and shutter speed). Small format means film formats for frame sizes ranging from 24x24mm of Rapid film to 40x40mm on 127 film, the latter can also be attributed as medium format, but 4x4cm slides can be displayed with small format projectors.The average small format frame size is that of type No. Hopefully this list has helped you make a decision on which medium format camera is best for you! Probably not the camera for me, but interesting to examine another perspective. This lies just below the exposure dial. Required fields are marked *. As I have mentioned, the Mamiya 6 MF is a manual focus rangefinder camera but due to its size, heft, and the heavily weighted focus rings on its lenses, don’t expect it to be as quick and easy as, say, a Leica. I could not agree more https://t.co/77xTOGygvj. I also wanted a leaf shutter for flash sync capability. This is the most popular format among photo enthusiasts and some professionals. 2 in 1901. FREE Black & White Patterns, Shapes, and Lines! I have and love the Hasselblad 500 CM. The Right Medium for Formatting Film. Thanks so much Timothy! All of the lenses possess leaf shutters, allowing the camera to sync with most flashes at its maximum shutter speed of 1/500s, another critical feature for me as I shoot frequently with off-camera flash. You set the ISO/ASA and the aperture on the lens, and the meter, which appears on the left-hand side of the viewfinder, will pick your shutter speed. Fuji GS645 – Small Medium Format Film Camera. Introduced in 1901. What’s the “retracted” bit in the paragraph above? These are the aperture priority modes. I got a Hasselblad 500 CM for 115, backs for 54 ea., PME5 for 105 … These were the most popular film formats from the invention of photography until the 1950s, when medium format cameras like the Rollei rose in popularity. and if someone will.. is it going to be a 6×6 or specially coated 100MP with 8K, image stabi., wireless auto-backup, remote control, streaming and custom drone rig? I thought the best ever made was the one that was brought to the Moon. The camera has a built-in light meter with a centre-weighted averaging system that works through the viewfinder. Maybe just me, but reading on my iPad, the images overlap the text, so these great reviews become unreadable… others? Recalling the form of the famed 500-series V-system cameras, though, this simple camera … Has the Mamiya 6 ever seen the Moon surface …. Rolleiflex 6008af and Rolleiflex hy6 mod2 can both still be had brand new with 6×6 and 6×45. If you like what you're reading you can also help this personal passion project by heading on over to the EMULSIVE Patreon page and giving as little as a dollar a month. Regardless, this camera is perfect for fans of rangefinder cameras that also offer superior quality. Find your perfect Leica or M-mount film camera with the help of this interactive tool & reference data, 65 photographic projects you can do when you’re stuck at home, Color drama: Negative Lab Pro v2… Finding the right workflow for scanning color film at home, How to make a TEXPan: shoot wide-format 35mm film in the Fuji GW690III rangefinder. Download the Mamiya 6 MF Brochure (6.2MB), Adi W - BS in Chem Eng, MS in MIS, Data Sc , Two out of three. The Mamiya 6 and Mamiya 6 MF are light, small, and easy to use, with a comfortable grip, and a quick to focus viewfinder. The camera was later re-released in 1969 with improvements and with a new name, now the ‘Asahi Pentax 6×7’. Film enthusiasts and photographers all over enjoy the Pentax 67II because of its durable SLR build. Honestly, with the Mamiya 6 and Mamiya 6 MF, you can’t really beat it. It’s hard to break – but when anything does.. you can replace almost anything on the fly, by yourself – considered you have the spare parts at hand. The camera I am speaking of with such great fondness, is any one of a series of early 1940's to 1960's medium format folder cameras.To get these cameras does require a little work, since they are not generally available in camera … Join our newsletter to get exclusive freebies and new content right to your inbox. Yet I’d contest the author on one point: This model is quite hard to come by as it was introduced in 1957. One thing to note is that this camera does not offer a built in light meter so you will need to keep one with you! I should say, don’t confuse this with the original Mamiya Six 120 folding cameras from the 1940s and 1950s. I wouldn’t normally get this because you can just crop the images later, but I like the idea of it because you can leave the mask out, and shoot through the sprocket holes. Experimentation plays a huge part in film photography – it’s baked right into the medium. The Mamiya 6 MF compared to an old Rebel S that I had sitting on my shelf. So disappointing to see the same old hackneyed choices being trotted out, Your email address will not be published. It’s considered the ideal ratio for Photography for a reason – and whether its architecture, inanimate objects, city-scapes or the living.. each barely’s proportioned squarely. Images are sharp, with great micro contrast, and excellent color rendition. When it comes to professional grade documentary cameras, the Hasselblad 500C has always been regarded as the best of the best camera models. The big difference between the 6 and the 6 MF is the “MF“, which stands for Multi-Format. Next on our list is the Pentax 67. no? It has its own, unique feel that is memorable and powerful and once you pick it up, you won’t want to put it down. This specific model shoots 6×9 cm. The medium format is used for a variety of landscape images and as the format … View all photographs taken by EMULSIVE on 35mm format film. 2. compare results on screen - good for pixel peepers 3. compare prints and projected pictures - actually gives useful information for the photographer The Mamiya 6 and Mamiya 6 MF have a limited but robust ecosystem surrounding them. (1100-ish grams), and is approximately 6 x 4.5 x 4.5” with the 75mm lens extended and 6 x 4.5 x 3.5” (both WxHxD) with it retracted. What I see in the viewfinder when I take a picture, is 8 times out of 10 exactly what I want. Привет мои друг. the 6×6 format is a bit disqualifying. Shooting mid-format film has become a matter of preference. The Mamiya RB67 was introduced in 1970 and the Mamiya RZ67 was originally introduced in 1982. This allows for a lot of versatility between photographers, meaning you don’t have to use your camera a certain way, or how other photographers use it, but rather you can build and create the camera that you can create your best images with. The BEST Editing Tools for the XMAS Holiday, 24 Wonderful Winter Photos to Inspire You, 9 Stunning Demo Reel Templates for Premiere Pro, How Spotify Rappers are Winning at Marketing, Top 10 Sale and Promo Animation Templates, Top 6 FREE Canva Templates for IG Stories. It weighs just over 40 oz. Medium format has traditionally referred to a film format in still photography and the related cameras and equipment that use film. Some camera backs, like those from Hasselblad, only take one or the other. Back in 2006 and 2007 I began purchasing as many of the film cameras that I'd always wanted. Read EMULSIVE’s travelogue articles; travel stories brought to you by the EMULSIVE film photography community. I have a Hasselblad 500, but I often come up with excuses not to take it out. The modified camera featured a lightweight build with an extra long clip of 70 slides rather than the normal 12. Regardless of where you started, shooting medium format is much different from shooting with a 35mm camera or a point and shoot, and it’s a great way to learn about light and how to compose an image. Both have autofocus, leaf shutters and motor drive with various auto and manual exposure modes. Continue below to see these amazing cameras and their features. :). Medium format photography is yet another realm of film photography that many photographers are intrigued by, but sometimes nervous to get started with because of the costs and because of not knowing what to expect. I’d argue that the Mamiya 6 MF system is one of the smallest and lightest modern 6×6 – and potentially medium format overall – camera systems ever made. All the while, you can also change your lenses and viewfinders if you’d like to do that too. Don’t get me wrong, I own a Holga and love it; but it’s just not what I need most of the time. Read more. Regardless, film enthusiasts still love these vintage cameras for their look and they are still great cameras for portraits and documenting still life. Also, see the Hasselblad 500C in action below: And learn how to load this beast of a camera in our tutorial here: Next up on our list is our first TLR medium format film camera. 120 Film. It had all the percs of a mule, while fitting a range of lenses that deliver top quality. I’d argue that the Mamiya 6 MF system is one of the smallest and lightest modern 6×6 – and potentially medium format overall – camera systems ever made. More on all that a bit later. That’s how I became the proud owner of a Mamiya 6 MF, the greatest medium format camera ever made and the mid-1990s successor to the Mamiya 6, which was released in 1989. I own and use the 75mm (~45mm equivalent on 35mm full frame), as well as the 150mm (~85mm equivalent on 35mm full frame), though honestly I almost never use the 150mm. The 6 MF also has one of the coolest features I’ve ever seen on a medium format camera system, maybe on a camera system in general: a retractable lens mount. Using this camera feels like shooting with a larger version of a 35mm SLR camera, which draws many photographers in because it does not require you to learn a whole new system. I’d love to get one. The Contax 645 AF is a relatively small and lightweight medium format film camera dating from the late 1990s. (3000-ish grams), and is approximately 4x 5.5×9.2”. I found a screaming deal on the camera and 75mm lens at my local shop, and I just couldn’t pass it up. Tbh.. except for the need to change films (instead of clicking in pre-loaded magazines).. they’re perfect (for modern-day use scenarios in urban environments). The Hasselblad X1D features a big 44x33mm, 50MP sensor and new X-system lenses, the X1D weighs half that of a conventional medium-format digital camera. This insane camera was discontinued in 2005, but has since gained even more recognition. View all photographs taken by EMULSIVE in various film formats.