Below
romanian craftsman
Taken in romania with a gFX 50S,
the square shot and high resolution
lend themselves perfectly to
portrait imagesAbove
Corfe Castle
Landscape images are often printed
at large sizes, and a medium format
sensor makes it possible to do so
with no loss of quality or detailRight
Kalmakashu, Kyrgyzstan
Shooting action scenes is more
tricky in medium format as there is
a slight delay in saving files, slowing
the photographer somewhatgo pro
required, to say nothing of the demands
it places on the processing power of your
computer system. However, for some
professional photographers there may simply
be no choice at all – you might be in a
position where you need this sort of camera
in order to be competitive.
For some photographers, it’s simply their
preferred way of working, as paul Sanders
(discoverstill.com) reveals: “Throughout my
career I have used medium format cameras;
my first medium format was a Bronica SQA- I was shooting fashion at the time in the
late 80s. I loved the square format and the
incredible quality delivered on transparency
film. From there I moved to a Mamiya rB67
and a Mamiya 7, both of which I loved. When
I started as a news photographer I still used
the medium format for magazine features. It’s
so comfortable to use.”
However, there are some fairly considerable
cost implications that need to be factored
in when it comes to medium format in the
digital world. “Since I left my job in news
photography I had been looking for a medium
format camera that would deliver the quality I
wanted for my landscape work along with the
convenience of digital. The problem for me
was one of cost; a phase one setup was just
too expensive. Having used Fujifilm cameras
for five years, when they announced the gFX
I thought it would probably work for me. The
important thing for me about equipment is
the feel – they have to be comfortable to hold,
the buttons have to fall in the right places for
my fingers and thumbs. Holding the gFX 50S
felt like I’d gone back in time; it handled the
way my beloved Mamiya 7 did, the balance
and weight all felt very similar. I did of course
try the Hasselblad mirrorless too, but it just
didn’t work for my brain and muscle memory.”
probably the main reason for many to
switch to medium format is the resolution
potential it offers. “I like to print some of my
work really big – two metres wide or more,
and to achieve the quality I wanted I did need
a bigger file size than my X-T2 delivered.”
However, Sanders warns against becoming
too obsessive about pixels and making
comparisons between the resolution of one
camera versus another: “The technical side of
photography doesn’t really interest me; I have
no idea what the array of pixels or diodes
does and frankly I don’t care. pixel-peeping is
a losing game, as you always want what you
don’t have – I care about how my images feel.
The gFX seemed to deliver just what I needed
in terms of dynamic range, tonal smoothness
and detail. I can honestly say it’s a joy to use
every day.
I think the best thing about medium format
is the speed: I like to work slowly, and with
larger format sensors you are forced to do
just that. I shoot far fewer images than I
would on smaller cameras, you stop the spray