Big, Bigger, Biggest!

Big, Bigger, Biggest!

We're talking Medium Format today, something that has bugged me all the way through my photographic existence. Aspiration is the thing, and aspiring to the highest possible quality is fine, but the cost in versatility and handling is a high one. As is the cost in cash as well of course. I originally aspired to the Pentax 67, a magnificent medium format camera looking like a giant SLR, which is what it is. 6x7 cm negatives, 10 on 120 film or 20 on 220 film. A magnificent viewfinder unequalled by any other SLR. Magnificent quality. Lots of lenses. But always just out of reach and I have never actually owned one. I have owned a Mamiya 645J (controls operate the wrong way round for a Pentax or Nikon user), Rolleiflex 3.5F Planar (lovely shutter release, lack of versatility), Rolleiflex 2.8G Planar Helmut Newton Edition (stiff shutter release, lack of verstility), and a Russian SLR that last 12 shots before the shutter unwound and it shot no more. The one that lasted longest was a rather nice Pentax 645N, but it was always a merry dance deciding which camera to take with me and medium format ones are big.

Digital started with APS-C with our Pentax *istDS and then grew a little larger with our full frame Pentax K-1 and the quality is undoubtably superb, as it is with all the major manufacturers. However, there's always that Pentax 645Z, at achingly low prices.......and then I had in a Fuji GF 45-100mm f/4 zoom lens plus the glorious medium format body to go with it. Something else to tempt us with! There's no doubt that medium format has a certain something about it, a smoothness to the images, and if I spent most of my photographic time in the studio then I would not hesitate for a moment, either the Pentax or the Fuji would be in there with me. Anyway, the Fuji touched us for a moment and then was gone, but here's a few pictures and I can sit here and wistfully dream of medium format cameras.