Hi – new member here from Melbourne Australia, happy new year to you all.
I’m looking at moving into medium format digital and need a few pointers as to where to begin with camera and digital back selection. Apologies for the length of this post!...
My photography mainly consists of landscapes, sea scapes, urban scenes, and a little architecture. I don’t sell my work or have any intention in doing so, this is just a hobby for me, but I do it with passion, am tragically a complete perfectionist (read: control freak) and far too critical of my own work!
I currently use a large format 4x10” view camera and love the process of setting up the shot, view camera movements, focussing, filtering and finally taking just one single click. I develop my own sheets of film, scan myself, and print on my Epson 3880 so everything is in house.
I also have a Fuji 6x9 rangefinder, and in the past have had a Cambo Wide 4x5” and a Horseman SW612 where I loved the slight-panoramic format.
Previously I shot 35mm digital, but found myself far too snap-happy, and would come back from a weekend away with over 400 photos, none of which particularly good – let alone print worthy. This is why I moved to large format film – to force me to slow down and take the time to really think and create an image rather than just take one. A weekend away now produces 6 shots, all of them with thinking and effort behind. The results have been good and my work this past year just gone has been my best so far.
However I want to look into medium format digital as it might offer a better flow of creativity for me. At times I feel reluctant to take the view camera due to its considerable bulk; I end up having to carry 3 bags with all the film holders, lenses, filters, camera, and not to mention lugging the tripod. I have travelled a little with the set-up but just wonder if there’s a better way of doing things.
I also feel quite self conscious when photographing. I don’t mind setting up a camera on the tripod and taking some shots – everyone does it these days – but when I’m standing there with my head under the focussing hood and taking 20 minutes to set up a shot in front of everyone I do feel a bit of an idiot!
The possibility of being able to hand-hold the camera would also be great. I loved using the Horseman SW612 hand-held and focusing hyperfocally.
So, I need a full system to replace what I have currently. I know and love the Contax 645 system as I have used one in the past, but with Digital Backs not being the full 6x4.5cm yet there is of course the crop-factor, and as the Contax is an SLR with a mirror box, perhaps it isn’t best suited to my style of photography with the emphasis on wide angle. Same goes for the Mamiya and Hassleblad systems.
With 4x10” I use 120mm and 210mm lenses, offering horizontal field of view of about 90 and 60 degrees respectively (I think).
What system of camera, lenses and digital back would achieve this?
Should I be looking at the technical cameras? Digital versions of the Horseman SW612 and the Cambo Wide cameras? They’re just metal frames really!
Horseman SW-DII Pro or a Cambo Wide RS? Some of the Alpa cameras are beautiful – but affordable??! Available used?! In Australia?!
I’d certainly need to be stitching images horizontally to make a wide-format image. The Horseman has about 17mm of shift available, so I guess it would be at least 3 shots with lots of overlap, and I would also have to pan the camera as well wouldn’t I? Am I going to have to stitch vertically as well as horizontally to get the resolution I am used to? I don’t want to shoot attached to a laptop either, it has to be an all-in-one back – ideally with a screen.
Many of my shots are long exposures, several minutes in some instances. Whilst this is sometimes due to shooting at such small apertures with slow film, I also do it for effect with water / waves etc. Does this make stitching particularly difficult in your opinion? I read also that some digital backs have issues with long exposures – which ones should I avoid? (probably more a question for the digital backs section)
With my 4x10” sheets of film I scan at 2400dpi which (ignoring film edges etc) gives me 9,600 x 24,000 pixels on a good day with perfect film, lens, steady tripod, decent scan etc. This doesn’t always happen but is a good indication of what I start of with. I print on an Epson 3880, so up to 17” on the shorter edge, requiring 5,100 pixels at 300dpi.
I’m not going to invest tens of thousands of dollars on a high-end digital back; like I say this is just a hobby for me. I’d start off with a used 22mp back from Phase One or something for around the $3k mark.
However the camera system must be forward compatible so that I can trade up to a newer/better back in future should the technology or my budget change.
I would hope that for well under $3k I could find a technical camera with movements, a wide angle lens, finder and compatibility with a major digital back manufacturer for forward compatibility. Film back compatibility a definite bonus!
Thanks for reading and I’d appreciate any suggestions or opinions.
Best
TMH