Focusing Medium Format Cameras: A Quick Guide To Sharp Images

Medium format cameras are a type of camera that can be used for both analog and digital photography. They are often used by professional photographers for commercial, editorial, and landscape photography. Medium format cameras are known for their exceptional image quality, with high sharpness, resolution, and colour accuracy. They have a larger sensor size than small format cameras, which contributes to improved light gathering efficiency, signal-to-noise ratio, and dynamic range. The larger sensor size also results in a shallower depth of field, making focus critical. Medium format cameras offer cropping flexibility and provide more opportunities to experiment with depth of field. They are typically heavier and bulkier than small format cameras, making them less suitable for street photography and photojournalism.

Medium format cameras have a shallow depth of field, so focus is critical

• Understand the relationship between depth of field and aperture. A larger aperture will result in a shallower depth of field, so if you want more of your image to be in focus, you may need to stop down the aperture.
• Utilise the focus ring on the lens to fine-tune your focus. This is especially important in medium format photography, where the depth of field is shallow, and small adjustments can make a big difference.
• Use a small aperture with caution. While this will increase your depth of field, it can also create other issues such as diffraction, which can soften your image.
• Pay attention to your composition. The way you frame your subject and the distance between your camera and the subject will impact your depth of field.
• Consider using a metric scale attached to your camera rail or bed. This can help you make more precise adjustments to your focus, especially when working with shallow depths of field.
• Focus on your main subject and use radial filters or brushes in post-processing to enhance sharpness and clarity around it. This will create a stronger sense of focus and subject separation.
• Be mindful of your lens choice. Different lenses will have different effects on your depth of field. Wider apertures and longer focal lengths will result in a shallower depth of field.
• Practice and experiment! Medium format photography is an art, and the best way to master it is through trial and error. Try different techniques and find what works best for you and your style.

Medium format film has massive resolution, allowing for a lot of sharpening in post-production

Medium format film has a massive resolution, allowing for a lot of sharpening in post-production. The larger the film format, the more detail you can see. Medium format film starts at 6x4.5 cm, with the largest medium format sensors not even reaching that size.

The resolution of a 6x7 cm medium format film, paired with excellent lenses and scanned at over 6000 PPI, may outperform digital sensors. The higher the camera's resolution, the larger the prints can be while still retaining sharp details.

For example, a 6x7 cm medium format film, scanned at 3200 PPI, will be in the same ballpark regarding resolution as a 24 MP 24x36 mm sensor.

However, film captures are noisy, while digital is very smooth. Digital sensors can extract small tonal differences. With digital captures, sensor resolution is often the limiting factor, resulting in aliasing artifacts.

The best scans for medium format film are probably true drum scans, but this requires a good device and a skilled operator.

Medium format film comes in two types: 120 and 220

The 220 format was introduced in 1965 and is the same width as 120 film but with about double the length of film and, thus, twice the number of possible exposures per roll. Unlike 120 film, there is no backing paper behind the 220 film, just a leader and a trailer. This results in a longer film on the same spool, but there are no printed frame numbers. Because of this, 220 film cannot be used in cameras that rely on reading frame numbers through a red window. Also, since the film alone is thinner than a film with backing paper, a special pressure plate may be required to achieve optimal focus if the film is registered against its backside. Some cameras capable of using both 120 and 220 film will have a two-position adjustment of the pressure plate (e.g. the Pentax 6x7, Mamiya C220, or Mamiya C330), while others will require different film backs (e.g. the Pentax 645 or Kowa Six).

There are four basic types of medium format camera: Holga/Diana, Folding, Rangefinder, and Single Lens Reflex

Medium format cameras are a great way to capture images in a variety of formats, from 6×4.5 to 6×9cm, offering a significant increase in size compared to 35mm film. There are four basic types of medium format camera: Holga/Diana, Folding, Rangefinder, and Single Lens Reflex.

The Holga/Diana cameras are known for their low-fidelity aesthetic and their ability to produce surrealistic and impressionistic images. These cameras often have light leaks and other distortions, which are embraced by photographers who value creativity and innovation over precision. The Holga 120N, for example, is an all-plastic 6x6cm 120 film viewfinder camera with basic focus controls and limited exposure settings. Its simplicity and unpredictability have earned it a cult following among artists.

Folding cameras, such as the Fuji GS645 Professional Series, offer a lightweight and compact design with a bellows system for focusing. These cameras are easy to transport and provide a unique way to capture images with a medium format camera.

Rangefinder cameras, like the Koni-Omega Rapid Series, feature a rangefinder patch in the middle of the viewfinder to help determine focus. They are known for their quiet operation and lack of viewfinder blackout, making them ideal for street photography. The Koni-Omega Rapid cameras are particularly fluid in use and lightweight compared to other medium format options.

Single Lens Reflex (SLR) cameras provide a wide range of options and are known for their system cost, availability, and quality. The Mamiya 645 Series, for instance, offers interchangeable focusing screens and a variety of lenses to choose from. The Pentax 6×7 is another excellent option, resembling a massive 35mm SLR in its form factor.

Each type of medium format camera has its own unique characteristics and advantages, allowing photographers to choose the one that best suits their creative needs and preferences.

Medium format cameras produce square images, which have the benefit of not needing to be flipped vertically

Medium format cameras are known for their exceptional image quality, which is largely due to the larger film negative sizes they use, including 6x4.5 cm, 6x6 cm, 6x7 cm, and even 6x9. This results in images with more detail, dynamic range, and color depth.

Medium format cameras produce square images in the 6x6 cm format, which is one of the standard negative sizes for this type of camera. The square format has a unique look that many photographers find appealing, and it can be particularly well-suited to certain types of photography, such as portraits and still lifes.

One of the benefits of shooting square images with a medium format camera is that you don't need to worry about flipping them vertically. This is because the square format is inherently symmetrical, so the image will look the same whether it is viewed upright or upside down. This can be especially useful when you're shooting in situations where it may not be immediately obvious which way is "up," such as in a busy street scene or a complex still life setup.

In addition, the square format can also be helpful when you're composing your images. The 1:1 aspect ratio provides a constrained frame that can help you focus on balancing the elements within it, and it can be particularly well-suited to composing images with strong symmetry or repeating patterns.

Overall, the square images produced by medium format cameras offer a unique set of advantages that can be leveraged to create compelling and distinctive photographs.

Frequently asked questions