The two machines are relatively small and more affordable than actual camera plus separated back offers, at prices not much higher than the actual Canon 1Ds Mark II. Mamiya effectively shipped the camera in March of 2006, and Pentax is expected to do the same at the Photokina trade show in September of 2006. Mamiya was the first in announcing one such device, in September of 2004, but Pentax did as well in June of 2005, with a previewof the prototypes at the PMA trade show in February of 2006. The prices are high though, far higher than a complete system based on Canon full-frame gear, for instance.Ī new trend is slowly emerging: all digital integrated medium format cameras at more aggressive prices. Hasselblad is trying to reduce the gap between both devices and the actual integration of the H camera and Imacon backs is far better than any other pair of camera-and-back (including their own Hasselblad H with a back from other manufacturer, like Sinar, Capture One or Leaf). Hasselblad is the strongest innovator in the digital medium format market, with a new system of cameras and lenses (the H system) specifically designed for working with film and digital capture and, therefore, based on a body-and-back concept. Actually, only a few of the medium format manufacturers continue in business, making cameras that accept digital backs. Until now, there are more exits than entries. For this reason, many professional photographers (and aficionados, for different reasons) are continuously reevaluating the medium format offerings on the market. Sometimes big guns are required for a particular assignment, or we are wealthy enough to aspire to maximum image quality without compromise (and, in passing, to the envy of anyone with smaller cameras). As the prices of full frame 35mm cameras continue to go down, and the specification of these cameras continue to improve, medium format systems will be more and more challenged. Slowly, but restless, the 35mm format is gaining momentum in the very profitable market of wealthy aficionadosand artists. Several medium format manufacturers have abandoned the market, unable to compete in the digital age. Full frame 35mm cameras offer quality comparable to that of the film based medium format systems (645 and 6×6), allowing for a complete gamut of cameras based on the same mount, and saving a lot of money. The cameras are not cheap, but compared with the medium format digital backs they are a bargain. Many photographers adopted instead versatile systems based on 35mm cameras, and many of then switched to Canon, abandoning Nikon and other brands and medium format systems (Hasselblad, Rollei, Mamiya, Pentax, Fuji…), when the full frame 35mm sensors where available. Medium format systems became too expensive, due to the high prices of digital backs. The digital revolution radically changed this status quo. This multiplicity of incompatible but complementary systems was not irrational. Then, a Nikon 35mm set of cameras and lenses and a medium format (645 or 6×6) system was the typical equipment for fashion or advertising photography in studio. At this moment, very few alternative reviews are available on the Internet.Ī diversity of systems cohabitated in the studios of professional photographers during the film days. Another interesting reading was also publishedhere by Michael Reichmannhimself. In this article we will provide additional insights to those found in a previous reviewon this site, written by Eduard de Kam. While I have attempted to correct some of the more obvious linguistic difference, doing more than that would have resulted in a complete re-write, which would have substantially changed the flavour of the original. Editors Note:English is not the native language of this article’s authors.
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