Spring arrives today at 8:46 AM MDT. For those of us in the Northern Hemisphere, this is marked by the arrival of the spring equinox. After the spring equinox, the amount of daylight each day will continue to increase until the summer solstice (in June), when the longest period of daylight occurs.
Today’s Post by Joe Farace
What’s so medium about medium format?—Joe Farace
In a previous Film Friday post I talked about all of the advantages I found when shooting film and most of them, such as surprise, travel, and time, can also apply to medium format film photography as well, only more so. To which I would like to add the concepts of a slower pace and working speed, the deliberateness that medium format enforces or maybe reinforces is a better choice of words, that can also improve your photography at the same time.
Medium, Schmedium
Chances are any medium format film camera you decide to purchase may not have a built-in light meter, although some cameras offer that feature maybe built-in or as an optional meter prism. Twin lens reflex cameras such as the Yashica 124 and Yashica 124G, for example, feature a coupled match-needle exposure meter. Both of these models use the now-discontinued 1.3v mercury cells but substitutes and adapters are available at affordable prices to give the meters new, working life.
Batteries and battery life are an important consideration when purchasing any old film camera. For myself, I always check with Butkus Camera Manual Library (1997-2026) to see what kind of battery the camera uses and then check Batteries Plus to see if it’s still available. This is something I strongly recommend that anybody shopping for any kind of film camera should do before clicking the BUY button on eBay or whatever.
How I made this photograph: One of my favorite subjects are the historic building that are located in Denver’s lower downtown (LoDo) where there are wonderful examples of architecture, making them a natural for films like Kodak Ektar’s sharpness bring out detail and ability to pump up the color. This image was captured with a Pentax 6×7 and 75 f/4.5 SMC lens with an exposure of 1/125 sec at f/11.
That’s why when shooting photographs with a medium format film camera you may need to use a hand-held light meter that some people, like my friend Cliff Lawson, prefer even when using cameras with built in meters or automation. Using a hand held meter adds the extra step of transferring those settings to the camera that, in turn, adds to the whole aspect of pace that a medium format camera enforces. Before tripping the shutter you should also be able to hold the camera steady—there’s no IBIS here—or maybe use a tripod. Some medium format cameras, while only moderately heavy, can be a challenge to physically hold because of their physical shape and less-than-ergonomic designs which may be why so many of them are seen tripod-mounted. For the photographer the payoff is the big negative and its crystal clear images.
Medium format is not without other drawbacks, the major one being cost. And I’m not just talking about the cost of film, processing and maybe scanning. Even inexpensive cameras like my Seagull TLR* in nice condition are selling for $200 or more on eBay and I rarely see a gold trimmed anniversary, like mine, for sale. I recently saw a broken Hasselblad 500CM that was useful only for parts selling on eBay for almost a thousand bucks. Even those aforementioned Yashica TLRs can be expensive. And don’t even get me started on Mamiya 645’s that used to be the bargain leader for a good medium format camera. No bargains; no more.
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