benefits of medium and large format?

What are the chief benefits of medium- and large-format cameras

compared to SLRs? I'm sure that the ability to enlarge is a big

advantage. I've only used point-and-shoots and SLRs.

H Keith

This question has been well canvassed on photo.net. Here is a good article that covers the issues:

 

http://www.photo.net/equipment/what-camera-should-I-buy

 

If you click onto the Equipment tab you will find a lot of information to browse.

 

Regards, Ross

the big advantage most people think of in this kind of discussion is what might be

called "real estate". Simply put: a large negative yields a higher quality of image than

a smaller negative.

 

There are many other advantages mostly having to do with "seeing" a potential image,

control over an image and the processes by which it is made.

With large format film and cameras photographers tend to work more carefully, partly

because of the difficulty and expense involved; partly because you can see what is

really going on in the viewfinder (on he groundglass) more clearly.

 

Working with a a large format camera for a while can make you a better small format

photographer as it makes you more aware of more aspects of the image: exposure,

composition, framing, focus, timing, choice of point of view, etc.

<cite>What are the chief benefits of medium- and large-format cameras compared to SLRs?</cite>

<p>

By "SLR", you probably mean "35mm camera". I'll just point

out that SLRs come in many different film sizes.

Medium format SLRs are very common, and few

<a href="http://www.graflex.org/articles/series-d/">large format SLRs</a> have

been made up to 5x7 inches.

SLRs have also been made at least as small as 110 format.

<p>

As others have said, the main benefit of a larger format is bigger

film area. This means less enlargement is required for the same

size print, so there are significant advantages in

film grain, sharpness, and detail.

You might consider the price of enlargers and lenses for the format you decide to buy. I

have no idea of the quality of enlarger lenses available in the larger sizes. A poor quality

lens might wipe out the advantages of the larger negative. On the other hand you could

scan the negatives and print digitally. The best quality might come with a format size you

could contact print and not worry about enlarging or scanning quality problems. Hope this

helps, not just adds more confusion.

If you shoot black and white, a huge advantage with medium and large format is the vast improvement in tonal range you get with the larger negatives. The result is smoother tones which really gives a beautiful look in the photos that is heads above 35mm. This is probably the biggest reason I primarily shoot medium format these days.

Charles,

 

there's many excellent enlarging lenses available for both medium format and 4x5 enlargers. I use a 135mm Schneider Componon on my Omega D5, and it churns out excellent results. Another tip is that many of the larger Vivitar lenses (e.g. 135mm and 150mm) are actually made by Schneider-Kreuznach and Rodenstock, and are great lenses, and good deals can be had on these.

Most large format cameras have rise/fall, lateral shift, swings and tilts on both the front and rear standards. You can control perspective, and can also control your plane of focus. Also the bellows makes close-up photos easy. The lenses don't need individual focussing mounts either.