Too late for medium format?

[ggriswold]

I would get a super clean 500 series Hasselblad and the lenses that work for you and don't look back. By the time they stop making film easy to get/ process MF digital backs will be less than they are now. In the meantime you will get images that really hold up in many ways.

[John Crowe]

I suggest going with used equipment to really save money and if it does not turn out to interest you then you can sell it at no loss. It should satisfy you though! You will not believe the difference over 35mm film. As long as Velvia is made in 120 format it will really be worthwhile for stunning results. The format does make you slow down and work carefully to achieve the best results. Good luck!

[thomas_wilson1]

I thought Canada was a developing country...

[john_h.1]

"I am a sharpness freak so I use the best equipment I can afford (prime lenses etc)."

 

I heard those new fangled digital cameras can use primes leses now.

[jnpoulos]

For what its work, I shoot both digital (Nikon D200) and MF (Mamiya 7ii). They both serve their purposes. For ease and convenience, I shoot digital. For large reproductions, I shoot MF. I am in the market to buy another camera, and I have decided to go with either the Mamiya rz67 pro IID or Hassy 503CW. This way, I can continue to shoot film when needed and later on, I will be able to add a back. After some research, I will probably lean to the Hassy 503. Personally, I love film, specially its look when printed 16 x 20. I live close to NYC, but I have decided to process my own film at home. Caqll me nuts, but I really enjoy processing the film. It is quick and easy.

[archie]

Might be wrong on this, but seems to me prices of MF have actually gone up. If my observation is correct, get one now,

[randall_pukalo]

Hell No its not to late!!! Medium Format is actually undergoing a revival, with lots of folks who got into digital, never shot film, and are now in search of greater resolution, better colors, etc.

 

Also, you can get your 120 or 220 film processed by Fuji Labs thru any Walmart. Just mark the Special Requests section of the send out film envelope with 220 E-6 Slide Film, 2 Week Special Service, etc. and you will get back beautiful, pro lab quality results for a GREAT price (120/220 slide for $3.88/$4.88 or 120 print film, 16 3x5 or 3x3 prints for $1.80 !). The slides come back in a plastic protective sleeve, and I use the prints as proofs for what I want to enlarge.

 

Get your Hasslebald and never look back, you wont regret it!

[Ian Taylor]

<i>"seems to me prices of MF have actually gone up"</i>

<p>

I just sold off all my MF stuff. (645N + 4 lenses) Actually the prices have fallen to basically nothing. Luckily I got a deal on the stuff when I bought it all used in 2004.

<p>

It's not too late to get into collodion emulsions either. If you are into the process, shoot film.

[CPT Jones]

There's nothing like looking at chrome on a lightbox shot with MF. I love it and don't think there is a wrong time to get a MF camera system.

[cheryl_malone]

Too late...absolutely not. After wanting a Hasselblad for almost 15 years but not being able to afford one, I finally was able to buy a Hasselblad with lens at a fraction of what it would have sold for several years ago. Of course, it is used, but I only buy used cameras and equipment from EP Levine's in Boston, a trusted dealer.

[DB_Gallery]

This year I bought:

 

2 Hasselblad 500 C/M's. 5-12 exposure backs. 1-24 exposure back. CF 50mm F/4 FLE, CF 80mm 2.8, CF 100mm 3.5

and CF 180mm F/4, two extension tubes.

 

I have hundreds of rolls of black and white film, I shoot E-6 and run it with my Kodachrome at Dwayne's. I am rarely in a

hurry for the E-6 so it is fine. I do all my own black and white.

 

To late? Not even close....

[j_sevigny]

I live in a small town in Mexico and I can still get Fuji 160 whatever you call it. If I take a 2-hour trip to the nearest big city, I can get a much wider array of medium format emulsions. I don't think medium format film is going to disappear anytime soon.

 

John

[hclim]

It is still possible to find 120 film in cities in China, Laos and Thailand and they have processing as well. But they may stock just one or two film types and I do not have the confidence in their processing quality. So, I end up hand carrying film there for shooting and back for processing.

[gt1]

This year I've bought 5 6x7 cameras, including one brand new. And next year we'll hopefully have a new med format film camera from Fuji. So, personally, I don't think it's too late. I develop my own B&W and I have a reasonable local lab for color.

[zachk1]

Here in Israel you can get 120 format slide film at a few of the pro or high end shops. Can't speak for other places but it can be found. And B&H/Adorama will aways ship anywhere you want.

[joshua_mortel]

I always wanted to shoot medium format, but never did. I just recently picked up a Mamiya C220 off ebay for $130. Went to Ritz and got a roll of 100 Tmax --the very last roll of anything 120 in stock. Came in the next week to have my film developed --they said it'll take 2-3 weeks because they have to send it out to a lab. Okay. Still waiting for my prints, but shooting with a TLR is a lot of fun! If you have the time to carefully plan a shoot and have the time to wait for your prints then I say go for it.

[ansel_ho]

Etaf, go for it if you like film!!

I still use film all the time, even I have a digital slr. Film gives me different feeling which digital can't. I use films for all of my location/studio works...and carry 100+ rolls of film to different places. One thing you have to know if you take 100+ films to other countries...the Customs will open/check it one by one, especially in SouthEast Asia.

 

Good luck and have fun..!!

[lilserenity]

Not at all,

 

At the moment I can buy 120 format film about 1/4 mile from my front door, anything Kodak, Fuji or Ilford they almost always have in stock.

 

Development is a bit tricker, I shoot a lot of 35mm b&w and develop that at home but 120 I'm not yet equipped for but will be soon. As for colour, I do have to send that off to a lab but it's not too bad in terms of economics as with a MF camera you are not very likely to be shooting the thing like a machine gun, it's a much more considered, slower process in general so those 10/12/15 frames will be well spent in many cases.

 

I picked up a Mamiya C330F with an 80mm lens, a 55mm lens and a Cokin A adapter just for the TLR for a paltry £150 with 12 month warranty. The results have blown me away!

 

Go for it and enjoy it!

[kari v]

You can find film, chems, processing and paper even in Finland. No, we're not a developing country but population of 5,3 million doesn't really help when something starts to lose general interest. Film still lives and there's always Germany close by for bulk orders. Ok, slide developing takes a week but otherwise I'm all good.

 

For b&w work I bought 135-120 enlarger, Leica and Rodenstock lenses and 30kg (66lbs) of various size papers for 200 euros. With my slowish shooting habits I'm set for some time. Money spent + image quality + fun = can't lose.

[jamie_robertson2]

I am a UK online photographic accessory retailer. I sell loads of film equipment, especially to Italy and Eastern

Europe so film is still going strong in Europe. There are huge stocks of film in the UK.

 

I agree with others that now is the perfect time to buy medium format gear. Stuff that cost 1,000s years ago can be

had for next to nothing now. Even if you don't like it you'll get what you paid for it on eBay.

 

Personally, film is not for me but I can see why people enjoy it and good luck to you all. To be truthful, I wish digital

cameras hadn't been invented at all. There was something magical about film that I can never describe. However,

now digital is here I can't justify not using it... the results are so good and so instant. (New 5D MkII on order ;-) )

[pankaj purohit]

I am a 35mm film shooter and I also think sometimes to get a MF system, but as we all know, finding and developing MF films is realy harder that 35mm, so I am still in confusion to make any decision about MFs.

 

Digitals are very good nowadays in terms of resolution but very-very expensive.

 

I am also considering to get a digital body of my lens brand after some years, but it would only happen if I get any trouble in getting my 35mm films or trouble in developing those.

[peter clark]

Not to late and I cant see the time when film is not available....

[john clark]

I really want to go back to MF, but I'm worried it would just end up sitting on a shelf, gathering dust...

 

However, a 'user' Hassie or Bronica and a single lens, couple of backs with a good B&W film, I could see myself enjoying that process... especially as my wife brought home some freebies from her work (Beard easels, enlarger lenses, and we had to turn down a 5x4 enlarger due to not having enough space!) as they're scaling down their lab (usual story wrt. digital)....

 

Tempting, very tempting...

[gerber_van_der_graaf]

I think this is the right moment to start with MF when you are a photographer who loves film. Prices of equipment

are very low now. Last year I bought a Rolleiflex 6008 Integral and three lenses (50, 80 and 150mm) for very

reasonable prices. In Spain, I even can't get 135 slide film anymore from the local shops in the small, remote,

town where I am living, But going to professional shops in Barcelona (1 hour driving) there is always 135 and MF

film in stock. Prices for developing of MF slides by a large laboratory here increased from EU 6 to EU 17, takes

almost two weeks and I got the slides back dirty and wrongly packed in the plastic sleeves. So now I am

developing my slides by myself. It is not difficult and the slides look beautifull without any colour cast. But

you will have to invest in a good (drum) processor, like the JOBO CPP2 for maintaining accurate temperatures.

Besides, it is fun to have full controll over the entire process for getting your slides.

[jamie_robertson2]

Here's another thought. Why not buy a couple of hundred rolls of 120 from a discount supplier and stick the whole lot in the freezer? Film keeps virtually indefinitely in the freezer no matter what the expiry date says. Black and white film especially lasts until the end of time. If you do end up ditching MF in the future, the film in your freezer will be worth more than you paid for it because it will be even more scarce. Stick it on eBay and you're into profit. Also, remember you don't need a whole heap of processing companies either... you just need one.