Is digital medium format ever going to be realistic for amateurs?

[david_henderson]

<blockquote>

<p><em>"high end scanning - which costs more than the back"</em></p>

</blockquote>

<p>Well it does if you scan every frame you take, and thats for sure. But that isn't the way I'd do it. I wouldn't buy a drum or Imacon or indeed any film scan for anything that I wasn't going to print, which is a tiny proportion of what I shoot. If I want to put an image on a website or send it to somone on a DVD, I'll scan it quickly on a £300 flatbed. </p>

<p>And even if costs were on par, The sensor would need to be big enough to permit real wide -angle photography.</p>

<p> </p>

[jay_moynihan]

<p>I would doubt there will be a medium format digital back/camera that will generally affordable to amateurs.<br>

The reason for my brash prediction is as follows.<br />Given the interests of younger folks in the area of imaging, the future "amateur " trend will probably be towards digital video, with high-quality still capability. Market/economics-wise, that will push the affordability of large sensor still imaging devices even farther away, despite tech advances/cost drops, etc. <br /><br />For example, Nikon recently said that 80% plus of their DSLR market was D40/40x/60/80/90. As youth affinity for video deepens, and they move up the age demographic, even the standard DSLR will become even more of a niche product in the future.</p>

[deepak_francis_padamadan]

<p>Lenses have a much longer life cycle than bodies. In the same token the MF camera lenses are just as affordable to amateurs as hi-end DSLR lenses. The MF bodies appear to be cheaper second hand and much more affordable to an amateur. So the question really is how cheap will the digital backs get?</p>

<p>Answer is quite simple. It is an electronic component that depreciates quite fast! They will be very cheap in 10 years time. Indeed. In fact, the digital backs WILL BE THE CHEAPEST COMPONENT of the entire MF camera set-up in 10 years time. </p>

<p>About Jay Moynihan's comment: I think is way off mark in my personalopinion. The MF camera market will INCREASE! The market for 4K Videography will increase too. The distinction between still photography and video is already blurred. Most new DSLR cameras make brilliant videos. In future Medium Format cameras will make hi end 6k and 8k videos too!</p>

<p>Our only limit at the moment is Display panels and Television screens being stuck in 2k resolution range (1920 by 1680). Current HD format will be obsolete as bigger television screens and projectors adorn our living rooms. At that time there will be a surge in demand for GOOD LENSES and high resolution images and videos in 8k range UHDTV2 (7680x4320 or 8K). Large sensors will be democratised and cheap. I predict panels as large as 10 feet by 10 feet adorning one side of our living room wall within 15 years. </p>