Tag Archives: digital

Equipment

Mini Medium Format… or Not?

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A photographer and friend asked me for my thoughts on mini medium format, or “miniMF,” camera systems. I told her the answer was complex and that I’d write it up at the blog. Here it is!

I have attempted to include several things in the article: a bit of background regarding formats, some objective facts (“the numbers”) about them and their relationships, pluses and minuses of various options, my own current subjective thoughts on what this means to me, and a few alternative perspectives.

The evolution of digital medium format cameras has been among the most interesting photographic developments over the past few years. High MP backs from companies like Phase One and Leaf became the high-end standard for digital image making, and other companies have recently entered the market. The larger sensors may provide improved image quality in several ways: greater system resolution, greater pixel resolution, improved dynamic range, less noise, and more.

It wasn’t that long ago that digital formats larger than full frame were out of reach for nearly all photographers, with costs that were frequently many tens of thousands of dollars, often for only the digital back, which had to be attached to a medium format body.

However, in the last few years several manufacturers have driven down the cost of camera systems using larger-than-full-frame sensors, and now digital “medium format” (more on that term in a moment) bodies are available for less than $7000. A range of manufacturers are now in this market, including Fujifilm, Pentax, and Hasselblad.

When the costs of larger sensor bodies were in the mid-$20k and up (sometimes very up) range, few photographers using full frame DSLR or mirrorless cameras could realistically consider them as options. But the current $6500-$9000 price isn’t that much higher than the most expensive full frame bodies. At these prices the potential improvements in image quality are enough to make folks take a closer look, especially if they are photographers who produce large and high quality prints on a regular basis.

I began to pay attention when the miniMF Pentax 645d came out some years ago (though I was a bit disappointed to find out that the sensor wasn’t really “645” size), and my interest only increased as Pentax updated to the 645z and then as Fujifilm and Hasselblad brought out competing products. I thought a lot about the possible value of such systems for my photography, and I considered getting one. I haven’t done ao — though I won’t rule it out in the future — but I would like to share some of my musings about the choices. Continue reading Mini Medium Format… or Not? →

Equipment, Ideas

“DSLR Killer!” — Maybe and Maybe Not

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Sony, a company that has made innovative inroads in the camera market in the past few years, just announced its new Sony A9, yet another innovative product that continues the impressive progress of  mirrorless cameras. Some describe it as a “DSLR Killer.” I’m not so sure.  Some thoughts follow.

(Sit back. This isn’t going to be a short post! Hint: It isn’t anti-a9, though it isn’t exactly pro-a9 either.)

Sony a9
Sony A9 Digital Camera

First, some personal background and perspectives. I use both mirrorless and DSLR camera systems — a Canon system based around the 5DsR and a Fujifilm system based around the XPro2. I use both for serious photography. Either may be my first choice, depending upon my subject and other conditions, and each excels at some things and is less capable at others. All of this is my way of saying that I’m not “pro-DSLR” or “pro-mirrorless,” and that I’m fairly brand-agnostic. (My first digital cameras back in the pre-2000 “stone age” period were mirrorless!) There are a lot of great cameras coming from by a range of manufacturers today and choosing one brand over another makes little difference to one’s photography.

Fujifilm X-Pro2
Fujifilm X-Pro2

I’m convinced at this point that mirrorless cameras have the potential to become the predominant serious cameras eventually, and that they are already serious tools that can be the best choice in some situations. Their pluses, both current and potential, include the following: Continue reading “DSLR Killer!” — Maybe and Maybe Not →

Equipment

Comparing 33 x 44mm “miniMF” and 24 x 36mm Full Frame Sensors

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Comparing Full Frame and miniMF Sensors
Comparing full frame 24mm x 36mm and Fujifilm mini-MF 33.8mm x 43.8mm sensors

Starting a few years ago with cameras like the Pentax 645d and then 645z and continuing with new cameras from Hasselblad and Fujifilm, systems using  the “miniMF” 33mm x 44mm sensors have become more readily available and less expensive.

In preparation for writing something about the merits of the two types of systems I created this image that holds quite a bit of technical comparison data based on pixel counts (e.g. — “megapixels”), sensor size, and ways of comparing them.

For now I won’t try to analyze this too much, except to say that comparisons between the two formats are more complicated than you might think and they are somewhat subjective — it matters how you plan to use them. For example, do you prefer to use the 3:2 aspect ratio of full frame,  or the 4:3 ratio of miniMF, or will you adapt to whichever you are using? This chart shows you how that affects your comparisons.

NOTE: The graphic is a first attempt at including a lot of information in a single chart. It has some problems, especially with the numbers representing crop factor. I’ll update the image to correct the errors before long, and at that point I’ll use it in a more substantive post about comparing the formats.

© Copyright 2016 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

G Dan Mitchell is a California photographer and visual opportunist. His book, “California’s Fall Color: A Photographer’s Guide to Autumn in the Sierra” is available from Heyday Books and Amazon.
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Equipment, Reviews, Tests

A Small Test: Fujifilm X-Pro2 Mirrorless and Active Subjects

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I want to share the results of a little informal test I did today using my Fujifilm X-Pro2 (B&H | Adorama) mirrorless interchangeable lens camera and a Fujifilm zoom lens to photograph an active subject. First, here is an unremarkable photograph, aside from the fact that I would probably not have used my previous mirrorless camera to photograph this subject.

Fujifilm X-Pro2, ISO 400, f/8, 50-140mm lens at 140mm, handheld
Fujifilm X-Pro2, ISO 400, f/8, 50-140mm lens at 140mm, handheld

Read on to find out why I photographed this and what I learned from it.

Background

I first used a mirrorless digital camera way back before the 21st century began — before there were DSLRs there were a number of early digital cameras, and my first was an Apple QuickTake! I used several others from a range of manufacturers before I acquired my first DSLR in about 2003.

As a group, mirrorless cameras have had some problems. One of the most glaring has long been slow autofocus (AF) speeds. Those very early cameras were often just plain awful in this regard, but they got better over the years.

Until recently I used a Fujifilm X-E1 mirrorless interchangeable lens camera, and it was my primary camera for travel and street photography for about 3 1/2 years. Its AF was fine for most things, but I also had to learn to adapt to slow AF in low light and with low contrast subjects — and the issue was more acute with some lenses than with others. For this reason — and a few others, including electronic viewfinder (EVF) display latency — I would never have thought to use that camera for photograph active subjects. Continue reading A Small Test: Fujifilm X-Pro2 Mirrorless and Active Subjects →