Medium format photographers - use much 35mm film?

[rayonline_nz]

Just wondering those of you who use medium format, do you still shoot a decent amount of 35mm film?


Thanks.

 

[R.Gould]

I shoot both MF and 35mm, probably an equal amount of both, just depends on the mood I'm in and what I am shooting

 

[Ian Grant]

I shoot LF and MF and almost no 35mm film these days.

Ian

 

[craigclu]

I miss squeezing the 35mm format for what it's worth but it seems as I get older and when making the effort to be out shooting, I'm more apt to take MF gear with me. I acquired some high-end 35mm gear (Leica) a few years ago, thinking it would reinvigorate things but sadly, other than some vague testing, it tends to sit home. Pause..... Your post and my responding had me leave the keyboard and load up some 35mm for today. Maybe I was waiting for a little shove?!

 

[wiltw]

In general I have largely abandoned the 135 film format for medium format film. About the only time I pull out the 135 film kit is when I absolutely need the

• large max aperture lens selection (medium format max apertures are much slower), or
• I need to do architectural interior work with a tilt/shift lens, or
• the absolute smallest size of kit/components is desired.

 

[Kirks518]

I shoot about 5x more MF than 35mm.

 

[TheTrailTog]

I shoot pretty much 50/50 now. Most of my "adventures" involve ultralight fastpacking or trail running. For these, I'm 90/10 with 35mm/MF. The rest of the time it's 10/90.

 

[jspillane]

I should around 90% 120, 10% mixture of 35mm and 4x5.

But for my purposes, medium format really covers all bases. If I moved out of the city and was travelling by car with a tripod more, I suspect it might tilt more heavily towards 4x5.

 

[macfred]

90/10 with 120/135

 

[Sirius Glass]

Most of my work is MF. My serious work is MF, however if I am traveling and either need to keep the weight and volume down or I will not have time to carefully compose without slowing down the people that are with me, I use 35mm.

Actually very little of my work is 35mm now and that includes the WideLux F7 and the Tessina. May be two or three rolls a year.

 

[frank]

For colour and for convenience, it's mainly digital. If it's worth film, then it's worth medium format. I shoot 135 film not so much anymore, but when I do it's mainly to use those great old 135 cameras.

 

[MattKing]

My most recent camera purchase was 35mm.

Three of my last four cards in the APUG Postcard Exchange were shot on 35mm.

However, most of my most recent developed film is medium format.

I'm not sure I can reach a conclusion.

 

[frank]

You've heard of "lunch bag letdown"? Sometimes, 135 is film format letdown. (Geez I wish this image was on 120 film!)

 

[John Cee]

Sometimes LF, sometimes MF, sometimes 135, sometimes digital and then sometimes all of the above. Taken with a Pentax 67, 45mm lens using "Retrochrome ".

 

[Slixtiesix]

I stopped using it when I began using MF 10 years ago.

 

[Poisson Du Jour]

None since May. In September I commenced a phase-out of 35mm from my production; it was long ago superseded by medium format.

 

[Ron789]

I shoot MF and LF but mostly 35mm and I must say that the vast majority of my selected portfolio photo's are 35mm.

 

[grahamp]

The only 35mm camera I use with any frequency is a Horizont. But that is specialized. MF and LF win out for the vast majority of work. Partly this is due to visual limits using 35mm cameras, but even 645 format seems small...

 

[DWThomas]

I shoot very little 35mm since I got my Bronica SQ-A ten years ago .... And since then, my Perkeo II ... and my Yashica Mat 124G ... and my Ercona II ...
I have put a few rolls of 35mm through my Canon A-1 in recent years, and every year since 2006 I've put at least one roll through my Argus C3 on Argus day. But that's pretty much it. Aging eyes and the increased magnification necessary for 35mm enlargements over working from medium format results in higher likelihood of dust spots and such, which has tended to point me toward the larger formats.

 

[jk0592]

Maybe 1 or 2 35mm films per year, and they are 24 not 36 exposures.

 

[mooseontheloose]

I started shooting MF about 12 years ago and my output went from 90/10 in favour of 35mm to 90/10 in favour of 120 in a very short time frame. I usually shoot infrared (HIE) in 35mm, and I'll use that camera (usually my Nikon FE) for "other" films as well, which usually means colour, but otherwise everything else is B&W in MF. Over the last couple of years I've been trying to phase out 35mm so I can have more simplified set up, but after this past summer I've fallen for its charms again. There are just some things that I can't do with MF, especially in terms of the variety of focal lengths available to me in 35mm. I also appreciate not having to pack as much film for long trips if I bring my FE with me, and having more frames available to me in fast changing situations, like festivals.

 

[Terry Breedlove]

No I really don't shoot 35mm much at all anymore. I bring it with me on trips and that is about it. My photography really has become so focused and narrow now and my Hasselblad fills that role for the most part. Truth is I really do not take a shot unless I really feel it would make a great print. Now that doesn't always happen because so many times what I thought I saw just didn't come out as I thought it would. But since my shooting is so focused and kind of limited I tend to bring the medium format cameras hoping to make a great print. Also because I just love shooting the beautiful beast. I must confess i did just buy an Olympus PEN F digital camera. I bought it for the video and because it is small and I can pack it around with me and the Hasselblad.

 

[williaty]

I shoot 35mm in my Mamiya RZ67, does that count? I don't even have a 35mm camera anymore.

That makes up maybe 10 total rolls of 35mm this year in contrast to ~100 sheets of 4x5 and maybe ~125 rolls of 120.

 

[canvassy]

I shoot roughly 50 / 50 medium format and 35mm. For me, each format has its uses.

 

[Helinophoto]

I would guess 50/50.
The "problem" with 35mm is that each roll is 36 exposures. I rarely shoot a whole roll in one outing, so the rolls tend to sit longer in the camera, this again limits the use of each camera loaded with a certain kind of film. (It may be loaded with color, when I really want to shoot B&W for example).

Bulk has solved much of this issue though.

For travel, i tend to bring 35mm and a couple of rolls, at home i tend to shoot MF more.