MF a dying breed?

clogz · Apr 30, 2003

Yesterday in downtown Rotterdam I decided to continue my hunt for the four-bladed easel. I went to one of the two pro shops and noticed that things had changed: hardly any cameras at all on display. After introducing myself as being an amateur ( I love this game!) to one of the sales staff the bloke got a bit toffee nosed and told me with some relish that new management policy was to sell to pro photographers only and any analogue items were to be phased out. So I left this House of Disdain.

The second shop: staff are ususally cheerful there and service is excellent. They told me they were going to move to the suburbs within a month. My remark that this was the big chance to go all digital was met with a hopeful denial. On the contrary: as sales for B&W materials were going up they had decided to have the full range of Agfa, Ilford etc in stock as the new premises has a lot more space.

Conclusion: photo pro land will show a separation of the minds. There's going to be either digilemmings or undogmatic people with an eye for the (niche) market. If we all support the latter it is all going to be fine.

Still no four bladed easel though.

Hans

Aggie · Apr 30, 2003

Robert · Apr 30, 2003

</span><table border='0' align='center' width='95%' cellpadding='3' cellspacing='1'><tr><td>QUOTE (clogz @ Apr 30 2003, 12:38 AM)</td></tr><tr><td id='QUOTE'>

Conclusion: photo pro land will show a separation of the minds. There's going to be either digilemmings or undogmatic people with an eye for the (niche) market. If we all support the latter it is all going to be fine.
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I think this is right. We'll see some drop out of the business. That will give the remainder more business and they will then look at more products then in the past.

bkantelis · Jun 13, 2003

MF is not dead, you should consider the split however. The bulk of photos are snapshots. In that world digital will rule, in volume commercial photography digital is also the way to go. However for fine art photography for example, film will always have a place. As to MF, there is a certain disciplne with this format that can really help improve your skills. I always encouraged my students to get a Yashica MAT124 or Rollieflex. The fixed lens MF really changed their work for the better. Of course it is not a one size fits all, but it clearly puts the focus on the image and the message.
Regards,
Bruce

SteveGangi · Jun 13, 2003

I have a Yashica 12, an older version if you will of the MAT 124G. I still kick myself for selling the 124G. One good thing about a fixed lens, especially for students is, it removes one more distraction. Let's just agree not to talk about my backpack full of Canon FD lenses (wink wink).

benjiboy · Aug 6, 2016

Where did this thread come from nobody has posted on it for thirteen years ?.

moto-uno · Aug 6, 2016

Interesting , but in a rather historical sense . Peter

Moopheus · Aug 6, 2016

Yeah, arguing about the relative capacity of cdr disks seems pretty quaint now. And now pretty much all of the pro-grade MF cameras are out of production. Digital laid waste to that market in the end. And yet here we are, film is still available. I just bought my first 'blad too. It's 25 years old, but it still works okay. Enjoy it while I can, that's the only choice, really.

David A. Goldfarb · Aug 6, 2016

Always good to see old threads resurrected. Maybe it's a sign that MF is rising from the grave, an army of zombies with 'Blads and Rolleiflexes around their necks. I'm usually carrying the 2x3" Technika myself these days, sometimes with rollfilm, sometimes with sheet film.

Kawaiithulhu · Aug 6, 2016

MF can't be dying, I just bought an enlarger for it

Helinophoto · Aug 6, 2016

I have no idea about the ratio of 120 films vs 35mm films sold per year, but I can tell you that someone are buying loads of medium-format stuff from eBay and Keh and Lomo has even made a few for the weird-crowd.

So if anything, I would believe 120 is doing as good as, or better than, 35mm.

cramej · Aug 6, 2016

What I find fascinating is that there are so many more new LF cameras still in production than MF. Though, to the manufacturer's credit, in general LF cameras are not exactly complex pieces of machinery.

Moopheus · Aug 6, 2016

It's probably easier for a company like Chamonix to operate at a scale, unit-sales-wise, that would be completely untenable for say Mamiya or Hasselblad. Not only can they do more small-scale hand manufacturing, but they don't have to provide as much of the ecosystem--lenses, film backs, and so on--that an MF system camera user would be depending on.

TooManyShots · Aug 6, 2016

Thread dated 2003....the big D was still in its infancy..or just passed its puberty. Film was still relevant to those who are really serious about photography...

spacer · Aug 6, 2016

I started out thinking "What??? 2003???", but kept reading. It is interesting to see how attitudes and tech has changed through the lens of "now". And, I'm happy to still see MF film for sale...

farmersteve · Aug 6, 2016

All those hipster have to use MF film in their Holgas so I don't think it's going anywhere!

trondsi · Aug 7, 2016

Maybe it's just me, but I think medium format looks extraordinarily good on film specifically. Maybe it's just because I have two very nice Rolleiflex cameras, but my friends are always very impressed with the picture quality (Im not a pro).

Andrew O'Neill · Aug 7, 2016

It's not dying for me. I'm mainly an 8x10 shooter, but I always bring along my RB67. I just shot 3 rolls today... two in the RB, and one in a Brownie Hawkeye.

Alan Gales · Aug 7, 2016

Medium format film is still alive.

What's funny is some digital cameras are dying. As cell phones get better, the demand for inexpensive amateur digital cameras goes down. For most people a cell phone is all they need. You don't need much to take selfies for Facebook or pictures of your plate of food!

spacer · Aug 7, 2016

I can see the market polarizing somewhat. The market for entry-level dSLRs won't entirely go away so long as folks looking to get into "serious" photography without spending high-end money up front (and haven't thought too hard about trying film).... and people who like the aura of "pro-dom" one gives them.
At any school function, you'll see them, parents peppering the audience with their Nikon, Canon, etc. dSLRs, proudly showing them off to show how "serious" they are, yet never taking them out of "A" mode, and blinding the kids on stage with every pop of the flash.
Then some eventually get around to asking me why all they have are photos of washed out heads and a dark stage.

It's hard not to tell 'em to sell the camera and just use their cellphone like all the other non-photographic parents.

pentaxuser · Aug 7, 2016

benjiboy said:
Where did this thread come from nobody has posted on it for thirteen years ?.

True but the good news is that the breed has lasted another 13 years since the thread was started and is still not extinct

pentaxuser

Sirius Glass · Aug 7, 2016

I do my serious work in medium format.

Alan Gales · Aug 7, 2016

spacer said:
I can see the market polarizing somewhat. The market for entry-level dSLRs won't entirely go away so long as folks looking to get into "serious" photography without spending high-end money up front (and haven't thought too hard about trying film).... and people who like the aura of "pro-dom" one gives them.
At any school function, you'll see them, parents peppering the audience with their Nikon, Canon, etc. dSLRs, proudly showing them off to show how "serious" they are, yet never taking them out of "A" mode, and blinding the kids on stage with every pop of the flash.
Then some eventually get around to asking me why all they have are photos of washed out heads and a dark stage.

It's hard not to tell 'em to sell the camera and just use their cellphone like all the other non-photographic parents.

A few years ago right after the Canon FD Mark ll came out I saw a parent taking pictures of his daughter at a High School softball game with his. He had several zoom lenses for it. I asked him how his 8x10's looked taken with the camera. He said he didn't know. He would never blow up a picture that big.

frank · Aug 7, 2016

Digital has pretty much taken over 35mm and 120 colour. Yes I know there are some still using colour film in those sizes, but the number is greatly reduced. In B+W, film still seems to hold an edge over digital, but evenually I think digital will take over 35mm film as well (as colour.) 120 B+W is hard to beat. It's the sweet spot between quality and convenience for me.

TheFlyingCamera · Aug 7, 2016

I got a real chuckle out of reading back through this thread and seeing a reference to a digital back for 8x10. Digital has pretty much topped out at ersatz medium format (aka slightly bigger than 35mm full frame).

MF a dying breed?

clogz

Aggie

Robert

bkantelis

SteveGangi

benjiboy

moto-uno

Moopheus

David A. Goldfarb

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Kawaiithulhu

Helinophoto

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Moopheus

TooManyShots

spacer

farmersteve

trondsi

Andrew O'Neill

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Alan Gales

spacer

pentaxuser

Sirius Glass

Alan Gales

frank

TheFlyingCamera

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