Building A Medium Format System
This article is not about camera brands
or which format to choose. As I've mentioned on other pages, brand and formats can only be decided
by each individual depending on their needs and what other equipment they currently own
and how much weight they are willing to carry. What I'm going to suggest here, is a list
of lenses and accessories for different types of photography. If your brand does not have
the exact focal lengths mentioned here, choose the closest available.
Portraits: 120mm to 165mm lenses. These are available in f-2.8 and f-3.5 versions. Faster models
allow more background control. If you want to own only one lens, go for the 165mm. 300mm
or 350mm optics are also excellent for portrait photography. Longer focal length allows
you to shoot from a distance for nice head and shoulder shots with soft out of focus
background. I'm not a great fan of soft focus lenses, but they are made by most
manufacturers and can be used for creating soft fantasy like effects. Soft focus lenses
can also be used like normal lenses by zeroing the dial. One or two medium size flashes
with flash brackets will provide fill-flash for removing shadows or illuminating the
background. Two photo floods with stands and reflectors will be enough to set up your own
studio. You should also have several backgrounds. Plain backgrounds are best, but you
should experiment with different types to decide which gives the best results for the type
of portrait you like to take. Lets not forget the most important accessory: a solid
tripod. You may want to add some special effect filters to your system. Diffusion,
center-clear, and color filter gels on flash heads are fun to experiment with. If you
shoot black and white films, try the following filters: No 8 yellow and No 15 yellow
filters lighten the skin tone. No 25 red greatly lightens the skin tone giving a smooth
appearance. No 47 blue darkens the skin and hair giving a smooth appearance.
Architectural: One wide angle and standard lens should be your first purchases. A 50mm wide angle (45mm
in 645 format) will cover most of your wide-view shots. You can skip the standard lens and
go for the 55mm (645), 65mm(6X6), 75mm(6X7) wide-angle which is equivalent to 35mm lens in
35mm format. This lens can be used as a standard lens as well. You should also seriously
consider a tilt/shift lens. With tilt/shift lenses you can photograph buildings and
include the top which would otherwise cause the verticals to converge with a regular
wide-angle lens pointed upward. A short telephoto of around 200mm should be added to your
system for shooting from a distance to photograph several buildings in one setting. Carry
a polarizing filter to remove reflection from glass and darkens the blue sky. Never take
pictures without a solid tripod and cable release.
Still-life: Your first lens should be a standard focal length. Although wide-angle lenses come in handy once in a while, standard and short telephotos are used more often. A good working pair are the standard and 150mm. Short telephotos are perfect for isolating the main subject in a setting. A pair of photo floods with reflectors and stands will provide your lighting, and a medium size flash can be used to remove shadows and correct color balance with day light films. You should also invest in some backgrounds. The only other things you'll need are a tripod, cable release, and a little imagination.
Landscape: You have several options. A two lens system would include 50mm (45mm in 645 format) and a short 150mm telephoto. A three lens system is better: 50mm (45mm in 645 format), 80mm (90mm or 105mm in 6X7 format), and a 200mm telephoto. This system allows you to shoot from wide-angle landscape to distant scenery. Another way to go is a 45mm and 65mm (55mm in 645 format) wide-angles plus a 200mm telephoto. A polarizing and ND graduated filters will help removing glare from vegetation and controlling difficult exposure. A tripod that can be lowered flat to the ground is the best for taking unusual views of landscapes. A tilt/shift lens is also worth considering for altering the plane of focus for sharper results, especially when including strong foregrounds. A medium size flash and cable release are your other necessities.
Wildlife and sports: 500mm is the main choice for wildlife and sports with medium format systems. You can get
by with 300mm lenses for some wildlife, but 500mm or longer lenses are required for
serious wildlife photography. A 1.4X or 2X teleconverter can give extra reach, but you'll
need ISO 400 or faster films. You can also use teleconverters with the less expensive
300mm lenses. Indoor sports can be photographed with 150mm or 200mm short telephotos.
You'll need a tripod than can support your longest lens attached to your camera. Carry
several film backs for faster film changes. A large powerful flash can help you in dim
light, but use it off camera on a flash bracket. Lens speed is limited. Buy the fastest
lenses you can afford. 500mm f-5.6 lenses cost much more than the f-8 versions, but the
extra one stop can make a lot of difference.
Close-ups: A macro lens is ideal. 80mm to 100mm macros give enough coverage for flower shots and some smaller subjects. Extension tubes can be added for extra reach. You can skip the macro lens and use a standard lens with extension tubes or bellows. A 200mm lens with extension is ideal for isolating flowers. Use a tripod with legs that can be spread for close to the ground shots. A small or medium size flash and flash brackets are used for small moving insects. +1 to +3 close up filters can also be used with any lens for closer approach, but you need very small f-stops to get clear corners.
Other accessories to consider are incident
light meters, extra film backs and inserts, bounce reflectors, 81B filter, second camera
body, winders, and monopod. You may need more or less than what I described here. Start
with minimum of equipment and add what you think will help you take the shots you want.
Book Description
Medium format cameras, which use a larger negative than
35mm cameras, are the tools of choice for most professional photographers.
In this guide, the techniques that make medium format photography so popular
with professionals are explained in language that even hobbyists can easily
understand. All aspects of medium format photography are explored, including
equipment selection, composition techniques, and the differences in images
produced by single lens reflex and twin lens reflex medium format cameras.
This is a great resource for beginners as well as those who wish to improve
their medium format photography.