Pro Talk: Does Size Matter? Medium format digital vs. DSLRs

Pro Talk: Does Size Matter? Medium format digital vs. DSLRs
via: Outdoor Photographer

(© Ian Plant) I recently got a question from a reader: does it make sense for the aspiring landscape photographer to use a medium format camera system? Back in the old days of film, most serious landscape shooters used medium or large format cameras (the notable exceptions to this were nature generalists who shot a mix of wildlife, macro, and landscape subjects). In fact, medium format wasn’t really all that popular with landscape photographers—4×5 and 8×10 cameras were all the rage. I used a 4×5 field camera for years, along with a “backup” medium format camera for working in fast changing light, before making the switch to a 35mm format DSLR almost ten years ago.

Scenes with a lot of detail could certainly benefit from the extra-large sensor size offered by medium format digital systems—but is the juice worth the squeeze? “Faerie Grove”—Olympic National Park, USA. Canon EOS 5D Mark III Digital Camera, Canon EF 16-35mm f/2.8L II, polarizer filter, ISO 100, f/11, 0.3 seconds.

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