Archived posting to the Leica Users Group, 1999/08/13
[Author Prev] [Author Next] [Thread Prev] [Thread Next] [Author Index] [Topic Index] [Home] [Search]My first experience with medium format was viewing a slide show my neighbor presented on his trip to the boundary waters area in northern Minnesota. He rented a Minolta Autocord camera for the trip, and presented the slides with a rented 21/4 slide projector. The first slide caused eye pain. It was extremely bright, and the sharpness was better than 35, but not significantly better. I was not impressed with the contrast of the slides either. Even so, it was apparent to me that a larger slide results in a brighter picture (only 1/2 magnification that a 35mm slide requires). I also felt that with a top notch medium format camera, such as a Hasselblad, and projection lenses, that 35mm could not compete with medium format. What would a 4X5 slide be like?!!!! Another factor is that the best Zeiss glass equals the resolution of the Leica lenses at their respective best apertures. My brother tested his 35mm Summicron-M lens against his 80mm Planar for his Hasselblad, and got essentially equal results. They both resolved over 80 l/mm over most of the field. Since the Hasselblad negative or slide has to be magnified for only half that for a Leica, the respective resolution for equal sized prints is twice as high for the medium format. Granted, that for prints that are magnified to an extent that grain is not a factor, one would be hard pressed to determine the difference between the two. His larger prints, which are made with a Leitz Focomat IIC enlarger with Leica Focomat lenses, provide uncontestable proof that bigger is better. However, I have not been converted to medium format. My feeling is that for my purposes, 35mm is fine, and much less expensive, and medium format is still a roll film world. My next step is to 4X5, with which I can shoot sheet film, Polaroid, and roll film, if I desire, and have all the advantages of large format photography where grain is not a problem, and I can use swings and tilts and rises.