If you’re into retro digital cameras, then you might want to consider the super-high-end options: medium format DSLRs. They’re pricey still — but nothing like what they were when they first launched. And if you were to go for any retro DSLR these days for the ultimate image quality, we’d tell you to go for those. Why? Well, by today’s standards, you’ve got a combination of low resolution, beautiful colors, and a large sensor to give you a look that’s otherwise hard to get with full-frame cameras even from back then. Typically, folks who’ve wanted medium format cameras have reached for higher resolution camera bodies. But there’s good reason to go for a lower resolution one that’s much older. If this sounds crazy, then let’s just say that it’s a vibe.
Why Go For Medium Format?
So here, there’s an obvious thing that everyone is missing here:
- A bigger sensor which gives you a look that you can’t get with full-frame
- The bigger sensor isn’t high resolution by today’s standards; so it’s the best of two different worlds
- The colors are something very special. Some of those sensors were made by Kodak while others were made by Sony
- The lenses are designed to not render images to be super insanely sharp by today’s standards
- Today’s image quality algorithms aren’t a part of the camera’s output. Instead, this is some of the most organic that you’ll find. Noise reduction, HDR features, etc. probably aren’t even found in many of those cameras.
With all that said, we encourage you to look for medium format DSLRs that are at least 10 years old at this point. And if you’ve got a camera like the Hasselblad 501CM or 501C, then you can find those older camera backs and attach them to the older film cameras. In today’s world, that proves to be a very fun experience that is completely unlike anything else. You’re forced to manually focus and to get an image that you’d otherwise not have a lot of machine help to get. It really tests the limit of your critical thinking. So if you’re one of those people whose becoming more reliant on AI and you’re losing your critical thinking, then you will probably hate this. In fact, lots of photographers who demand that their cameras and lenses have autofocus might hate this. But if you’re into the idea of slowing down and understand that it’s still the photographer who makes the image and not the camera, then you’ll love this process.
Photographers, it’s really time you start making images that a generative AI cannot make so that you’re not replaced by them.
Leica S2
One of our favorite retro-digital medium format cameras to work with is the Leica S2. And there’s lots of great reasons why every now and again I run to eBay to look up prices on this camera and a lens or two. So what makes this camera so special:
- It was designed to more or less be the size of a Canon 5D
- It had a Kodak sensor that isn’t made anymore
- CF and SD card slots
- You have to slow down
- ISO 160 looks like an absolute dream
- Some variants of this camera have sapphire crystal LCD screens; which mean that they’ll hold up really well
- The lenses render a beautiful look that still catches my eye today.
- You can shoot JPEG files and still also get large 75 megabyte RAW DNG files.
- There’s really only one good autofocus point: the center. So you have to compose and shoot in a totally different way than you would with modern cameras.
Here are some image samples we shot with it way back in the day.
We found it going for still over $2,000 — and that’s worth it if you’re after a very specific and unique look. Honestly if I still had one today, I would be shooting with it.
The Pentax 645Z
Another camera that was absolutely incredible to work with was the old Pentax 645Z. This retro-digital camera had a full integrated sensor and camera body — just like the Leica S2. That makes it unlike the Hasselblad bodies too. This camera was targeted at wedding photographers and commercial high end shooters. And it could use a myriad of old school Pentax 645 lenses. The thing is though that even though the sensor was 645 sized, it was still larger than full-frame cameras. Dylan and Sara did the review for us way back when we finished it up.
So what’s so unique about medium format DSLRs like the Pentax 645? Well, the range of lenses is what is so incredible. They’re older than the camera itself so you’ll be combining old-school DSLR vibes with older lenses from the film-days. Then add onto that the older autofocus system, the larger sensor with less resolution, and the color rendering you’ll find from older Sony-style sensors. Yes, that will look like the old NEX 7 on steroids. Here are some images from our sample gallery.
