Moving up to Medium Format

Mamiya 645AFDII

Mamiya ZD Digital Back

Faith and I have made the decision to move up to medium format for our landscape photography.

We were planning to upgrade to the yet to be announced Canon 1DS Mark III. While the rumor is that the Canon 1DS upgrade will be to 22 megapixels; digital sensors for medium format cameras are twice the size of a full frame 35mm sensor so the base image quality should be much better.

The lens technology in 35mm cameras is already strained by the resolution in the current 1DS Mark II camera, especially for wide angle landscape photography. Part of a Canon upgrade would probably mean a whole new set of glass. Medium format lenses are more expensive but have better optical qualities since they have to capture the higher level of detail provided by the 6x4.5cm filter.

This is a whole new ball game for me. While the Canons are a complete unit requiring everything to be replaced when you upgrade, medium format cameras have the camera body with either a film or digital back. If you need more resolution you can replace the back and keep clicking. The other nice thing is that you can purchase backs from several different vendors.

The digital back I am getting has a 22 megapixel sensor which is almost twice the resolution of my current equipment. In addition to the increased resolution you have the option of not using the anti-aliasing filter which will give me much sharper raw images which will also make a huge difference in image quality.

I will use my Canon 1D Mark III for wildlife photography as well as casual walk-around shooting. It will also be backup in case I have any problems with the Mamiya while traveling.