Digital Backs
...on a Budget
Ever wanted a digital back, but decided it was too expensive? Think again. Medium format is getting more affordable and can give your work an edge that your customers will love
Words & Pictures Ian Farrell
Over recent years anyone wanting to shoot high-resolution digital pictures has only had one option in the DSLR field, and it's for this reason that the Canon EOS-1Ds Mark II has been such a phenomenal success. At 16.7-million pixels, this workhorse of a camera can be found in the hands of everyone from wedding snappers to fashion and architectural photographers. Capturing an image at this resolution yields a 47.5MB file that will print to 28x42cm at 300dpi. Any more than this and you are going to either need to queue up for the new 21-million pixel EOS-1Ds Mark III or (gulp!) think about a medium-format digital back.
Medium format is undeniably impressive, as anyone who has seen a demo will testify, but with four-figure prices tags being banded around, it's not surprising that many see this option as being out of their league. Have a closer look at the options, though, and you may be presently surprised to learn that you could go down this route for the same money as a top-end DSLR.
If you are one of the many pros who have converted to digital over the last few years, chances are you'll have come from the medium-format film world. Moreover we're betting that a substantial proportion of you will still have that gear stashed away at the back of a cupboard somewhere ‘just in case'. If so then a 16-million pixel digital back could be yours for a shade under five grand - not exactly loose change, but certainly the kind of investment that could pay for itself within a few months.
Of course medium-format digital is not for everyone, and there are many pros and cons to consider. The main plus, of course, is image quality. Even with the same number of pixels, a 16-million pixel digital back will outperform a 16-million pixel DSLR, even one with a full-frame 35mm sized sensor. As in the days of film, this is purely down to the size of the chip. The pixels in a medium-format sensor are further apart than in a 35mm or DX-sized chip and so don't interfere with each other as much. This means lower noise and increased sharpness. Typically, medium-format backs are also true 16-bit. Yes, you can process a DSLR Raw file into a 16-bit TIFF, but such a camera only captures typically 10 or 12 bits of information; the rest are filled with zeros. A sensor that records 16-bits of information gives smoother tonal transitions and more exposure latitude.
Medium-format camera gear has always been slower to use than 35mm, and this is still true when shooting digitally. This isn't necessarily a bad thing, mind you, as a more considered approach is sometimes just what is needed. Then again, a medium-format digital outfit probably isn't what you'd pick for fly on the wall shooting at a wedding, or covering an event like a gig or stage play. Horses for courses.
Where medium-format digital does fall down, however, is when ‘luxuries' like high ISO sensitivities and exotic lenses are needed. Most top of the range digital backs max out at around ISO 800, and the native ISO of their sensors is typically ISO 50. And lenses such as long telephotos and ultrawide angles are either not available or are so expensive as to be impractical to own.
The proof of the pudding...
This is all very well in theory, but what about in practice? Putting our money where our mouth is, we procured some medium-format kit from our friends at photographic dealer Mr Cad - a Hasselblad 500c/m circa 1980, with 40mm, 80mm and 120mm lenses - and paired it with a Hasselblad CFV digital back, hired from The Pro Centre in London.
The CFV is a 16-megapixel model whose sensor measures 38x38mm, meaning the famous square format of the Hasselblad V system is retained. It is styled very much in keeping with classic Hasselblad bodies, complete with chrome piping, and should work with any 500- or 200-series body. It accepts CompactFlash memory cards and is powered by a regular video camera battery, although if you decide to shoot tethered to a laptop for instant review, the unit draws power over its FireWire connection and stores the pictures directly on your computer's hard drive.
As with DSLRs that have a smaller sensor than 35mm film, the 38x38mm sensor in the CVF introduces a crop factor too. Lenses act as though they are 1.5x the normal focal length, meaning a 40mm becomes a 60mm, an 80mm becomes a 120mm and a 120mm becomes a 180mm. A focusing screen with corresponding crop marks on it is available, and it's nice that you can see what's outside of this area while composing a scene too.
All three of the lenses we used delivered magnificent results - impressive when you consider that Mr Carl Zeiss and his friends didn't exactly have digital in mind when they came up with these optical designs all those years ago. V system lenses have leaf shutters in them, meaning that flash synchronisation is available all the way up to 1/500sec too.
The CFV outputs Raw files in Hasselblad's own .fff file format. These are interpreted into TIFF, JPEG or DNG files using the supplied Flexcolor software, which is a strange beast to use: there are definitely more elegant software packages out there (Phase One's Capture One being a good example), although with some practice it's not difficult to get to grips with how the package works, and the output of its Raw processing engine is quite superb. It's possible to rescue highlight and shadow detail from many stops away from the norm with ease and, while shooting tethered, it's a huge comfort to see what is being recorded, along with a close-up section to check sharpness, lighting, etc.
So how did our combination of old and new perform? Given the right circumstances, very well indeed. This is a great portrait photographer's set-up, and when shooting people on location or in the studio the Hasselblad gave results that blew us away. Sharpness and detail was consistently better than the Canon EOS-1Ds Mark II we were using alongside, and the images withstood interpolation up to larger sizes much better too. In use, the ‘blad is much slower to use than the EOS, which is a shock to the system if you are used to shooting machine-gun style. As time went on, though, this became less of an issue, and the slower, more considered approach we adopted actually meant we were getting better pictures in fewer frames. And you can't argue with that.
For landscape and architectural work, the slower operation of the Hasselblad was even less of a problem. We found that the 500c/m we were using shook a bit when the shutter release was fired, though, meaning that a tripod and mirror lock cable release was mandatory at shutter speeds of 1/125sec and below. The multiplication factor became annoying when we really wanted a wider view than the cropped 40mm could give us, and looking at the price of lenses wider than this (second-hand or not) will make your eyes water.
When you consider the different types of medium-format cameras and digital backs out there, it's obvious that there are a lot of combinations to be had. We've used a Hasselblad 500c/m as an example, but if you have a Bronica, Contax or Mamiya outfit gathering dust, then there is a back out there for you too. The three main players are Hasselblad, Phase One and Leaf, who have products that will fit a number of medium-format systems.
There are pros and cons for each, for instance, Leaf backs are not square in shape, which may or may not be important to you, but they are easy to use thanks to their user-friendly touch screen.
There aren't so many retailers for digital backs as run-of-the-mill DSLRs, but there are enough to make sure that prices remain competitive. In the entry-level area of the market, expect to pay just under £5000 for a reconditioned back from Phase One (at time of writing the Flash Centre has a reconditioned P20 16-megapixel back for £4800 including VAT). A brand spanking new Hasselblad CFV back will set you back £5900 once VAT is added (try Robert White or the Pro Centre), and a Leaf Aptus 17 costs £8618 from Peartree. It's well worth looking around and taking advantage of any special offers that manufacturers are promoting, as savings at this end of the market can be considerable. For instance, an offer from Hasselblad this summer saw anyone buying a CFV back along with a 503CW and 80mm lens for £8000 plus VAT receiving a free 40mm lens worth nearly £2000 for free!
If the medium-format digital argument is appealing, but you don't have existing film kit to adapt, buying it second-hand can be a very affordable option. The bottom fell out of the used medium-format market a long time ago and there are some bargains to be had. eBay is a great place to look (we found Hasselblad, Mamiya and Bronica outfits online for around the £500 mark), but don't forget to go and have a talk with an independent photographic dealer too - they often specialise in areas of the market and have a lot of expertise. They are likely to give you a guarantee and know about service history.
One such expert, Alex Fawlk of Mr Cad, told Pro that he's doing a roaring trade in medium-format gear, with customers frequently buying a body and lens to suit a particular digital back that they've got their eye on.
"People have stopped getting rid of this kind of kit and are starting to buy it back," he says. "Cameras like the Hasselblad 500 series last for so long, and are so easy to repair, that they will almost certainly outlast the digital back that they are paired with. I don't think gear will ever be built to such quality again!"
All in all, our experiences with the Hasselblad 500C/M and CFV digital back have more than convinced us that medium-format digital is not only capable of delivering superb results, but is affordable too. As we've said, a digital back won't suit every occasion, but it may mean you can make do with a Canon EOS 5D or Nikon D200 or D300 for those times when you need to work quickly, and make use of the truly excellent results that medium format delivers at other times.
Importantly though, we really enjoyed using the Hasselblad. It felt like we were making photographs again, not just taking them. And that seemed to spill over into the results we got from our experiment too. In fact, to be honest, we don't really want to give it back. Wonder if they'll forget we've got it?
