Medium and Large Format Photography: Moving Beyond 35Mm for Better Pictures

For anyone contemplating moving into either Medium or Large Format Photography, this is a book well worth buying. I have a couple of other books by the duo of Hicks and Schultz, and have not been quite as enamored. With this book, they have hit a home run. Not only is there a great deal of practical information, the photographs and illustrations are all well done and printed with a semblance of quality. It has always amazed me that many books on Photography, are put out into the market with such poor quality paper and printing, that it belies the effort.

If you are not familiar with medium format cameras this book will be a good introduction. It is not a hands on intro, but will explain the aspects of the many medium format types.Nothing can beat holding the camera in your hand and this book is definitely not a manual for medium format cameras. It will get you up to snuff on the popular models (circa 2000) of film cameras. But if you want an in depth, how to book, get the manual.

Roger Hicks is the best! Good book for introduction to MF and LF.

good

This is unquestionably the most worthless collection of pages I have ever read. It consists of very brief factoids strung together with meaningless chatter. Do not buy this book if you want to learn anything about how to make large or medium format photographs.

Clear and conscise writing makes thus guide extremely useful to first time large format shooters.

If you ever wondered about cameras professionals use, this book will demystify medium and large format photography. For anyone who is serious about photography, you must know all the equipment options out there. This book introduces reader to a subject largely unknown to amatuers. There is a wealth of information in the book and it is very well organized. This book will make you think about very important part of camera; the recording medium. Authors cover different films, formats and cameras in very easy to read order. They make compelling argument for moving up to medium or large format even if you are not a professional photographer. I was delighted to know that moving up need not mean any more expense than using regular 35 mm equipment. This book is full of insights authors have accumulated over their long professional careers. You will realise why your expensive 35 SLR could not give you professional picture quality no matter how hard you tried. Some readers may get overwhelmed by the information on a lot of makes and models. However this is very valuable information at one place and as your interest in MF and LF photography grows, you will keep referring back to these details. What distinguishes large format from other type of cameras is the ability called 'movements'. Movements is what gives large format cameras the ultimate edge. It is not just the large size of negative. It is important to know this to understand LF cameras better. You will realize that even with the advent of digital cameras, MF and especially LF cameras will retain their edge for a long time to come.

The status of this book is unknown: It's not a technical book, it's not an equipment guide, it's not a photography book neither... Reading it is just having a conversation with the authors you met in a street cafe. They talk to you for 2 hours, they show you your equipment and say "you have to move beyond 35mm for better pictures" and they leave. But you're not convinced... Why? The most important reason is: The pictures in this book are awful. Maybe 2 or 3 are aesthetically OK, but the rest is just mediocre. When you see them, you say "If I'll have photos like these, why to buy medium or large format equipment?". It seems like the authors like travelling from time to time, and when you see the pictures they made aronud the world, you say "well they spent their money for nothing", the photos are so uninteresting. The second reason: Technically, the book is near to level zero. Even the camera movements, which are the main advantage of large format, are not really explained. All you can find in this book is a couple of tips and tricks, if you already know someting about the topic. Why I wrote this review? BECAUSE I WANTED TO CONVINCE YOU THAT YOU MUST MAKE MEDIUM OR LARGE FORMAT PHOTOGRAPHY. Believe me, it worths. When you print your first pictures from a 2 x 3 negative, you understand why. When the camera movements allow you to play with depth of field, sharpness etc, you understand how much you were limited with 35mm or digital. GO TO MEDIUM OR LARGE FORMAT, YOU WON'T BE DISAPPOINTED. THE 2ND HAND EQUIPMENT PRICES ARE SO LOW NOW THAT YOU CAN OFFER YOURSELF SUPER CAMERAS! GO, AND TRY! But not with this book... No. My suggestion: Steve Simmons' "Using The Wiewcamera". Good luck.

Die meisten erfahrenen Fotografen, die mit 35 mm arbeiten, stellen die gleiche quälende Frage: Wenn sie zu einem größeren Format wechseln würden, würden sie bessere Bilder bekommen? In der Mittel- und Großformatfotografie bieten die renommierten professionellen Fotografen Roger Hicks und Frances Schultz alle praktischen und künstlerischen Anleitungen, die jeder aufstrebende Fotograf benötigt, um die Welt jenseits von 35 mm zu meistern. In klarer, sachlicher Sprache beschreibt dieser wertvolle Leitfaden alle Möglichkeiten und Grenzen verschiedener Filmformate sowie die jeweils besten Kameras und Ausrüstungen. Unverzichtbare, leicht lesbare Tabellen machen es einfach, Filmgrößen, Objektivlängen und andere Informationen auf einen Blick zu vergleichen. Außerdem ist der Leitfaden vollgepackt mit über 200 atemberaubenden Fotos, die die Vorzüge der Mittel- und Großformatfotografie in Aktion zeigen.

I bought this book because I am thinking about moving into large format photography. Although experienced in 35 mm. photography, I felt I needed some help in understanding the effect of front and back standard movements, loading and using dark slides and the merits or otherwise of different cameras and lenses. This book goes some way towards meeting my needs, but at times I found it lacking in the depth I sought. On the plus side, it is well written - very clear and concise - and extremely readable, with good illustrations. I will probably need to buy another book to get the detail I want, but will definitely be returning to this one from time to time.

The authors are LF enthusiasts. Their take on the regard medium format is cursory at best. Is you are looking for a read on medium format, you had best look else ware. If you are an absolute beginner and you have not bought any LF equipment yet, the book will guide you along.

This is a nicely written 150 page book with lots of example photographs but it doesn't give much technical detail on how to use a view camera, which is a pity, as the authors obviously know their subject.

For the ones who are searching for one medium and large photography book, this is one of the rare books you can find it. Recommended!