Two popular medium-format film camera brands that can be purchased on the cheap on the used market are the Pentax and the Mamiya. Both brands have an excellent reputation for reliability and image quality. Also, both offer the popular 645 format, which is the smallest of the medium formats and therefore offers you the most portable camera, but also the medium-format resolution. In general, the Mamiya is more flexible, and the Pentax is less expensive and easier to use.
Format In Its Sunset
Medium-format film cameras used to be an essential tool for professional photographers during the film era. After all, you can't increase the resolution of film, so you have to build a bigger camera if you want bigger, high-resolution prints. Recently, digital SLRs, even 35 mm varieties, have begun to offer resolutions on par with medium-format film cameras, so professional photographers have been selling their medium-format film gear and upgrading to digital.
Medium Format Is a Different Animal
If you are purchasing your first medium-format film camera, prepare yourself for the inconvenience of a giant, noisy camera with few auto settings. These cameras usually have two separate batteries for the camera body and the winder, and the shutter is so large, a tripod is necessary to avoid the blurry effect of camera shake.
Pentax
The Pentax is a smaller 645 than the Mamiya, but that comes at the expense of a removable back.
Pentax manufactures medium-format film cameras, 35 mm film cameras, and digital 35 mm cameras, and their cameras offer an excellent viewfinder and lens selection. If you currently own or plan to purchase Pentax 35 mm camera gear, some of the accessories, like the flash, will be compatible with a Pentax medium-format film camera. However, Pentax does not currently offer digital medium-format cameras, so if you plan to upgrade to this high-end format, your lenses may go to waste.
The lack of a digital upgrade path is one reason used Pentax medium-format film cameras are cheaper, even if you purchase a body with auto-focus, which is a feature only available on the newer and more expensive Mamiyas.
Mamiya
Mamiya only sells medium format cameras, and currently manufactures a digital version. If you plan to someday upgrade to a digital medium format camera, you will be able to continue using the Mamiya lenses on this camera.
However, it is not clear whether medium-format digital cameras will remain popular in the face of digital 35 mm cameras becoming capable of higher and higher resolutions.
Mamiya offers removable backs, which means you can have a back fully loaded with another roll of film ready when the last one is used up, or switch to another kind of film, or switch to a digital back.
Specific Models
As both Pentax and Mamiya have been making medium-format cameras since the 1970s, it is important to make an apples to apples comparison with the models. On the Pentax side, the best cameras to consider are the 645N, and 645NII. For Mamiya, look for the 645 Super, Pro or AF. These models are new enough to be compatible with most lenses and have enough features to make medium-format photography pleasurable.
Tags: film cameras, medium-format film, digital cameras, film camera, medium-format film, medium-format film camera