Why medium format cameras are still king

Today’s key subject: recovery!

People are thinking medium for mat systems are superior due to the gargantuan size of the images. Some others realized that the dynamic range of medium format – even with CMOS sensors – is another huge advantage. However there is a far more important reason why I am using a Phase One system with a CCD sensor. And this is the native image depth of 16bit.

To see how crucial this is for a Pro Photographer an example from a real life studio session is presented bellow. This image is in the processing phase done in Capture one so it has no lost of quality whatsoever due to the 16bit’s pixel information available. You will notice that, where a total lack of digital information is apparently present, in the second example, is miraculously recovered  due to generous amount of information courtesy of the 16bit image depth.

Image unaltered, as it came from the digital back:

Screen Shot 2016-12-05 at 6.40.54 AM

 

Same image with local adjustment recovery in Capture One Pro – un-retouched:

Screen Shot 2016-12-05 at 6.42.00 AM

 

Phase One IQ140

Schneider 80mm

4 Profoto D1 with various diffusers

 

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