Medium format has reached a price range where it is also interesting for ambitious hobby photographers. We looked at four lenses.
18.03.2024,
13:13
Clock
Reading time: 20 mins.
Just a few years ago, medium format was primarily reserved for professionals who made a living from their images and were dependent on image quality and resolution. The cameras were particularly found in advertising photography, which requires huge output formats with corresponding megapixels, but also in artistic photography. The costs for the camera and lenses could quickly add up to several tens of thousands of euros, the equivalent of a luxury car.
In the meantime, however, there has been a significant drop in prices; the cameras are now available in stores for just over 5,000 euros. Because full-format cameras were putting pressure on the camera segment. The resolution and image quality became dangerously close to that of professional devices and the lenses also became better and better, so that you could no longer recognize a medium format photo from the look of the image at first glance.
Price driver size
As the size of the sensor increases, so does the size of the lenses. Compared to full format or APS-C, these must illuminate a larger image circle and offer high imaging performance right into the corners of the image. This is a challenge for the production of high-quality lenses. The mechanics are also subject to greater stress, as the autofocus has to precisely move heavier lens packages. All of this has its price, so you should hardly expect any bargains in the medium format lens segment.