Top 10 Best Medium Format Film Camera Reviews – Buyer’s Guide

Medium format cameras are acclaimed for the high quality of the images they provide. Being the most used for advertising purposes.

First of all, let’s specify what the “format” of the camera means. The format means the size of the reels used by analog cameras. Depending on this, the cameras will be of one format or another:

• Small format (also called 35mm cameras): 135 movies.
• Medium format: 120, 220, and 660.
• Large format: bellows cameras that use plates.

Medium format cameras are not as common as 35mm cameras. Still, they were the most used by professionals for advertising and artistic purposes.

Medium format cameras use 60mm wide films and are characterized by having the quality of their photographs.

What medium format camera to buy?

Again, the choice of which analog camera to buy is tricky. So in this article, we will tell you about the Top 10 best medium format film cameras.

Also, guide that what you should take into account when choosing your medium format camera and reasons to buy the medium format cameras

Top 10 Best Medium Format Film Camera 2020

1. Lomography Diana F+ Best Medium Format Camera with Flash

The Diana F + Camera with flash is the most careful tribute to the original Diana camera of the sixties.

This best medium format film camera is made entirely of plastic and disassembled by Lomography to be able to reproduce it in detail from the first to the last piece.

As the Diana F + medium format digital camera with Flash lens is made of plastic, the images obtained with it constitute its own dimension within the trend of low-Q photography: blurred, dreamlike, and at the same time full of color.

The flash has also been faithfully reproduced and it is installed in the camera through a traditional metal connection.

With two shutter speeds, for day or night photos, two image sizes, 12 full-frame photos (5.2 cm x 5.2 cm), or 16 smaller square images in the classic Diana format (4.2 cm x 4.2 cm).

The Diana F + medium format camera with Flash also has a Pinhole function, for taking photos with the pinhole camera method, and with the Endless Panorama setting, which allows you to shoot a sequence of frames and create an image panorama.

The Diana F + best medium format film camera with Flash includes with the camera a set of bright and saturated colored gelatin filters.

Recommended: Best DSLR Camera with Flip Screen

2. Fujifilm GFX 50R 51.4MP Medium Format Camera

GFX 50R best medium format camera is another exponent of the trend we are referring to, but for another reason: its price.

It has the honor of being the cheapest medium format camera that can be found on the market today. Or, to put it another way: never before has a camera of this category been so “accessible”.

It has, of course, fewer features than its older sister, the GFX 100, but it is still quite a lot.

Although 51.4 megapixels is almost half, they still feel enough to wallpaper a house’s facade with the maximum definition.

And its focus is not as sophisticated, but still, it is fast enough to take freehand photos, at any time, without the need for the object (or the person) to be static.

It is also magnesium sealed against inclement weather, making it clear that its use goes beyond the four walls of a studio.

This best medium format digital camera provides you with the high-resolution images and videos with an extremely wide dynamic range and the sensitivity range.

3. Fujifilm GFX 50S – Medium Format Mirrorless Camera

The Fujifilm GFX 50S is the first best medium format film camera that is introduced by the company in the GF series. It comes with the 51.4 MP CMOS sensor with the Bayer filter array.

GFX 50S is a unique mirrorless camera because of its design and advanced functionalities. It provides you the X-Processor Pro image processor to always produce the files with the high resolution and wide dynamic range

The Fujifilm GFX 50S medium format camera is able to shoot up to 3fps and also record the HD 1080p/30fps videos because it comes with the advanced technology

The other feature is removable 3.69m dot OLED viewfinder and this can be used for the eye-level viewing and also for the high resolution

4. Pentax 645D 40MP Digital SLR – Best Medium Format Cameras

The new 645D best medium format film camera incorporates a large 40 million pixel sensor (44mm × 33mm in size, 1.7 times larger than a 35mm one) and a pixel size of 6.0 µm x 6.0 µm.

It offers images of the highest quality due to its superlative resolution and the absence of the low-pass filter.

Thanks to the large sensor and pixel size, it provides an exceptional out-of-focus image, separating the subject from the background naturally.

In addition, the 645D affordable medium format digital camera incorporates the new high-speed, low-noise PRIME II (PENTAX Real Image Engine II) image processor, which enables a wide dynamic range of 12.6 EV offering great tonal gradation and a high level of color rendering.

It’s aluminum alloy chassis and magnesium alloy body make it a robust and resistant camera, while light.

It also incorporates the Automatic Cleaning of sensor dust in the camera itself, indicating where the specks are and cleaning those using ultrasonic waves.

5. Pentax 645z – Best Medium Format Film Camera

New sensor CMOS of 51.4 megapixels, Live View, and development based on its famous Pentax 645D are the strengths of this new model Pentax 645Z large format digital camera.

A model that comes to replace the previous one while maintaining the level and providing new features that the professionals demanded, also including great improvements in terms of video.

It has an image area (43.8mm x 32.8mm) approximately 1.7 times that of a 35mm sensor. This sensor is combined with the PRIME III image engine.

645z affordable medium format camera comes with advanced image processing, noise reduction, and anti-aliasing capabilities making the Pentax 645Z affordable medium format camera produce images of great resolution and depth.

In addition, its high sensitivity (up to ISO 204800) provides achieving “usable” images in low light conditions.

Although its burst shooting is not the fastest, it guarantees up to 10 RAW s (30 in JPEG) at a speed of 3fps.

Not too much maybe, but if we think about the resolution and the fashion or portrait use of this camera, it is more than enough to capture all the details.

As for its autofocus system, it has been improved thanks to the new SAFOX design, with 27 focus points, of which 25 are cross.

This fact should provide us with a very precise focus, even with lenses at large apertures.

Its front panel is made of tempered glass for greater protection of it as well as having an anti-reflection coating.

On the other hand, we find compatibility with SD UHS -I cards, a high-speed bus, and a USB 3.0 port so that everything flows properly.

As for the video, I would like to point out that this best medium format film camera features Full HD video recording at 1920 × 1080 pixels (60i / 30p) in the H.264 recording format.

6. Hasselblad H6D-100C – Medium Format Digital Cameras

The H6D-100c best medium format film camera comes with the 4K video quality.  It provides you the HD rear LCD touchscreen with the sharp live view experience

The H6D-100c includes the HDMI connector for the external monitor connectivity that completes the toolkit and also factory Wi-Fi option

The dual card slot of H6D-100c cheapest medium format camera also increase the capacity: one is the SD card slot and it offers maximum compatibility, the second one is CFast card slot and it enables high-speed capture

It easily manages the large production of files and optimized all the videos without losing their quality

7. HOLGA 120GCFN Plastic Cheapest Medium Format Camera

The Holga 120GCFN best medium format film camera comes with the built-in four-color flash and also it accommodates all 120 format films.

This medium format digital camera provides you the 2 different film size masks so that you can easily take both square and traditional images.

The other important feature is that you can take pictures without the batteries but other than this it needs two batteries to handle the built-in color flash.

120GCFN cheap medium format camera is the fixed focus camera and also offers you the 2 choices of that is f/11 and f/8 and also offers the four choices of object distance.

If we talk about the colors of the 120GCFN then it comes in the 15 colors that are Red and White, Black, Purple, White, Gold, YRB, Pink, Red, Silver, Blue, Camouflage, Yellow and many more.

8. Holga 120N Medium Format Film Camera

It is one of the best iconic toy cameras available in the market. The Holga 120N cheapest medium format digital camera comes with the unique picture quality, modern design, and advanced controls.

Basically it is well known for its standard length plastic lens that is 60mm f/8 produces the soft images, Holga 120N is very lightweight because of its simple construction and plastic body.

Holga 120N affordable medium format digital camera comes with the two aperture settings for the sunny and cloudy conditions, one option is f/8 and second option is f/11 along with the shutter speed is 1/100 seconds.

It comes with the zone focus system for the best focusing. Holga 120N accepts the 120-format roll film and also includes the 6x6cm and 6×4.5cm inserts to record different exposures per roll.

9. Halina Ansco Pix Flash – Medium Format Film Camera

This camera is specially designed for the simplicity and fun, the red Ansco Pix vision and sleek black is the point and it shoots 35mm film camera.

It is best for the events, for those who are a beginner in film photography and also for electric type film.

Its compact design provides you with the wide-angle prime lens that is 28mm f/9.5. Its shutter speed is 1/100 seconds and it suits shooting the low light and daylight conditions, with this the built-in flash is also present.

The main thing is that 2 AAA batteries are needed to power on the built-in flash and also the camera has the built-in frame counter to keep the track of all your shots.

10. Holga 120N Fixed Focus Best Medium Format Film Camera

The Holga 120N medium format camera is the best option for the beginner. It comes with the plastic body that’s why it is very lightweight and handy.

If you are in the search of high-quality images without using the program like Photoshop then the Holga 120N is the best medium format film camera in every aspect of photography.

The price is very low and it takes 120 films, you can easily use and modify it.

The Holga 120N medium format camera provides you the feature of intense vignetting, soft focusing, unpredictable light leaks, and full double-exposure capability and all these features will provide you the amazing photo effects.

The Medium Format Camera Buying Guide 2020

The objective of this guide is to offer you a global overview of what you will find on the market before buying your first medium format camera. The prices are often much higher than for the 35mm, but this difference in price has always existed. The complete guide is given below

1. The type of film

The first notable thing of the best medium format film camera is the film size. The medium format use films called “120”, of various dimensions.

The medium format film will be much wider and will, therefore, give a much larger sensitive surface than the 24 × 36 films. There will be a better definition of the medium format film, with a finesse of grain and modeling, an incomparable relief compared to the rendering of the 24 × 36 films.

2. The image ratio

The second thing is the image ratio, i.e. the ratio between the height of the image and the width of the image

The negative sizes are much larger than 24/36, which allows for better image quality. Four sizes of films are available for this family.

The best known and most widespread today is the 6 × 4.5 format (the negative is 6 cm long by 4.5 cm wide). This format is less rectangular and less narrow than a 24 × 36 format and it will, therefore, be particularly suitable for portrait photography.

The second format in the medium format family is the 6 × 6 format. It is a square format that can give a very “amazing” look to your pictures today.

The third format available in medium format photography is the 6 × 7 format which has an even larger negative than 6 × 6 or 6 × 4.5. This format was particularly used in studio photography.

Finally, the last format available in medium format photography is 6 × 9. It is the largest negative available in medium format photography, but which says larger also means more bulky housing. It is also the most difficult format to find today.

You will, therefore, have to choose your type of film camera according to the use you want to make of it while having in mind the image format that you will produce.

3. The number of posts

You know more about the types of cases and films to favor according to the use you want to make of your film camera.

It is different on medium format cameras! Each type of camera/film size offers a number of well-defined exposures: with a 6 × 4.5 camera, it will be 16 exposures, on a 6 × 6: 12 exposures, on a 6 × 7 format, count 10 exposures, and finally on a 6 × 9 format, there are only 8 poses available.

We can, therefore, have a number of poses ranging from simple to double for medium format, and therefore a cost of film and photo development which also goes from simple to double!

4. Depth of field

Last but not least, to choose your film camera: depth of field. You should know that the bigger the negative, the more beautiful the background blurs. So fans of portrait photography will more easily turn to medium format cameras than to 24 × 36.

In summary, the 24 × 36 devices have the advantages of a small footprint and greater flexibility, especially when starting out, thanks to their films of 36 exposures.

Medium format cameras, meanwhile, offer superb image quality, particularly suitable for portrait photography, but are more bulky and costly to use.

5 Reasons Why you Should use a Medium Format Camera

The medium format is becoming more and more popular.  It is not much more expensive than the full format Nikon or any other cameras. So, is it worth going to medium format? We are going to tell you different reasons about why you should use a medium format camera

1. Colors and dynamic range

The dynamic range has progressed a little over the years. Many digital cameras used CCD type sensors in the beginning. Most medium format digital cameras also used CCD sensors.

CMOS sensors were quickly adopted by DSLR manufacturers. This allowed them to exceed the dynamic range of CCD sensors.

Now that manufacturers of medium format cameras have also started to switch to CMOS, their dynamic range greatly exceeds that of SLRs.

A larger size of the sensors also makes it possible to have larger pixels. This means that each pixel can receive more light.

In summary, this means that you keep more details in the shadows and highlights, with less noise, smoother “color steps” and therefore an image more faithful to reality.

2. The objectives

There are many optics that are great for full-frame and mirrorless cameras. However, for larger sensors, the optics must be larger, to fill the image circle.

This means they have better optical quality, as these cameras often also have sensors with several thousand megapixels – 50 for the Fuji body. Although these optics are expensive, you will also have better images.

3. Synchroflash speed

The limitations of a focal plane shutter mean that the flash sync speed is around 1/160 to 1 / 250th of a second. Beyond that, we need a flash and a trigger that supports high-speed synchronization.

Although some medium format cameras also have focal plane shutters with similar limitations, others have shutters built into the optics. This design allows you to shoot much faster with a regular flash

4. The depth of field

Having a large sensor allows you to get a very shallow depth of field. And if you want to use a lens with a medium format camera with a large aperture, you won’t have to worry about diffraction.

5. Display options

The ultra-high resolutions of medium format sensors offer a variety of viewing options, which can be very useful in certain situations.

In addition, the images were taken by a medium format camera allow you to make impressions the size of a wall, or more concretely, to crop your image while preserving the details, instead of seeing a bunch of small squares.