Week 3 - Practical Notes [Hasselblad Camera]

Medium Format Cameras


In this week's practical workshop, we all got to get to grips with using a Hassleblad and Mamiya Medium Format camera. Here are some of the notes I took in class as well as doing some more research about the cameras outside of the workshop.

Things you should know about using the Hassleblad Medium Format camera:

1. You cannot change you ISO like you can on a digital camera.
In medium format film, your ISO is a fixed measurement of the sensitivity of your roll of film. For at least 12 shots at a time you can't change it. 160 speed film is the same as your DSLR being set to ISO 160 and is best for outdoors. 400 and 800 speed are common for indoors. This is critical to understand for metering your shots and knowing your roll’s limitations.

2. You need a light meter, maybe use your digital camera?
Medium format film camera systems have no metering system. Thus, you'll be shooting in Manual mode, and what you see through the viewfinder is not a true representation of what you're going to get! By bringing a light meter, or even your DSLR when you shoot medium format film not only offers you an accurate light metering of the scene you want to shoot, but shows your subject's focus distance, a rough composition and a test exposure too. 
- Set your DSLR to the ISO of the film you have loaded and apply your shutter speed and aperture settings from your DSLR to your medium format lens (that's where all the settings hang out) and fire away.

3. You're going to need a tripod!
Camera shake and vibration plays a significant role in more of your shots on medium format film than with a DSLR, especially when it gets dark. For instance, if you have 160 speed film loaded from sunny daytime and you want to take a shot inside in the evening, it's literally impossible to get the right exposure and crisp details without a tripod. Even then, you only have 1 second max to collect enough light to capture what your DSLR has no trouble with at ISO 3200+. Also, the shutter speeds on medium format cameras are much more limited than with DSLR cameras, so tripods are necessary in almost every situation when shooting with the Hassleblad camera.



http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-36598977
http://www.thephoblographer.com/2014/07/01/phoblographers-guide-getting-started-medium-format-film-photography/#.WEGmlqKLRsM