Like many others before me, I decided to move from 35mm to medium format. It’s quite a big decision, so I did lots of research, thinking, and consulting. I’ve also read every photographer’s review and article I could find on that topic before making the move, and I really did appreciate that others shared their experience. So In case it could be helpful to anyone, here’s my contribution.

Why medium format?

It started with a simple fact: it was time to upgrade my camera. Actually, it’s been a good 3 years if not more that I wanted to upgrade my camera. During those past years, I have been waiting and watching what Canon and Nikon were coming up with. Nikon did fantastic since the D800, but I didn’t feel like selling all my Canon gear to switch brand. I thought at some point Canon would catch up anyway.

Having said that, I was not entirely satisfied with what was available in the 35mm DSLR realm. Nowadays, every new generation of DSLR camera comes with better autofocus, better crazy-fast frame rate, better ISO for low light situations, and better video options.

Those are great for photographers who shoot sports, journalism, wildlife, weddings, just to name a few categories, but with the type of photography I do, I don’t need any of those features. I shoot manual focus 90% of the time, I don’t need many frames per second, I work mostly in studio with strobes and shoot at ISO 50-200, and to be honest I have very little interest in video.

Instead I’d rather have better image quality, better colour rendering, higher flash sync speed, better lenses, solid tethering features. I do photography for a living, so overall I want to give my clients the best image quality I can create. The answer to that is simple, it’s called medium format.

To tell you the truth, I have been dreaming of medium format for years. Like many others photographers, I have been considering it as the ultimate system, the holy grail of cameras. Like many others, I thought it was inaccessible, unaffordable, something I could only dream of. Until now.

Hasselblad or Phase One?

All photographers who move from 35mm to medium format are facing the same question: which system to choose? There’s actually only a few options to choose from: it’s pretty much either Hasselblad, Phase One or Pentax. Then there’s also Mamiya Leaf. Owned by Phase One, it’s a very interesting alternative.

Pentax doesn’t work for me for many reasons. Most importantly: no good tethering option yet, not compatible with Capture One, no leaf shutter lenses, slow flash sync speed. I guess Pentax is aiming more towards outdoor photographers rather than those of us who shoot in studio.

I’ve actually worked with a Phase system a few times in the past with P+ digital backs, but never with a Hasselblad. Between you and me, after being finalist of the Hasselblad Masters, plus with the historical background of the brand, the iconic and legendary V system, the beautiful design of their H series, and on top of that having a Swedish wife, Hasselblad had every reason to win my heart over!!!

I should mention that I live and work in Toronto, Canada. Where you live is important for one crucial and underestimated matter: servicing. Toronto might be the 4th largest city of North America, Hasselblad’s implantation here is not as good as Phase One. Only 2 stores carry Hasselblad, and one doesn’t do rentals. Phase One is available for rentals in at least 4 places, and two of those stores are authorized dealers.

Having said that, I have to say that the Hasselblad people I have been in touch with, from the PR manager in Sweden to the store account manager here in Toronto, have all been incredibly helpful and responsive. Even though the brand is less present here, they provide excellent support. I’ve also had tremendous feedback from an established professional photographer here who has been working with the Hasselblad system for many years now.

But in all fairness, I can say pretty much the same thing about the Phase One team. They have answered every single question I had with more information than I asked for, gave me great quotes, and all the time and support I could expect.

Both Phase One and Hasselblad offered me a test run with their systems. Both did it pretty much free of charge. I tested a Hasselblad H5D-50c, and a Leaf Credo 40 back on a Phase One XF body. Why those specific systems? Because they were the options that were the closest to my budget. So to speak. Let’s not forget that medium format systems are ridiculously expensive when compared to their 35mm cousins. The XF was out of reach, but I already knew the DF+, so why not giving it a try if I have the opportunity? The Phase One DF+ and XF bodies can be combined with different digital backs, including older ones, so there are many possible combos. Note that the Hasselbad rep also offered a test run with the brand new H6D, but I declined. I knew it would be fantastic, but I also knew it would be way over budget: the H6D comes as a closed system with brand new digital backs only (either 50 or 100 MP).

Most articles I’ve read about the Hasselblad system and the Phase One system do the same: they compare the cameras and their technical features. I read them all to a point that I had the feeling I knew all the specs of both systems before I tried them out. I will pass very quickly on that if you don’t mind. Not because it doesn’t matter, but the information is out there already, easy to find. Instead, I would rather focus on the impression I had having the cameras in my hands. Which one is the right fit for me and why.

Test run & first impressions: Hasselblad H5D-50c

The H5D-50c is smaller and heavier than I was expecting. Built quality is excellent. Design is beautiful, the classic and famous H line. But before talking about its awesome features, should I first start with the things I liked the least? When I grabbed the camera, it felt somehow unbalanced. The grip part is very light in comparison to the body, lens, and back together, so it felt like it would be lots of work for the wrist to handhold the camera for an entire day. Buttons are rather small. Both around the top LCD screen and on the back. I am not too crazy about the top LCD screen either. It’s not really smaller than the ones from the Canon line when I compare them side by side, but for some reasons I had the impression that everything was more condensed and harder to read. Not thrilled either by the screen of the digital back. I think we are now used to higher quality since this camera came out. The menu navigation on the back and on the top LCD panel of the camera are not the most intuitive at first, but they’re intuitive enough that I figured my way through without searching the manual. But none of those points are a real major problem. I think it’s just a matter of getting used to a new system.

The best part about this camera to me is hands down the beautiful amazingly large and bright viewfinder!!! It feels huge. It makes it so much easier to see the shot and focus manually. It would be hard to look back through the viewfinder of a Canon camera after that. You can’t appreciate that feature on paper in a list of specs. You have to try it out. Second part where the H5D really does shine is the image quality. Opening the files in Phocus and Photoshop really made me appreciate the difference. Colours are rich, accurate, such great dynamic range, more details in the highlights and the dark tones. Beautiful smoothness in the background and perfectly sharp where the image is on focus. This is exactly what I was hoping for from a medium format system. Viewfinder and IQ combined made all the other points I mentioned before very secondary.

Test run & first impressions: Phase One XF + Leaf Credo 40

The beauty of the Phase One system is the open platform. You can work with the same lenses and body, and only change or rent the digital back for specific jobs that require more MP or longer exposure for instance. I knew that trying the XF body was a treat, and that I would most likely get myself a DF+ body instead.

The Phase One XF camera is a masterpiece! The design is phenomenal. Elegant, rough and subtle at the same time, sculpted in a brick with laser precision! The second I had it in my hands I realized I was holding something special and unique. There is nothing I didn’t like. The modern touch screen on the top of the camera and its navigation system are brilliant, the label-free buttons are a pleasure to use, the grip feels better and more balanced to me than on the Hasselblad. Note that this camera feels bigger and heavier than the H5D though. The only one thing I was a bit disappointed with is the viewfinder. Although there’s nothing wrong with it, it’s not as large and bright as the one on the H5D. Funny, the XF prism viewfinder looks so large from the outside, and quite small in comparison when you look through it.

I said before that I wouldn’t get into technical specs, and by doing so I’m really passing on lots of fantastic features here. I definitely invite you to have a look at the Phase One website to read more about the XF.

The IQ2 and IQ3 Phase One digital back series are quite expensive to say the least. So I was aiming more towards the IQ1 series, most likely the IQ140. The Phase One people suggested that I try the Leaf Credo 40MP instead. It’s the exact same as the IQ140, at a better price for less options (no Sensor+ mode, and less setting options on the back itself).

The two features I liked the most about the Credo back that the H5D doesn’t have are USB 3 tethering and touchscreen. Both Hasselblad and Leaf systems came out at the same time, about 4 years ago, but the Leaf Credo (and IQ1) was ahead of its time with those options. Shooting tethered with Phase One means working with Capture One. I have been working with Capture One for years now and I love it, so I really like the idea of using an imaging software I’m familiar with.

As expected, the image quality is fantastic. But it’s a little tricky to compare. Both sensors are the same size, the MP difference is not huge, I won’t compare the ISO possibilities between a CCD sensor and a CMOS sensor, that wouldn’t be fair, but what makes it challenging I think is that RAW images are processed with different software. I believe Phocus and Capture One give the RAW images a different rendering even before any adjustment has been applied. But overall, in both cases it’s far superior to what I had until now with my 35mm system.

Note that I had the cameras for a couple of days only. I am aware that I would have needed to test them both over a longer period time to appreciate their real potential and do a more accurate comparison.

The right system

In the end, what matters is to have the system that is right for you. Let’s look at it that way: both Hasselblad and Phase One can produce amazing image quality. And great art has been created with nearly every camera ever made, so how the camera feels for a photographer might be more important than all technicals.

I know that some great commercial photographers use a Hasselblad system, but to me it felt like this camera would be better if I was a landscape photographer. More compact, great viewfinder, 34 minute exposure time, CMOS sensor, one battery for both back and body, it’s the camera I would want to take out to shoot the world with.

But for the type of photography I do, an evolutive system with an open platform, the possibility of changing only the digital back depending on my needs, better tethering, and working with Capture One makes more sense. To make my decision easier, the Phase One team put a fantastic offer on the table including a brand new XF body, Schneider Blue Ring 80mm LS lens with the Leaf Credo back. I would have been crazy to not take it!!

So today I’m a very proud and excited member of the medium format community. Being in touch with other photographers and the reps of both brands made me feel like I was entering a small community where everyone knows everyone, and where people talk and communicate with lots of respect and kindness. Mind you, I might be very naive and it might only be because they wanted me to buy their system. But I want to believe that’s not the case. We’ll see in a few months how things are.

Note that I’m not getting rid of my 35mm cameras and lenses yet. There are some jobs for which it will remain a better option: faster, smaller, and more versatile.

This is a major change and a huge upgrade for me. All I want to do now is to get to work and shoot! I can’t reshoot everything I have done up to this day, even though I wish I could, but I’m definitely looking forward to creating many series of new images and share them with you!