And that's exactly why I find medium format so magical.
I can't quite put my finger on it, but the image feels as if you're not looking through a camera but actually standing right where the camera was. You're not just looking into the scene—you feel like you're inside and part of it. Just the tree on the right alone gives me an incredible sense of real depth in the image. And as you can see, it doesn't even need a sharp-to-blurry transition to achieve that. This image feels a thousand times more three-dimensional to me than any photo taken with a super high-end APO or f/1.2 lens.
gammarART wrote:
And that's exactly why I find medium format so magical.
I can't quite put my finger on it, but the image feels as if you're not looking through a camera but actually standing right where the camera was. You're not just looking into the scene—you feel like you're inside and part of it. Just the tree on the right alone gives me an incredible sense of real depth in the image. And as you can see, it doesn't even need a sharp-to-blurry transition to achieve that. This image feels a thousand times more three-dimensional to me than any photo taken with a super high-end APO or f/1.2 lens.
I'm not sure how much can be attributed to the sensor, sensor size, shooting parameters, or whatever else, but I've definitely found myself appreciating a newfound level of depth in many of my X2D images, and this is as good an example as most.
Curiously, I find myself stopping down more often and to a greater extent than I ever have before. I think it's probably due to many factors, including the really good IBIS, the excellent f16 performance of the 38V, and the subject matter I find myself shooting a lot these days (more stuff, less people). I do tend to think that high resolution sensors coupled with modern sharp lenses, and high depth of field can produce a sense of 'high reality' in photographs that you don't get with other combinations. It's probably also more common at certain moderately wide focal lengths where the view isn't very restricted or obviously distorted, like in this photo.
In any case, it's hard to say that it's just a 'medium format thing', but maybe easier to achieve with medium format? Regardless, I'm pickin' up what you're puttin' down!
Fantastic photos – I bet there was a lot going on in the second one!
Curiously, these shots don’t produce the effect I described in my last comment, and I still can’t pinpoint exactly what creates that "I feel like I'm right there in the scene where the camera was" sensation. Maybe someone here has studied this in more depth and can put it into words. Or perhaps it’s a topic for its own thread… though that would probably quickly spiral into a discussion about the ever-mysterious *medium format look* 😄
That aside, these are truly great candid moments—thanks for sharing! 👏
