I'm looking forward to the freedom of cropping digital. That *is* the advantage of medium format, at least for me.
+1 for format
I mentioned the 16 bit color, etc. The 4:3 starting point vs. 3:2 starting point is another aspect for me.
The advantage of 16 vs. 14 bits for color is a myth. In theory, 16 bits could help with dynamic range, but they do not do much for a sensor size of 44x33. Most use 14 bits instead.
It isn’t quite a myth. There are some potential benefits, but they are often exaggerated and it is true that they are only significant in a very small subset of cases, mostly related to people who regularly push files in specific and very quite extreme ways in post, and not the way that most people are thinking of.
It isn’t a perfect analogy, but the “It has 16 bits so it must be better!” argument is a uncomfortabli close to a future, predictable “it has 32 bits instead of 30, so it must be better!” argument. ;-)
You literally would not be able to sense any difference in two SOOC images, particularly if you are shooting in jpg mode, where one is 14 bit and the other is 16 bit. You could view them on a very good and very large screen or you could make prints of them — it would not matter.
The same is true for the results of typical post-processing workflows beginning with raw files.
So, it is not a myth that there is a “difference,” but it is arguably a myth that there will be a meaningful visual difference in all but certain extreme cases.
If you can have 16-bit files “for free,” then why not? But if you have to give up other important things to get them, you’ll have to balance those things agains the (very small) potential improvement in a few edge cases from 16-bit.
Mar 29, 2025 at 10:12 AM
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