Is it worth the hassle?

Alex Mustard · Issue 2, Oct/Nov 2001 · pp. 36–37

Products mentioned: Hasselblad 500C, Zeiss Distagon 50mm lens, Hasselblad Underwater Division housing, Sea & Sea YS120, Fujichrome Provia, Fuji Velvia, Nikonos V

I always get the impression that the level of the sea rises when- ever I take my Hasselblad in for a dive. Ok, that’s a slight exaggera- tion, but there is no denying that taking medium format cameras underwater requires a sizable housing. Size also means weight to achieve neutral buoyancy; hardly ideal for travel. Manual focus, manual exposure, no TTL, I even have to wind the film on. Why do I bother? Well, the answer is clear, well translucent, and measures of two and a quarter inches square, that is 60 mm in new money. Medium format transparencies are not a small improvement over 35 mm, they are in a different world. In this article I hope to pass on some of my experiences in my adventure crossing from a modern 35 mm SLR to a fully manual roll film SLR. So what exactly is medium format? Medium format cameras take film larger than 35 mm but smaller than large format 4x5 inch. In practi…