Phase One 645 Camera

January 13, 2009 ·

Michael Reichmann

By Way of IntroductionOne upon a time there was a vibrant medium format camera business. Numerous companies, some of them making weird and wonderful devices, vied for our business. Who werewe? For the most part working pros who required higher image quality than 35mm film could provide, primarily for commercial applications and print reproduction. There was also a healthy smattering of serious amateurs who similarly wanted higher image quality for our fine art prints and other purposes.

Then along came digital. Between 2000 and 2006 the digital steamroller decimated medium format. Film was disappearing rapidly and while a small and vibrant business was developing for medium format digital backs, prices were very high. Many pros and not a few amateurs couldn't resist the 11 then 16 then 21MP DSLR, along with their ever-higher image quality, zoom lenses, long lenses, perspective control lenses, fast lenses, smaller size, lower weight and lower price.

With the ever-hastening d...

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Michael Reichmann is the founder of the Luminous Landscape. Michael passed away in May 2016. Since its inception in 1999 LuLa has become the world's largest site devoted to the art, craft, and technology of photography. Each month more than one million people from every country on the globe visit LuLa.

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