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...