Autumn’s 5 Favorite medium and Large format cameras

Self-portrait with my Hasselblad 500cm

Plaubel Makina 67

Quite possibly the quirkiest camera in my collection, but also the one I am convinced I could document an entire wedding day on if I could only pack one camera. This medium format rangefinder folds up compact, but packs a punch with a 6x7 frame size which yields 10 photographs per roll. The 80mm/2.8 fixed lens is the glass that dreams are made of.

The Plaubel Makina 67 encourages me to make the tack-sharp, technical photographs of my dreams (when I want). Still, it offers so much personality in the character of the glass, the short focus throw, and the signature rounded corners when I leave the film edge on my photographs.

One time TSA damaged my only other camera I packed, and I was forced to lean into taking photographs on my Plaubel Makina for the entirety of a 2 week trip to Mexico. Since then, I have developed so much love and trust for this camera that it’s now often the only camera I pack on personal trips and for portrait sessions.

A wedding day portrait in the Catskills photographed on the Intrepid Camera 4×5

Hasselblad 500cm

I fell in love with the Hasselblad the first time I held one in my hands during my film school days. Something about its delicate nature, intuitive feel in my hands, and the chrome had my heart fluttering. This was the first camera I yearned for, and the first medium format camera that kicked off my personal collection.

Every photograph I take with this camera feels like a dream. The waist-level viewfinder lets me stay incredibly present and engaged with my subject. Since this camera is fully mechanical, like all the cameras on this list, it’s one of my most trustworthy cameras in nearly any situation.

While I have the biggest crush on the 6x6 square format, I also have so much freedom to crop photographs from my Hasselblad into whatever format I prefer. Like the Plaubel Makina 67, the Hasselblad is sometimes the only camera I tote along for personal trips or projects.

Roses along the Maine Coast photographed on my Mamiya C330

Holga 120N

The best camera money can buy is just under $50 and made entirely of plastic. Functioning like a typical point-and-shoot camera, there aren’t any bells and whistles. The only decisions to make with this camera are how close your subject is, whether your scene is shady or sunny (or do you want to pop on a flash), whether you’d like to have a “normal” shutter speed or a long exposure, and if you’d prefer to shoot in a 6x6 or 645 crop.

The Holga is an excellent first foray into learning to load medium format film and getting a feel for different 120 film stocks. It’s also an excellent camera if you’re a fan of an element of surprise in your work. I never quite know how my photographs on this camera are going to come out, and for me, that’s half the fun.

Due to the accessibility and size, I think this is a camera that every photographer should have in their kit.

Ever since I stepped underneath a dark cloth for the first time and saw my first upside-down and backward image reflected in the ground glass, I have been absolutely taken with making photographs on a larger scale.

I’ve always seen a larger frame space as holding so much potential: for seeing, for cropping, for making large prints, and for taking my time composing a scene. I tend to work more slowly and find that shooting on both medium and large format best supports this, both in the moment and post-production.

While I was lucky enough to kick off my medium and large format journey in the supportive environment of my BFA program at Bennington College, I’m hoping this list will inspire you to take the leap and try something new. I hope you will find yourself under the dark cloth or looking through a waist-level viewfinder with awe and wonder for the first time.

These are the cameras that I pack in my kit for wedding days, and reach for when creating personal projects.

Popocatépetl in central Mexico, photographed with my Plaubel Makina 67

intrepid camera 4x5 view camera

My very first 4x5 camera was an Arca-Swiss F-Line that I still love to this day. Unfortunately, due to the size, set-up, and carrying case required for the Arca-Swiss and its monorail, I wasn’t reaching for this camera as much without a studio to keep it set up in at all times.

After searching high and low for a more portable option, I discovered Intrepid Camera and immediately bought into this plywood and 3D-printed foldable view camera. I haven’t looked back since. My favorite thing about this camera is that it fits in my camera backpack and still leaves room for more gear, and in a pinch, I can even pack it and all its accessories into a tote bag.

The magic of photographing on a 4x5 (besides the delightful reaction this vintage-style camera evokes from whoever is around) is the scale. There’s nothing like holding a 4 inch x 5 inch negative in your hands, and the resolution is more impressive than any digital camera out there.

Photographing on one sheet at a time (in place of a roll of film) forces you to slow down and take your time, both with yourself and your subject. Since 4x5 cameras are some of the most customizable from the lens to the ground glass and bellows, you can truly build out the camera of your dreams. For me, this is photographing with the new and light(!) body of the Intrepid Camera 4x5 paired with vintage lenses that often allow me to stop down to f/32 and f/64.

On my favorite wedding days, I pack my Intrepid Camera 4x5 and anywhere from 2-10 sheets of 4x5 film, usually Ilford HP5 Plus 400 or Cinestill 400D.

Bridesmaids photographed on my Hasselblad 500cm with an 80mm/2.8 lens

Mamiya C330

The very first medium format camera I ever took a photograph with was a Mamiya C220. It’s the camera that taught me all about composing a scene in reverse, how to use a handheld light meter and meter for shadows, and gave me a crash course in depth of field.

Twin-lens reflex cameras, or TLRs, are in my opinion the best starting-off point in anyone’s medium format journey. There is something incredibly simple about loading film and creating photographs on these cameras. Unlike some other well-known TLRs like the Rolleicord or Yashica, the Mamiya C330 allows you to swap out for different lenses, and for both a waist-level or prism viewfinder, making this camera just as infinitely customizable as the Hasselblad or a 4x5.

I recently added a Mamiya C330 to my rotation last year after revisiting some of my work from college. In those days, I was often out in the woods or on long drives with a Mamiya C220 in my passenger seat. While a little hefty for wedding days, I love bringing this camera with me on long drives and to portrait sessions.

A wedding day double-exposure photographed on my Holga.