Medium Format

Slide Film on 120

Medium format is a significant step up from 35mm. The 6x6 frame offers roughly four times more film area — finer grain, smoother tonal transitions, and detail that survives serious magnification.

I shoot exclusively slide (E-6) film in medium format. Transparencies demand precise exposure — there is no lab correction to fall back on — but reward it with color and clarity that negative film cannot match. A 6x6 slide on the light table is an image in its own right.

My Camera

Rollei 6008 Professional A German 6x6 system camera with the Zeiss Planar 80mm f/2.8. The 6008 pairs the classic square format with a surprisingly modern body: integrated motor drive, accurate multi-mode metering, and interchangeable backs, so I can switch film stocks mid-shoot. The square frame forces careful composition — no lazy horizontal-or-vertical decision, the image has to work as a whole.

Film Choices

• Fuji Velvia 50 — The legendary landscape film. Extreme color saturation and resolving power; unforgiving, but unmatched when the light is right
• Fuji Provia 100F — My all-rounder. Neutral, fine-grained, and more tolerant of contrasty scenes than Velvia; works for portraits as well as landscapes
• Kodak Ektachrome E100 — Clean, neutral color with a slightly cooler signature. The revived classic slots between the two Fujis

Projection

This is why the big frame matters. The Rolleivision 66 is a dedicated 6x6 slide projector, and a medium format transparency on a big screen is the strongest case analog photography can make. A 4K digital projector tops out around eight megapixels; a sharp 6x6 Velvia slide resolves well beyond that, straight from the original — the light passes through the film itself, so nothing is lost to scanning or compression along the way.

Scanning for the Web

The gallery below was digitized on a Reflecta MF 5000 dedicated medium format film scanner, purely to show the work online. The transparencies themselves are mounted for the projector, not the scanner.