Stuart Richardson
Active member
I went medium format digital before, and while there are ways to use most systems with a medium format digital back, I would say you will get the best user experience by choosing a system that has been designed specifically with digital use in mind. For me, I would say this means the Mamiya/Phase One camera system, the Hasselblad H series, the Hy6/AFi, ZD, Pentax 645D or Leica S2. While some of these may be out of your price range, you might find one (particularly the ZD or Mamiya systems) in your price range. The reason I say this is that there is a lot to be said for having a camera system that just works without too many cable connections, stop down metering, or other complicated gymnastics. When you are actually taking photos, you will probably be wanting to focus more on the task of image making than on trying to fiddle with equipment. All of the systems are capable of great images when used properly, and the greatest differences between them (particularly at the lower end of the market) is more in user experience than in image quality. As Graham said, I would consider either selling your lenses and getting a new system, or opting for a system that would use them natively. One nice thing about the H system for you would be that you can get a lens adapter that would allow you to use your lenses without stop-down metering. I would look long and hard at this first to see if you can put together a kit with that which would fit your budget. Either that, or just sell it all and get something more dedicated to digital.