Jorgen Udvang
Subscriber Member
The reality is that there are no equivalents, partly because technologies change and partly because, as you point out, there's more to this than numbers. When the Leica S delivers something that looks better than something else, it's the sum of Leica's efforts, something that nobody can calculate. Still, size matters in some ways, and I believe those who claim that the old 22MP MF sensors had something that the current Sony sensors don't have. Part of that is resolution and other measurable factors. The more resolution, the more DR, the more bit depth, the more exact colours you get, the smaller the difference between the different cameras and lenses will be, since they all move towards the same target and because they all are getting closer to that target.But these linear numbers in terms of % or "times of", don't relate in the way that you would think numbers should. Even the cropped backs and the Leica S, the differences are clear to see. The most common thing you read in places like dpr or forums is things like "it's not even real medium format!". It is clear these people have never used these backs and can't see the differences for the life of them. They just hear the numbers and assume it's not much.
To be fair, on the other end, there are people who say that medium format digital now looks like Large Format. For the same reasons, it's untrue, but of course resolution can get fairly close, but that's a small part of it.
Making large prints is a bonus but that is not the reason I use it. The visual differences in aesthetic to me are obvious. 35mm looks harsh and abrupt in comparison. The benefits of medium format you can see, even in small jpgs online. Though as I said earlier - some shots all cameras can look similar (like stopped down, at a distance etc)
It's like certain words in a vocabulary - you carefully choose words to say what you want to say. If you really have no need for it in your work then that is fine and fair.
The medium format look? I would look for one of the older backs. When things become to perfect, it's not a "look" anymore. Then it's up to the photographer to create it, making interesting imperfection from perfection.