page_title: Medium format
section_title: "Lomography" and other low-budget medium-format cameras
hierarchical_section_title: Medium format / "Lomography" and other low-budget medium-format cameras
caption_attribution_description: English: A Baldafix folding camera by Balda, with a Pronto shutter mechanism. A roll of 120 (medium format) film included for scale.
context_page_description: Medium format has traditionally referred to a film format in still photography and the related cameras and equipment that use film. Nowadays, the term applies to film and digital cameras that record images on media larger than 24 mm × 36 mm, but smaller than 4 in × 5 in.
  In digital photography, medium format refers either to cameras adapted from medium-format film photography uses or to cameras making use of sensors larger than that of a 35 mm film frame. Often, medium-format film cameras can be retrofitted with digital camera backs, converting them to digital cameras, but some of these digital backs, especially early models, use sensors smaller than a 35 mm film frame. As of 2013, medium-format digital photography sensors were available in sizes of up to 40.3 by 53.7 mm, with 60 million pixels for use with commonly available professional medium-format cameras. Sensors used in special applications such as spy satellites can be even larger but are not necessarily described as medium-format equipment.
context_section_description: While most professional medium-format cameras are very expensive, some inexpensive plastic imports, such as Diana and Holga, are gaining in popularity, particularly with toy camera enthusiasts. Many of these cameras are sold through the Austrian Lomographische AG. Due to the poor quality of the cameras, the exact image captured on the negative is somewhat random in nature. These cameras often have plastic lenses that offer poor or uneven focus, light leaks that oddly colorize an image, extreme vignetting, and a multitude of other attributes that are generally undesirable to photographers. While these elements certainly are flaws from the point of view of camera design, they can produce interesting, artistic, or enjoyable results. Because of the popularity of lomography and toy camera culture, medium-format photography has seen a resurgence with amateur photographers. Twin-lens reflex cameras (TLRs) and folders without the distortion and light leaks can be purchased on the used market in the same price range.
  The Chinese Seagull TLR and medium-format cameras from the former Soviet Union such as the Russian Lubitel and somewhat better made Ukrainian Kiev-Arsenal 60 and 88 are also available at moderate prices. These cameras can deliver quality images, although the lenses and camera bodies are not at the level of those from Swedish, German, and Japanese manufacturers. Depending on the condition of the camera, they can produce images ranging from Lomography to images close to the European and Japanese counterparts.
  Used folding cameras, TLRs, and box cameras are also a cheap option to shoot medium format. Many U.S.-made folders, including most of the mass-produced Kodak folders, use the discontinued 620 film requiring the user to respool 120 films or modify the film spool to fit.
caption: Baldafix folding camera, one of a large number of old folding cameras which used medium-format film, with a roll of 120 film
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