{"title":"medium format","description":"\u003cp\u003e35mm was fine, really fine. But someone decided “fine” wasn’t dramatic enough and invented medium format. Bigger negatives, bigger sensors, fancier tones, and nuanced low-light performance that makes 35mm look like it forgot its glasses. Philosophically, it also comes with a lecture: slow down, treasure each shot, and yes, spend money you’ll regret later.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eMedium format film was never in a rush. Autofocus? Optional. Loading? A ritual of manual alignment and whispered prayers. Interchangeable backs let you swap films mid-roll, which sounds clever until you’re managing eight half-used rolls like a deranged librarian. Some cameras bend reality with full movements for perspective control while35mm can only sulk in the corner. It’s the difference between asking nicely and simply making the universe comply.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eDigital arrived in the ’90s, eventually evolving into monsters of 80+ megapixels, mostly affordable only if your accountant is very forgiving. Yet medium format also moonlights as a playground for eccentrics: Holgas, Dianas, Soviet TLRs, and 3D-printed DIY rigs prove that patience, creativity, and mild insanity are optional accessories. Bottom line: better pictures demand bigger cameras, bigger bills, and a willingness to look absurd while you carry them. Medium format isn’t gentle—it’s relentless, and you’ll either love it or curse it, depending on your back muscles and sense of humour.\u003c\/p\u003e","products":[{"product_id":"horseman-980-camera-kit-ravishes","title":"Horseman 980 Camera Kit","description":"\u003cp class=\"whitespace-normal break-words\"\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eWHAT CONDITION THE CONDITION IS IN: \u003cmeta charset=\"utf-8\"\u003e88-Day Confirmed Operation Warranty. This is an interesting kit. Both lenses are in good shape with fairly accurate shutter speeds. The 65mm’s slow speeds run about half a stop slow, but 15, 30, 60, 125, and 250 are solid. The 90mm speeds aren’t bang on, but they’re close and within tolerance. The body shows use, but the rangefinder is clear and works well. The film backs are Wista and have a slightly larger opening than Horseman backs. It’s a complete setup and ready to use. Scroll down to learn why this camera thinks it's remarkable. Spoiler: it has a point.\u003cb id=\"docs-internal-guid-bb47de12-7fff-33d3-710f-555027c38fa2\"\u003e\u003cspan\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"whitespace-normal break-words\"\u003eThe Horseman 980 is what happens when Japanese engineers in the mid-20th century looked at the lumbering view camera and the scrappy press camera and thought, why not both? It's a 6x9 technical field camera that refuses to choose sides, offering the portability of something you might actually carry and the precise movements of something you'd normally need an engineer to operate.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"whitespace-normal break-words\"\u003eBest used on a tripod, though it'll forgive you for trying handheld thanks to its viewfinder with automatic parallax correction and coupled rangefinder. The front movements are generous: geared rise, tilt, swing, and shift, all the tools you need to bend perspective to your will, while the rear movements are more reserved, as if the designers decided you didn't need that much control. They were probably right.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"whitespace-normal break-words\"\u003eIt shoots 6x9 on 120 roll film, eight exposures per roll, which sounds limiting until you remember that scarcity breeds intention, or at least makes you think twice before firing the shutter. Paired with the 90mm f\/5.6 standard or the Super 65mm f\/7 wide-angle, it delivers images that are sharp yet softly resolute, low in contrast, high in character, with a vintage quality baked into the glass itself.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"whitespace-normal break-words\"\u003eThe Horseman 980 doesn't apologize. It asks for patience and rewards it with precise, character-rich results that feel earned rather than given.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"whitespace-normal break-words\"\u003eFor landscape, architecture, portraits and fine art work, it's a camera that demands you slow down and think. In an age of infinite exposures and instant feedback, that's not a limitation, friends. It's a philosophy.\u003cspan style=\"color: rgb(179, 179, 179);\"\u003e\u003cem\u003e\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Horseman","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":47157855551675,"sku":"HOR-980-MF-VC-KIT-GD-100162","price":788.0,"currency_code":"CAD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0645\/6960\/6331\/files\/HOR-980-MF-VC-KIT-GD-100162-horseman-980-view-camera-medium-format-kit-vintage-camera-used-0010.jpg?v=1763234258"},{"product_id":"voigtlander-bessa-ii-apo-lanthar-lens-titillates","title":"Voigtländer Bessa II Apo-Lanthar","description":"\u003cp data-end=\"742\" data-start=\"160\"\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eWHAT CONDITION THE CONDITION IS IN: This very rare Bessa II APO Lanthar is remarkably clean and looks barely used. The shutter needs a CLA. The lens has some dust typical for a lens of its age. The bellows are free of holes and damage. It includes the 645 frame mask, though the viewfinder mask for it is missing and only has the standard 6x9 mask. Otherwise it’s complete, with the original box, leather case, instruction manual, and a signed inspection certificate in German.\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp data-end=\"742\" data-start=\"160\"\u003e\u003cstrong\u003ePlease note: Because of the high value of this item, we strongly encourage payment by bank transfer or Wise. Credit card payment requires prior approval. Please call or email the store to discuss payment options before purchasing.\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp data-end=\"742\" data-start=\"160\"\u003eGermany, 1954. A Voigtländer executive stares at a folding camera prototype with the expression of someone who's just realized they're about to design something magnificent that almost nobody will be able to afford. Fewer than 300 Bessa IIs with the 105mm f\/4.5 Apo-Lanthar lens would be made between 1954 and 1956, making it one of the rarest medium format folding rangefinders ever produced. It's the photographic equivalent of German optical aristocracy: impeccably bred, exquisitely crafted, and so scarce that owning one feels less like a purchase and more like a coronation.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp data-end=\"1514\" data-start=\"744\"\u003eBuilt in Germany, the Bessa II combines precise engineering with a compact folding design that delivers large 6x9 negatives. Its coupled rangefinder ensures accurate focusing, while the rare six-element Apo-Lanthar lens, with its distinctive red, green, and black rings, provides apochromatic correction and exceptional sharpness thanks to lanthanum glass. Discovered in 1839 and first used by Kodak in the 1930s, lanthanum enabled sharp, colour-accurate lenses and powered Voigtländer's 1949 Apo-Lanthar for true apochromatic correction. Non-radioactive and safe, it marked a major advance in lens design and remains foundational to high-performance optics today. This is German optical pedigree at its finest: precision, innovation, and a touch of chemical wizardry.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp data-end=\"1926\" data-start=\"1516\"\u003eThe Bessa II could also use a rare 6x4.5cm mask, allowing sixteen smaller frames on 120 film instead of eight 6x9 frames. A full set included a metal film gate mask and a viewfinder mask, though original masks are scarce. This example includes the film gate mask, though not the viewfinder mask, which is a bit like owning a Porsche without the owner's manual. Annoying, but the car still drives beautifully.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp data-end=\"2255\" data-start=\"1928\"\u003eComplete Apo-Lanthar Bessa II sets with the original box, leather case, paperwork, and inspector's card are even rarer. With so few cameras made, perishable materials rarely survived, and accessories were often lost. A full set such as this one, especially with the signed inspection card, is a unique and highly prized find.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp data-end=\"2577\" data-start=\"2257\"\u003eIn the end, the Bessa II with Apo-Lanthar lens is what happens when German engineers decide rarity equals desirability and proceed accordingly. Fewer than 300 made. Apochromatic correction. Lanthanum glass. It's magnificently impractical and impossibly rare. Which, for German optical pedigree, is precisely the point.\u003cspan style=\"color: rgb(179, 179, 179);\"\u003e\u003cem\u003e\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Voigtlander","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":47169172242619,"sku":"VGT-BES-RF-KIT-EX-100014","price":9888.0,"currency_code":"CAD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0645\/6960\/6331\/files\/VGT-BES-RF-KIT-EX-100014-voigtlander-bessa-ii-apo-lanthar-rangefinder-medium-format-vintage-film-camera-used-0009-front-I.jpg?v=1769815952"}],"url":"https:\/\/www.foxandtalbot.com\/collections\/medium-format.oembed","provider":"Fox and Talbot Cameras","version":"1.0","type":"link"}