An Anniversary Session Ended An Internal Gear Debate For Good: Sony 50mm f/1.2 G Master

I had long wanted a medium format digital camera. The issue was one question.

Did I really have a use case for a digital medium camera that no other camera wold meet or did I just like saying that I had a medium format camera?

Both are good enough reasons to have one. We are all grown. You do you so on and so forth. Nothing wrong with having something simply because you want it. As is my way I sought out the least expensive entry point that would meet this requirement.

But long term that was not good enough for me. Had suspected I fell into the latter category ever since a bridal shoot had me wondering which I had used. I opened that post with a rather bold statement:

…how I stopped worrying about digital medium format and learned to love full frame.

But the results that day backed it up.

Pentax 645D + FA 75mm f/2.8

A7III + FE 50mm f/1.2 G Master

But that was with a relatively modest 24MP. To reach the high MP levels of 645D and other digital medium format cameras with 40, 50, or even 100 MP this lens would need to be paired up with a Sony camera with an R in the name. And that pairing did very well for a family photo session.

A7RV + FE 50mm f/1.2 G Master

But with so many subjects including little ones with fleeting attention spans and one threatening a melt down that day was low level chaos. As a result, I never really got to consider the experience and bokeh was not the priority. But that points to a big plus. This Sony combination offers comparable performance…

Pentax 645D + FA 75mm f/2.8

A7C + FE 50mm f/1.2 G Master

…but with a massive difference. Modern Sony performance. As much as I like it that 645D would not have done well with so many little ones that had no intention of standing still.

So. That all brings us to the main topic of this post. I received a text asking if I could do an anniversary session. I said sure. And with this slower pace with two people sans little ones this would be a perfect opportunity to flex the portrait muscles of this combination.

How did it do?

Perfectly. First some sample shots followed by some closing comments. Paired camera and lens with a Godox V1 on body flipped up with a bounce card.

Pastor Derrick Thorpe and Mrs. Paquita Thorpe

Verdict?

I am good. Quick overview compared to that wonderful vintage digital 645D and other modern non phase detect having digital medium format offerings.

Perfect Autofocus. Near instant focus acquisition and every single photo was in focus. Not the case for the 645D. I have had the luxury of trying Fujifilm’s 50MP while considering a trade. Its poor autofocus performance is why I did not follow through.
Image quality. I could ask for no better. And surprisingly more MP than the non phase detect digital medium format cameras.

So what about the even higher MP (100) cameras with phase detect autofocus?