<P> While at one time or another a variety of medium - format film sizes were produced, today the vast majority of medium - format film is produced in the 6 cm 120 and 220 sizes . Other sizes are mainly produced for use in antique cameras, and many people assume 120 / 220 film when the term medium format is used . </P> <P> The general rule with consumer cameras--as opposed to specialized industrial, scientific, and military equipment--is the more cameras sold, the more sophisticated the automation features available . Medium - format cameras made since the 1950s are generally less automated than smaller cameras made at the same time, having high image quality as their primary advantage . For example, autofocus became available in consumer 35 mm cameras in 1977, but did not reach medium format until the late 1990s, and has never been available in a consumer large format camera . </P> <P> The main benefit of medium - format photography is that, because of the larger size of the film or digital sensor (two to six times larger than 35 mm), images of much higher resolution can be produced . This allows for bigger enlargements and smooth gradation without the grain or blur that would characterize similarly enlarged images produced from smaller film formats . The larger size of the film also allows for better control of the depth of field and therefore more photographic creativity . </P> <P> Cameras with a bellows typically support' tilt and shift' of the lens . Together with 1: 1 focusing (via a ground glass screen mounted at the rear in the film plane position), this permits landscape photography with an extremely large depth of field--from closest foreground to the far horizon--to be achieved . </P>

Medium-format cameras are often used by photographers who want to produce photographs that