Originally posted by reh321 In the days of film, Medium Format was better simply by virtue of the fact that the same film had more grains than it did when used with 35mm cameras, but no ‘prestige’ automatically attaches to Medium Format today.
Yes, prestige is attached to “Hasselblad” even today - but it also is attached to “Leica”.
Pentax 645 cameras are still widely used by landscape photographers in Japan. If you look at the most prominent magazine for landscape photography, Pentax 645 is one of the most frequently used systems. A lot of these photographers are still using film.
So I think the 645 system does carry prestige for Pentax, even if it is mostly just servicing existing users' needs for replacements.
I remember a discussion I had with a professional photographer some years ago. When I said I use Pentax, he replied, "Oh, so you use medium format!" It seems that in serious photographic circles in Japan, Pentax has been synonymous with medium format.