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XPAN - IS IT WORTH IT?

Anonymous Wed 05 Oct 2016 17:11:46 No.2940681 View View Reply Original Report

i've been trying to get a xpan I, I found a good one for around 1700€ but don't know if it is worth it (I'm mainly afraid of the electronics failing) I love the results of this camera, I've seen amazing stuff with the 45mm f/4 - it's such a different beast, really cinematic, but for that price I could get a M6 and maybe some glass

-- if the xpan needs repairing im fucked, the m6 wins that, but the photos it takes, are unique, and stitching is for pussies...

Anonymous

Anonymous Wed 05 Oct 2016 17:27:01 No.2940693 Report

Quoted By:

for me no

for you ... maybe

only you can figure that one out

charlie !!W9fBLihq02J

charlie !!W9fBLihq02J Wed 05 Oct 2016 17:44:56 No.2940705 Report

Quoted By:

>>2940681
Man i've seen some really cool stuff shot with xpans

Junk used to have one, maybe still does - https://www.flickr.com/photos/etfjwmnb/

Also a guy I follow on insta - https://www.instagram.com/_justin_stokes_/

Question is really whether it will suit your specific shooting style.

My opinion: Get a nice used one - spend a long time and make sure you get a good deal. Run a few rolls through it. If you like what you get, stick. If not, sell up - you should be able to sell it for equal to what you bought it for.

Good luck OP! Come back and post glorious OC whatever you decide.

Anonymous

Anonymous Wed 05 Oct 2016 20:52:28 No.2940850 Report

Quoted By:

>1700 eurobux
You can find one cheaper, it just requires patience. I got my xpan for around 700. Before buying you may want to ask the seller what the shutter count is.

The photos it takes aren't really all that unique, is it the only pano setup that takes 65mm wide images? Yes. Is it unique? No. There are pano backs for MF cameras too, the only unique thing you're getting is the DOF of a standard/tele lens in a wide/standard FOV. The other major drawback it has are the lenses, while they're great lenses you have the 45 which is wide and the 90 which is standard. The 30mm has it's own finder and is superwide about 17mm iirc, it's also about as expensive as the rest of the kit.

So why pick up an xpan anyway? If you're used to shooting 135 pano and you want a weight reduction on your kit, it's great. If you're used to using rangefinders then it's a great purchase. If you really love shooting film then it's great. It is a good camera, it's just not for everyone.

If you already have digital, shoot a 24mm for a while and frame and crop everything (65x24). If you find that works for you pick up an xpan and the 45. If you don't like rangefinders or haven't shot one, make sure you do this first.

Anonymous

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Anonymous Wed 05 Oct 2016 20:54:59 No.2940852 Report

Quoted By: >>2940906

>1700 eurobux
You can find one cheaper, it just requires patience. I got my xpan for around 700 with the 45. Before buying make sure you ask what the shutter count is. Make sure you also ask about any gremlins. Xpan's have a tendency to have their electronics go, either the meter won't work or it'll drain the battery quick, make sure you're not buying one of these if you want to resell it later.

The photos it takes aren't really all that unique, is it the only pano setup that takes 65mm wide images? Yes. Is it unique? No. There are pano backs for MF cameras too, the only unique thing you're getting is the DOF of a standard/tele lens in a wide/standard FOV. The other major drawback it has are the lenses, while they're great lenses you have the 45 which is wide and the 90 which is standard. The 30mm has it's own finder and is superwide about 17mm iirc, it's also about as expensive as the rest of the kit.

So why pick up an xpan anyway? If you're used to shooting 135 pano and you want a weight reduction on your kit, it's great. If you're used to using rangefinders then it's a great purchase. If you really love shooting film then it's great. It is a good camera, it's just not for everyone.

If you already have digital, shoot a 24mm for a while and frame and crop everything (65x24). If you find that works for you pick up an xpan and the 45. If you don't like rangefinders or haven't shot one, make sure you do this first.

Anonymous

Anonymous Wed 05 Oct 2016 21:43:27 No.2940897 Report

Quoted By: >>2940912

The thing I'd worry about with an Xpan is that it's 1700 eurobucks for a camera body that's both electronic to the gills, and impossible to have serviced anymore. So one day it'll turn into a 1700€ display piece.

Consequently I convince myself that panoramic is a gimmick to be experimented with using a medium format pano camera (such as what based Alex uses, sometimes -- that's something like 58 x 118 mm or some such, absolutely immense) if one falls into my lap at some point. And that I'm happy that all those people on Flickr etc. spent that money and took those pictures and put them up, because I sure enjoy looking at a nice in-camera pano shot.

Anonymous

Anonymous Wed 05 Oct 2016 21:55:03 No.2940906 Report

Quoted By: >>2940912

>>2940852
which panoramic backs for medium format are you talking about?

Anonymous

Anonymous Wed 05 Oct 2016 22:01:58 No.2940907 Report

Quoted By:

>>2940681
I met Larry Towel of Magnum a few weeks ago and he was shooting on an Xpan, he also had really cool eyeglasses.
Is the Xpan difficult to repair if its damaged?

Anonymous

Anonymous Wed 05 Oct 2016 22:14:24 No.2940912 Report

Quoted By: >>2940916

The one alternative for 135 pano that completely went over my head was the Holga 135 pan. It's incredibly cheap and can be a good way to experiment with pano.

>>2940906
There's pano backs for the Bronica S system, I believe one for the E series too. Hassy had a 56x24 back. The Mamiya /7 had a 135 adapter too which is again 56x24. I believe the rest were generally hack jobs or mounting the spools. The Mamiya 645 135 back isn't true pano so avoid that.

They work well, extremely well and you have a large lineup of lenses you can use with them. What you do have is generally a lot of weight on anything but the Mamiya 6/7 as you are shooting MF SLR's. A complete kit with lens/prism/back will usually weigh about 2-3 KG while the Xpan is around 1.1 KG iirc.

>>2940897
Yeah, that's the big concern of owning one, one day it could fail. Until then enjoy it.
As for pano being a gimmick, it really can be. A lot of people feel that just because their images are now shot on a pano camera or an anamorphic lens that this makes them great when in reality you still need a clear vision. My buddy put a roll through the Xpan and he was super excited to get to shoot one, but he was disappointed with the results because he just couldn't make it work.
That's why I would recommend shooting digital at a 24mm eqv and cropping that ratio strictly until you know you can make it work. If you give it up after a few weeks or months, you've saved yourself the hassle of buying/reselling an xpan.

vosh !35mmF/4Qi6

vosh !35mmF/4Qi6 Wed 05 Oct 2016 22:18:55 No.2940915 Report

Quoted By: >>2940917 >>2940922

Did you consider the Fuji alternative? Basically the same camera, but I guess it's a little cheaper.
I'd go with the M6.

Anonymous

Anonymous Wed 05 Oct 2016 22:19:56 No.2940916 Report

Quoted By: >>2940922

>>2940912

Why the 24mm focal length ?

Anonymous

Anonymous Wed 05 Oct 2016 22:20:34 No.2940917 Report

Quoted By: >>2940922

>>2940915
This.

Fuji tx-1 is the exact same camera just rebranded as a Fuji.

Anonymous

Anonymous Wed 05 Oct 2016 22:31:02 No.2940922 Report

Quoted By: >>2940924

>>2940915
>>2940917
The Fuji TX series is usually the same price, it's not a well kept secret that it's the same camera anymore. It's usually a lot more expensive when I see it listed. Lenses sell for about the same price though if not cheaper because people want a black lens for their black body.
>>2940916
>Why the 24mm focal length ?
It's the equivalent horizontal FOV of the 45mm lens. It does have a different depth of field, it's still very much a 45mm f4 lens, but cropping a 24mm shot on 135 will result in roughly the same horizontal FOV
http://harrysproshop.com/Hasselblad_Xpan/hasselblad_xpan.html
http://www.fototheque.com/xpan/
You can read more on it here.

Anonymous

Anonymous Wed 05 Oct 2016 22:37:34 No.2940924 Report

Quoted By: >>2940931

>>2940922
>The Fuji TX series is usually the same price
Wow really? They are consistently a few hundred bucks cheaper here.

Anonymous

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Anonymous Wed 05 Oct 2016 22:45:29 No.2940931 Report

Quoted By:

>>2940924
Usually, There are more Xpan in the wild than there are TX's. Most TX are in Asia, while the Hassy is usually more common in Murrica/Yurop.

If you live in the EU, you're not going to be charged customs importing from another EU country. You will however be charged for buying one from Asia. Once you add on the customs charges they work out costing about the same. Most TX-1's will be sold as Buy it now or by a camera store while the Hasselblad is more likely to be sold privately. Never fall for the buy it now meme with a camera like this unless you're really sure or money's not an issue. It wasn't for me but considering that the camera really can't be repaired, I wasn't willing to pay over my desired limit.
Bide your time, setup search alerts, even outside of the film camera categories, sift through them time after time and you'll get one. pic related.

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