kidigital Posted April 25, 2007 Share #1 Posted April 25, 2007 Advertisement (gone after registration) Anybody out there using a Hasselblad X-pan as a film rangefinder companion to their M8? Impressions? I've been thinking about picking up a used X-pan as fun panoramic way to mix in some landscape photography this summer. I've got the fast, low-light side of things covered with the M8, so the kit 45/4 lens shouldn't be much of an issue. Kurt Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Advertisement Posted April 25, 2007 Posted April 25, 2007 Hi kidigital, Take a look here Anybody using an X-pan as an M8 companion?. I'm sure you'll find what you were looking for!
skimmel Posted April 25, 2007 Share #2 Posted April 25, 2007 I rented one a few times and was extremely impressed. Great lens (I used the 45mm) and I really like the format. I often visualize scenes in "panoramic format", even people-pics. Lens is slow so you can be stuck if you don't have fast film and end up in a dark scene with moving subjects and no tripod, but that's just the way it goes. I think it would make an interesting companion to the M8. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
gwelland Posted April 25, 2007 Share #3 Posted April 25, 2007 That's my combo. I use the M8 for almost everything now but I do shoot with the XPan I 45/4 & 90/4 lenses. I also use a couple of D2X's for the 'big stuff' (whatever that means). It makes for a great combination but it does make you think seriously about how easy digital shooting really is. The lenses are excellent and it's fun to be more creative with true panoramics. The only downside is that realistically you need to shoot & scan and very few 35mm film scanners will accept the longer images. I use a Minolta Scan Multi Pro & Epson 750M with a scanhancer. Those few places that will print panoramics are expensive. When you get your slides/film processed it's essential to ask for the film to be left uncut. It's tedious at best (even compared to scanning 35mm slides) but the results are great. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Roderik Posted April 25, 2007 Share #4 Posted April 25, 2007 same here Alltough mainly used it next to my M6's Mainly use the 45 ( i do have a 28 nikon with adapter and a 90 but i almost never use them) I use a Coolscan 8000 to make them digital. See my site All panoram's made with Xpan Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
GMB Posted April 25, 2007 Share #5 Posted April 25, 2007 I used the combo of Xpan and M7 and now Xpan and M8. I picked up my Xpan on the bay with a 45 mm lense (I bought the 90 mm later bur rarely use it). I really enjoy shooting. While scanning takes time (I use a Coolscan V, scan the shoot in 2 steps with exposure lock), the final prints are great. Here is a link to some of my pano shots Gallery Folder Georg Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
kidigital Posted April 25, 2007 Author Share #6 Posted April 25, 2007 Thanks for the responses and the links to the images. I've found one that I'm going to be able to try out over the weekend. I'm excited, I really like the examples I've seen and the format has a lot of appeal to me from a composition perspective. I'm not certain if it's worth bothering with the center filter, I seem to like a little bit of vignetting in these type of images. Roderik, I keep going back to your site ... you really have a wonderful gallery. For me, the documentary and panoramic shots evoke a great deal of emotion. Real people. Real emotion. Real good work. Kurt Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
dfarkas Posted April 25, 2007 Share #7 Posted April 25, 2007 Advertisement (gone after registration) Kurt, Give it a try. I have a customer who takes the XPan with him when he camps out in the Everglades. He goes in by canoe for about a week at a time, far from civilization. The shots of the early morning sun rising over the Glades are just breathtaking. And to think it's a Fuji! Grab some Velvia and go have some fun. David Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
kidigital Posted April 25, 2007 Author Share #8 Posted April 25, 2007 Hi David, Good to hear from you again. Are you able to do scans of the negatives in this format? How big are the files? You know how much I love digital and hate scanning ... so I'll need to send the negatives out ... hint, hint. Kurt Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
hrosell Posted April 25, 2007 Share #9 Posted April 25, 2007 Kurt, I have used an X-pan extensively together with my two M6s and a Rollei LS66SE on a project about the Argentine Northwest still under way. I shoot mainly in B&W and the camera is great. Rather than vignetting there is some difference in light at the right and left extremes which was easier to handle by dodging when printing at the wet lab. Now that I do all of my printing on large Epson desktops, the scanning process is done with a Nikon Coolscan 8000 ED using a "Nikon 120 Rotating Holder F/LS88000" which I bought from Adorama by mid 2002. At the time the Part Nbr was INKFH869GR and it costed $ 339.95, not cheap!, but it came with some masks inside for different sizes, one of which corresponds to 24x63 mm, i.e. the X-Pan size. Be aware though that you would have to be meticulous about cleanliness of the glasses, not only for having six surfaces to wipe thoroughly but also for the eventual appearance of Newton rings. Even so, the combination of this camera, the images you can get and the Coolscan 8000/holder outfit is really worthwhile. There are just a couple of pictures with the X-Pan in my page in "Argentine Northwest". Regards, Horacio Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
dfarkas Posted April 25, 2007 Share #10 Posted April 25, 2007 Kurt, Yeah, we can scan Xpan negs or transparencies. The files are somewhere around 30-40MB, I believe. Give me call so we can catch up a bit. It has been too long. David Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Roderik Posted April 25, 2007 Share #11 Posted April 25, 2007 thank you Kurt, nice compliment. There is indeed a lot of vigneting. with the 45 at 4 there is almost 1 stop diffrence between the middle and the corners. at 8 it is all gone Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
woodyspedden Posted April 25, 2007 Share #12 Posted April 25, 2007 Hi David, Good to hear from you again. Are you able to do scans of the negatives in this format? How big are the files? You know how much I love digital and hate scanning ... so I'll need to send the negatives out ... hint, hint. Kurt HeyKurt I use the Nikon 9000 to scan my Xpan trannies with very good success. I agree that the center filter for the 45mm lens is not a must but it certainly is for the wonderful 30mm lens. (This may be the best super wide I have ever owned!) All in all I love the system but I must admit that since I got the M8 it hasn't been dusted off for a while. Same for the Mamiya 6x7 rangefinder. I suppose that one of these days I will have to consider selling some of this great gear. Stay in touch Woody Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
kidigital Posted April 25, 2007 Author Share #13 Posted April 25, 2007 Looks good, Georg. Horacio, more excellent advice and images, thanks. It's great to see such a broad and diverse view of the world on this forum. Argentina is definitely on the list of my wish list of "want to see" countries. David, I'll give you a call. Roderik, the tip on the stop difference between f4 and f8 will be helpful as I shoot my first few rolls of film with the camera. Good to hear from you Woody, I sent you a pm. Kurt Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Archived
This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.