just got an xpan ii and 45mm f/4 and have a couple of questions

[brian_hirschfeld]

<p>I just got a used xpan ii and 45mm f/4 lens at richard caplan in London (looks like new, I suspect never used) and I was wondering if anyone had some suggestions for how to use it or of any accessories for it...thanks for the help..</p>

[t_nu_tamm]

<p>http://www.fototheque.com/xpan/index.html</p>

[Gus Lazzari]

<ol>

<li>That Panorama switch should be exercised often. It's a weak point in Fuji's choice of plastic materials. I've repaired several Hasselblads with the symptom of no format shift. (24x36 over to 24x65) Lubricant gets sticky, which puts too much pressure on the sensitive part. (Requires a full tear down of the body covers, RF and mount.)</li>

<li>Watch the use of Panorama in the vertical hold position. Photographically tough, wastes film & doesn't make much sense.</li>

<li>Take care of the body and especially those Xpan lenses, they're <strong>expensive</strong>.</li>

<li>If you acquire it, use caution cleaning the gradient filter for the 30mm.</li>

</ol>

<p>Neat camera, enjoy it !</p>

<ol> </ol>

[aplumpton]

<p>I have never used one, but find it intriguing. Joseph's bottom left photo on Tonu Tamm's link shows for me one of the advantages of the wider frame. The action occurs at left but the woman captured at right is brought into the scene without overpowering it. Neat.</p>

<p>Of course, much usage will be for panoramas of landscapes, but the same unifying action applies. I may never have the werewithall to get an XPAN and 45 or 30mm (very expensive) lens, but agree with the opinon of others, more familiar with the camera, that the 90mm probably doesn't work particularly well in panorama shots. For the present, I am cropping my 6 x 9 cm negs to a 3 x 9 cm effective view and throwing away half of the neg image. It (GSW 690III Fuji) has a 28mm effective lens, so the result is somewhat like an XPAN and 30mm lens.</p>

<p>Congrats on your purchase. An aerial photographer acquaintance does most of his work with the XPAN.</p>

[donald_hutton]

<p>"It (GSW 690III Fuji) has a 28mm effective lens, so the result is somewhat like an XPAN and 30mm lens."<br>

Not even close... you forgot that the Xpan pano image is twice as wide as a normal 35mm negative. In addition, it's a 65mm lens which simply has a very different perpective to a 30mm lens, regardless of what gets cropped or not.</p>

[aplumpton]

<p>Donald,</p>

<p>You are right, I erred in my haste. The GSW 690III 65mm lens is similar to a 28mm lens for the format aspect ratio of 1:1.5 and not that of 1:3. I don't know what the equivalent lens would be on an XPAN to my cropped 3 x 9 cm Fuji, as the former's horizontal dimension is only about 72mm wide, rather 90mm (approximately, as film planes are usually somewhat smaller in dimension), but I guess the Fuji would be close to the 45mm standard XPAN lens on the smaller width negative. If someone knows, I would be glad to have that information.</p>

<p>The 6x7 format 43mm lens of the Mamiya 7 or 7II would likely give a result similar to the XPAN and its standard lens, if you crop the vertical dimension to give an aspect ratio of 1:3. In any case, my 6x9 is a versatile camera, as I can get full advantage of the large negative size for the 1:1.5 aspect ratio and change that easily to 1:3 and still have a big enough negative for good enlargements (roughly 3 x 9 cm, versus the nominal XPAN 2.4 by 7.2 cm negative size).</p>

<p> </p>

[kris]

Brian, that leveling bubble is invaluable when you take pictures with the horizon. If you didn't get one with the XPan, go and get one.

<p>

[bill_pearce1]

<p>Don't discount the 90. Panoramas don't need to be ultra wiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiide. I use my 90 more than my 30.<br>

Bill Pearce</p>

[george_c.]

<p>Horst Hamann does a convincing job of using the Xpan vertically, check out his Paris and New York verticals on www.horsthamann.com</p>