35mm panoramic film backs for MF?

[tom_t2]

I am into Panoramic Photography and in the middle of making up my mind wich MF

camera to purchase second hand - i am a student of arts.

 

It might sound strange but i intend to use 35mm film! Why this? Mostly because

post-processing the pictures in Photoshop requires them to be scanned and scanning

medium format film is definitely more expensive than 35mm.

 

For what cameras are 35mm film backs available - preferably panorama backs with a

size of at least 24x56mm?

 

I have heard of backs for Hasselblads - which i would really fancy, but cannot find

any information on them. I know about backs for Bronicas. Moreover, is or was

anything available for 6x7 or 6x9?

 

Many thanks for your input.

[art_haykin]

If you clomp a 35mm back onto an MF camera, all you will get is a cropped version of the coverage. To get true panoramic coverage, you'd need a very wideangle lens on that set-up, it seems to me.

[ben_pater]

Tom

 

You need a MF scanner to scan 35/56 mm negs. 35mm

scanners do scan 24/35mm. You can use a epson 3200

scanner, which less expensive and quit good.

[kevinteo]

You could try getting a Mamiya 7 and a panoramic adapter kit. It

works for me. :)

[fino]

If you're hung up on 35mm put the hasselblad xpan on your shortlist.

[lex_jenkins]

A panoramic adapter on a MF camera can lend a different look compared with a dedicated panoramic camera with wide angle lens.

 

I noticed this recently after running a roll of 35mm film through a 6x6 folder (Agfa Isolette), a very makeshift arrangment that enabled me to shoot approximately a 50% wider view with an 85mm lens. The effect is one of a very natural perspective, not at all a wide-angle look.

 

As little as I would use a panoramic camera I'd rather have something like the Mamiya 7 rangefinder (6x7 standard format) with panoramic adapter for 35mm to suit those occasional needs.

 

Of course this is all due to cropping. You could accomplish the same thing by visualizing the crop on a 6x7 or 6x9 format camera while composing.

 

BTW, I don't know of any dedicated 35mm film scanner that can handle panoramic-width photos without stitching. You might have to resort to a flatbed with adapter, in which case 35mm has no advantage over medium format.

[roger c]

The 135W back for the Bronica ETRSi works OK. It's 24 x 54mm though. It gives quite a normal-looking perspective with a 40mm lens.

[ed_berman6]

Tom, have you considered swinging lens panoramic cameras? Noblex line is of better quality but more $$, you can experiment on the cheap with the Russian-made Horizon-202 for about $350. Some people would argue that only swinging lens camera offer "real" panorama. You can find plenty information on the net.

[geoff_mcauliffe]

If you want to shoot panoramas on 35 mm film, get a 35 mm panoramic camera. For swing lens cameras, Horizon is inexpensive, Noblex is better but more $$. For fixed lens cameras, the Hassleblad/Fuji is nice but not cheap. If you are going to scan your negatives any 35 with a wide angle lens and some stitching software will do. Have you considered renting to try before you buy?

[richardcook]

Be careful. A number of high quality 35mm scanners scan only a standard frame.

 

If you really want 35mm panoramas, the Hasselblad XPan would seem to be ideal for your application. It will almost certainly be the most compact and easy to handle and will 'feel' very much like the camera you are used to. It is currently in manufacture and has a three lenses available although the super-wide lens is rather pricey. There is an XPan (earlier model, not the current XPanII) with all three lenses available on an auction site that could be purchased for about $3500. You can, of course, use the Mamiya 7II's panoramic adapter and a 43mm lens and achieve comparable performance, although the camera is a good bit larger and heavier than the XPan. The price for A Mamiya 7II system used at auction would probably be upwards of $2600.

[rosswordhouse.com]

If I was in your shoes I'd buy a Fuji G617 MF Panoramic Camera

then scan the huge slides with a a good flat bed. It's good

enough for web use and small print jobs and it's cheap.

 

Once you get an order for a print then use that money to get it

drum scanned.

 

That's what I do - it saves money.

 

As you know... once in a lifetime images happen only once or

twice in a lifetime. Do you want that image on 35mm or a huge

6x17 that can be blown up to 70"?

 

I understand your student cash flow issues, but shooting

panoramic MF is a slow and technical process. Take your time

and shoot only what is worth shooting. I'm lucky if I get one good

image within a month or two.

 

Hope this helps. You can check out my panoscape work at

http://www.rosswordhouse.com.

[dmanthree]

I shoot panos with a Noblex 135U and scan with a Nikon 8000. I rented an XPan, but was not satisfied with the angle of view; not nearly wide enough. I did like the relative lack of distortion, but it wasn't what I consider a panoramic image. And, as others have said, you need a medium-format capable scanner to scan those wide pieces of film. But the results are wonderful.

[jakob_norstedt_moberg]

I sometimes cut the center portion of a MF negative (6x6) and scan it in my old HP Photosmart 135 film scanner (the strip is fed directly into the scanner). This equals a 24x56mm negative. With the Vuescan software that is not a problem, there you can set the size of the negative to anything you like (also suitable for Stereo Realist format). (I still use version 4.1 of Vuescan to be able to feed a strip of six 24x36 images into Photosmart. Newer versions allows just four images.)

 

Other film scanners with film carriers where the windows are not larger than 24x36mm should be possible to use if you are able to sacrifice a carrier and cut away the separator bars, but I have never tried this myself.

[tom_t2]

Many thanks for all your replies and input! That definitely gives me food for thinking.

 

One thing you made me aware of is the possible incompatibility of wide 35mm

negatives in 35mm scanners - i will have to check that out. I beleive to have read that

somebody was scanning wide MF negatives with a Nikon 8000 MF-scanner. Has

anybody experience in doing this on a 35mm scanner?

 

One of the reasons not to go for a spezialised panorama camera is the option to use a

shift or tilt/shift lens - this is not an option for either the wonderful xpan and Mamiya

7. Though Bronica do a 35mm back i have not come across any shift lens or adaptor

for them.

 

Putting that all together what i would like is a 35mm version of a 6x17 with the ability

for tilting and shifting - and a 35mm scanner that is capable of handling the

negatives ;-)

 

I mentioned it in the beginning: you are giving me much food for thinking - thanks!

[jakob_norstedt_moberg]

Tom,

 

As I say earlier in this thread, I have scanned wide 35mm negatives with my 5 yers old 35mm Photosmart scanner, using the Vuescan software, but no hardware modifications. It works very well and you get a 2400ppi scan. It was not just cut down 6x6 negs, I recall I also have scan Noblex 35mm panorama images. I guess it would be possible to do it with most 35mm scanners if you want to put your knife into the plastic of it's film carrier, and use third party software (but his has to be verified).

[wayne_firth3]

The HP PhotoSmart scanner does a good job on 35mm panoramic film. No stiching required. They are very cheap now, as low as $100. These were originally about $450.

 

BTW, don't assume that panoramic means using a wide lens. Panoramic has more to do with aspect ratio of image than it has to do with angle of coverage of the lens.

 

I use Xpan, a great camera, a lot but there is a lot to be said for using a 35mm panoramic back on a MF camera such as Bronica or Mamiya that permits a wide selection of lenses. A Bronica ETRs with 40mm lens and 135w back will give a good wide view without the vignetting of the xpan 45mm.

[dougmiles]

Agreed; Panorama is more about image proportion than lens field of view; I've seen panoramic shots done with tele lenses.

 

One way to handle the shift-lens issue for panoramas is to shoot a non-panorama format with intent to crop off the top or bottom to get the framing desired. Not needing a dedicated pano camera, this is also a very inexpensive and versatile approach.

 

Or, you could just fiddle the scanned image to do the "shift" effect.

 

If you're after really wide-field sweeping views, then a low-cost way would be the Voigtlander 15mm f/4.5 Super-Wide Aspheric Heliar ($350) on a Voigtlander Bessa-L body (on close-out ~$50). And any 35mm film scanner can handle the negs!