OT: Hasselblad XPan rediscovered (by me!)

[john_amiet2]

Recent postings by Lutz Konemann, Peter A, & others have inspired me

to take another look at my Xpan, which I bought specifically to shoot

wide stage action pics, for which it is great.

 

Now I have found a new toy when I travel on week ends. Last W/E I set

out from Melboune (Australia) to drive to Echuca (about 2 hrs) which

is on the Murray River. Now a tourist resort, but used to be a

thriving river port for paddle steamers servicing local traders and

farmers. Shot abit of Leica stuff, just to keep on topic. Also some

Blad MF and the XPan.

 

Below are some images capture en route + a lifting bridge that allowed

the paddle steamers to pass. I found the XPan really suited the way I

saw these subjects. Will try it again this W/E.<div></div>

[john_amiet2]

Rock formations @ Tooborac (en route) to Echuca.<div></div>

[john_amiet2]

2<div></div>

[d._p.1]

ouch, must... have... xpan... and I thought I was cured of gear-ache.

[jean_.]

me too.. but the leica cured 99% of my gear lust, so I felt a lotof relief :o)

[michael s.]

Like these photos, John.

 

Recently, at a camera store, one enthusiast who owns lots of equipment commented that his xpan optics are by far his sharpest.

[chris_tennyson1]

so I've been drooling over one for years now. I think im ready to take the plunge. I'm going to England this summer for my first time abroad and figure if im going to get one eventually, now is the time so i have it for the trip right? heres the question. Money is a consideration for me, so i cant decide on the xpan or xpan II.. I can deal with the leader being rewound, the shutterspeeds not in the finder, and the shorter bulb length as ive never gone past a minute or two anyways.. the real concern for me is the cable release. i dont use one often, it will mostly be hand held, so i am thinking i can just use the xpan with self timer if need be right? doesnt work in bulb obviously, but I RARELY ever get past a few seconds anyways and i believe it has shutter speeds down to several seconds... i havent been able to find anywhere if it allows you to use an older style thread release...

 

my other queston is on the 45 lens. I shoot a lot wide open, so in your experiences is it worth it to get the center filter. I dont care for vignetting much. on occasion its interesting, but I am thinking i probably want the filter..

[phil_ackley]

I haven't bothered to research iXpan pricing yet, but maybe I should. What's the going rate for Xpan's these days? I noticed the other day that my local camera shop had a Xpan w/ 45mm lens just back from a CLA @ Hassleblad. They were asking $1500 for it. Reasonable or not?

[lutz]

Chris, go for the classic xpan, used. There's a lot of them around. Many photographers give panoramic a try and quite a few find out it's not for them. Good for us. ;-)<p>The mechanical cable release will fit. Longest exposure in manual shutter speed is 8 secs. You will want the center filter in the end. Read my <a href="http://www.photo.net/bboard/q-and-a-fetch-msg?msg_id=007i3b">recent write up</a>. Cheers.<p><center><img src="http://www.photo.net/photodb/image-display?photo_id=2228456&size=md"><p><i>Guarda, Switzerland</i></center>

[hadji_singh]

PLEASE STOP TALKING ABOUT THE XPAN!

 

I'm starting to want one.

[chris_tennyson1]

it does take a manual thread release then? excellent, you just made my choice for me. :D

 

and $1500 seems about what i have seen them for used here in California. a few months ago I saw one at Samy's in Los Angeles at that price. body and 45 lens. not sure the filter came with it. but maybe you could find a shot with one and bargin for it.. thats what Im hoping to do. maybe if i pay cash somewhere they will be willing to throw in the filter, or give me a discount anyways.

 

Secretly im hoping one comes into the camera shop i work at, but we've yet to see one, so im not holding my breath.

[mlpowell]

To save a little more, look for the Fuji TX-1 branded body. I've seen those for

$1100-1200 at KEH and about the same in the photo.net classifieds.

[WM]

Another Melburnian here !

 

Gotta...have......Xpan...............yes, yes, I have gear lust since I sold my M7...............gotta have M6 too................

[vic_.]

<I>"... his xpan optics are by far his sharpest. ..."</I>

<P>He's obviously never tried a Mamiya 7ii, or for that matter any other Medium Format camera costing $500.

[kin_yu]

In my book, the 45 mm is at the top interms of sharpness color saturation and details compared to lenses of similar focal lengths from leica and Nikon.

[Rob F.]

A lens that has a 70mm image circle cannot be as sharp in the center as one with a 43mm image circle. But I feel that my 45mm XPAN lens, viewed as a medium format lens, holds its own against other wide-angle lenses for MF. Leica lenses are not for medium format, so the comparison is not meaningful unless we are discussing using the XPAN in the 24x36mm format mode.

[kin_yu]

Just from a layman's point of view, shooting landscapes on regular 24X36mm mode using the X-pan 45 mm lens, the slides appeared the sharpest and most pleasing.