Hasselblad XPan: first shots & mini review: WOW!

[rbelyell]

i got a great deal on an xpan kit with both the 45/4 and 90/4 lenses. i will sometime post pix of my gear, but its pretty ragged looking, much flaking etc. but the glass is great and the camera operates like a dream. its really well built, but still relatively compact for what it does, which is shoot 35mm film/slides in both normal, single frame or panoramic, double frame! this and my old contax ax are the two most interesting, well engineered cameras ive ever used.

this one just feels great in the hands. it has a low rangefinder profile, which i like more and more. the vf is large and bright, the patch very contrasty. she is very easy to focus, though i think with the 90mm up close it tends to front focus. it operates like a regular RF, except there is a switch for pano mode which takes the 'normal' lens frame line and elongates it to cover two frames of film. in this mode, the 45mm lens becomes a 24mm and the 90 becomes a 50.

again, this is my first roll, kodak elite chrome 100 slide film, which i love. the metering was almost perfect, maybe a tad underexposed, but it was a very bright sunny day, and i thought the metering really did great. the scans are not high resolution, but nonetheless i cannot believe the level of detail, clarity and color. i read this camera produces IQ like a medium format. i didn't believe that, but now i do! i only hope they come through here. below are some results, very minor PP. the first 3 shot with the 45mm, last two with the 90mm. let me know what you think! for me, i'm really really loving this thing!

tony

#1

#2

#3

#4

#5

[Attila]

Not MF IQ Tony for sure. I am glad you have it and share it here, look forward more ! Even if rough looking it would be nice to see camera too , rare bird!

[berraneck]

I think that lack of sharpness and clarity is just a reason of bad scan, because this camera and its lenses are just superb! I´ve tried it for once and it´s on my wishlist.. but the price:(

[rbelyell]

well, this is exactly what i was worried about when i said in the OP 'i hope it (the IQ) comes through'. obviously it did not, so i'm sorry. perhaps i shouldnt even have posted it. folks can believe me or not, either is ok, but i'm telling you, despite the scan, what i, and others ive showed it to,see on my monitor, and on a loupe with the negatives, is IQ, sharpness, depth and color that rivals medium format. again, i apologize that quality 'did not come through' but it honestly is there in the original. i wish you all could see it. i feel i did the camera a disservice.
tony

[Attila]

Scanning is always a serious factor with 35mm , even Laurence 35mm scan on Nikon Coolscan was nowhere close to medium format

[peterqd]

[rbelyell]

well, first of all, i did not scan these. i typically have my film developed/high resolution scanned by a company in texas. here, i was so anxious to see the results, i took it to a local lab who flatbed scanned it.

however, my point was, DESPITE the low rez scan, tne results that i saw on my screen were amazing. others who have seen it as i do have also been amazed. perhaps it was the further downsizing to get them on the forum site, perhaps there are differing understanding about the DOF, and thus different expectations (the DOF remains as both 45mm and 90mm despite the pano function increasing FOV), i dont know. what i do know is when i look at the scans, they jump off the screen, the colors are brilliant, and the in focus subjects have a depth and sharpness that rival the medium format gear ive used, and ive used quite a bit. again, i apologize if it didnt translate well, and its ok not to believe me, but i'm just calling it as i see it. please also remember this is my first roll and i personally need to get a better grip on the DOF.
tony

[Katastrofo]

Looks like a happy family/friends outing, Tony, I like them. Love the colors and tall view in that first shot.

[berraneck]

rbelyell: maybe it´s just some forum function which compresses photos, I really don´t know.

all at all, this is a great camera. congrats for acquiring!

[rbelyell]

yeah it really is a great camera. any faults are mine and/or in reproducing the results.

having said that, as i have read and some of my first results show, there is a steep learning curve to understand/control DOF. with crop factor digital, like my omd, a 40mm lens becomes an80mm lens but with the DOF of a 40mm lens. this is what ive become used to.

with the xpan, it is the reverse: the 45mm becomes a 24mm, but with the DOF of a 45! the shallow DOF effect is even worse when you use the 90mm lens, as they innately have notoriously shallow DOFs. shots you think will have clarity throughout at 5.6 or even 8.0 fall short. ive read f11-16 are optimal for the 45! i typically shoot a 45 at f2.8-8. knowing the DOF issues, i shot most of these, except the dog, at 5.6-8. obviously i need to reevaluate that, and probably shoot mostly at f11-16. the lenses are so good there is said to be absolutely no degradation at these, and even higher, f stops.

its a learning process, but even considering that, i think the infinity shots and the in focus areas of the others show the tremendous potential of this system, the detail and depth thats possible. the xpan is really a totally unique and extraordinary tool, with superb lenses. i just hope i can get some of the best out of her!

to members who love panos, or who love 'the best' quality, i easily put the results of this system against the contax/zeiss systems ive used (and loved), as well as the several medium format systems ive used. plus it is compact and dual format. something to consider, and i paid not so much more than i did for my old contax ax plus zeiss 50/1.4 and 85/1.4 and ml 24/2.8.
tony

[martinsmith99]

#1, #2 & #4 look sharp, whereas #3 doesn't seem as sharp & #5 looks soft. I suspect a bad scan, as nothing seems sharp in #5,

[hoanpham]

Great samples. Great camera.
Hope you can resolve the scanning issue and post some more photos.
Scanning is a time consumption task.

[mmelvis]

Very nice camera and so wide. The new wide format requires you to see the shots in a whole new way.

[rbelyell]

thanks guys!

yes, not only do you have to re-understand DOF, but also re-understand perspective and framing. the entire shooting process has to be re-thought. but the results are worth it.
tony

[Laurence]

Tony! I think these are awesome for the most part, and I can see you working with the X-Pan
to bring it out to its true potential. Actually, you probably already HAVE brought it to full
potential, since your real-world view on your monitor looks so good! What a GREAT acquisition.
A lot of images get somehow compressed and degraded on this board. But even at that, they
are truly looking very very good. Look at that detail in the second pic, of the metal clip on the
end of the leash.

It also seems typical of this board that when you click on the image for a larger view, it seems
to sharpen up.

[rbelyell]

Thanks larry! So great to see you back on the forum! You would absolutely live this kit and would certainly do it far more justice than i. I am loving it though and think ot will be a go to rig for me for a very long time.
Tony

[Laurence]

[luisalegria]

Welcome to medium format !

[rbelyell]

Oh yeah, its totally like a 6x17 MF, only totally portable! As you know larry
ive had a hankering for some time to shoot 6x12 for both pano and street scenes, but could not find something whose size and cost i was comfortable with. I saw some xpan results on the Rangefinder forum and they blew me away. Read some reviews that favorably compared the IQ to medium format. Then i saw this amazing deal on ebay and jumped at it. Im in the process of shooting my 2nd 3rd and 4th rolls right now and the kit really is a gas.
Tony

[Laurence]

Wow, I see what you mean by shallow depth of field! Image #4, of the people together: The focus is beautiful
on the foreground girl. The focus seems to be falling off on the people behind her, and they are not very far
into the background.

[rbelyell]

Yeah and that was either 5.6 or 8.0! Ive started shooting pano at f16-22 with these new rolls.