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Panoramic Formats
Panoramic formats have become very popular in the past few
years. Many 35mm cameras now include a panoramic inserts as well as some range finder and
medium format cameras. These inserts only cover the top and the bottom of the frame but
don't give very good results. True panoramic shots can be taken with panoramic cameras.
These cameras take roll films and give broad and sweeping views. They produce frames that
are at least twice as long as they are high. Landscapes are the most popular subjects, but
any subject can be photographed. Composition is easier than you think. Your concern will
be balancing the horizon with the foreground, and placing your main subject inside a long
frame. With wider panoramas, placing your main subject 1/3 to the left or right of the
frame is a good starting point. The viewer can scan the wide view from one side, and rest
on the main subject. Some subjects can be placed in the center if both sides of it include
objects that can add interest to the photograph. Make sure different objects can relate to
each other and not too separated. This can divide the frame into several different scenes.
6X12 and 6X17 formats produce from moderate to extreme panoramic images. Panoramic cameras
use super wide angle lenses which sometimes can cause vigenetting. The cost of these
cameras are high. They are not going to be used as your main format and unless you shoot a
lot of panoramas, you should rent or purchase a used one. Some models such as Widelux use
motorized rotation designs. Unlike fixed wide-angle designs such as Fuji and Linhof
models, the rotation designs, rotate either the lens or the whole camera depending on the
model. The lens can be rotated to fill the frame. With some models the camera body rotates
on its own axis as the film wounds on. This allows variable angle of view depending on the
angle of rotation. On continues rotation, you can fill a whole roll of film. Panoramic
cameras can produce unique shots and unusual prints. They are excellent for wide landscape
shots and should be used when you want to include a wide view of a scene.
Recommended reading: Panoramic Photography
The author covers composition; non-rotation
and rotation cameras; film, exposure, and filters; alternative methods; and
processing and printing. The text is illustrated with many color photographs,
including three 33-inch fold-out panoramas. Also provides a directory of
panoramic cameras and panorami
Hasselblad
XPan II 35mm Panoramic Rangefinder Camera kit with 45mm f/4 lens - USA
Features:
- Dual-format 24x65
mm and 24x36 mm
- Integral viewfinder
LCD
- Shutter speeds from
8 s to 1/1000 s and B (max 540 s)
- Frame rate 1.2
(0.9) frames per second for 24x36 mm (24x65 mm) format
- Flash sync speed up
to 1/125 s
Product Description
Sometimes your
world doesn't fit in the frame. Sometimes you want to think a bit outside the
box. So for all those times when you need a little something extra, Hasselblad
presents the Hasselblad X System and the XPan II the world's only truly
dual-format 35 mm camera system. Building upon the success of the original XPan,
The unique dual format XPan II produces high quality panorama or standard format
images on regular 35 mm film. Every exposure uses the full width of the film,
producing panorama shots with an image width equal to those produced by a 6x7
medium format camera. The two formats can be mixed in any order on the same roll
of film. The 24x65 mm panorama format, together with the high quality XPan
lenses (focal lengths 30 mm, 45 mm (standard lens, included in this Kit) and 90
mm) brings medium format image quality to 35 mm film. The XPan II features a
wide range of convenient, user-friendly features such as automated film loading
film transport, TTL exposure metering, and single or continuous exposure. The
shutter release can be triggered by button, mechanically, via a dedicated
electrical remote cable, or self-timer. And being a rangefinder camera, the Xpan
II is very silent. Switching between formats is easily done with the simple
twist of a knob. When changing format the camera automatically adjusts the film
position to assure consistent film spacing and to avoid film waste. A bright
viewfinder and coupled rangefinder
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