XPan vs. Mamiya 7

[yefeihe]

I recently acquired a second hand XPan II with the 45 and 90 lenses. Just had a chance to use it last week. From the convenience point of view, it definitely beats the other set up I have -- a Mamiya 7II with the panorama adapter for 35mm film. It is a lot more compact, too. I think the image quality is comparable. The XPan does have the 30mm lens, while the widest for Mamiya is 43mm. On the other hand, the Mamiya has 150 and longer lenses. There's some wasted space on the film when using the Mamiya, resulting in 17 exposures vs. XPan's 21 on a 36exp roll of film. Now, there is one major difference (some may call it minor), the Mamiya images are 24mmx65mm, while the XPan's are 24mmx62mm.

While I'm at this, I wonder if there are 35mm film backs for the Koni-Omega, the Mamiya Press, the Graflex XL, or any of the Century or Speed Graphic cameras? I bet there are. The 35mm panorama shot on a 6x9 camera will be, Hmmm, just a bit too wide.

Yefei

 

[Parkes Owen]

[QUOTE=yefeihe Now, there is one major difference (some may call it minor), the Mamiya images are 24mmx65mm, while the XPan's are 24mmx62mm.

Are you sure? my xpan negs are 65 x24mm . I just measured them to check, and all info on xpan (web, intruction manuals ect) state it`s 65 x 24mm, cheers.

 

[maelswarm]

Mamiya lenses have less corner vignetting, and don't require a centre filter that makes your lens even slower. There is more cropping options. I would just shoot without the panorama adapter and crop it to panorama if I wanted to.

 

[drewbarb]

The Mamiya 7 is a great camera- for medium format. But I can't imagine using one primarily for 35mm panoramics. The adapter is a fiddly PIA, and you are wasting half of the room behind the shutter.

As for needing center filters- if you use the 43mm on the Mamiya to shoot a 35mm pano, you'll notice about the same need for and benefit from a center filter as you will with the Xpan and the 45mm. It's not about one camera vs. the other- it's about lens design, focal length, angle of coverage, and the size of the negative. Either way, a center filter will help even out the exposure.

 

[gdi]

The Mamiya 7 is a great camera- for medium format. But I can't imagine using one primarily for 35mm panoramics. The adapter is a fiddly PIA, and you are wasting half of the room behind the shutter.

As for needing center filters- if you use the 43mm on the Mamiya to shoot a 35mm pano, you'll notice about the same need for and benefit from a center filter as you will with the Xpan and the 45mm. It's not about one camera vs. the other- it's about lens design, focal length, angle of coverage, and the size of the negative. Either way, a center filter will help even out the exposure.

The adapter is a PITA! But is is nice to have the 6x7 "option". 🙂

I haven't noticed any vignetting on my 43mm panos.

 

[craygc]

Giving the digital options these days dealing with panoramics in general, I just dont see the point of the 135 adapter kit with the Mamiya 7. As its already been mentioned, its a PITA and once its in you are stuck with 35mm film panoramics until the roll is finished. Much easier to just crop from a 6x7 frame 😀

 

[yefeihe]

Are you sure? my xpan negs are 65 x24mm . I just measured them to check, and all info on xpan (web, intruction manuals ect) state it`s 65 x 24mm, cheers.

Interesting! I measured my XPan II shots to be 24x62, as opposed to Mamiya 7II's 24x65. What do you know, perhaps we have discovered the obscure difference between XPanII and XPan -- the width of the frame.

 

[yefeihe]

Well, I just measured the opening on my XPan II, and it is indeed 62mm when the adjustable gate is fully open. On the other hand, a sticker inside the film door says 24mm x 65mm. All literature points to 65mm frame width. What is going on here? Can any of fellow XPan II owners measure their camera and find out?

 

[gdi]

Giving the digital options these days dealing with panoramics in general, I just dont see the point of the 135 adapter kit with the Mamiya 7. As its already been mentioned, its a PITA and once its in you are stuck with 35mm film panoramics until the roll is finished. Much easier to just crop from a 6x7 frame 😀

There are a couple of very good reasons, IMO - ability to use film that isn't available in 120, drop of at the 1Hr processor for developing (if you scan anyway) and being able to grab a roll of film at a local store. Oh yeah its a lot cheaper than a XPan 😀

I have a roll of Ektar 100 in mine now...

 

[Parkes Owen]

Well, I just measured the opening on my XPan II, and it is indeed 62mm when the adjustable gate is fully open. On the other hand, a sticker inside the film door says 24mm x 65mm. All literature points to 65mm frame width. What is going on here? Can any of fellow XPan II owners measure their camera and find out?

Have you measured a neg or tranny? surely it must be 65mm, otherwise the price of a mint xpan 1 has just doubled!😀

 

[yefeihe]

I measured the unmounted slide film, and compared it to a roll exposed with the Mamiya 7II. It was quite apparent that the Xpan II shots were not as wide as the Mamiya shots.

Now I did find a few comments on the Internet that mentioned 62mm frame width in the context with XPan. There were either in French or Japanese.

Do you get 20 or 21 shots with your XPan on a 36 exp roll of film? I get 21 with my Xpan II. The literature says 20 shots.

 

[sahe69]

I get 21 with my Xpan II. The literature says 20 shots.

I bought myself today an Xpan w/ all 3 lenses. The manual says 21 pano shots per 36 roll.

 

[fbf]

I bought myself today an Xpan w/ all 3 lenses. The manual says 21 pano shots per 36 roll.

most likely you will get 20 shot per roll but 21 if you are lucky.

 

[sahe69]

most likely you will get 20 shot per roll but 21 if you are lucky.

That wouldn't be a problem. Film's cheap. I was just wondering if there's a difference in what's been stated for Xpan and Xpan II.

 

[didjiman]

I just scanned a few more XPan slides (it's on my blog), and they are definitely 64-66mm. A mm or two sometimes get covered by the plastic window mask on the scanner.

 

[samuelphoto]

I switched from the Mamiya 7II to the XPAN strictly for convenience, and price. The M7 is twice the size and the DOF with their 43mm lens is no better than that for the XPAN 45mm lens. Also, I never used a lens longer than the 65mm on the M7. The other thing is the airport hassles with 120 film. It got to the point where every airport security dolt would tear apart the foil wrapping to get discover an unexposed roll of 120 film. At least with 35mm film, the film is protected in the cartridge; at least nobody has tried to dismantle one of those yet! Both cameras produce similar outstanding image quality, so if your only concer is panos, to me it is a matter of form factor, unless you really want the 6x7 images.

 

[KM-25]

My Xpan-1 just happened to be empty, so I took a look and measured the I/D of the shutter opening, the flim plane window, and the O/D of a few panoramic Kodachromes I had lying around. I used a set of precision digital calipers.

What I found is the following:

1. The ID of the shutter opening was 24mm x 62.5mm

2. The I/D of the film plane opening is 24mm x 64.5mm

2. the O/D of the film it self is 24mm x 64.89mm

So if your XPan-II is only 62mm wide on the film, measure the I/D of the film plane window and see how wide it is, because the shape of the image coming from the lens is just like any other true panoramic, very conical and can easily exceed the shutter opening once it actually hits the film plane.