cheaper alternative to the xpan center filter

[grainy_shadows]

hello

just curious, is there a cheaper alternative to the hasselblad xpan centre filter for the 45mm lens, its priced at 500aud over

 

[robertdfeinman]

If you are willing to shoot negative film (either color or B&W) you can use the latitude of the film to capture a decent range and fix things in an image editor later.

The idea is to expose for the corners and let the center get overexposed. You don't go all the way - perhaps +2/3 stop if the corners are one stop under. Using a small f-stop makes the vignetting less.

In photoshop you make an adjustment mask with a radial gradient and apply a suitable curve to bring the overall image into balance. Some of the new plug ins and other programs have this mostly automated.

I have a tip on how to do this on my web site. It's for the 12mm Heliar on 35mm and not on a pano image, but the technique is the same. Just follow the tips link on my home page and look for the relevant article.