james.liam
Well-known
Horrifically expensive and OVF needed. Anyone in these parts able to share experienced & wisdom about this rarified optic?
gbealnz
Well-known
Gimme a week perhaps. I bought into a kit, with the 30mm, and Fuji finder, no filter.
Roll is all but done, trial of Delta 100, processing it this coming weekend.
Gary
Roll is all but done, trial of Delta 100, processing it this coming weekend.
Gary
snaefell
Established
I like shooting wide angle and after I tried an adapted 35mm lens on the Xpan I had to get the 30mm lens. It is more convenient with the coupled finder and also the metering and even wider.
It is a lens not for all moments and (like any superwide lens) you have to learn how to use it. You can create great shots with it which allow you to be immersed into a panoramic scene by going close to the foreground and still show the surroundings. When you have an XPan start with the 45mm lens and then see how this fits you. I you get this to work for you and you feel that you need a wider field of view, go for the 30mm.
I was lucky enough to get a 30mm lens before the actual frenzy (it is still my most expensive lens in my bag and I had to save for it for quite a while), but if you go for one, make sure it is complete with the finder, the lens hood and the center filter (even if you think at first it may not be necessary) as it is now almost impossible to get any of these items alone (although Hasselblad used to sell them seperately). If possible take a finder with the bubble level still filled, as this is a great help to level the camera.
As a drawback, the lens is not very fast, with the filter you will often have to aim either for higher film speeds or the use of a tripod, which sometimes makes shooting freehand difficult to impossible.
This way in the garden of Castle Weesenstein has been overgrown with beech trees forming a yellow (or green) roof. The low afternoon sun in combination with the fall colours give a spectacular view.
Hasselblad XPan, 5,6/30mm, Kodak Portra 800.
james.liam
Well-known
Super-wide is always tricky and the lens is crazy expensive now, but with that center ND filter the amount of light passed through is something like the equivalent of ƒ/9 or 10.
I bought the XPan and both 45 & 90mm lenses and was wondering about the 30's utility. Very few on sale even at fleaBay and strangely enough, most with either the finder or the hood missing. As you mentioned, those two items almost never appear for sale. It's especially useless without the finder.
I bought the XPan and both 45 & 90mm lenses and was wondering about the 30's utility. Very few on sale even at fleaBay and strangely enough, most with either the finder or the hood missing. As you mentioned, those two items almost never appear for sale. It's especially useless without the finder.
KM-25
Well-known
On the plus side of things, it was one of the sharpest lenses I ever used in 35mm, very wide and very well corrected, it really rounded out the lens line up of the Xpan.
On the downside I found the external VF was slow to use and not built very well so I always used it with caution and a hope I would never break it because they are simply nowhere to be found. It also absolutely needs that -1.5 stop center filter despite what anyone tells you so I even had a spare when I owned the lens.
In general terms with the Xpan, I found I was just not using it all that much in the last 5 years I owned it as I preferred larger film formats for that type of image. I was also very suspicious of how long the unrepairable electronics might hold up so I sold it all recently for nearly double what I paid for it in 2003 and called it good.
My 2¢
On the downside I found the external VF was slow to use and not built very well so I always used it with caution and a hope I would never break it because they are simply nowhere to be found. It also absolutely needs that -1.5 stop center filter despite what anyone tells you so I even had a spare when I owned the lens.
In general terms with the Xpan, I found I was just not using it all that much in the last 5 years I owned it as I preferred larger film formats for that type of image. I was also very suspicious of how long the unrepairable electronics might hold up so I sold it all recently for nearly double what I paid for it in 2003 and called it good.
My 2¢
james.liam
Well-known
Your 2¢ are appreciated.
The crazy prices people pay for the compact AF film cameras makes the unique Xpan/TX cameras at least a calculated risk. And unlike the compact film cameras, the lenses can be sold off if the body fails.
sepiareverb
genius and moron
I had the XPAN2 for a long while, bought it new through the educator discount program when it was just released. Initially just the 45, then added the 30. Sold that whole kit but bought back the whole kit and added the 90. I would look for the Fuji version of the 30 as the VF is much more robust than the Hassy branded one.
The lens is, as mentioned above, among the sharpest you will find for 35mm. I have wet printed 23” wide from Ortho 25 and PanF+ negs with exceptional image quality. It is slow, once the center filter is added (and as mentioned above as well a necessary addition to the front end) so a tripod was a useful addition to the kit for me with my slow films, but even at ISO800 remarkably sharp negs are delivered. A test of ones capability for careful work, but one that rewards the effort.
The Fuji version of the finder is a more standard affair, the Hassy version is for some reason off center, and very plasticky, I also assumed it would break with little effort, tho I didn’t break mine while I had it.
I’d add some images, but Photobucket now requires cash to access my old account and I don’t have files accessible easily to upload to Flickr.
snaefell, that is a stunning frame.
The lens is, as mentioned above, among the sharpest you will find for 35mm. I have wet printed 23” wide from Ortho 25 and PanF+ negs with exceptional image quality. It is slow, once the center filter is added (and as mentioned above as well a necessary addition to the front end) so a tripod was a useful addition to the kit for me with my slow films, but even at ISO800 remarkably sharp negs are delivered. A test of ones capability for careful work, but one that rewards the effort.
The Fuji version of the finder is a more standard affair, the Hassy version is for some reason off center, and very plasticky, I also assumed it would break with little effort, tho I didn’t break mine while I had it.
I’d add some images, but Photobucket now requires cash to access my old account and I don’t have files accessible easily to upload to Flickr.
snaefell, that is a stunning frame.
TimPrebble
Member
When i bought my mint TX2 in 2016 I also bought all three lenses 30,45,90
and I would say the 30mm is on my camera 95% of the time...
I love it - as others have said it takes time to learn to compose with it,
but the OVF is always on my camera and when I switch lenses the
viewfinder for the 45 and 90 feels tight and small...
Focus is sharp and using Lee Filters Seven Five system I don't get any vignetting
from using ND10 and ND15 filters (although I cant use the clip on polariser with 30mm)
Also worth remembering, the 30mm lens can focus up to 62cm from front of lens
The 30mm is my favourite lens on my favourite camera of my entire life of shooting, film and digital!
The only thing that will push me back to shooting more digital is if DJI release an affordable clone of the X1D, so I could use my XPAN lenses with it...
https://www.hasselblad.com/x-system-accessories/xpan-lens-adapter/
https://petapixel.com/2019/08/02/patent-shows-dji-is-working-on-a-clone-of-the-hasselblad-x1d/
FWIW almost all of my XPAN photos on flickr are via 30mm lens
and I would say the 30mm is on my camera 95% of the time...
I love it - as others have said it takes time to learn to compose with it,
but the OVF is always on my camera and when I switch lenses the
viewfinder for the 45 and 90 feels tight and small...
Focus is sharp and using Lee Filters Seven Five system I don't get any vignetting
from using ND10 and ND15 filters (although I cant use the clip on polariser with 30mm)
Also worth remembering, the 30mm lens can focus up to 62cm from front of lens
The 30mm is my favourite lens on my favourite camera of my entire life of shooting, film and digital!
The only thing that will push me back to shooting more digital is if DJI release an affordable clone of the X1D, so I could use my XPAN lenses with it...
https://www.hasselblad.com/x-system-accessories/xpan-lens-adapter/
https://petapixel.com/2019/08/02/patent-shows-dji-is-working-on-a-clone-of-the-hasselblad-x1d/
FWIW almost all of my XPAN photos on flickr are via 30mm lens
jmanivelle
Well-known
Hi all,
a few years ago, a dutch photographer mentioned a trick to use the Voigtlander 15mm finder when shooting with the 30mm Xpan combo:
reframe the visor to more or less the panoramic desired angle of vue with some masking tape - 2 horizontal bands of 4mm width each and 2 vertical bands of 2mm width each.
I used this a few times, it makes the camera more compact and the visor sits above the lens axis , like the Fuji TX visor does, unlike the off sided Xpan visor.
I recently have been using the Xpan/TX lenses also digitally on the Fujifilm GFX50S and used a e58 square hood on the 30mm to avoid vignetting.
Happy shooting !
Best, Jean-Marc.
a few years ago, a dutch photographer mentioned a trick to use the Voigtlander 15mm finder when shooting with the 30mm Xpan combo:
reframe the visor to more or less the panoramic desired angle of vue with some masking tape - 2 horizontal bands of 4mm width each and 2 vertical bands of 2mm width each.
I used this a few times, it makes the camera more compact and the visor sits above the lens axis , like the Fuji TX visor does, unlike the off sided Xpan visor.
I recently have been using the Xpan/TX lenses also digitally on the Fujifilm GFX50S and used a e58 square hood on the 30mm to avoid vignetting.
Happy shooting !
Best, Jean-Marc.
Attachments
james.liam
Well-known
Very clever!
Has anyone noticed a difference in framing accuracy between the Fuji and Hasselblad VF's given their different positions? I wonder why they created different ones given that Fuji made them all.
I suppose the offset on the Hasselblad allows focus and framing with less head motion (vertical as opposed to diagonal with the Fuji).
snaefell
Established
There is of course some parallax due to the slightly different position, but I am not sure how relevant this is for shooting.
The other point you mention is probably more important, you use the 45/90mm finder to do the focussing and then you just go up a few centimeters to do the framing. Easier and faster in my eyes.
Rob-F
Likes Leicas
When I had an XPAN I found the 30mm top-of-the-camera finder easy and agreeable to shoot with. It was good and clear, with good framelines, and the bubble level was very easy to use. The latter does have a tendency to dry out, and that is not good, because at times you really need it with such a wide lens. I do agree with the comments above about it seeming rather fragile or cheaply made. And I agree about the slowness of the 30mm, especially with the center filter costing another stop or so. Still, there's hardly another way to get that kind of an image on that format!
I thought the exposure meter was not very good, with a pronounced tendency to underexpose when facing into a bright overcast sky. I usually used my Gossen incident light meter in such cases.
I sold mine because I found the aspect ratio to be too extreme for good still photo composition. I love the wide screen look, but enough is enough, and the XPAN is too much. In the 1950's when Cinemascope came out, Paramount objected that the 2.54:1 aspect ratio didn't leave enough height to the picture, whereas their process, VistaVision, which could be projected at anywhere from 1.66:1 to 2;1, had just enough height to allow enough foreground and sky. Panavision, in bringing out its 70mm wide screen process, seems to have agreed, limiting their process to 2.21:1. I have reached a similar conclusion with my still photography: I find 2:1 to be as wide as I can go and still have a satisfying composition.
But that's just Me! If the XPAN format appeals to you, go for it! There is little or nothing wrong with that 30mm finder!
I thought the exposure meter was not very good, with a pronounced tendency to underexpose when facing into a bright overcast sky. I usually used my Gossen incident light meter in such cases.
I sold mine because I found the aspect ratio to be too extreme for good still photo composition. I love the wide screen look, but enough is enough, and the XPAN is too much. In the 1950's when Cinemascope came out, Paramount objected that the 2.54:1 aspect ratio didn't leave enough height to the picture, whereas their process, VistaVision, which could be projected at anywhere from 1.66:1 to 2;1, had just enough height to allow enough foreground and sky. Panavision, in bringing out its 70mm wide screen process, seems to have agreed, limiting their process to 2.21:1. I have reached a similar conclusion with my still photography: I find 2:1 to be as wide as I can go and still have a satisfying composition.
But that's just Me! If the XPAN format appeals to you, go for it! There is little or nothing wrong with that 30mm finder!
gbealnz
Well-known
First roll is done, and processed, with a scanned proof sheet. I shot all three lenses, but primarily was fixated on the 30mm, as I don't have a center filter.
Proof scans look good, with minimal vignetting, but it was Delta 100, not Velvia or similar, so I will hold that thought, for a while.
One thing I do find with the Fuji finder for the 30mm (mine has the Fuji finder, no idea why), is that my "snorer" touches about where the eyepiece is for the built in finder, a nuisance to say the least. Apart from that though, the finder is stunning, bright and concise, and the built in bubble very handy.
Post a pic? OK, will do, I want to scan them a bit better, but will.
Gary
Proof scans look good, with minimal vignetting, but it was Delta 100, not Velvia or similar, so I will hold that thought, for a while.
One thing I do find with the Fuji finder for the 30mm (mine has the Fuji finder, no idea why), is that my "snorer" touches about where the eyepiece is for the built in finder, a nuisance to say the least. Apart from that though, the finder is stunning, bright and concise, and the built in bubble very handy.
Post a pic? OK, will do, I want to scan them a bit better, but will.
Gary
gbealnz
Well-known
Posted a couple of recent 30mm shots from my trial roll through my new X-Pan. 30mm is nice. They are in the open thread in this list.
It would be interesting shooting the X-Pan and 30mm next to the 903SWC. Maybe next time.
It would be interesting shooting the X-Pan and 30mm next to the 903SWC. Maybe next time.
Ted Striker
Well-known
It's a fun lens for sure.
james.liam
Well-known
Wow^^^
Anyone stack a UV or yellow filter onto the center ND filter?
Anyone stack a UV or yellow filter onto the center ND filter?
gbealnz
Well-known
Not yet, but when my selection of "coloured" filters arrive, I'll be using a red or orange, with B&W film.
I didn't use a center filter with the 30mm, (nor the 45 and 90 for that matter). Not having one made this decision easier of course.
Gary
I didn't use a center filter with the 30mm, (nor the 45 and 90 for that matter). Not having one made this decision easier of course.
Gary
james.liam
Well-known
How severe was the vignetting? Heard with the 30 it can become extreme without it. The 49mm filters and hoods are to be found (albeit infrequently) on fleaBay but you need vigilance. The accessories for the 30 are rare events indeed.