Hi, any Horizon 202 user?

[ronaldhang]

Hi,

I am thinking to buy a horizon 202. But, I heard that the quality is not very good . It can only function within 1 ~ 2 year. And, some can't work after few rolls of films.

Any Horizon 202 users have comments on it ?

As the price is the biggest issue to me, I am also thinking horizont, as the quality of the camera is better.


Thanks

 

[ronaldhang]

PS. how aboutputting the Horizon S3 into my consideration list

 

[lZr]

Of course you can. I use S3 pro. Some shots are in my gallery and this forum. In time you will know its advantages. I shot handheld most of the time and like the concave/convex landscapes

 

[lazarza]

I've had my Horizon 202 since summer 2006 and I've never had any problems with it. before I bought it I read a lot of stuff about how some of the cameras had problems with the film transport but I use mine a lot and it's always been fine. One tip I did read was to use 24 exp film rather than 36 to minimise the chance of the film ripping or jamming, but having said that I often do use 36 exp.

 

[ruben]

It seems to me that the Horizon is well built. I bought it for a trip to overseas and shot 10 consecutive rolls without any problem. In any case at the Kiev Survival Site there is a section about fixing Horizons.

Are you going to use it every day, every year ? Woudn't it result in boring images?

Cheers,
Ruben

 

[Jim Watts]

There can be a bit of a problem with uneven frame spacing with the 202 with the possibility of some overlap. I had my first sample replaced because of this. This problem is either there or not, it does not get worst with age. If the frames do not overlap, but are just uneven this is about as good as it gets on the 202. IMHO the camera although not impressively built is fairly reliable. I have had mine for about 10 years. I did manage to pull the metal lever off the rewind knob, but this was probably my fault while rushing to change film.

Don't buy the earlier metal Horizont unless you want it just as a collectors item (it is quite beautiful), but I have not found one that does not leak light from around the drum. I tried 4 samples (all secondhand of course) from the dealer I brought the new 202 from. You get a fogged strip across the negative from the static drum position before or after firing the shutter (unless you put it in a black bag). I suppose it is due to age and I expect it may be possible to get the light trapping repaired, but IMHO its not worth the hassel to a user.

 

[lZr]

Jim is right. I take my leakeges and uneven gaps as russian futures you got in the package

Edit: I forgot to mention the horizontal and/or vertical bars that appear sometimes, but can be eliminated by software treatments or not shooting against the sun. Better to view the subject while the sun is to your far left or right.
Good luck

 

[Brince]

I've had a 202 and was not happy with it at all, it's the absolute low end product in the swing lens pano market. You get what you pay for.....overall poor quality.

 

[Delap]

Mine (202) is amazingly sharp for the price, has some horizontal fogging too and works just fine except in very cold weather, sttrange for a russian camera isn't it ?
In fact, it paid for itself with a single shot that was published on a double page in a climbing magazine but... cropped because it was too wide 🙂 Good stuff for triple pages, but there are not many magazines that publish these anymore.
I don't use it much in these days of high technology, although I took it a couple times as a backup for the digital SLR.
Somebdy should invent a digital swinglens camera...as cheap as the Horizon !

 

[Jim Watts]

I've had a 202 and was not happy with it at all, it's the absolute low end product in the swing lens pano market. You get what you pay for.....overall poor quality.

Clearly their are some better made swing panoramics than the 202, but it is not bad at all for the price and it is capable of excellent finale results with care from the photographer. There is probably a fair bit of sample to sample variation, so its worth trying to check out the one you are getting (see my coment on frame overlap above). Ronald has already said that "price is the biggest issue to me". There is probably nothing else at this price and much more expensive panos are not always any more reliable as anyone who has tried a roll film Widelux will probably testify.

 

[ronaldhang]

Thanks all your suggestion! All of you are so helpful!

Jim & Brince : yep, i know Horizon is the low grade for swing pano, but the cheap is really attractive when other swing pano is costing moer than a double of Horizon.
I know that there are some cover pano or even using fish eye len & chop the upper & lower to get a "pano feeling" picture. But seems to me that a "true" pano is a lot more attractive, especially when go on a trip & take cool picture with a pano.


Em, horizont is crossed out on my list.
How about Horizon 202 & Horizon S3 ? Some friends suggest that the difference is not big. mainly just the shutter speed (1sec & 1/500). Is Horizon S3 is so superior that make the US$100 difference in price?

Or does Horizon S3 has a better production quality? because I can't find any Horizon in my city & I probably purchase in ebay. If the flaut rate is much lower, I MAY consider S3 (but the price still the issue)

 

[lZr]

Post some 202 or S3 PRO (aka 203) photos

http://www.rangefinderforum.com/photopost/showphoto.php?photo=75660&ppuser=2130

http://www.rangefinderforum.com/photopost/showphoto.php?photo=75659&ppuser=2130

 

[Andrew Sowerby]

I can't vouch for the 202, but I had an S3 for a few months and I never had any problems with it. They are fun cameras, but it was just a hassle to use (no meter, annoying to print or scan the pics from it). If you like panoramics, it's probably the best of the cheap swing-lens cameras.

 

[lZr]

Oh, yes. I use Epson 4990 to scan 24x58 mm negatives or slides. Easy done. Every size can be scanned

 

[raid]

I have used my 202 with a few rolls of film, and so far I have had no problems with the camera. The images are impressingly sharp.

Only little problem: Just like Jim said: " I did manage to pull the metal lever off the rewind knob, but this was probably my fault while rushing to change film."

I used super glue to attach the metal lever back.

It is great that there are such cameras for such low prices. Speciality cameras are typically not used all year around, as Ruben mentioned above, and being able to try out such a camera for less than $200 is great.

 

[Graybeard]

I bought a Horizon 202 about five years ago and have been pleased with it. The camera has been reliable and the lens quite sharp. Most recently I had it with me in Italy where I shot twenty rolls of film.

Some suggestions about using a Horizon-

1) Pay attention to how you load the film and be certain that the film goes under both rollers (before and after the arc film gate).

2) Don't try to squeeze too many shots out of a roll of film. The gearing in the film advance is strong enough to easily break the film. I only take 19 shots per "36-exposure" roll and have no problems (that is, since I learned this lesson while out in a canoe)

3) Don't include the sun in the image. There is something shiny in the lens turret that will flare.

4) Take pains to keep dirt away from the camera - keep it in its case or a plastic bag when not using it. The turret mechanism traps dirt and debris (also true of the Widelux). Clean the inside of the camera with a blower brush before you load film; it is surprising how much stuff is swept into the camera by the turret.

5) I prefer to use a fine grain film, usually FP4. You'll want to make big enlargements when you see the results this camera can produce.