Mechanical XPAN, is it possible?

pushto1600

pushto1600

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Hey y'all. Like many film shooters I've been obsessed with the XPAN ever since I've discovered its existence. I've wanted to get one forever, but the electronics and their inevitable demise has kept me from buying one. However, I've been thinking long and hard about if replacing the electronic shutter and advance mechanisms inside the XPAN with a fully mechanical system is possible. I was thinking maybe the FM shutter could do the trick, for starters. Am I crazy? Let me know.
 
There is also this: https://zeissikonveb.de/start/basteleien/praktica panorama reflex.html
He makes it work with a modified horizontal travel shutter. Even though that is very compact, I don't think it could be fit into the very very compact Xpan body, which I think has a vertical travel shutter. Maaaybe vertical travel shutters could be modified in a similar way? But that will be very difficult.
 
filmtwit said:
Why not just get a Linhof Technorama instead?
At least twice the resolution and more lenses to play with after all.
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I'd actually love a 6x17 camera in the future, but I think the convenience of 35mm is more my style currently. Could definitely see me getting something like that down the line though...
 
retinax said:
There is also this: https://zeissikonveb.de/start/basteleien/praktica panorama reflex.html
He makes it work with a modified horizontal travel shutter. Even though that is very compact, I don't think it could be fit into the very very compact Xpan body, which I think has a vertical travel shutter. Maaaybe vertical travel shutters could be modified in a similar way? But that will be very difficult.
Click to expand...

appreciate the insight. I'm almost 100% certain the XPAN is a vert. trav. shutter though. That's why I was thinking the FM since it's vertically oriented and it tops out at 1/1000 like the XPAN. Though you raise an interesting point, I wonder if a horizontal shutter could be outfitted in the shell of an XPAN. I'll look more into it. Thanks!
 
Let's put this in perspective - your inevitable demise may occur before that of the electronics in any given item. So the entire thing may be off-base.

You will not be able to replace the guts of an Xpan with mechanical parts. There is simply no way to do it.

That said, you could get a 24x80 mask and 35 conversion kit for a Fuji 6x9 and go even wider in a far cheaper (though less light and compact) package. Similar kits exist for Pentax 6x7, which is also all mechanical.

Dante
 
If you don’t mind judging distance and/or stop the lens down, there’s always an SWC with 645 back and you can mask the finder. It’s not 135, but the size is nice and the lens is good enough you’ll likely not miss the millimeters difference from xpan negs.
 
It is unfortunate that the Xpan is electronic. It is so unique. Compact, switch from 6x to panoramic, great lenses. The Linhof, Fuji 6x17, Fuji Texas Leica, Pentax 67 can all produce fine negatives.....but are no match for the portability of the Xpan....
 
I was also fascinated by the XPAN aspect ratio, but the specter of electronics failure and their astronomical cost put me off. Since I'm not deep pocketed enough to risk a fantastically expensive (for me) electronic brick, my compromise was a Pentax 6x7 with a 35mm adapter kit. Obviously it's quite a big larger and also has an electronically controlled shutter, but I can still use it handheld and I was able to find a kit at a reasonable price. So I sacrificed cost, portability, and a bit of convenience, since there is a bit of cludging to use 35mm film in the Pentax 6x7. On the plus side, Pentax lenses are a bit faster than the Hasselblad lenses, and the kit used normally makes fantastic medium format images. I have a small album of panoramic image samples on my flickr.
 
My ideal XPAN would be: First of all, reduce the gate width a little bit to 54 or 56mm, to match the gate of my Hasselblad PCP80 projector. Now the aspect ratio is 2.25:1, about the same as 70mm Panavision. That's wide enough. Second, mate it to the Carl Zeiss 38mm Biogon. Wide enough, and now you don't need a center filter. Third, provide a frameline for that view, in the camera's finder. No more need for the bulky accessory finder. And yes, I would be OK with a mechanical shutter. The Prontor shutter already mated to the Biogon would be fine! Maybe leave off the light meter.

The reason I'm not wild about the XPAN's aspect ratio is that there is too often not enough room for a decent amount of foreground and sky.

I sold my XPAN. I use instead my 40mm Distagon on my 500CM. I use the A16 back and simply crop to a 2:1 aspect ratio for projection.
 
I shopped far and wide for a compact panoramic camera w/o a rotating lens and settled on the Moment anamorphic lens. Phones are still annoying to use for my purposes (street-style shooting), but it could be fine for you. If you're set on film, I was also looking at the Horizon S3 and something along the lines of the Mamiya Press Super 23 with the 50/6.3 lens and 35mm panoramic adapter.

If you have the tools, you could also hack a stereo camera.

10058384185_f3b3a41b56_b.jpg


It would be useful to know failure rates for an electronic camera's various components, and the availability of each of those parts. Everyone's case of risk aversion is different.
 
You're crazy! Although projects can fun, why reinvent the wheel? If you can afford an Xpan, then are many good alternatives. I, too, lusted after an xpan but they have always been more $ than I would ever pay. I had a Mamiya 7 with the 35mm panorama adapter. I'm glad I only spent $100 for the adapter- I quickly learned the limits of panoramas. But I still had an awesome MF camera...
 
benlees said:
You're crazy! Although projects can fun, why reinvent the wheel? If you can afford an Xpan, then are many good alternatives. I, too, lusted after an xpan but they have always been more $ than I would ever pay. I had a Mamiya 7 with the 35mm panorama adapter. I'm glad I only spent $100 for the adapter- I quickly learned the limits of panoramas. But I still had an awesome MF camera...
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Yes, that's exactly what I posted, except I went the Pentax 6x7 route because I also needed a 6 pound kettlebell. You could say that I killed three birds with one heavy stone. 😀
 
Speaking of mechanical alternatives, the Plaubel Veriwide 100 is about a third less than an xpan if you don’t mind 120 and an f8 lens.
 
There is also this...unspeakable horror dripping with the original sin that is called Holga. They have a model called 135 Pan, with a 55/8 lens. It (somehow) does the job and doesn't break the bank. Plenty of fun for the price if you'd take it as is.
 
aizan said:
I shopped far and wide for a compact panoramic camera w/o a rotating lens and settled on the Moment anamorphic lens. Phones are still annoying to use for my purposes (street-style shooting), but it could be fine for you. If you're set on film, I was also looking at the Horizon S3 and something along the lines of the Mamiya Press Super 23 with the 50/6.3 lens and 35mm panoramic adapter.

If you have the tools, you could also hack a stereo camera.

10058384185_f3b3a41b56_b.jpg


It would be useful to know failure rates for an electronic camera's various components, and the availability of each of those parts. Everyone's case of risk aversion is different.
Click to expand...

wow who converted this camera? it seems a great size for everyday shooting
 
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