Panoramic street photography - what format?

peter_n said:
Great pix Nick!

Koudelka got his inspriration from the great Czech, Josef Sudek. Sudek was truly an amazing man, and it was his work with a home-made panoramic camera in north-west Bohemia that got Koudelka started on his panoramic "mission". Sudek also shot many panoramics in Prague. Sad Landscape shot in Bohemia is still available in central Europe, but Prague Panoramic is out of print and extremely expensive. Sudek was a visual lyricist and his work is well worth studying. You can probably get the books through your local library.
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All that with one arm as well. ;-)

Regards, John
 
sar-photo said:
So is 6x12 not considered panoramic?
Anyway, another reason to get the 612 is that it is £900 cheaper!!

Simon
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Yes, I shouldn't have used the word panoramic, but then using it reveals my bias. 🙂 2:1 is OK but I personally much prefer the 3:1 aspect ratio. More difficult in every way, but at least to me more satisfying too. There is definitely something different about a big 3:1 print!
 
sar-photo said:
So is 6x12 not considered panoramic?
Anyway, another reason to get the 612 is that it is £900 cheaper!!

Simon
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Somewhere in the deeper recesses of what passes for my mind, I seem to recall someone who cut a dark slide in half, so they could shoot two panoramic shots using various field or Press cameras, a 4x5 should give you something close to two 5x12cm's?

You do have to keep track of your slides though, and their last positions?

Regards, John
 
Fotoman = RIP ( unless you can find stock or a used one )
http://www.fotomancamera.com/news.asp#5668

Used to have a Linhof 612 PC-II with 58mm lens : the big advantage of 6x12 is that it fitted on a 5x4 enlarger.
Also tried a Xpan , but found the 45mm to narrow and the 30mm too wide.

These days a Hasselblad SWC/M is my wide weapon of choice - cropping if necessary.
It's a lot more compact and robust than the Linhof ( and other LF lenses on mounts ) and the negatives are big enough to outshine 35mm.
Cropping a 6x6 also gives perspective correction - another thing that was really lacking with the Xpan and 45mm lens.
Anything wider and stitched digital wins.
 
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Although Fotoman have stopped production they still have quite a bit of stock for sale, including camera kits, cones and other accessories.

Simon
 
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Simon
It seems you have the decision making process a bit backwards, here.

If I may say so, you should figure out what perspective you like...then get the gear to fulfill your vision.

It's OK to make a decision based on gear or cost...but I think an artistic process demands a somewhat-different priority.

FWIW, I use an XPan and absolutely love it. In fact, I just got back from a trip to China where I was doing, basically, street photography with it.
Past trips, I've also used a Widelux F7, which is fantastic for candid street photography.
 
Hi!

If this helps, I had a Fotoman 617 with a 90 Schneider and I wold never, ever, used it for "street" photography. It's just too cumbersome. It's the kind of camera that goes much better on a tripod and, nowadays, it looks very difficult to shoot with a tripod on a street, trying to catch the "decisive moment"... 🙂

On the other hand, I used it a quite a bit for landscape (including some urban landscape) and it's true that, the first time I got those 6x17 cm negs or slides, I was amazed (and I shoot 6x6 since I was a kid)...

Anyhow, the "impact" faded fast and all the hassle of a large format camera without the perks (movements, etc) took on. I admit than the handling is easier / faster than LF. But it's much more cumbersome than it looks...

So, I exchanged it by a Xpan II with a 45 and I have been very happy since (about 1 year). The 45 is super-sharp (in fact, I still get surprised by it's sharpness), produces lovely tonality and, with a good scan, I find it hard to tell a big difference between the Xpan and the Fotoman on "realistic" (<1m) prints. On "cinema-poster" prints, sure you will get a difference.

But I can do street photos with the Xpan, as easily as I shoot my Leicas (or Epson). And landscapes are also great!

So... If you really want to do panoramic, and you want a camera that's versatile enough to do both landscape AND street and handles fast and easy, then the Xpan is the way to go. If you have the time / character to set up a tripod and live with a slow operation and need large (well, VERY large) prints, then get the Fotoman...

I have to tell you that the Xpan II became my favorite camera. I have a lot of film cameras that are now kept on the closet because digital has, indeed, catch-up. So, I lived the last 3 or 4 years not caring about the future of film. The Xpan II changed that and I sincerely hope 35mm film keeps on for a long while...

Couldn't feel that with the Fotoman, though...

Just my 2 cents.
 
Well, I got the Fotoman 612 a few weeks ago and have put about six films through it. I'm still getting used to the handling - for most of my shots I used it handheld and it's not too bulky to be used in this way (I imagine the 617 would though).
I'll post a couple of photo's once I process the film!

Cheers
Simon
 
The more "professional" a camera looks, the more objections you may have , especially from police/security guards to your "commercial" photography and permits are likely to be required surprisingly often.
 
There is this superb book "Vucciria" of Mauro D'agati. Shot with a Xpan and cross-proccessed negative film. There is a sample of pictures in the website of the photographer: http://www.maurodagati.com/vucciria_start.html ( the link to the 2nd picture does not seem to work, go to http://www.maurodagati.com/vucciria2.html and then go on)

If you want to shoot panoramic street photography meaning 'with people' I think the best way to go is an XPAN or a Mamiya 7 with the panoramic adapter or a Fuji camera. Anything else would be too heavy for handheld photography. If by 'street photography' you mean 'without people' i.e. urban landscape then something heavier with a tripod is fine.

Arturo
 
jvr said:
So, I exchanged it by a Xpan II with a 45 and I have been very happy since (about 1 year). The 45 is super-sharp (in fact, I still get surprised by it's sharpness), produces lovely tonality and, with a good scan, I find it hard to tell a big difference between the Xpan and the Fotoman on "realistic" (<1m) prints. On "cinema-poster" prints, sure you will get a difference.

But I can do street photos with the Xpan, as easily as I shoot my Leicas (or Epson). And landscapes are also great!

So... If you really want to do panoramic, and you want a camera that's versatile enough to do both landscape AND street and handles fast and easy, then the Xpan is the way to go. If you have the time / character to set up a tripod and live with a slow operation and need large (well, VERY large) prints, then get the Fotoman...

I have to tell you that the Xpan II became my favorite camera. I have a lot of film cameras that are now kept on the closet because digital has, indeed, catch-up. So, I lived the last 3 or 4 years not caring about the future of film. The Xpan II changed that and I sincerely hope 35mm film keeps on for a long while...
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I totally agree with you, but would extend that to much of my outdoor photography, the X-Pan 90mm also giving an excellent alternative format where I might have used a 35mm camera before.

However, I would go further. Having obtained the X-Pan 30mm lens earlier this year, I now use it much more than the 45mm. Above all, you can get shots from across the street when you would be too close with the 45mm. Almost the only time I go back to my 35mm SLR for street shots (more often of individual buildings) it is to use a shift lens (Zuiko 35mm or 24mm).
 
jvr said:
If this helps, I had a Fotoman 617 with a 90 Schneider and I wold never, ever, used it for "street" photography. It's just too cumbersome. It's the kind of camera that goes much better on a tripod and, nowadays, it looks very difficult to shoot with a tripod on a street, trying to catch the "decisive moment"... 🙂
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I agree that a 617 is not a good tool for decisive moments but not all street photography is about decisive moments. With a 3:1 aspect ratio you think more about perspective and composition than a potential decisive moment. Many of the shots in Koudelka's Chaos are street shots, some include people, some don't. The book is an object lesson in how to use a 617 effectively in the street and elsewhere.
 
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