Russian panoramic ??

Dave Wilkinson

Dave Wilkinson

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I often feel the urge/need for a panoramic, for occasional use on my travels, holidays etc., can't justify the likes of Xpan, Noblex, etc.-so I am wondering if (don't laugh!!) the Russian swing lens 35mm things in the Ebay ads are reliable, give decent images, etc.?.....or should I give them a miss!! 🙂
Dave.
 
All I can add is that LzR gets some *really* good shots with the Horizon S3 Pro

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And I lust after one!
 
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I actually think it's about time Lazar took his Horizon down town again. I'm beginning to miss those shots.
 
Be very wary of the old silver Horizont. A friend of mine was photographer to the Supreme Soviet, (which shows how long ago it was!). He lent me his with the warning, 'Shoot two or three or you may get stripes from the juddering rotation.

He had ordered a case of them (half a dozen) and selected the best one.

I got some good pics with it in St. Petersburg, though.

Cheers,

R.
 
I had a Horizon 202...here's a photo I liked that I took with it...

http://www.flickr.com/photos/haroldgee/188572508/sizes/o/in/set-72157594197572294/

One of the cool things I did was to use two of the existing filters that come with the camera, and replace the filter glass with eyepiece diopters so the camera would focus at two regions closer than the existing lens. Unfortunately, it was stolen not long after I did this, so I never got to try out the closeup diopters. Quite irksome, to say the least.
 
I do various pano things. Xpan, Noblex 150U, Roundshot 220-28, CamboWide with 35 on 6x12 and Horizon 202. Years ago I started with a Widelux F7 when it came out; always had to dry shoot about 50 shots before loading film to avoid banding.

The Horizon 202 is essentially a more workable, but cruder version of that Widelux (and the old Horizont). The 202 was designed in Finland, but before production started it got move to Russia. The main thing with the 202 is that you take it to someone who can do a CLA on it and lubricate it. It comes without lubrication which hurts performance in general and in particular will rust many of the metal bits (body is mostly synthetic, though) if you so much as take it into an atmosphere with above normal humidity.

It's a pain to load, especially compared with something elegant like a Noblex, but the lens is decent and the exposures reasonably even.

Don't bother with the high speed one. It will frustrate you more than it is worth.

Henning
 
I missed on the Xpan, but did get a Nikon N70 with quartz date and panorama that crops on a 35mm 13mmX35mm which makes for an interesting picture, but not much film area. I purchased a 6X12 pinHolga recently and have enjoyed using that for some interesting results. I've wondered about the Horizon, and the f/2.8 lens on the 202 might make it an interesting available light camera with black and white film.
 
I'd get one...

I'd get one...

hi,
this is my first post, so hello to all.

I am a film director and cameraman, and I use the panorama cameras mainly for research on the projects I work on. I have a one of those old horizons, gorizont as is written on it, the silver one, as well as an xpan, which I bought today. I am based in europe.

To the horizon: I purchased it a few years ago for 100 USD, and it was my intro to panorama seeing and thinking. I think it's a really fine camera making strange noises while taking great pictures if used correctly. As with all rotating lens cameras, the mechanism can be out of order, yielding those vertical stripes, but the one I have works fine. You can test it by careful listening. If it changes pitch during the exposure, don't buy it. The shutter speeds are not like on a widelux- which is a mechanically beautyful camera- meaning that slow shutter speeds will make the lens turn slower. Rather it alwas turns at the same speed. The difference in exposure time is achieved by widening, or narrowing, the area through which light falls onto the film. The lens does have some problems in contre-jour situations, this due to low quality coating, so be careful about these situations, or use the fault to your advantage...

Furthermore, I never wind the film too fast, nor do turn the wheels for f-stop or time too abruptly. The camera does like to be treated like any expensive leica, that is with care.

Sometimes on the right side of the exposed negative, almost at the edge, a strange halo appears. You might shoot 3 films without it appearing, and then, all of a sudden it's there, ruining your best shot. It might be due to stray light reflefting inside the lens housing or the turret, but I have never closely looked closely into this matter. My advice is to take that shot twice. I have never had two consecutive stray light faults in a row.

What else is there to say? The gorizont is not a swiss watch, but still a very useful piece of equipment. Treat it nice, and it will reward you. I'd get one...

Thomas
 
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I have not seen it spelt "gorizont", but I presume this is the same the early 'silver' Horizont. I wouldn't buy the earlier metal Horizont unless you want it just as a collectors item (it is quite beautiful). It's not so much the uneven rotation, I have just 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 some years ago. 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.
 
i guess the uneven rotation is common, but I haven noticed it on the one I have

the early silver gorizont/horizont
 

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I had a silver '(G)Horizont' and, even though it was sometimes like taking photos with a tractor, it was fantastic. I even used it in the Antarctic at -40 degrees C, and it never missed a beat. I now have an Xpan and use it constantly, but the swing perspective of the Horizont is still more pleasing somehow...

best of luck!

Jonathan.
 
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