Trade XPan for Mamiya 6 or 7?

[nardo]

Hi!
I am currently considering to trade my Hasselblad XPan for a Mamiya 6 or 7. I think, that given the famous lens quality of the Ms and the negative size it should be a good deal. more lenses, more diversity, similar weight, similar prize.
And if I want to make panoramic pix, I can simply crop the negative...
What´s your view?

Thanks,

Bernhard

 

[sahe69]

Having both systems (XPan and Mamiya 7II) I think these are two different tools. While you can crop the 6x7 neg to a panoramic pic, at least I find composing a pano with the Xpan much more straightforward.

On the other hand, the 6x7 negs/trannies are impressive and the format in itself is very pleasing.

I guess this boils down to the question which format do you prefer. For panoramic shots alone, I would stick with the XPan. While the Mamiya does have 6 lenses (43/50/65/80/150/210), I would consider it only slightly more diverse than the Xpan. That is, not taking into account the cropping options the 6x7 negs give.

 

[StanSmith]

I have had both and think you should keep the Xpan. OK the medium format has bigger negs and in short translate to better tonality if you print large. The Xpan is a special camera. Taking panos is as easy as pressing the shutter but taking a good and interesting pano of a street scene is hard. The Xpan is like a Hexar RF or a Leica but it is Pano. How can you beat that?!? Yes you can crop a pano from a 120 neg if you didn't already have a Xpan...but you do so keep it!

 

[nardo]

Thanks, however my question is: if I have only have the choice to have either one, not both (for financial reasons... :-( ) , which one is the better tool, all in all? Xpan is after allvery special and not too diverse...

 

[palec]

Xpan is actually diverse - switching between panoramic and 3:2 frame, smaller to carry, less obtrusive, high quality optics, solid build and feel, more frames to shoot, just smaller negative. It's not good in low-light, but neither Mamiya 6/7 is.

 

[Parkes Owen]

I too ,have thought about this option, but the xpan is so compact for its image quality, built like a tank and very nice to use.
If I ever go back to 120 film I`d just buy a bronica or mamiya slr and keep the xpan, as MF slr`s are sooooo cheap now.
YES, the mamiya 7 does have more lenses, but they are not cheap, and if you only have the 45mm on the xpan, it can be a 25mm , or 45mm depending on the format used, just my 2 cents! 😉

 

[Frank Petronio]

All things being equal, the Xpan is a nicer quality camera as an object itself....