Xpan vs Minolta CLE

[tomaplaw]

Hello,

I currently have a Minolta CLE with the voigtlander 40mm and a rokkor 28mm which together make a good kit. However recently i've had my eyes set on the hasselblad Xpan. Is it worth selling my CLE kit for one of these cameras? I know the lenses are slow but there's something very appealing about the panoramic frame. And you can switch between panoramic and standard - anyone had any experience with shooting standard in this camera? My worry is that the panoramic look will get old quickly.

 

[magicianhisoka]

Got an xpan and a ikon. I definitely would rather have both of them side by side. The panoramic look doesn't get old honestly. but it can be hard to frame it properly until you get used to it.

And yes you can switch between pano and 3:2 with a simple flick of a switch 🙂

 

[rbelyell]

xpan is one of the finest cameras ive ever owned. the lenses are fantastic. the results almost seem like medium format quality to me. the 'standard' frame performance is equally excellent. ive taken many 'standard' shots i love, and the option of going back and forth is awesome. easy to use and relatively compact, there is nothing negative i can say about it.

the only thing you have to keep in mind is the 'reverse' DOF in pano mode. while we're used to increased DOF when using 'crop' cams, that effect is reversed, ie DOF is more narrow in pano mode than its 35mm fstop equivalent, by about 2 stops i think. so shooting the 45mm in pano at 5.6 is like shooting a 24mm at about 2.8, etc etc etc.