Digital Alternatives to the Hasselblad XPan

[@mpbcom]

Do you know of any other cameras that can shoot images like the XPan or think that nothing can beat the original? Let us know in the comments👇

[@Bbarm97]

panasonic lumix s5 has a panaromic mode with the same ratio as xpan, and when you convert the raw files to dng (which is what I do) it actually just gives you that ratio raw (maybe in original rw2 but idk)

[@dougfromsoanierana]

This is a bit of a cheat, but with a standard 50mm 1.8 lens on any decent digital camera, you can take a series of shots across a scene and stitch them together seamlessly in Lightroom. It’s not as sexy as native panoramic images, but I doubt anyone could tell the difference. Great video, BTW.

[@key2adventure]

Stitching in post is not the same as experiencing the panoramic mode during your shooting. If you havent tried it, you dont know. It is so inspiring to look through the viewfinder on my Hasselblad X1D and see the World in the panoramic view.

[@N9olan]

The Fuji film GFX line of cameras. I have the 50S but the 50R is built rangefinder style like the Xpan.

[@bagzhansadvakassov1093]

@@N9olan its 1000+ right? And very big camera.

[@badmancrooks]

"Let me show you alternatives you can use for a fraction of the price" proceeds to demo 2 cameras that are virtually the same price as the xpan

[@jaegerschtulmann]

You can literally mimic the xpan on most high mp cameras, just change the aspect ratio to 16:9, display gridlines (grid 24) and compose and shoot within the middle rows) in your editing software create an xpan crop (65:24) and boom 🤯 free xpan with minimal loss in quality if you shoot 40mp or higher

[@geofff6671]

I’m hoping Fujifilm introduce an Xpan crop in the X-T5 via firmware update. It has the megapixels for it. Come on Fuji.

[@nonsoville]

Impossible. Can do a crop but the depth of field is rubbish

[@nelsonclub7722]

@@nonsoville Neither impossible or unlikely - Fuji's version of the X-Pan was the TX-1 (identical down to the mame) DOF has zero to do with it

[@Kdkjdjewerdnxa]

@@nelsonclub7722 definitely unlikely because people have been asking for more crop options for literally a decade and Fuji hasn’t implemented them. I want a 4:5 crop for portraits, previewing the aspect ratio is super important but they don’t seem interested in letting people do that. The few crops they have work well enough for what they’re for, they keep the raw info outside the frame but show you the aspect ratio you want. They just have very few useful aspect ratios.

[@nelsonclub7722]

@@Kdkjdjewerdnxa Agreed

[@nikoolix]

@@nonsoville The X-Pan lenses were all f/4 or slower, the Fuji X-system has heaps of faster lenses that can give a shorter DOF despite the smaller sensor.

[@pawpaw324]

There is also the Panasonic S1R that shoots a 65:24 crop. Truthfully, all the Panasonic full frame cameras do this. But the S1R is 47 mp.

[@raksh9]

Another video on KZbin mentioned this feature, so I tried it with my Panasonic S5. It's very enjoyable to shoot with this aspect ratio, especially with wide lenses like 24 and 28.

[@ductritran8637]

Panasonic S1R is one of the best camera in the world today .

[@eventhori3on]

100% i dont mind the 13mp on the S5 and it's a super cheap camera! Even the kit 20-60 in the mode is legit amazing! I may have to get a 1R though now as I'm.obsessed with this ratio

[@karlyabasa]

RitchieCam for iPhone has a 65:24 crop mode, it’s great fun to have a mini ‘XPan’ in your pocket.

[@StreetsOfVancouverChannel]

I bought one of these in a Vancouver camera shop around nine years ago. It was a consignment item and the 'owner' wanted $1000. The camera and lens were in mint shape in their respective boxes. The guy at the shop implied that the seller had inherited it from an uncle who died (who must have bought it strictly as a collector item). I suspected that the new owner wanted quick cash and had zero emotional investment in it... so I offered $800 as it had been sitting there for a month already. Sure enough the guy accepted and I paid for it and never used it. Three years ago I sold it for $2500... but now I'm seeing that the prices are INSANE! The best part of this story is that the guy who bought it from me met me at my bank downtown and handed me the cash. He immediately unpacked the camera and put a roll of film in it. He had every intention of using it as often as he could and that's what cameras are designed for: capturing images!

[@RiceCubeTech]

I’m glad that you sold it to another person who would use it! You made a good penny off of it, and someone paid a lot less for it then than they would now.

[@ColinRobertson_LLAP]

It annoys me to no end more cameras don't offer wider than 16x9 crops-or, let you set a custom crop ratio. Good tip about the Sigma! I knew the GFX (sadly not any of the X mount) cameras offered a wide crop, but was not aware the Sigma's did too...

[@wbajzek]

It annoys me that 4:5 is rare, too.

[@Humungojerry]

agree, there’s no reason fuji coudnt offer it in their x mount cameras. the xt5 is 40mp. an x pro would also look very similar to the xpan

[@vintehindecembre1607]

Panasonic S1 / S5 series offer wide aspect ratio, xpan mode and cinemascope. If you are ok to shoot raw and crop in post, Panasonic also offer custom grid line and custom ratio in viewfinder (you can set the line you want, color of the line, and opacity of the outer space if you want to keep transparent, grey or full black). You have the same option on SIgma FP. Shame you don't have this option on other brand.

[@RiceCubeTech]

@@vintehindecembre1607I know Sony gives you guidelines in video for a variety of aspect ratios, even if it isn’t baked in. I’ll try it on my A1 and see if will work in photo mode too.

[@krakapoww]

@@RiceCubeTechdid it work?

[@miljo2146]

Just because you have less megapixels in the 65:24 mode doesn’t mean you have to print smaller. You still get the full width of the image. If a full size GFX 50R image looks good printed 2 meters wide, the XPan crop will look just as good.

[@KingGameReview]

I have the GFX 50R and it's by far my favorite camera I've ever owned. I love it so much. The XPan mode is just the icing on the cake.

[@erikleypoldt8275]

Is it great as an all round camera? Travel, general etc Whats a good lens to pair it with?

[@KingGameReview]

@@erikleypoldt8275 I think so. I use a lot of vintage lenses on it. It's not fast and the autofocus (on the one native GF lens I've tried) isn't super accurate, so of you shoot sports or rely on autofocus, maybe it's not the best camera?

[@erikleypoldt8275]

@@KingGameReview the 50mmm 3.5 sounds great in what ive watched. Smaller also

[@J0ss717]

Well the Sigma Fp L has a 21:9 crop mode. And this is a full-frame L-mount camera with 61 mega pixel sensor @ 2500 USD

[@CrnaInBela]

amazing production quality of this video, keep it up!

[@MonsieurZine]

Really nice video. Thanks for it, i just ordered a Sigma DP2 Quattro. Can’t wait to try panoramic photography with this one.

[@mpbcom]

Thanks for the compliment and good luck with your Sigma!

[@shadowcultur]

Full frame with a 28 or 24mm, use rule of thirds grid, frame shots in that center row, crop to 2.39:1 in post. No XPan but it’s close.

[@ivorj4715]

Another possibility is using say a Fuji X camera in panoramic mode. Not the same thing I know, but you will get an out of the camera wide .jpg picture which can be cropped to the desired shape.

[@StrangelyIronic]

The Panasonic S5 has the 65x24 aspect ratio as an option along with a hires mode to put out massive files.

[@stesso7122]

Nice video! Personally, i would go for a regular camera with an anamorphic lens. That would allow you not to lose megapixels with the plus of the anamorphic look.

[@troz856]

I used to shoot panoramic with a Horseman LF camera and a 6x17cm film back, scanned with a Flextight Precision II scanner. I now use a Fujifilm GFX 50R and if I crop to the same aspect ratio, the Fujifilm images are as good or better.

[@0rdsec]

Mamiya 7 with a wider lens (65 or 50, 43 if you're into extremes), pano kit - et voila, you have an xpan that can shoot 6x7 :) I know it's still a pricey solution and the film overhead is there, but I personally truly enjoy the analog process, and I save money by developing and scanning at home. If I were to go digital, though, I'd probably grab a 50R as the variety of lenses you can adapt to it is pretty insane. Great video - thank you!

[@Stanlyok]

It is not only about resolution and aspect ratio. Otherwise cropping would be a solution. As for composing - Sony cameras have 2.35:1 Marker display. Not far off from rangefinder framing experience (seeing more than what ends up being photographed). It is mainly about the sensor size, sensor being film in XPan's case. Speaking of sensor size - Fuji & Hasselblad mirrorless "medium format" sensors are approximately 44 x 33mm VS standard medium format film size of at least ~60 x 45mm. So the short side of the actual medium format frame is longer than long side of these new cameras. The XPan, with it's unique use of 35mm film, has an even wider frame of 65 x 24mm. So if you adapt XPan lenses onto these modern "medium format" cameras - the crop factor will be huge at about 1.47 horizontally! That's FF vs APS-C difference :D To sum up, not only there is no camera with a wide digital sensor like XPan had, but there is also no camera that has large enough sensor and short enough flange distance to adopt the XPan lenses.

[@connor56347]

I mean "technically" there's the Arri Alexa 65 which is 55mmX25.5mm. But yes, in terms of cameras people could actually own and use for photos you're right.

[@Stanlyok]

@@connor56347 also thought of it, but as you noted it’s still not wide enough to capture all width of the light projected by the lenses being 1 whole centimeter narrower compared to XPan’s frame

[@F1lmtwit]

The Hasselblad 7023 series has a Xpan set up and you can use the Xpan lenses (with converter)

[@Kref3]

I had an XPAN 1 some years ago. I also had a Mamiya 7 and several other cameras of the 90s. I also had a 4x5 and a 16x6 panoramic medium format camera. Ultimately I bought an Imacon 646 scanner to get the best out of these things. I sold practically all. The view cameras because they were too much of a hassle for me, the Mamiya and XPAN and the Scanner because I simply could not afford to keep pieces like this without using them practically daily especially while I always thought about them dying on me any day, since they are so complicated electronic machines. I kept my Nikon FM2, F2, Hasselblad 501CM and Rolleiflex 3.5E and then I do camera scanning with my Sony A7R2 and Sigma 105 macro. Just as you said: If an XPAN dies, you have just lost thousands of whatever kind of money you use. Made me nervous.

[@bgrzesiak5996]

Fuji X-T5, Fuji 10-24 or 8-16 lens, shoot SOOC JPEG, know how to use the Highlight Tone and Shadow Tone controls, crop image. Done.

[@SuperSuperka]

Of course it's not an alternative at all, but I am glad more people talk about Xpan. Maybe Fuji will hear and produce real digital Xpan, based of halph of GFX-sensor - horisontal cut produce perfect Xpan ratio sensor.

[@johntravena119]

There’s the Vivitar IC 101 point and shoot. The top and bottom of the frame is cropped. I got one at a garage sale. Loved that camera but the winder gave out on me.

[@PianoBlackTrimRep.]

I just bought a Sigma DP0 Quattro, looking forward to shooting in 21:9 format. I know you can use any camera to take multiple photos and then stitch them together and crop in post but that's too much work. I want to shoot 21:9 natively.

[@thatsreallyamoon]

With those locations, any camera seem amazing!

[@mpbcom]

True, true :)

[@soundknight]

The external view finder for the sigma cameras is amazing! Best I've ever seen through.

[@ItsCjhoneycomb]

I'm impressed at how well the Sigma actually keeps up with medium format... and for the price.. WOW. From experience, it is truly a pain to use.

[@itch1428]

which one do u have

[@ItsCjhoneycomb]

I used the Sigma SD Quattro H @@itch1428

[@BrilliantOberver]

I use X1D2 with voigtlander 15mm VM+ M to XCD adapter, It goes to 12mm equivalent. Then in X1D2's xpan mode, the result beats the XPAN completely, it is more xpan than the XPAN

[@mpbcom]

That is an amazing kit you have there! Glad to hear you found a solution that you are happy with. - Jakub

[@Sotangy247]

Great very informative video . I didn't know anything about this camera and the collaboration with Fuji, so learned something new

[@mpbcom]

Thank you! We are really glad you enjoyed it! - Jakub

[@JohnOpie]

I have the Sigma dp1 quattro. Oddly enough, the 21:9 format is what I use it for primarily, shooting native B&W. Fabulous tool for this format. Only thing is if you want to do time lapse in that format, no software I found will let you merge in that format. Output is 16:9, leaving black borders at the top and bottom. Hence: shoot 16:9 natively if you want to generate time lapse with the quattros. One commentor said it's not a Foveon: that isn't true (what makes Foveon Foveon is the layering of the sensors, not the distribution) and it makes no difference: results are superior.

[@mariusv.8965]

There actually are cameraphones that have the Xpan crop mode as well. The OnePlus 9, 9 pro, 10 and 10 pro all have "Hasselblad"-branded cameras with an Xpan crop mode built into the camera settings.

[@Klaus-macht-Bilder_de]

I think any full frame camera > 36MP can do the job by cropping - important is a real wide angle lens or even a FishEye with software correction to rectangular pictures

[@pilsenphotocoop861]

you know you can use a canon R5/6 etc and just select that crop in the menu. You can have a line to show the crop or actually have the extra sensor space matted out. Its pretty handy when you're shooting for a specific format.

[@gfcphotography3101]

explain further as i own the R5 please. Thank you. I do not see 65:24 in the menu.

[@georgelamb9873]

If you have Photoshop you can produce a panorama quite simply by stitching a series of frames together. Yes that other processing programmes that will do the same.

[@framue]

Great video. In addition to the presented cameras all Panasonic L-mount/full frame support a 65:24 in-camera crop mode as well.

[@matthewwilson3673]

Great video, there was a guy who was working on converting a fuji xpro1 into hasselblad format but I haven't seen updates on that recently

[@mpbcom]

Thanks! We'll try to hunt down that video too

[@rivergate950]

I bought a few xpan cameras from cayman cameras when they first came out. sold them for a profit because prices in cayman were a good 30% lower than in the USA. cant' believe they actually went up in price! if you use a tripod and any shift lens you can take 2 photos and stitch in post.

[@wujiali1117]

Thank you for the video. i did not know 50R can shot in X-pan mode. Very helpful!

[@OlDoinyo]

If you know how to crop an image in post, you can get this 7:3 aspect ratio (or any arbitrary other) out of any image file. If you want a panoramic image, just be sure to shoot with a wide-angle lens (some by Laowa cover up to 135 degrees' field of view.) My OnePlus cellphone camera actually has an Xpan mode--officially sanctioned by Hasselblad!

[@mpbcom]

You are right, cropping an image in post will give you any aspect ratio you want. However, this way you still frame your shots in a 3:2 (or 16:9) aspect ratio and have to imagine how the final, cropped photo will look like. Hence the idea to find cameras that have the Xpan crop built-in. I definitely agree with using wide angle lenses for this crop, such images look great! Thank you for watching and sharing your thoughts! - Jakub

[@CodHumors]

The Minolta PS, a point and shoot film camera.

[@mpbcom]

Ah yes, it is a cute little camera although it is not digital! Thank you for sharing. - Jakub

[@felixmorsdorf1391]

i use an a7 riv. square grid in display helps with composing, cropping in post with aspect pre-set in capture one. still 33mp images then. love it.

[@weisserth]

I bought the dp0 from MPB a while ago, specifically for the purpose of shooting panorama in 21:9 aspect ratio. It's essential that you also find the viewfinder attachment for the screen which is quite expensive.

[@MarkSpan]

SD quattro? That had all the options of the DP, built-in viewfinder and exchangeable lenses.....

[@jshell]

I shouldn’t have watched this video because now I’ve got a Quattro DP0 ordered. It’s a much more interesting camera than I realized.

[@JohnVander70]

Beautiful photos (love the dp0)

[@mpbcom]

Thank you! The Dp0 is surprisingly enjoyable camera to shoot with. - Jakub

[@jenshjmann3547]

In the Lumix G9 you can set a Frame marker to 2,39:1 (thats 57:24) and make the frame red. In post you have to find the aspect again though....

[@mpbcom]

This is an awesome tip to help with this type of composition, thanks for watching! - Jakub

[@bradaubrey1884]

At the time of watching. The average Xpan price on ebay is $4,500. The Fujifilm gfx 50r is the same price, the gfx 100 is double. Yes it's an alternative AND digital (no film or development costs) but that's still very expensive...... I thought the video was going to be ALL *cheaper* alternatives to the xpan and tx1. In all honesty, I guess I'll stick to cropping images in lightroom. You'd get good at looking through the viewfinder and knowing the crop when it saves you 3k.

[@Nitidus]

The Sigma costs 1,000€, the Fuji costs 3,500€ without a lens (!) and the Hasselblad costs 5,500€ without a lens. The used XPan allegedly costing ten times as much sounds really stupid considering it's a film camera.

[@redw0lf848]

1/10th of the price? the Sigma DP0 Quatro is $1000 LOL. Math is hard.

[@AdrianFilipiak]

What about Lumix LX100 with physical crop mode switch allowed you to shoot 16x9 natively (sensor is larger than lens coverage)

[@raksh9]

A number of Panasonic cameras have/had multi-aspect ratio cropping, where either the imaging circle of the lens was smaller that usual for the sensor, or the sensor was larger than usual for the format. allowing full resolution in each crop mode. The Panasonic LX3, LX5, LX7 and LX100 all had this feature, and the Panasonic GH5S has a true multi aspect ratio sensor which is bigger than the standard m43 size. In 16:9 crop mode on these cameras, the image at 24mm equivalent is close to 22mm as the lens covers more of the left and right of the image.

[@romanfrancisco]

So simple. Just get an Anamorphic Lens. They come with 1.33x, 1.6x, 1.8x up to 2x width multiplier.

[@acedia4453]

A $400 used Canon 5D Mark iii with latest Magic Lantern build for 5.7k 14 bit with 15 stops.

[@fthprodphoto-video5357]

I would say the Sigma Quattro H with anamorphic adapter in front of any Sigma lens, shot in original ratio and squeezed back to panoramic after is the closest to a Fuji GX617 or Hassleblad XPAN. I could compare my Fuji GX617 slide shots with the Quattro H shot in panoramic mode and the 100% detail is pretty close even if the GX617 still has more fine detail, it also has some grain and overall softness vs the Foveon sensor

[@mpbcom]

That is a very unusual and wonderful idea! I'd love to try it, if only the Sigma Quattro H's weren't so hard to get these days. Thank you for sharing! - Jakub

[@fthprodphoto-video5357]

@@mpbcom well you will love the files of the Quattro sensor of you like film, textures and colors are pretty much the same, without all the hassle of developing and scanning/removing dust. The QUATTRO H is probably the best but harder to get than the APSC Quattro. The portable Sigma DP Quattro O,1,2,3 are great options otherwise but the regular mirrorless Quattro allows to have more reach thanks to the second hand Sigma SA and ART lens options out there. I will try to ad my Panasonic anamorphic adapter in front of the Sigma SA lenses and post the differences vs its integrated crop-panoramic mode.

[@d.idowuolutosin4250]

Not understanding how you missed out on mentioning the LUMIX S5II or S5IIX. Both support a native panoramic shooting mode and does it better than any of the cameras you mentioned. Maybe in a second version of this video you will mention it.

[@mpbcom]

We have added the Lumix S5 to our article here: www.mpb.com/content/kit-guides/top-3-digital-alternatives-to-the-hasselblad-xpan . Sadly, updating a video is not that easy but maybe we will have a chance to make a second version of it. The Lumix S series are indeed great cameras. Thank you! - Jakub

[@00chilli00]

The Sigma FP also has a 21:9 crop mode!

[@seokinchung]

I hope some company comes up with 2x apsc sensor attached horizontally with lens system covering sensor size. At this point of time when companies don't make cheap fun cameras anymore, why not at least come up with pricy but fun camera?

[@JohanKhoo]

The Panasonic S5 has a 65:24 crop mode built in!

[@mpbcom]

Indeed, it has! It is on the list on our content hub: www.mpb.com/content/kit-guides/top-3-digital-alternatives-to-the-hasselblad-xpan . Thank you for watching! - Jakub

[@deleteddeleted821]

I have the Sigma DP2 Quattro and i am going to sell it, it's way too slow for me... In 9/10 cases of taking a photo without a tripod it doesn't work, anything above iso 100 looks bad and that limits it to the point of being nearly useless. Sad that the Quattro line is the only affordable option in this list

[@fgj4990]

Great video! Many thanks.

[@xavierfumat7567]

Interesting.... I don't need to simulate anything with my Xpan!

[@ardas77]

And I was thinking that it will be a sort of a budget offering of cameras like older Panasonics or Ricohs :D

[@christianfriedrichs]

I throw the sigma fpl in the ring. 21:9 and 61 mp

[@joaoalves7760]

I just want to Sony give us via software update an wide variety of aspect ratios including the 65:24 ou 21:9 or idk something cinematic And bring back via software the panoramic mode …. I have the Sony A7iv although that camera is a professional one … it could have some corki and funny features to use At the end of the day I should have bought a FUJIFILM At least I could use the film presets and the tx1/xpan crop

[@mpbcom]

Such a simple firmware update would be great, I agree! But it doesn't look like Sony is interested in making it happen. Why not buy both : a professional Sony and a fun Fujifilm camera? 😉 Thank you! - Jakub

[@MikeKleinsteuber]

Just crop into any digital file. You really don't need a special camera if it doesn't have a panoramic sensor, which I don't think any camera does. Only film cameras can take true pano pix.

[@ecsays]

Other choices? Yes, the SIGMA FP-L has the same aspect ratio option and 60mpx sensor

[@mpbcom]

Thank you! I will definitely have a look at the Sigma FP-L. - Jakub

[@ngjacky2922]

The camera I really like so much, but one thing I really worry about when the camera broken, they don’t have any repair solutions problems :( fuji tx1

[@vha42]

Have the GFX50R myself, now with the 30mm GF 3.5, recommendable. Made a 24x65 crop print in 50x140 cm with out any problems, and at the time I used a 1972 28mm nikkor. Now with the 30mm GF i would have made a 60x165 print without any problems at all. Except a alu mounted print i that size does not fit in my mini clubman . .

[@miljo2146]

Why should the print in 64:24 be problematic? You are using the full width of your sensor. Just because you technically have less megapixels doesn’t mean you must reduce the width of your print compared to the whole frame.

[@Dahrenhorst]

The DP0 for a 1/10 of the price of the XPan? Good luck with that, even with the actual price tags for a XPan - if you are in fact able to find a DP0. Compared to this camera, the XPan is available in spades. And another thing - the X3F files of the DP0 can also be "developed" in Affinity Photo. But probably the Sigma software gives somewhat better results, I haven't tried Affinity Photo yet. The problem with the Fuji and Hasselblad is, that they are - differently from the DP0 - not only a totally different form factor and weight class, they also have similar price tags. If you buy a Fuji, you can also buy a XPan for the same price. And if you buy a Hasselblad XD because you can't find a XPan, well, for the price of the XD you can buy two XPans and additionally pay the ticket to fly to Japan, where most of them are offered, and back. I do have a Sigma DP0, but to emulate the XPan format I have a different solution: I have two Kodak 3-A Specials with the Tessar lens and the coupled rangefinder modified to accept 120 film instead of their original 122 format. With that I get negatives in the format of 60x140mm, what is a little smaller aspect ration than the XPan (1:2.33 instead of 1:2.7), but if I would want, I simply could cut a centimeter of both the bottom and the top the negative and would end up with 40x140mm, a ratio of 1:3.5, much wider than what the Hasselblad offers, in a still much larger negative size.

[@nightcoder5k]

How about the "645 PRO" camera app for iPhone? Give it a try. It might surprise you.

[@nelsonclub7722]

The X-pan has another trick - when used on the X series - not sure if you can use on GFX - but regardless - it fills the entire frame top to bottom owing to its large image circle - almost - 6x6 is a def - admittedly the lenses are not as good as the XCD's, and on the X-Series you are stuck with ES (electronic shutter), and manual focus, and exposure, and they are arguably more expensive - but you can and that's the point!!

[@mpbcom]

"But you can and that's the point!" should be the motto for this video. I love such experiments, thank you for sharing! - Jakub

[@Stickybutton]

Don’t know what the fuss is. Anyone will just crop to get that XPAN look.

[@JoeCuba_]

Das Xiaomi 12T Pro ist auch eine Alternative. In den Kameraeinstellungen gibt es das Format "Filmbild".

[@albrechtn]

...very very great video....btw I think you can shoot the quattros in dng....

[@qizhang5042]

Any digital camera with pan crop mode will do the job. And if you have a Sony A7RIV or V with a wide-angle lens, you will overtake any digital ones mentioned here.

[@peterxyz3541]

I wanted an XPan as a kid 😭😭😭

[@kamilmalagocki]

Zupa good reviewer :)

[@ZupaISO]

Thank you! 😃

[@Itsmykool]

Also the LUMIX S line of camera can shoot like a xpan

[@mpbcom]

That's true, thank you! We have added them to our list on www.mpb.com/content/kit-guides/top-3-digital-alternatives-to-the-hasselblad-xpan that we keep updated with new cameras. - Jakub

[@walkingmanvideo9455]

Forgive the question but I have to ask. If i was to take a photo with my Leica Q3 and crop the photo the same ratio as an xpan, would i not have the same look?

[@mpbcom]

Yes, you would! And it would work with any camera, not only the Q3 🙂 But: this way you can only guess the composition while taking a photo with a camera without the crop built-in. And the cameras mentioned in the video (or the article on our website) will give you a real-time preview of the actual panoramic composition. So you will see the actual composition, no need to guess anything! - Jakub

[@rrvrs4115]

What is that strap on the Hasselblad Xpan? looks great! 2:25

[@mpbcom]

Thanks! It's a shame we can't track down exactly where it came from though - sorry!

[@sergioarcaya7178]

Do you know if the new Hasselblad X2d 100c or the 907x can shoot XPan as well? I went to the Hasselblad website but couldn’t find any information. BTW. Excellent video.

[@jackofblades6736]

Gfx 50r 32x64

[@chadsexinton]

So just a wider lens ? I don't get it

[@CzejenAndCodaj]

When i have crash on camera i need to borrow it and try i DID IT WITH X PRO 2 AND lEICA M6 b4 i bought 1st Leica. ;3 Here in Poland i can but i don't think if there is XPan in my favorite [borrow center] ps: Sorry im not native english speaker ;)

[@mpbcom]

In that terms cameras are like shoes, it's often good to try one before you buy 😉 I don't think you can find an Xpan to hire but maybe a friend of a friend has one? Just be careful, you'll want one after! If not, you can always try one of our alternatives. Thanks for watching! - Jakub

[@gardnep]

It’s seems a long while since the word “cheap” was used in this context.

[@raksh9]

Does cropping really produce a look like the XPan? Because the XPan used two full frame widths per image, rather than just cropping the top and bottom. The look of XPan images is almost unique, apart from Widelux images which have a similar frame coverage.

[@BrennanMartin]

The xpan was essentially cropping though too, it was a medium format lens using 35mm film. The image circle was really big that's why it's so wide. Essentially just cropping off the top and bottom of the lens' image circle.

[@raksh9]

@@BrennanMartin Sort of, but not really. The XPan lenses were specifically designed by Fuji to shoot on near-double width 35mm film frames, not medium format. A few medium format film cameras had a panoramic masking mode, which is considered cropping, but the XPan was not cropping anything in full panoramic mode. If anything, the XPan cropped when shooting in standard 35mm mode. And this video talks about using cropped full frame and digital MF cameras as XPan alternatives when the XPan produces a unique image due to the double width frame use. Even the Hasselblad X1D doesn't match the XPan as the sensor isn't as wide as two 35mm film frames. The closest available digital sensor is in the Hasselblad H6D, and even that isn't as wide as 120 film.

[@OttosTheName]

I suppose the distortion might be slightly different? In the past it was harder to correct for distortion and it all had to happen in the glass. Now, to some extent, camera's do it in software. Better lenses need less software correction, but very compact, older or cheaper zoomlenses will need more corrections. I've seen some odd things in the corner of my Sony 16-50mm kitlens for the A6x00 range. For the most part that's the only difference I could come up with from the top of my head. The popular 45mm options for the Xpan was a 25mm equivalent, which isn't stupid wide, so I wouldn't expect it to have had silly distortion. Maybe the 30mm (17mm equiv) gets a little crazier.

[@Dahrenhorst]

@@raksh9 Actually, the XPan lenses are prone to vignetting, their image circles are struggling with 65 mm.

[@DoctuhJ]

Where was this video filmed? Such a cute little town :)

[@mpbcom]

It was filmed in and around Rye in East Sussex (UK). It is a very picturesque place, definitely worth visiting with your camera! - Jakub

[@whatisagent5629]

Use my Sigma Sd Quattro in 21:9

[@winheiMR]

Es gibt Alternativen die wesentlich günstiger gehandelt werden und nicht erst einen Umweg über einen Digitalscanner, sehr teuer, gehen mußt. Die Filmzeit ist Nostalgie und einige wollen noch heute damit Geld machen, viel Spaß.

[@Maxime-ho9iv]

I don't understand. It doesn't work? The ratio is not the only thing, you can see that in the pictures you took the field of view is completely different?

[@mpbcom]

Hi @Maxime-ho9iv , I think it does work. Our goal was not to make a scientific comparison between the cameras but rather find a few options that can serve as digital alternatives the the XPan. Therefore we did not stress out about having the exact lens, field of view etc. on each of the tested cameras. - Jakub

[@MrSpacepauls]

Why don't Hasselblad just release a digital XPan?

[@SabbaLinga]

Mate do you have any alternatives that can cost idk like 3.50$?

[@mpbcom]

Of course, that would be an old Halina Panorama found in the attic 😉 Thanks for watching!- Jakub

[@theothertonydutch]

I shoot in 6x9 and then crop.

[@UKULELERIGA]

X100 + WCL-X100 and shoot in 16:9 mode.

[@mpbcom]

Fuji X100 with a wide conversion lens is definitely a very travel-friendly and stylish set-up! 16:9 might be not wide enough to compete with an XPan but I imagine such kit can produce stunning images. Thank you! - Jakub

[@UKULELERIGA]

@@mpbcom Yes, my favourite photos from X100 were with that setup. Cinematic looking.

[@ostettivictor]

Here were i live, in brazil, a used 50R or 50S costs 10k reais more than a xpan, and we can never see a Quattro camera (any of them), or a X1D :c

[@ostettivictor]

For measure, right now we have a Xpan with the 45mm for 28k reais, and both the 50r body only and 50s with the 32-64 zoom selling for 35k and 55k respectively

[@ostettivictor]

But, my nikon D800 with the framelines in the viewfinder, give a closer mask to the ratio in the center, and let me with 16mp panoramic crop in the end. My D300 give me that frameline as well, but with a 5mp still in the end.

[@shanwen88]

Just shift a few steps, take a second shot and stitch in the pano software. Ta da! Better results than xpan!

[@Clicker3]

Have we not the technology to make something as beautiful as the XPan today??? When showing them side by side it's almost comical the bigger, clunkier camera is the newer camera.

[@mpbcom]

I'm sure we have the technology but I think it would be hard to find a business justification for producing such a camera. It would be too niché, especially that there are more convenient, modern alternatives. But fingers crossed someone comes up with the idea of producing a new XPan, it would be interesting! Thank you for watching! - Jakub

[@danielcoburn7696]

The I phone has a pano setting.

[@vaibhavvij8828]

My Oneplus 12 does X Pan xD

[@mpbcom]

Ah yes, they do it. But it's a completely different shooting experience than using a dedicated camera, won't you agree? Thank you for watching! - Jakub

[@rashomon351]

Sry, I don't get it. the Xpan uses the same full-frame lenses as every other full frame camera, is it not ? Or at least the digital alternatives do. So, the circle of exposure is the same as with every other full frame camera ? It's really comes down to the crop of the image ? Why not just shoot with every common camera then, and just crop the image to whatever aspect ratio is deemed to be "panoramic" ? Real time crop preview and panoramic crop built-in, that the thing ? Ok, I just taped down my optical viewfinder for 5 cents and created a lightroom preset for the crop. I'm obviously missing something here...

[@MorningNapalm]

No, the XPan lenses are very compact with a short registration distance, so they are more like medium format or even large format lenses, with huge coverage. A normal FF negative is 24x36mm, but an XPan negative is 24x65mm. These lenses would generally not do well in digital, since the edges of the lenses throw the image onto the sensor at a very oblique angle, and the pixel "tunnel" would lose a lot of light.

[@MorningNapalm]

But yes, you can just crop any image to get the same aspect ratio. Working with a real dedicated panoramic camera gives a very different feeling though.

[@jean-claudemuller3199]

X-Pan lenses are in fact Medium format lenses with a big image circle and are built more like large format lenses and that's why they require special filters to compensate totally the vignetting in panoramic MF mode. These very sharp lenses on film perform relatively poorly on digital medium format unless you use the Hasselblad Phocus RAW software that has dedicated lens correction profiles for the X-Pan lenses. Even with these corrections they don't reach the sharpness of the native digital lenses. That's just my field experience with a Hasselblad X-Pan and it's 3 lenses and two digital Hasselblad X series cameras.

[@educhann]

or you could just change the aspect ratio in your existing dslr