Is the Hasselblad XPan Really That Good?

[@ThePhotoDept]

Is anyone using an XPan as their daily driver? I'd love to see your work, drop your links!

[@FabrizioZago]

I'm not using mine as first choice film camera to carry around but if I'm going somewhere where I think I can shoot nice landscapes, I take it with me. I've also taken some interesting architecural images, it can work well also for this. www.fabriziozago.com/en/prints/panoramic/rotterdam-pano/

[@jdickinson]

Definitely one of my main cameras these days. I collect/use a lot of cameras, but this one is definitely one of my all time favorites. instagram.com/jordan.dickinson.and/

[@JamesDaviesPhotography]

Loved this video too, the BnW pano portrait (close up) shot looked amazing

[@markcapilitan3484]

For nearly 7 years... markcapilitan.com/2020/05/15/landscape-panoramic-photography/ and here's my Ireland selection - clients.markcapilitan.com/gallery/landscapes/home

[@coltaylorphotography]

It’s my main shooter now www.Instagram.com/coltaylorphotography

[@jackmartin5516]

As both a barista and a film shooter, I really appreciate the coffee talk. Great video keep up the good work!!

[@ThePhotoDept]

i appreciate your support! thank you!

[@davinshootsfilm7186]

I don’t even drink coffee and I love the way you talk about it! And listening to you talk about Cali on fire really makes me dread our upcoming fire season here in Australia.

[@ThePhotoDept]

im glad you appreciate my coffee ramblings. You'll be in my thoughts, I know the last fire season you had was devastating.

[@StefanDressmaker]

Was nice drinking my cup of coffee and listening to you talking about coffee! Those Xpan shots are one of a kind. Such an interesting format to shoot in

[@ThePhotoDept]

Thank you! I love my coffee, can’t make a video without it. I wish there was a new equivalent camera, there’s nothing quite like the xpan.

[@lisamorter7437]

The coffee issue is so funny to me and also i've never heard of most of them! Keep it coming

[@ThePhotoDept]

haha i know right! thank you!

[@thedondeluxe6941]

Welcome back! Wish I had an XPan. One of the few cameras I regret not buying when it was a lot cheaper.

[@ThePhotoDept]

thanks man! yeah i feel like i passed up so many opportunities to buy cool cameras for a good price. ughh...

[@christianem1579]

Wow. What a fantastic camera! This was fun! Great video and editing skills. Could watch you passionately talk about coffee and cameras all day. Thank you!

[@ThePhotoDept]

aw thank you! so glad youre here.

[@ferencbodor]

yes, finally! Edit: I feel you dude! This year has been hard on all of us... try to distract yourself with creative things or just go for a walk :) I send you a hug from Germany!

[@ThePhotoDept]

big hug back from California!

[@travis_cannady]

Awesome video. I love John's work. Side note, I work for the lab he goes to. (not the one's in the Bay Area, the one in Sacramento, but same company) I am the one that does all of the black and white development for all five labs.

[@ThePhotoDept]

Oh nice! Mike's right? I've always liked the quality of scans he gets back.

[@travis_cannady]

@@ThePhotoDept Yes, Mike's. The photos from this video were scanned on the Frontier with a 120 mask. They make a panoramic mask, but it is rare to find. So we do our best at getting exposure, color, and tones as close as they should be. But recently one of the lab techs updated the software on the Pakon we have in our custom lab. Now we can scan panoramic and half frame properly.

[@kevinpazmino6042]

Love your channel dude!!

[@ThePhotoDept]

Thanks for your support my dude!!! You rule.

[@alansimpson5906]

Take no notice of the negatives friend, the world can always do with more good people who share their stories. I love this video so thanks for making it...Cameras becoming bricks? Can happen to a lot of them, I bought a beautiful black focal plane shutter Hasselblad who's mirror failed to come back down on the first roll! No parts so I used the 80m lens (which has no shutter) on a Rhinocam and bought a simpler 500c/m...If you want to shoot panoramas and can afford to get an XPan, do and don't worry about it, otherwise use a medium format with a mask in the viewfinder, I use toothpicks in my 500 c/m. Just remember photography is fun, it's not like we are working on the roads or digging ditches, I've been both a professional and amateur since 1971 and I don't care that I'm not the best in comparison, I still love to take photos so chill guys!

[@tallaganda83]

I would love it if Fuji still had the equipment they made their version on would pump out some brand new versions of these. They could probably make it cheaper than the used Xpan too.

[@ThePhotoDept]

right?> that would be a dream.

[@tallaganda83]

@@ThePhotoDept A pipe dream I'm well aware but by the price of them that just shows there is without a doubt the market for it.

[@jean-claudemuller3199]

Fuji did not manufacture these Fuji/Hasselblad cameras, it was Nittoh Japan. The manufacturing had to be stopped because of no RoHS compliance.

[@KNOWphotosplease]

Random question: How are you scanning your film to now only get the perforations but also a black background?

[@ThePhotoDept]

this photo was scanned by a lob to accommodate the large pano, im not sure how they did it.

[@jean-claudemuller3199]

I'self scan the X-Pan film with a normal 24x36 film scanner and Vuescan software that can scan with a manual frame offset position, so I make 2 scans with position offset for each frame and then stitch the two files in a panorama software.

[@roxterr1]

Hey! Love your channel! What lens are you guys using with the xpan in the video, ist it the 30mm or 45mm?

[@ThePhotoDept]

It’s the 45mm

[@MartinSt.]

I was flashed by the video.👌 It's a great idea to shoot portraits in this large format. With filling the fore-/middleground it generates such a big depth in the picture. I was surprised about so little distortion in the foreground. I remembered the introduction of the x-pan camera at the photokina fare in cologne germany in the late 90th. But I can't remember that it was developed by Fujifilm. One reason more to like Fujifilm.😊

[@ThePhotoDept]

what a legendary camera, right?

[@MartinSt.]

Yes, indeed! 😊

[@MisterHate]

Very cool video and a wonderful camera!

[@ThePhotoDept]

wish i could afford one haha

[@joshakatz1]

I just finally bought an Xpan and frequent the Maru on Hillhurst. Maybe I'll run into you there.

[@ThePhotoDept]

Dude dm me on Instagram, let’s link.

I know that is much more about... BUT inst that like using a 18mm on a full frame and then cropping on a 11x4 crop?

[@ThePhotoDept]

You could look at it that way. However, it’s really nice being able to compose the image and see what it will look like as you’re framing it up. There are certainly other ways to get this aspect ratio though!

@@ThePhotoDept Yeah, that is the "much more about it" part.

[@themikepadua]

My dude. Good to catch up with you, even if it's just in your videos.

[@ThePhotoDept]

i really hope we can have an irl catch up sooner than later.

[@themikepadua]

The Photo Dept. same same!

[@kollegekool]

My Grandfather giftet me his Xpan II set with all the lenses because he stopped using it some years ago. He bought the whole kit when it came out. Sadly I don't use it as often as I want because I can't get around the sound these cameras make when winding the film, its sound if they are braking. But the results are truly amazing .. aspacily the 30mm

[@ThePhotoDept]

wow, you're truly lucky. thats fantastic. use it as much as you can!

[@Niele160]

The winding does sound scary lmao it alwys get me too. I have just an Xpan but it fucked a roll once when switching from pano to just 35mm mode.

[@RonScibilia]

The GFX 50R has a pano mode that offers the same aspect ratio at 25MP.

[@RonScibilia]

@@linjicakonikon7666 Maybe I need to take the plunge into MF film photography.

[@ZachThom9]

You can get a film adapter and put 35mm film in an medium format camera and get similar results.

[@ThePhotoDept]

true, but its a different shooting experience. ive never really been that satisfied with adapters ive used.

[@zguy95135]

I had a TX1 for years and its an amazing camera but hard to shoot. The best way to describe it is, the rangefinder window looks like looking through the windshield of a car... it’s wide field of view but it’s not a wide angle, if that makes sense. I used it on one last trip and then sold it right before the pandemic and made a tonnnnn of money off it and got a used M10. I kinda miss it sometimes. Btw I really like the coffee content

[@ThePhotoDept]

Yeah thats kinda what John said. It's an interesting experience for sure. I'm glad you dig the coffee stuff. I'm doin it for YOU!

[@AndresRuiz-gs8vm]

Sirui released an affordable xpan like lens for aps-c sensor cameras... It has the same anamorphic look

[@ThePhotoDept]

Oooh rad I’m gonna have to get my hands on one

[@Raychristofer]

good job bro

[@ThePhotoDept]

Haha thank you

[@Hollyyvonnee]

Love love love!

[@ThePhotoDept]

LOVE

[@Niele160]

"I don't wanna stop this momentum." *CUT* :D

[@fgsemedo]

It's a wonderful camera but I wouldn't depend on one. If the film transport malfunctions, it is not repairable. There are no more parts. And it is not a question if it will go but when it will go. The prices are absolutely ridiculous for a camera that will eventually become a paperweight. If one wants to shoot panoramic, I'd recommend a Mamiya 7 and cropping the negative. It is a more versatile camera and it is also reliable and repairable for many years to come. Or you can use another mechanical medium format camera. Fan Ho shot panoramic with a Rolleiflex. The Fujifilm GW690III's are cheap as hell, has one of the sharpest MF lenses ever made and will give you an astounding 6x9 negative. If you crop that negative to 3x9, you get almost the same aspect ratio as the X-Pan and a bigger negative to boot.

[@ThePhotoDept]

oof yeah, thats something I was thinking about. Are they really not repairable at all? Thats a bummer. one thing, though, I havent ever really seen anyone complaining about a bricked XPan. Maybe everyone has been lucky so far?

[@fgsemedo]

@@ThePhotoDept If the transport goes, it is done unless you want to find and finance a donor camera. This is also the case with the Contax G-series and Konica Hexar RF cameras that use the same transport. Its also likely that other repairs has to be done by Hasselblad so you are looking at high expense repairs and long wait times. I have a close friend with an X-Pan that had the transport fail. Hasselblad didn't have the parts so it couldn't be repaired. He ended up selling the camera for parts and also three lenses that he had. Personally, I had a Hexar RF with a transport failure. I had it repaired 10 years ago in Japan when Sony was still supporting the camera (they took over Konica). Support in North America ended so I had to get the repair done through a friend living in Japan. Turn-around was about 4 months. The camera failed a 2nd time. Unfortunately when that happened, Sony stopped repairing the transport as there were no more parts available. Use the camera long enough and the transport will eventually fail. A couple of years ago, I believe that there were still parts around. Perhaps repairers like Precision Camera may still have a stash of parts, I don't know. But I know that when my friend tried to get the transport on his X-Pan repaired at the repair centre in Canada, it was forwarded to Hasselblad and they returned the camera as it was. They stated that it couldn't be repaired because there were no parts. With my Hexar, Sony won't even touch it anymore. People that have good, working X-Pans should consider selling them before they screw up; especially since the prices have never been higher. The X-Pan, Contax T's and other 1990's cameras that rely on electronics and built-in motors that are going for insane prices, will all brick eventually. I really don't understand why people are paying so much for these cameras. As time goes by, there are fewer parts available. Even worse, there are fewer and fewer technicians that can actually repair the cameras.

[@ThePhotoDept]

@@fgsemedo Damn. Cautionary tales abound. It is scary thinking about all those cameras eventually becoming expensive bricks.

[@markcapilitan3484]

@@ThePhotoDept I had my Xpan2 transport mechanism go in 2016. Sent it to Hasselblad and had it repaired, wasnt cheap though! Not sure how they are on parts now though.

[@jean-claudemuller3199]

Hasselblad no more repairs original X-Pan, but repairs X-Pan II

[@reptoidx223]

I ate a banana while watching this. The banana was pretty good.

[@ThePhotoDept]

wow blessed by our reptilian overlords? i am not worthy.

[@830Video]

I keep seeing people making videos about this amazing camera, and saying it's stupid to be able to use normal 35mm with this camera. This makes the Xpan SUCH a versatile camera. For 21:9 film photos, and standard aspect ratios all in one amazingly built camera is why this is so special. It can replace your rangefinder AND have it's own other unique job for panoramics.

[@ThePhotoDept]

Yeah I know I was joking.

[@res.publica]

TOPO CHICO!!!!

[@830Video]

Video starts at 4:00

[@ThePhotoDept]

I get what you’re doin here, but I put a lot of work into my videos start to finish. There is I for that is important to my channel before 4:00, namely where viewers can find my merch to help support this channel. Please refrain from doin stuff like this. It’s harmful to creators.

[@DrivingPhotog]

4 minutes later...im seeing what i came to see

[@ThePhotoDept]

yeah silly me.

[@Niele160]

I hear everyone saying wHy woULd U sHooT reG 35mM on ThE XpAn. Because panoramic doesnt always work. YeAh BuT u caN croP it That'll cost you. You only get 20 frames. It's also an excellent rangefinder on its own. Really those lenses are sharp as fuck, why would you only shoot panoramic, that's the question. I honestly dont get why people keep saying that lol

[@ThePhotoDept]

i said it as kind of a joke, i was being incredulous. i think you need to drink some cold brew and chill out my dude!

[@Dirk_Taggesell]

So it takes more than three minutes until you finally stop boring me and come to the subject? Dude you're stealing my time!

[@ThePhotoDept]

If the videos are not for you, kindly move along without being rude. It’s very easy.