XPan II vs. Mamiya 7 II
- Thread starter kcky
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there is a frame guide on the M7 for shooting pano, there are 4 notches on the side of the normal frame line, you use that to frame when shooting panoramic. The guides does not go across the whole frame.
I've shot with both the m7 and also the xpan and I prefer the m7 it is much bulkier, but for a 67 camera it is amazingly small and versatile.
I had a few problems with the xpan, the aperture ring is placed too close to the focussing ring, a quick focussing turn and you might just hit the aperture ring. The shutter speed only goes down to 1/8s when shooting in A mode, which have caused me to lose quite a few shots, I'm used to shooting slow shutter speed hand held, YMMV.
Changing flm in the M7 when shooting 35mm is takes slightly more time, maybe........ another 10-20 secs more. It is the taking out that's fiddly, as you have to manually rewind the film using an attatchment at the bottom of the camera.
The focussing spot on the M7 is slightly brighter and bigger.
I've shot with both the m7 and also the xpan and I prefer the m7 it is much bulkier, but for a 67 camera it is amazingly small and versatile.
I had a few problems with the xpan, the aperture ring is placed too close to the focussing ring, a quick focussing turn and you might just hit the aperture ring. The shutter speed only goes down to 1/8s when shooting in A mode, which have caused me to lose quite a few shots, I'm used to shooting slow shutter speed hand held, YMMV.
Changing flm in the M7 when shooting 35mm is takes slightly more time, maybe........ another 10-20 secs more. It is the taking out that's fiddly, as you have to manually rewind the film using an attatchment at the bottom of the camera.
The focussing spot on the M7 is slightly brighter and bigger.
kingpin said:
Its not the same. You do not get serious light fall-off on the Mamiya to warrant a center filter.
The 30mm and 45mm lens for Xpan on the other hand will require center filter to get even brightness across the frame.
I used the 30mm with the center filter on 100% of the time. 70% for 45mm. Have to trade off hand holdability with light fall-off.
limhousen said:
that's a trade off in order to make the Xpan lens smaller,if u shooting B&W,the falloff can be burned in while printing.it is only neccessary for slides IMO.
centre filter is a must for the 30mm due to the extreme angle it provides,it is more of a tripod lens for me,haven been able to justify the prohibitive cost of it @ $5000!!! :sweat:
the shot of the istana function room is on 45mm lens @ 1/10 on Iso 200 F4 handheld,never detect any light falloff leh.. :dunno:
one drawback of the Xpan i can think of is the color printing/scanning cost,B&W is close one eye.. :thumbsup:
Did you shoot on slide? It can be quite obvious depending on the scene. Anyway, your hands quite steady. 1/10 also can.
I really like the Xpan for its versatility. Can switch from normal 35mm frame to panoramic format anytime. Not all pictures present themselves for wide format, especially when you are travelling. Its nice to be able to switch back and forth.
One thing to note, and this applies to panoramas in general, WATCH THE HORIZONS!!
I really like the Xpan for its versatility. Can switch from normal 35mm frame to panoramic format anytime. Not all pictures present themselves for wide format, especially when you are travelling. Its nice to be able to switch back and forth.
One thing to note, and this applies to panoramas in general, WATCH THE HORIZONS!!
limhousen said:
this is shot on Kodak Gold 200 negative,the Xpan kit do comes with the spirit level for the hotshoes :thumbsup:
the ability to switch format is really wonderful,if u just want 4R photos for ur frds,can just switch the knob.. :thumbsup:
but my Xpan is 90% of the time in panoramic mode
since i do my own prints.my frds who are not into photography are very impressed with the panoramic prints from it,they say very unique and diff from the boring format they are so used to sometimes hearing those compliments just paid off the heavy price tag by itself hahaha..wonder how many xpan users are there in CS as i never see one while out on the road..
Hi,
I'm using a M7 now (that I bought from kex) in Beijing. It is not much bigger than a DSLR or a pro film SLR and I have walked around it for a day without feeling tired. If you use 220 film, you can get 20 pano shots from it.
I think the best thing about the M7 is that you can get pano, 6x6 and 6x7 shots from it. I wouldn't get the pano adaptor as it limits you to pano. Much easier to pre-visualize the shot in your mind and crop later.
Alan
I'm using a M7 now (that I bought from kex) in Beijing. It is not much bigger than a DSLR or a pro film SLR and I have walked around it for a day without feeling tired. If you use 220 film, you can get 20 pano shots from it.
I think the best thing about the M7 is that you can get pano, 6x6 and 6x7 shots from it. I wouldn't get the pano adaptor as it limits you to pano. Much easier to pre-visualize the shot in your mind and crop later.
Alan
I would use the Xpan just because i like it! its got suberb built and doesnt feel like anything would ever drop out, gives you confidence when shooting. Also the whole switchable ability is damn cool especially when looking at slides.
i dont own a M7, but i do own a mamiya 645, and i use this to take some pano shots as well.
i do framing though a custom drawn focusing screen, its a rough guide but it works, sometimes cropping is a good thing. it givbes you the ability to see whats above and below before you make the final crop.
Sure my 645 doest give the same sized slides as the Xpan, but its close enough. and the fast, super wide and tel lenses which i am allowed to use more than make up for the loss of resolution.
but the Xpan is still soooo cool, just buy it because its cool
heck even if you can find a tx1 online thats cool too!
i dont own a M7, but i do own a mamiya 645, and i use this to take some pano shots as well.
i do framing though a custom drawn focusing screen, its a rough guide but it works, sometimes cropping is a good thing. it givbes you the ability to see whats above and below before you make the final crop.
Sure my 645 doest give the same sized slides as the Xpan, but its close enough. and the fast, super wide and tel lenses which i am allowed to use more than make up for the loss of resolution.
but the Xpan is still soooo cool, just buy it because its cool
heck even if you can find a tx1 online thats cool too!
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