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 p.1 #20 · New Wideluxx update - The Dude receives production #s 00001 and 00002! | |
mjm6 wrote:
I'm pleasantly surprised by the pricing and I wonder if the price will go up or down after the first run of 350 (or if there will ever be another run). As I think I mentioned, these swing lens camera are pretty niche and there can't be a huge market for them out there, so if they just eek over 350, I have my doubts about additional runs.
That said, I'd like to know what the tariffs will be to the US... does anyone know what they were from Germany? I presume the orange vomit will be trying to put tariffs back into play, so whatever it was before they were struck down could come back in time for delivery.
The price is similar (less, likely!) to what it will cost to get a decent quality Fuji or Hasselblad X-Pan and the basic 45mm lens...
The XPan cameras are all motor driven so you are at the mercies of the gods when it comes to longevity of the camera and repairability is likely to be a big "no" unless the issue is something simple. The lenses for that system are really excellent and you have the choice of several, so that offers considerable adaptability for shooting needs (with the proper resources, of course).
Of course, the aesthetic of the swing lens is not compatible in any circumstances with the XPan so in some respects, they aren't really even directly comparable, but of course, people do.
Here come lens specifications for comparison:
Wideluxx horizontal coverage - 126 degrees, diagonal 140 degrees
XPan with the widest lens (30mm) - horizontal - 94 degrees, diagonal 98 degrees.
XPan with normal lens (45mm) - Horizontal - 71 degrees, diagonal 74 degrees.
Of course, the "cigar" effect means that the Wideluxx doesn't really present the extreme ends of the swing coverage equally to the center. So, while it is extremely wide, it isn't going to be showing the ends with anywhere near the weight of the thing that is sitting smack dab in the center of the swing range, so you'd better be comfortable with the concept of foreground/background positioning and how that impacts the composition and the success of the image.
I already have a Fuji 6x17 system so I don't really need a 35mm version of that (but to be honest, it'd be nice, of course), but for a small-ish, light-ish street shooter and grabshot camera, the Wideluxx could be a great product and it would also work great as an adder alongside a digital camera... Do people see the XPan as much more viable and useable of a camera for this kind of purpose, and these days, why shoot an XPan instead of simply shooting a digital camera and cropping?
As someone who was deeply entrenched in film in a different age and have moved back towards it as I'm getting closer to retirement, I'm really pleased they are introducing a new camera and could easily see supporting it since I feel invested in the continuing success of film cameras and analogue photography in general.
...Show more →
I have owned and used the Xpan/TX1/Xpan2/TX2, and repeating myself from earlier in this thread:
"The dirty little secret that no-one wants to hear is the Noblex 135 and Horizon/Lomo S3/u500 are much better swinger cameras.
I had all three - Widelux F7 and F8, Noblex 135, and Horizons (s3 and 202).
The only one I kept and still use is the Noblex."
My current real i.e. not cropped - pano cameras are the Noblex and the Xpan2/TX2.
The swingers give a much wider and very different perspective. With the Noblex being the widest (I think).They are also pin sharp from edge to edge because they only use the center of the lens to create the image - as they swing! An Xpan's lens is just like on any other camera - most all of it it is used for the entire image. They are super lenses, but there will be falloff from center to edge.
The Noblex was by far the most consistent to use of the swingers - all the others would occasionally show exposure banding as the swnging mechanism is basically a mechanical clockwork. Whereas the Noblex uses an electric motor to spin the lens one rotation- to bring it up to a consitent speed - before the second rotation actually takes the pic.
Those clever Germans!
It is actually a pretty simple mechanism which is serviceable if needed by Precision Camera Works, while the aperture and shutter speed are manually set.
For size comparison uncropped images in the following order - Noblex 135, Xpan/2 (same size version 1 or 2)
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