Hasselblad X-Pan: a good investment?

[NB23]

printed on 16x20 fb paper. The width of the image is about 19". Centered on the paper.

 

[lxdude]

Hell of a picture, man!

 

[NDKodak]

I like my recent purchase of a Xpan and 45mm lens. I wasn't comfortable at first with the $1600 price tag either but you will get over it once you see the wide negative as it comes out of the final rinse.
It is still less expensive then most of the German rangefinders and other high end film panoramic cameras. It is probably more durable then the Widelux,Noblex, and Horizon, because it has less moving parts. The 90mm is not cheap but is attainable if you save a little, the real bummer is the expense of the 30mm lens. It would be nice if the lenses had a bit more speed to them but they are medium format and have there physical limitations.
If it turns out you do not care for it you can always resell it for about what you paid for it. I think film cameras have dropped as far as they will in value, after the rise of digital. The mass market stuff is really cheap now and a lot of the higher end equipment has dropped enough in value the rest of us can afford to purchase them 2nd hand now.

 

[NB23]

Hell of a picture, man!

Thank you!

 

[nicowestlicht]

Thank you everybody for your contribution: in the end I have ordered a mint Hasselblad XPan +45mm lens on eBay and I am looking forward to get it and insert the first roll!!

But now other two questions came to my mind
- Since the lens is relatively slow, would you suggest 400 iso film for street photography, or can one "dare" to use a 100 iso film?
- I am thinking of buying the 90mm lens as well for "unusual" portrait photography with panoramic format: do you also have such lens, and how much do you use it in comparison with the 45mm?

As usual, thanks for the feedback!
Nico

 

[TheFlyingCamera]

Are you getting the center filter for the lens? I would get one, without hesitation. That will slow the lens down even further. You can still hand-hold shots using 100 speed film, but it will depend on the lighting conditions you have when you're doing your street photos. I'd also look around for the lens shade for the 45. With such a wide field of view, it's more likely to have some sun or other light source(s) in it.

 

[nicowestlicht]

Honestly, I have thought of buying the center filter for the 45mm, but I still haven't made up my mind. Mainly for two reasons: crazy prices for that filter, and forum threads with different opinions about its necessity (like here http://www.rangefinderforum.com/forums/archive/index.php/t-25091.html). I think I will try out a couple of films and then decide.

 

[TheFlyingCamera]

I shot a couple rolls without it, and while the vignetting is not terrible, I found it detracted enough that I really wanted the filter. Otherwise I was doing some strange burn/dodge patterns to compensate. It detracts from more compositions than it complements, in my experience. I know the filter price is nuts (it was even when you could get them new from Hasselblad/Fuji).

 

[NB23]

Thanks.

It's the 45mm