Mamiya RZ67 as a poor man's Hasselblad XPan?

[Heidar M]

Hi,

I'm excited to recieve my new RZ67 Pro II with a 110mm 2.8 lens next week. Besides 6x7, I really love the wide format of the Hasselblad XPan, but the camera is sadly way over anything I can afford. As a poor man's approach, I was thinking about loading 35mm film in my RZ67 which I think would give 24mm x 67mm negatives, which is very close to the XPan's 24mm x 65mm. There seem to exist cheap 135 to 120 spool converters that makes this quite easy (except there's no re-winding).

I am wondering if anybody else has tried to do this? Do you have any particular tips & tricks or warnings? Or maybe even some example images of the results?

Thanks!

 

[Mike Bates]

I'd suspect film flatness would be a problem with the 135 to 120 spool converter. There is no support along the film edges across the film plane.

The easy way is to shoot normal 120 film and crop a panoramic slice out later. That way you get built-in rise and fall in the same shot!

 

[chassis]

Agree with Mike. Why not shoot 120 film and crop to your desired format?

 

[k.hendrik]

View attachment 177958

don't know what but something went WRONG
ok this is the 26x56 RZ back.

 

[k.hendrik]

(there was a url link here which no longer exists)
and this is a thread about a 120 spool & 35mm film in a 6x7 RZ back.
searching for pics.

edit


edit
https://www.flickr.com/photos/77846450@N00/25497886443/in/album-72157651611079789/

 

[mark l]

Well I just used 120 film in a 6x7 back with a 50mm lens and the images were just as sharp as an XPan I borrowed, gave me the benefit of picking which slice to print so got free rise and fall......

 

[quixotic]

I've had both. Whereas selling the hassie gave me seller's remorse, I couldn't wait to get rid of the Mamiya...too complex...or maybe it was just the monstrous shift lens that was on it.

 

[flavio81]

Hi,

I'm excited to recieve my new RZ67 Pro II with a 110mm 2.8 lens next week. Besides 6x7, I really love the wide format of the Hasselblad XPan, but the camera is sadly way over anything I can afford. As a poor man's approach, I was thinking about loading 35mm film in my RZ67 which I think would give 24mm x 67mm negatives, which is very close to the XPan's 24mm x 65mm. There seem to exist cheap 135 to 120 spool converters that makes this quite easy (except there's no re-winding).

I am wondering if anybody else has tried to do this? Do you have any particular tips & tricks or warnings? Or maybe even some example images of the results?

Thanks!

Mamiya RZ67 isn't the "poor man's" alternative of anything. It is a deluxe camera.

Your approach is not doable, since you need film to be kept flat, aligned, etc. Otherwise your quality goes down the drain.
If you're going to use 35mm film, better go for a 35mm panoramic camera like the Horizont.
The XPAN is a 35mm camera of 24x65mm image size. The RZ67 has a image size that approaches 56x70mm. Even wider with the 6x8 back.

So the RZ67 is going to give you potentially higher image quality AND wider vertical angle of view, with the same focal length lens.

However, the best alternative would be a Mamiya 7 with the widest angle lens you can get.

 

[flavio81]

View attachment 177958 View attachment 177960

don't know what but something went WRONG
ok this is the 26x56 RZ back.

Proof that the RZ/RB system is capable of any crazy thing you want to do !!

 

[k.hendrik]

Proof that the RZ/RB system is capable of any crazy thing you want to do !!

And read my second post: you can do this with 35mm film too > flat & aligned

 

[mweintraub]

View attachment 177958 View attachment 177960

don't know what but something went WRONG
ok this is the 26x56 RZ back.

I want one!

 

[k.hendrik]

http://www.secondhandcamera.nl/?page_id=618
This is for sale: only the back(magazine Pro 120 24 exp.) not the screen! Happy hunting

 

[Heidar M]

Thanks a lot for all the replies. For some reason I was thinking that 35mm film would be cheaper than 120 film, thus it made sense to use 35mm when shooting panoramic pictures. But here in Canada 120 film seems to be cheaper than 35mm film and the whole idea is pointless (also given the hassle that one cannot rewind 35mm film this way). Besides I guess the nice thing about the XPan is not just the images/format, but also the way you can walk around and shoot. Which is not the same experience with a huge camera like RZ67 anyway.

I think I will stick to 120 film and crop in the darkroom. Thanks for all the inputs!