MutexTech Xpan-style Pano film back

[subtlelikeatrex]

Hi Photriosians,

Have any of you used this “xpan-style” 135w film back?
I haven’t found any actual user reviews of it….only advertising from the vendor.

MutexTech 135W XPan-Style 35mm Film Back for 120 Cameras - Elevanfilm-拾忆菲林

elevanfilm.com

I see that it is a 3D printed, all-manual back that is a more affordable alternative to an Xpan or spending roughly $1000 for a 135W film back for my Bronica ETRSi. But, given that it is entirely made of plastic, I wonder about the durability of it…how light tight it is…etc. Any user experience that is not affiliated with the seller/manufacturer would be much appreciated.

For context: I like the idea of having a “pano” back that I can simply attach to my Bronica whenever I feel like it. I know that some folks will crop their 6x4.5 negatives down to the panoramic perspective but I would rather be able to just develop exactly what I compose through the VF mask. Plus, shooting pano on a 36-exposure roll of 35mm film gives more negatives per roll than cropping a roll of 120 film does.

Thanks!
-J

 

[mshchem]

Not sure if it is ready yet. Need more info.

 

[Dan Fromm]

I dunno. Just went through much of the ordering process, got no cautions that the device wasn't going to ship soon.

 

[Richard Man]

For the Hassy users, a Mr. Zhang in China could modify an A12 back to "VPan" P27 or P24 for pano ratio.

 

[OAPOli]

There is something you can try for free. I did it on my Bronica SQ when I had it. I made a panoramic mask and taped it to the film back in front of the film gate. Made another one for the VF screen.

I'm assuming the ETR works the same way as the SQ. You load a 120 film, advance to frame 1 then toggle the multi-exposure switch. Take the first picture. Then cock the shutter and manually advance the film via the winder on the film back. That's where it gets a bit iffy; you need to advance one half-frame, that is eyeball the advance when it is half-way between the 1 and 2 on the counter. For the third photo, the winder will stop correctly at 2. And so on...

For an ETR, the mask would be ~21x56mm. You would get 24 panos on a roll of 120. But you can remove and replace the mask via the dark slide to alternate between 645 and pano.

When I did it, the spacing was wonky. But it worked and it was free.

 

[koraks]

For context: I like the idea of having a “pano” back that I can simply attach to my Bronica whenever I feel like it.

Yeah, makes sense. I've done sprocket-hole pano's in medium format backs on occasion, but this custom back looks more convenient. I also like the fact that you can actually mask the sprocket holes because this is probably good news for film flatness.

 

[TheHans]

Any reports yet from anybody trying one of these?
I'm not going to lie, I am very tempted to place an order.

 

[subtlelikeatrex]

Any reports yet from anybody trying one of these?
I'm not going to lie, I am very tempted to place an order.

I ordered one. This is my personal experience...

The presentation was top-notch: It showed up packaged very nicely...safe and secure. It even came with a very nice custom storage box, drawstring pouch, a pair of film handling gloves, and a wide variety of laminated film box "flaps" of different film stocks to insert into the film reminder slot.

However, when I went to attach it to my ETRSi, it would not engage with the body of the camera. The two "hooks" in the lower part of the mounting plate did not fit smoothly into the camera body. I had to lightly force the back to get the hooks to pop into the receptacles on the camera body. Even then, the locking mechanism would not engage no matter how many times i tried.

I emailed the vendor with a description of the issue. He did ask me to send a video after I first reached out to him but he was very polite in doing so. Once I sent video evidence of the problem, he did not challenge me at all on the issue and my money was promptly refunded.

Additionally...just out of curiosity, I tried putting a roll of film into the back just to see how well the film advance operated. Sadly it did not function smoothly...or at all I guess, because it just tore the sprocket holes in the test roll and did not advance the film.

He did say he would be working on refining the design. This all occurred about 6 months ago so I wonder if the problems have been figured out.

 

[TheHans]

That’s unfortunate, but hopefully they can get it straightened out and make it work properly. it would be nice to have options for new manufacture backs.