Thinking about getting into Panoramic; which camera?

[Ian Grant]

Dan's essentially saying that a Panoramic camera is one that shoots a full frame that has an aspect ratio of 2:1 or larger, it's generally accepted that 6x12 is "Panoramic". It's the aspect ratio which can go to 4:1 with a 6x24 camera that's important rather than the angle of view of the lens, (Of course 360º is possible with a round-shot camera).

The fact that you can crop any format to create a panoramic print doesn't make a regular 35mm or 6x4.5/6x6/6x7/6x9 etc camera a panoramic camera.

Ian

 

[Texsport]

I think you're confusing the gate's aspect ratio with cropped aspect ratio. By your logic cropping a Minox shot makes the Minox a panoramic camera.

I also think that you made some arithmetic errors. That or you're mistaken about gate sizes. 6x9's horizontal angle of view with a 50 mm lens is ~ 79 degrees. 6x17's horizontal angle of view with a 90 mm lens is ~ 87 degrees. The gates' lengths are, respectively, ~ 82 mm and ~ 170 mm.

My on line calculator says 84* for a 50mm on 6X9 and 86.7* for 90* on 6X17.

A 6X9 cropped to 4.5X9 is practically the same angle of view and a 1:2 ration vs a 1:3 ratio for the 6X17.

I hang a whole lot more cropped 6X9 panoramics than 6X17s - so the 6X9 is a more effective panoramic generator for me.


Texsport

 

[Sirius Glass]

My camera is wider than your camera. So there! Pbbbbb .....................

 

[Dan Fromm]

My on line calculator says 84* for a 50mm on 6X9 and 86.7* for 90* on 6X17.

Check what you put in. As I calculate it using the standard trig formula a 50 mm lens that covers 84 degrees covers 90 mm. The 2.25" x 3.25" frame's dimensions are 56 mm x 82 mm, its diagonal is 100 mm. I don't know what orifice your on-line calculator pulled 90 mm from, but it doesn't fit 2x3. Nominal 6x7's diagonal is 90 mm.

I hang a whole lot more cropped 6X9 panoramics than 6X17s - so the 6X9 is a more effective panoramic generator for me.
Texsport

That's nice, also irrelevant.

 

[LJH]

My on line calculator says 84* for a 50mm on 6X9 and 86.7* for 90* on 6X17.

A 6X9 cropped to 4.5X9 is practically the same angle of view and a 1:2 ration vs a 1:3 ratio for the 6X17.

I hang a whole lot more cropped 6X9 panoramics than 6X17s - so the 6X9 is a more effective panoramic generator for me.


Texsport

I'll type this slowly so that you can keep up - 6x9 is NOT a panoramic format.

Even slower - panoramic format is based on the ratio of height to width. It does not have ANYTHING to do with angle of view. A SWC is NOT panoramic, yet an 8x20" with an 800mm lens is.

 

[AgX]

As said, I start from the aspect-ratio too.


But to be fair:

Most people relate to panoramic "wide-angle". Some cameras do not fulfill that, but just crop a rather small-angle image in the height, other panoramic cameras only let you mount wide-angle lenses.

And beside that the limiting aspect ratio is not carved in stone either.


Thus the issue is somewhat vague.

 

[LJH]

Most people relate to panoramic "wide-angle".

I suspect that this comment is opinion. Care to substantiate this with empirical evidence?

In my experience, most people relate to panoramic PHOTOGRAPHY as being "wide format", while a scant few understand it to be "wide angle of view".

 

[TheFlyingCamera]

When I was doing a lot of panoramic work (and I still do from time to time) I decided that 4x10 was too small of a contact print to be really satisfying, and the bigger (7x17/8x20/12x20) were too bulky and too expensive. I ended up getting a Canham 5x12. As view cameras go it's not THAT big, it's certainly light (roughly 7lbs), and the resulting contact print is just a great size - small enough to hand-hold, large enough to read on the wall.

While I love the Canham, I did not want to take it with me to Italy, especially since I knew panoramics were in the minority of photos I wanted to take, and a lot of places I was planning to go were not tripod friendly (Roman ruins are not known for their spaciousness, for starters, and their modern-day guardians are known for their zealousness). I got a Belair X-6/12 which is a bit of a nice halfway compromise between a modified Holga and a dedicated panoramic camera like a Noblex or Widelux. The Belair has interchangeable lenses and auto-exposure. It's also a bit of neither fish-nor-fowl - plastic lenses are very low-fi, the focusing mechanism is basic, and there are only two f-stops - f8 and f16. But it's very lightweight and it folds up very compact.

With any of these panoramic cameras, it's very important to use a tripod IF you want rectilinear photos. A multi-axis level to get the left-right and front-back level is very important. Otherwise you end up with (sometimes significant) distortion, especially if shooting with a swing-lens camera.

 

[Texsport]

I'll type this slowly so that you can keep up - 6x9 is NOT a panoramic format.

Even slower - panoramic format is based on the ratio of height to width. It does not have ANYTHING to do with angle of view. A SWC is NOT panoramic, yet an 8x20" with an 800mm lens is.

O K - since you wish to exhibit Neoteny, I'll relent and admit I had a lot of fun pulling some stiff necked chains!

But look at how much activity it engendered!

Have a good one, and don't forget to peak outside that ridged box once in a while!

Texsport