X-Pan demo wanted in Portland, Or.

Hey all. A good friend of mine would like to find somebody with an X-Pan to spend a little time with. She's interested in buying one, but not totally ready to commit, so she'd like to track someone down in the Portland area who could show her what its all about and let her run a roll through it.

PM me with possibilities and I'll pass along the info.

Thanks!
-Patrick

Hi Patrick,

Sorry I can't offer a demo on Portland, but if your friend is interested in panoramic format then the X-Pan is a good introduction.

It has all the convenience of 35mm with a format which can be scaled up should she want to continue. I bought my X-Pan when they first came out (19??) and love it. I have the 90 and 45mm lenses (couldn't justify the 30mm as an amateur) and very rarely ever switch to the "normal" 24x36mm format, preferring to leave it on panoramic.

When the X-Pan II came out the original X-Pan's dropped in price, so there may be some (relative) bargains out there.

I've had no problems with mine, though I wouldn't trust the battery meter too much and always carry two spares (especially in Norwegian winters).

Regards,
Mike

What Mike says is good advice. I've always been a 35mm SLR shooter, so the rangefinder focusing took some getting used to (sorry if that makes any Leica guys roll their eyes), but that was minor.
I've never heard a bad word about them, they're reliable well-built cameras and a good way to get into panoramic shooting. I'm very interested in panoramic or wide-field shooting so I can say this scratches that itch.