Panoramic Camera?

[Rob MacKillop]

Rhona is heading to Prague for a few days with her friends. I mention this only because I was walking past a charity shop around midday today, and the word Prague caught my attention, where it might not have done so otherwise. It was on the cover of a book called Prague Panoramic by Josef Sudek, which contains nearly 300 beautiful black and white panoramic shots of Prague in the 1930s. As it was only £10, I bought it.

Sudek used a Kodak Panoramic camera, 10 x 30 cms. I imagine those cameras might be available today, but not the film. So, I'm wondering what camera (film or digital) would give the same format, or close?

Having looked at the images of Prague, I can't help feel Edinburgh would be just as suitable a subject.

 

[John Holland]

There are several point and shoot digital cameras that have a "panorama" mode - like the COOLPIX digital cameras have the "Easy Panorama mode". The user takes several captures and the camera stitches the individual frames together. I think even my camera phone has a panorama mode. Of course there is the full manual mode - take the individual shots and stitch them together yourself (via Photoshop or equivalent) - the hardest part is making sure you have sufficient overlap (I target 20%-30%) of the individual frames. To avoid paralax effects, you need to locate the nodal point of the camera/lens and rotate the camera/lens around that point.

Edinburgh would be a great play to play with this.

 

[Rob MacKillop]

Thanks, John. I kind of knew that already, so I guess what I'm really wanting is a Kodak Panorama Camera with a 10 x 30 cms format! And lots of film to go with it! It just seems a perfect camera for the job. Ah well.

 

[Brian Moore]

What about this, Rob?
http://www.holgacamera.com/holga-120-pan-panoramic-camera-kit-set/

 

[Rob MacKillop]

Cheers, Brian. That might be all I can afford. Not quite a Linhof, but certainly cheaper!

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Linhof-Technorama-612-PC-w-Super-Angulon-MC-65mm-f-5-6-/221763798447

 

[Ian Grant]

Sudek was using a swing lens Panoranic camera you can find older ones occasionally at reasonable prices and there are more modern alternatives from Hoizont, Widelux, Widepan, Noblex etc using 35mm or 120 film. The disadvantage of the swing lens is the perspective distortion, however if you use a camera like a Cirkut where the whole camera rotates some of the distortion is eliminated - these cameras were largely used for large group shots, schools photos etc. You can rule out a Cirkut as they are large and film is very expensive (large rolls).

More practical and distortion free are the Linhof's Fotoman & Gaoersi panoramic cameras. I use a 6x17 Goersi with a 75mm Super Angulon and it's excellent for panoramic shots and a fraction of the cost of a Linhof.

I weighed up carefully what sort of Panoramic camera I wanted, I'd done quite a bit of stitched panoramic work some years ago stitching images together by hand in Micrografx Picture Publisher which had layers and other tools before Photoshop in some cases making composite images from 20 shots, there was no good stitching software available then at a realistic price/free.

A swing lens camera had to be ruled out because of the distortion so in the end I went for a 6x17 camera which can also be used for 6x12 & 6x15. I still make stitched images but there is a difference when you look at them compared to the 6x17 shots of the same image.

The Holga 6x12 cameras are good value and I have heard of people fitting better lenses usually the small 90mm f6.8 Angulon.

Ian

 

[Rob MacKillop]

I appreciate all that, Ian. Many thanks. I've never heard of Goersi, but will look them up.

Somewhat perversely, though, I quite like some of the perspective distortion brought out with the swing lens Sudek used, and 10 x 30 is a great format.

That said, I like your image above.

 

[Pete Askew]

How about a Noblex 135N. It uses 35mm film and a rotating lens. The aspect ratio would be similar to the one used in the book.

http://www.apertureuk.com/MediumLargeFormat.html

 

[Rob MacKillop]

Oh, I fancy one of them. Thanks for the link, Pedro. I'll have a think.

 

[Brian Moore]

This might be of interest, Rob:
http://www.shutterbug.com/content/noblex-prosport

 

[Rob MacKillop]

Thanks, Brian.

What about this Russian pano camera?

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Horizon-S...74?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_77&hash=item2a4d609442

Some info about it: http://www.dvdtechcameras.com/cameras/panoram/6/6.htm

 

[Brian Moore]

Thanks, Brian.

What about this Russian pano camera?

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Horizon-S...74?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_77&hash=item2a4d609442

Some info about it: http://www.dvdtechcameras.com/cameras/panoram/6/6.htm

I think that is the kind swing lens camera that @Ian Grant referenced in his post above. I'm not sure how that is so much different from the Noblex, though, which is also a swing lens camera.

 

[Ian Grant]

The Noblex is better build quality compared to the Horizon, they were made in one of the Praktica factories which was returned to John Noble after the collapse of East Germany. John's father Charles a German born US citizen had taken over KW just before the war off it's Jewish owners. Both were imprisoned in the former Buchenwald camp when the Communists seized the factory which made the highly innovative Praktina cameras, it was later merged with the former Contax factory to become Praktica. John was sent to the Russian Gulag and only released after the US President personally became involved.

Both cameras can be found at reasonable prices if you shop around, the 120 Noblex is going to give higher qulaity compared to the 35mm cameras.

Ian

 

[Rob MacKillop]

Thanks, Ian. I'm a much more knowledgeable photographer now

 

[Martin Pancisin]

Rob, what about Hasseblad x-pan?

 

[Rob MacKillop]

Good, but expensive, Martin.