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Can a panoramic rangefinder camera widen its horizons with a dual format?
* Unique camera, not star-rated
Certainly, this is one of the odder ducks to waddle our way down the photographic path: an oversized interchangeable-lens 35mm rangefinder, made in partnership by a Swedish rollfilm SLR manufacturer and a Japanese film and camera company, with hybrid capability as both a standard-frame (24x36mm) and panoramic (24x65mm) camera.
But there is far more of the mainstream than the offbeat in the Hasselblad XPan. This thoroughly straightforward design (with more than a touch of retro) combines elements of both classic rangefinders and traditional SLRs. And given its target audience (the advanced photo enthusiast and the commercial pro), it certainly merits a full-scale camera test. We'll concentrate on two fundamental questions: how well does the XPan work as a conventional camera for general photography, and how well does it stack up as a dedicated panoramic camera?
First, though, a few words on the international lineage of the XPan (pronounced ex-pan). The camera and its two available lenses are being made by Fuji in Japan to the specifications of Hasselblad. (It's being marketed as the Fuji TX-1 in Japan, as a Hasselblad everywhere else.)
The most obvious forebear of the XPan, though. is the spiritual one-the classic rangefinder 35, specifically the M-series Leica. Except for the XPan body's stretched proportions, the resemblance to the purist's Ur-rangefinder is quite striking, from the three range/ viewfinder windows to the position of the shutter-speed dial and aperture ring.
A good quantity of more modern genetic material made its way into the XPan, though: motorized loading, film advance, and rewind; TTL aperturepriority exposure automation with autobracketing; and control indicators by LCD panel and LED lamps.
Pick up an XPan and the immediate impression is one of size and weight. While the height and depth of the camera are little different from, say, a Leica M6, the camera is a good 25 percent or more wider than conventional 35mm cameras. And at more than 1 pound, 11 ounces, without lens, the body outweighs all but a handful of 35mm SLRs. "An M6 on steroids," say many, although generally they are admiring the superb fabrication and finish of the hefty camera while saying it.
Given the...