Content area
Full Text
Can a serious panoramist find happiness with a sub-$1,OOO camera? Does the Noblex lens swivel?
Of all the types of special-purpose cameras, probably none has held such a special place in the hearts of photographers as the true panoramic camera, one that produces a wider-than-normal him frame.
And of true panoramic cameras (those that take in a sweep of the horizon of 120 degrees or better) the ne plus ultra is the rotating-lens (or swivel-lens) panoramic. These magical (and, for the most part, clumsy) devices use a swiveling lens synchronized with a moving slit shutter to "wipe" a wide image onto film held in a curved film plane.
These cameras are also expensive. The venerable Widelux-probably the best-known of the breed-will set you back just under two grand. Some models push into the $5,000 range. Yes, the Russian/Ukrainian Horizon is affordable, at the expense of a certain lack of precision (frame spacing, for instance).
Enter the Noblex ProSport. Here is a model from the Dresden-based company known for big-ticket precision swivel-lens cameras-but that sells for just under $1,000. Like its more expensive siblings, the ProSport uses a synchronous electric motor to swivel the lens, rather than a spring-driven clockwork device.
How do they do it? With little economies here, leaving things off there. The ProSport's lens is fixed focus, rather than focusing, and is a slowish (but not too slow) f/4.5.
The camera lacks a viewfinder bubble level, and multiple-exposure capability. Some of the graphics on the camera are a little rough, and it also lacks the up/down lens shift of more expensive Noblexes.
Other than that, the predominantly polycarbonate ProSport is a solid, well-made camera with quite good fit and finish. Let's run through how it works.
You open the camera by pulling up on the rewind crank; you can now pop a film cassette into the chamber. The loading of swivellens cameras is routinely tortuous-and the ProSport is no ex ception, although we must admit it is one of the easier of this type of cameras to load.
You pull the film leader across the curved film plane, then thread it under a sprocket until the leader makes its way back up. (This is easiest done by simply turning the winding knob.)...