Hasselblad Xpan w/- 45mm + 90mm F/4 lenses Grade 8
About XPan.
The XPan is an extremely unique camera, providing the advantages of
the 35mm format but also the ability to swiftly change to full panorama
format without having to change the film. The XPan utilized a
dual-format, producing both full panorama 24x65mm format in addition to
conventional 24x36mm format on the exact same film. It was the first
dual-format 35mm camera on the market that expanded the format instead
of masking it, making sure that every exposure utilized the full area of
the film
The
65mm width of the full panorama images are similar to the medium
format, actually making the XPan a medium format camera for 35mm film.
Weighing in at only 950 grams, the camera boasted a silent shutter, a
quiet and quick built-in motor drive, an electronic exposure counter,
and ran on two CRV2 3V batteries.
With
this camera concept, Hasselblad added a new dimension to the world of
35mm film and a perfect complement to the already extensive Hasselblad
camera system. In total, there were about 16,800 XPan cameras produced
between 1998 and 2002.
The XPan had three interchangeable compact lenses, including focal
lengths of 30mm, 45mm, and 90mm. The full panorama format was made
possible by the large image circles of the specially designed
interchangeable lenses. These light and extremely compact “medium
format” lenses were characterized by razor-sharp image quality and
excellent coverage. Multicoating of the glass elements ensured top
quality results, exhibiting brilliant contrast and full tonal scale.
When shooting with the XPan, as the film was exposed, it was wound
back frame-by-frame into the cassette, thereby protecting the exposed
section in case the camera was accidentally opened. This useful feature –
combined with the XPan’s extremely quiet exposure and film transport
– also reduced the risk of unwanted noise, since the camera wound film
when the photographer decided to load film, not at the unexpected end of
a roll.
