Part 1 – Love at First Sight
When the Hasselblad Xpan was first released in 1998, I instantly fell in love with it and wanted one. It was such a unique rangefinder camera that captured panoramic images on 35mm film. An image from a regular film camera is 36mm long by 24mm tall. The Hasselblad Xpan’s image was 65mm long and 24mm tall! It had three available lenses – the 30mm, 45mm and a 90mm.
“Hasselblad XPan” (CC BY-NC-ND 2.0) by mikealex.
Fuji actually designed and built the Xpan for Hasselblad. Not only that, Fujifilm created an almost identical version of the Xpan called the TX-1. While the Xpan had a dark finished look the TX-1 has a raw metal titanium finish. Over time, the finishes on the Xpans have chipped while the TX-1 cameras generally look much better.
In 2003, both the Xpan and TX-1 cameras were updated to the Xpan 2 and the TX-2. Some of the minor changes involved the inclusion of the shutter speed in the viewfinder and moving some buttons to different locations.
At the time these cameras were released, they were around $2000 just for the camera body. Unfortunately, they just weren’t something that I could afford at the time. This was also a time when digital cameras were starting to gain popularity and film camera sales were falling. But people who had an Xpan or a TX-1 weren’t necessarily selling them. In fact, IF you can find a mint Xpan on the used market, it will probably cost you three to four times the original price. Up to $8000!
A Second Chance at Love?
I always hoped that there would be a digital version of the Xpan or the Fuji TX-2 but I didn’t think it would ever happen because it would require a large sensor and that would be very expensive to make. However, both Fujifilm and Hasselblad have created an option to capture panoramic images using a medium format camera. The Fujifilm camera is the GFX 50R and the Hasselblad is the X1D-50C II. Both cameras have medium format sized sensors that allow you to crop at an aspect ratio of 65:24. This size of sensor gives you image quality that is equal to or better than a film scan of the original Xpan and TX-2.
My local camera rental place had a Fujifilm GFX 50R so I was excited to get my hands on one and try it out. There are a number of lenses that are available for the camera but I decided to rent the 32-64mm F4 lens. It is the equivalent of a 25-50mm lens in 35mm format. Fujifilm makes a 23mm GFX lens which is equivalent to 18mm in 35mm lens but the rental place didn’t have one. That is definitely a lens I would love to try out in the future!
My Impressions of the Fujifilm GFX 50R
The first thing that I thought when I saw the GFX 50R was that it is a large camera. I guess I was expecting it to be closer in size to the Xpan or the TX-2 but it is way bigger. The camera body is around the same size as my Nikon D850. After my initial shock, I came to my senses and reminded myself that this is a medium format camera with a medium format sized sensor (43.8mm x 32.9mm).
The GFX 50R is a mirrorless camera and I am not used to looking though the viewfinder and seeing a digital image. To be honest, I didn’t really love the digital representation. It just isn’t as clear and sharp as looking through the lens with a DSLR camera. It definitely took some getting use to. When using the GFX 50R, the viewfinder was what I used most of the time to compose images. I found it was easier to adjust the focus point when looking through the viewfinder than looking on the LCD screen on the back of the camera.
Of course, there were times that I used the screen on the back of the camera to compose images. Sometimes it was just easier to use the rear screen when composing images at lower or higher angles. The screen on the back is adjustable so you can tilt it out which I really liked. There were also times when I was trying to be more discreet and held the camera at waist level and tilted the screen out to help me compose the picture.
When it comes to composing using the panoramic 65:24 aspect ratio, the viewfinder and the screen on the back of the camera did a great job. Some other cameras just use an overlay of lines to show you where the crop will be in the frame. But when I selected the panoramic crop on the GFX 50R the other parts of the viewfinder and the LCD screen blacked out. This was fantastic because I could concentrate on what to include in the frame and not be distracted. It is good to know that if you capture a RAW file, you will see the panoramic crop but the camera will capture the whole image and you will need to crop again later.
Handling the GFX 50R
I am used to Nikon cameras so it took a little bit of time to get used to the controls of the GFX 50R. I used aperture priority mode the whole time. One thing I really liked was that the exposure compensation dial was very accessible and close to the aperture dial. The viewfinder and LCD screen gave me a live view of the exposure of the scene so I was able to quickly use that exposure compensation dial to easily make adjustments to the exposure.
The ISO was easy to access and change when I needed to adjust for scene brightness. I really liked that there were 3 programable auto ISO options. Sometimes I want auto ISO to ensure that I have a fast shutter speed like 1/500th of a second to freeze movement. Other times I want the auto ISO to give me a shutter speed of no lower than 1/60th of a second. A third setting I used for auto ISO was to have a shutter speed no lower than 1/15th of a second for images with some blur of movement.
One of the things about a mirrorless camera is that I went through a lot of batteries. I needed 2 fully charged batteries to make it through a day of shooting. I found myself turning the camera off to save battery all the time. Luckily, the camera starts up really quickly. But I really missed being able to just look through the viewfinder and test the look of a possible composition without having to turn on the camera. This is something I often do with my DSLR and I wouldn’t have to turn my DSLR on.
What about the lens? As I already mentioned, the 32-64mm F4 lens is equivalent to a 25-50mm lens in 35mm format. I would have liked a wider angle for some shots and I also would love to try more of a telephoto lens for others. However, it was nice to have a zoom as it gave me options when composing. The 32-64mm was quite big and reminded me of a lens for my DSLR.
At the end of the day, image quality is what is important. And the images from the GFX 50R were beautiful. One of the really cool things you can do on Fujifilm cameras is choose film simulation. Long before digital cameras were around, Fujifilm made some amazing analog films like Provia, Velvia, and Acros. Their digital cameras use the colour science from their film stocks to recreate these film simulations. However, as I only had a day with the rented camera, I couldn’t explore these film simulation options and ended up just using the Provia film simulation setting.
The Perfect Digital Camera for Panoramic Photos?
So is the GFX 50R the perfect camera for digital panoramic images? If there was a digital camera that was smaller like the Xpan or the TX-2, then that would be perfect. But there isn’t and I doubt Fujifilm, Hasselblad or anyone else will make one. This is also the only camera that I have tried that has a 65:24 crop option built into the camera. I haven’t had the chance to try out the Hasselblad X1D-50C so I can’t compare the GFX 50R to it. Unfortunately the camera rental place doesn’t have the Hasselblad so I can’t try it out.
So even though my love story with the Hasselblad Xpan was never meant to be, I think I have been given another chance at love with the Fujifilm GFX 50R. Not everything about it is perfect but when if comes to love, nothing ever is. But after spending some time with the GFX 50R, it is definitely a camera that I want to spend more time with and get to know better. The Fujifilm GFX 50R is my second chance at love with panoramic images.
Because I tried to make the most out of renting the camera, I ended up capturing a lot of images. So, like this blog post, I will have a part 1 and a part 2 of my video for the Digital Panorama Challenge. I hope you enjoy seeing how I captured the images.
I hope you liked part one of this Panorama challenge. Stay Tuned for Part 2 where I look at what makes a good panorama photo.
