A couple years ago I came into a bit of money and ALMOST bought an Xpan. The only reason I didn't is because of the fact that once it dies, it's dead. And paying upwards of $6,000 for something that would eventually become a paper weight isn't something I could convince myself to do. I appreciate this video as it gives a very detailed rundown of a much more affordable alternative. Thank you!
Hey! I think you made the right choice to be honest, they're such a risky investment for sure. They're such a lovely bit of kit but I agree there's always that fear of it becoming an expensive paper weight. Not many people want to touch an xpan for repairs these days either. You're more than welcome! Thank you for taking the time to watch and comment ☺️ I really appreciate it! Good luck if you do give it a go! Stay safe, happy shooting ✌️ Josh
I love most of your x-pan shots. I bought a conversion kit that came with two sets of 35mm film canister adapters. That allows you to wind the exposed shots into an empty canister so you don't have to unload the camera in a changing bag or darkroom. It works well. You may want to check out a few RU-vid videos showing how to do it. The kit also came with an x-pan mask that you place under the pentaprism for viewing the x-pan format.
Hey! Thank you very much, I really appreciate it 🙂 I do have the canisters and parts to do this. There are a couple of reasons I do it this way, and I might be completely wrong but I feel like there is a lot less strain on the winding mechanism doing it this way 🙂 I'm often quite anxious about putting extra pressure on such an expensive bit of kit 😬 but they both work really well! 🙂 Thanks for the comment and watching! All the best, Josh
@@OnlyAnalogue - An excellent point about putting too much pressure on the winding mechanism. I will keep that in mind as I shoot my next roll and if it is straining the mechanism I will stop using the adapters on the take-up side. Thanks for pointing that out.
The beauty of the X-Pan format is that it emphasises the desolation and separation of the human form in the landscape. Some of those shots do this perfectly, especially those of Tom under the pier, and that beach shot taken from a slight elevation. This is a brilliant hack, photography, especially on film, is safe in the hands of young guys like you and Tom. George
Hey George, thanks for watching. Always great to hear from you! I definitely agree! I was so happy when I saw the results from the ones under the pier! I've been in love with shooting xpan recently and will definitely continue to do so. I'm planning on putting some colour through soon as well ☺️ Thank you so much! As always, I really appreciate you watching and commenting. All the best, Josh
Hey George . I absolutly agree with you . Josh and Tom are really cool Guys . Their knowledge about analoge photography is amazing and shows that the world of analoge photography is not lost forever . 👍📸
Ah that really means a lot! Thank you! Really appreciate you watching and commenting 🙂 Best of luck if you do give it a try! I'm sure it will work just as well on the hassy 👌 Let us know how you get on if you do 🙂 All the best, happy shooting, Josh ✌️
Wow, you've shot some masterpieces, and managed to explain everything so nicely! Thank you for the effort!! I'm certainly going to try this in the nearby future. Also love your calmness and that of the video, the music, the pace, the vibe of the walk 🙂
Hey, Thank you so much! These are by far some of my favourite shots to date ☺️ Theres something about Xpan that makes everything look beautiful. Best of luck for when you try yours ☺️ you'll have to keep us updated if you do! I really appreciate your kind words so thank you, it goes a long way and I'm really glad you enjoyed it ☺️ Looking forward to hearing from you again, happy shooting! Josh ✌️
Very nice…. And yes it does give that cinematic, panoramic, Cinerama/Todd AO look to the photographs….. good job! The photos take on a way cooler look, that does indeed invoke a story! Adds a whole new element of surprise and learning, for me, from my “brand new” Pentax 6x7!
Thank you very much!! I can't get enough of xpan through the 67! I need to get myself a new adapter as I managed to break my one 😂 Best of luck with yours as I said in your previous comment 😁 you're going to have a lot of fun with it! There is something about that Pentax slap every time I take a shot I cannot get enough of and will never get tired of hearing 😊
You can use almost any medium format camera for it, as I have done too. I have also a converted Hasselblad magazine to shoot panos, very economical, as well .
Spent a day last week shooting around Malibu in SoCal using my Pentax 67 as an Xpan. Used your hack and it worked like a dream. Just got the images back and couldn’t’ t be happier. Just need to get a wider lens. Great vid.
Hello! I'm very sorry I missed your comment. That sounds like a dream location in my books! I'm glad the hack worked well for you ☺️ I'd love to see some of your results, are you on Instagram? If you are, drop your instagram handle and I'll give you a follow ☺️ Thanks for watching and commenting, I really appreciate it! Stay safe, happy shooting ✌️ Josh
I'm slightly bias as I absolutely adore my Pentax but if I had to sell all my other cameras and keep one, this would be the one! I've always wanted to try a mamiya 7 but you honestly cannot go wrong with a Pentax 67. They're such beautiful cameras and the lenses for them are all pretty incredible! As long you have the will power and strong legs/back to carry it around with you then you should be all good 😂
Your images are top! Great work, currently shooting 35mm in and 6x9 fold camera to get the X-Pan deluxe shots :) Next up, give it a go in the RB67. Nice video!
Thank you I really appreciate it! 😊 Oh nice! I haven't yet tried it in anything else as I adore the Pentax 😂 if it ain't broke don't fix it right? 😜 Would love to see some of your results if you have Instagram or anything? Thanks for watching, Josh
Some excellent compositions! I've had the 35mm kit for some time now, but have never tried it out yet. Your shots have given me some inspiration - thanks also for the advice and tips on how to set it up!
This video offers an unusual way to adapt 35mm film to the 220 format by crafting a paper leader onto a 120/220 take-up spool. All kits I've seen provide a 35mm take-up adapter spool (which he seems to have in the video). This allows a length of used 35mm film to be spliced to the fresh film to act as a leader, perhaps a bit more secure. If you actually plan to use a Pentax 67 to do 35mm panoramas for more than just a one-off curiosity, note that in addition to the body and prism finder, you need a 45mm or 55mm lens and a changing bag. If you do not pay more for a kit which adds masks for both inside the film frame and viewfinder, you'll only guess what you are getting. Film which tends to curl will curl inward without the frame support along its edges, giving out of focus areas along the top and bottom of the frame. Overall, IMO if you find yourself shooting panoramas regularly, you're better off with something like the Russian Horizon panorama camera, which is specifically designed for the work and does a capable job, yet is quite inexpensive. (Cheaper than a new Pentax lens.)
Thank you, that means a lot! Ah nice! I've owned the Fuji 645 wide but haven't managed to get my hands on the 690 yet. Absolutely beautiful piece of kit! ☺️ Really appreciate you watching and taking the time to comment! Stay safe, happy shooting ✌️ Josh
A very engaging video, throughout, with many wonderful images. Thank you. I will definitely be looking into X-Pan in the 67 camera. I have been looking at a Linhof with a 6x9 roll film back - bit it’s a cumbersome outfit. You’ve REALLY made excellent use of the format. Many congratulations. Liked and subscribed.
Cracking set of photographs, Josh. Well done! I think if I were to try X-Pan in a mf camera, I would just crop on 120 film because even puny 645 at its widest is 56mm long, not terribly far from the 72mm length of X-Pan. Shooting cropped on 6x7 would put you right in X-Pan territory. Of course, 35mm is cheaper…
Hey! Thank you so much! That is a topic I was thinking about bringing up in the video. I think knowing that the outcome is going to be an xpan style shot on 35mm makes me look differently at things when shooting. You're right though, I could quite easily shoot 120 with the idea to crop it down when editing but I don't know if I'd shoot the same and feel the same about the end result if that makes sense? I often scan with the sprocket holes as well if I'm shooting something a bit more experimental which is a nice touch with shooting the 35. But for the purpose of the video I stuck with the normal scans ☺️ What started as a fun little gimmick turned into this whole idea that I could create lovely pieces of art using 35mm. I hope you're well, thank you again for the feature the other day! I really appreciate it! Josh
@@OnlyAnalogue Yes, what you say makes total sense! I guess it’s why we shoot different camera bodies within the different formats even though the end result is a 35mm or 120 frame. Keep creating!
@@OnlyAnalogue Indeed, the sprocketholes! Also, why not just crop, for me, then you're actually not limited. With 35mm, it's just that, no regular 67 and that makes a difference for me :)
Nice video! I loaded two rolls 35mm film into a 6x9 Horseman back a couple of weeks ago using similar adapters and it worked beautifully. One roll I used a paper leader and the other one not. Not using a paper leader was easier but I ended up with two less images than with a paper leader so in the future I'll be using a paper leader.
Thank you very much! Oh nice... I'd love to see the results you got from that! The wider the better, right? ☺️ A lot of people seemed to have a problem with me using the paper leader and couldn't understand why but it's mainly for this exact reason. It's a little bit more annoying cutting and taping but it's worth it for the 2/3 extra shots you get from doing so. Thanks for your comment, really appreciate it! All the best, happy shooting! Josh
love the video. I've really been sleeping on HP5. When I got into film photography I was so keen on buying consumer film and Kodak's pro films to store in my freezer so I would have film to shoot when I need it. However after my first roll of HP5 I realized how much I love HP5 and now I'm wishing I put that money into HP5 rolls or a bulk roll of it haha. As for shooting with the pano adapter. It's a bit of work to set it up but I love the results as well. I did a test roll with some kodak gold 200 and loved the results.
Hey! Thank you very much I really appreciate it ☺️ Haha it's funny because I did something very similar, my first experiences were never great with HP5 so I'd always stick to other film stocks. I was seeing everyone else get these incredible results. It wasn't until I started experimenting with certain chemistry that I really found my love for it! I feel like I've got it almost down to exactly how I want it to look ☺️ HP5 is such a brilliant and diverse black and white! Yeah it is a bit of a fiddly one but it's always worth it in my opinion! There's a couple of different ways round it but this is what has always worked best for me. I'm glad you got some good results you were happy with! ☺️ Thanks for watching and commenting, it's very much appreciated! Stay safe, happy shooting ✌️ Josh
If I can get myself set up to process my own film (I've never done it), this will be on my list of things to try, given that I have a P67 with a large selection of lenses. Either way, your video shows the potential of such wide shots, which also have the advantage of being practical to print on affordable printers.
Hello! I'm glad to hear that you're willing to give it a go! I've got some film in my Pentax 67 at the moment for some xpan ☺️ I hope all of the home processing goes well for you though! Me and Tom are always happy to give any help or advice if you do need any ☺️ Thank you very much for watching and commenting. All the best, happy shooting! Josh
A very well informative instructional video! I now know what i am going to be doing with my pentax this weekend! hopefully the 105m lens i have will do the job. Thank you for this video amazing work, you timed the first photo with cyclist coming past an amazing shot
Thank you very much ☺️ I'm so glad I've inspired at least one person to give it a crack 😁 the 105 is a beast, great all rounder and still relatively wide enough on medium format so you should be absolutely fine 🤞 Do let us know how you get on with it! If you have Instagram give us a follow and we will follow back ☺️ we love seeing everyone's work! Thank you, that's a great little spot that I'm a sucker for 😂 really appreciate you watching and commenting! Stay saf, happy shooting ✌️ Josh
I completely agree with "Only Analogue" when he says in the video that we should use the widest lens available when going panoramic style. 55mm is great! 45mm even better. (Avoid FishEye 35mm...:-))
Amazing photos! Absolutely worthy for book printing. Will try this on my Pentax 67 (expecting less stunning images but I'm OK with it). Do you recommend any particular lens? I only have the 105mm f2.4 but maybe a wider lens would be better for these. Thank you.
Hey! Thank you so much!!! I usually use my 55mm f4 but even the 105 should do the job! The wider lens, the better it will be in theory as it gives you that really beautiful cinematic look. But I've tried it with my 135 and still had some very useable results. I've seen some photographers create beautiful xpans on lenses that aren't wide by any means, so definitely give it a go and see what you can create ☺️ I hope this helps, best of luck when you do give it a try! Josh
Excellent shots and video Josh, you're blessed with great light and locations! I'd love an XPAN too but not the price tag, so I'm working on restoring a Zeiss Ikon Super Ikonta D that will (I hope) produce a 6.5x11 negative on 120, but only 4 frames per roll. It won't have the wide angle of your 55mm lens, but I will try some 35mm film in it too just to see how ridiculous an 11cm 35mm frame will look! Look forward to see what you come up with next 👍👍
Hey! Thank you!!! We are often saying how lucky we are to live on the doorstep of these beautiful coastal towns! We quite often take them for granted. Oh nice that sounds brilliant! You're going to get some great shots and good fun out of that! You'll have to keep us posted on those as we'd love to see some results! Thanks for commenting and taking the time to watch ☺️ Josh
Really nice shots Josh. I noticed you didn’t use any kind of mask to help frame your compositions. When I shot some Xpan with my RB67, I was totally guessing my frame, got a couple of pretty wonky frames! If I do it again I will definitely make some kind of mask to drop in the view finder to help with that. I do love the look you get from do this. Keep up the good work!
Hey, thank you! ☺️ I occasionally put a mask in my viewfinder but recently I've been eyeballing it ☺️ I kind of like having the open space to look at just in case there's anything I can add into the frame that I might miss with the mask in. I find that cereal boxes work pretty well and are the perfect thickness ☺️ How do you get on with your RB67? If you've used a Pentax 67 to compare it to? Its a camera I've always wanted but can't justify it with owning the Pentax. I feel like I'd still pick up my Pentax over the RB but I guess there's only one way to find out 😂 Thank you so much for watching and commenting. I really appreciate it! Stay safe, happy shooting! ✌️ Josh
And finally, am I correct in understanding that the ratio of 24 mm high, x 70 mm wide is slightly wider than the original X-Pan? I must say, I prefer the wider look.
Thank you very much! Oh nice that sounds right up my street... I'd be interested to see how you've adapted the 35 for it. It's always worth it just for the experience, and if you get some crackers then that's a bonus 👌 I'd love to see some of your shots!! Are you on Instagram?
Hey Josh . That´s a cool hack for using 35mm on an old Fullframe Camera . Where do I get these plastic exetions so the 35mm Film would fit into a fullframe Camera ? I´m thinking of using the 35mm films on a Box Camera from the 50th or on some Bulgcameras from the 30th and 40th . Or maybe to fit the 35mm in a Camera on which normaly 127-Films would be used . Unfortunatly there are no original 127 Films are available on the market . So it would make sense to build a system in which I could use 35mm films quite easily . The pics you have taken are totaly stunning . They show you don´t have to hide yourself behind great Photographer . You know what you´re doing and you fulfill it with perfection . Greetings from Germany Ralf
Hello Ralf, thank you very much. I got mine 3D printed by a guy on eBay a few years back. You can still find them on there or Amazon. That's a great idea! Best of luck with it if you do give it a go. There's a brilliant photographic store here in the UK called Nik & tricks photographic. I know they ship worldwide and have some very well priced 127 film ☺️ I believe they also stock the 35mm adapters as well. That honestly means a lot! I really appreciate it, thank you! ☺️ it means the world that you have watched and taken the time to comment! All the best, Josh
Just wondering if it would be easier to mask out the opening behind the shutter to allow for a pano crop on 120 film? That’d be a lot easier and have the same negative size. It might also be cheaper as 120 rolls are cheaper than 35mm these days, although they are a lot shorter in length as well.
Hey, Potentially... To be honest I don't know how comfortable I'd be getting too close to the curtain in the camera when putting a mask in. I'd be scared of popping it out or damaging it. For now this seems like the safest way to do it. The easiest way would be just to shoot on 120 and then crop it in post... But where's the fun in that 😂 You're very right there. It's a good option if you've got some expired film laying around or something you want to experiment with. Also knowing that you're shooting panoramic and having that mind set will force you to look for compositions that work best. 120 is cheaper but you do get a lot more shots out of the 35mm using this hack... Around 17/18 when compared to the 10 out of a roll of 120 ☺️ Thanks very much for watching and commenting. I really appreciate it! Stay safe, happy shooting ✌️
Hey! Thanks for watching ☺️ The Pentax 67 doesn't have a rewind function to rewind back into a canister as the usual 120/220 film is rolled onto the end spool to be taken out ☺️ so unfortunately you do have to rewind the canister manually in a dark bag or dark room ☺️ hope this helps! All the best happy shooting ✌️
Stunning Photos! ❤ love it! I‘m new to MF Camera Stuff and I don’t understand why you just don’t use 120 Film and crop to 65:24 in post (digitally)? Is it cause you want real 35mm negatives shot with MF lenses? Thank you for this video!
Hello! Thank you very much! I really appreciate it ☺️ There is of course always the option to shoot 120 and crop it down in post but I usually do this for a few reasons. The first is that I find when shooting 35 through the Pentax 67, I look for compositions that will work as an xpan style shot. It puts me in a different mindset and shooting process knowing it's 35mm rather than 120. I will be scanning the area for a composition for what I like to call, the letterbox shot 😂 I think I would quite often leave the shot as it is in post editing if I'm shooting 120. I also occasionally scan with the perforated edges of the film which is exposed for certain shots to create a different end result. The second is it allows me to shoot certain films that might not be available or as accessible in 120. Of course you are 100% right but it takes all of the fun out. I really enjoy the xpan experience through the 67 and it's definitely something I will continue to do. It often gets me out of a create rut if I've been shooting a lot of 120. And of course it's not always the ideal format for certain things but if I have an idea in mind that I want to try on xpan it always produces cracking results! Hope this helps ☺️ Really appreciate you watching and the kind words! Stay safe, happy shooting! Josh ✌️
Hello, you should get 17/18 shots with this hack. I usually take the first shot twice to make sure there is no leaks on the first frame. Hope this helps! Best of luck with it! ☺️
It is the 55mm F4 which I mention in the video at 10:00 minutes in. I also go on to say that the wider the lens you have the better results you will get but isn't an absolute necessity. The information is all in there. Thanks
Hey, you should get 17/18 shots ☺️ the first one is always hit and miss with the unloading, taking all the tape and backing paper off. I tend to take my first shot twice just in case! Hope this helps. Thanks for watching! ✌️
You could do... But if you fed the 35mm film straight across you'd lose a lot of the film while winding the Pentax until it reaches frame 1. (Usually about 4 turns before it locks on onto the first frame) Using the paper leader basically acts as a blank while winding until frame 1 which is where the 35mm film will start 😊 where the paper is fed back into the canister before winding on you will make the most out of your film 😊 I hope this helps and makes sense
Sure, if you want to do that 🤷🏻😊 same sort of thing though... Just without a 120 leader 😊 Personally it feels a lot more secure with the 120 backing paper onto a 120 spool but whatever works 👌😊