Hasselblad XPAN

Type: 35mm Panoramic · Still

The XPan was 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.

If you are looking for one, go for the Fujifilm TX-1 or TX-2 rather than the Hasselblad. They are the same camera, built by Fuji. The difference is colour and badging, the specs are identical.

I shot mine with the 45mm and the 90mm, and the 90 was my favourite. The camera can switch between standard 35mm and panoramic mid-roll, but I only ever used it in panoramic. That format was the reason to carry it.

That frame changes how you see. It punishes a centred subject and rewards either lateral relationships, or emptiness with one incident in it.

I had two of them. Both gave up on me in the end, and repair is the problem: parts are expensive and hard to find, and there are only a couple of places that will still work on them. I had to let them go.

Right now the market is a bubble. Prices are very high and a clean body is hard to find.

I still love this camera. For a cinematic eye it is a great one, because it asks you to work with the environment and not only the subject, and to compose wider than you otherwise would.