Questions about Horizon

[cmiller@xxxxxxxxxxxxx (Curt Miller,EMW)]

I am a newcomer to panoramic imaging but not a newcomer to photography.  I
am a B&W fine art landscapist.  Perhaps that would lead one to ask the
question: "then how come  so long to come to panoramic?"  I can't answer
that, however, I did want to ask a couple of questions about the Horizon 202.

I bought one of these from Saul Kaminsky and it arrived yesterday in perfect
shape.   I bought it from him (for a couple hundred more than from other
sources, I know) because of his very good reputation and 30 day money-back
guarantee.  I shot a couple of rolls of Delta Pro 100 through the camera
yesterday and must say I was amazed, if not startled, by the superb image
quality I got.  I will add, however, that my tecnique is solid.  I used PMK
pyro for processing, with very tight control, and I will tolerate nothing
less than great image quality.  My regular cameras are Leica M6, Hasselblad
and Rollei, to give a frame of reference.

My questions are:

Is my experience common to other users of this camera or is my experience
just a fluke?  

While it is obvious this is no Leica, is the camera going to give good
service life with reasonable care?

What are the known problems with this camera?

Is the lens really focused on infinity?  At f/4 I get critically sharp
imaging of subject matter 30 feet in front of the lens.  To me this implies
focus is somewhere short of infinity (which is good).  I know this is a 28mm
lens with its inherent DOF, but a circle of confusion is still a circle of
confusion and critical sharpness will fall off at any subject distance other
than that at which the lens is focused.

Will the lens movement eventually get erratic and cause banding?

TIA,

Curt

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Henry Curtis Miller, M.P.A.
Classic Photography by Miller, B&W Fine Art Photography and Printing
Co-founder of "The Berkshire Archive"

Elizabeth Mei Wong
Birding with Women Outdoors at http://members.aol.com/womenout/index.htm
           or with Berkshire County's Hoffman Bird Club

Pittsfield, Massachusetts - In the Berkshires, next door to Tanglewood
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