Re: X pan

[Bob_Maxey@xxxxxxxxxxxx]

>>I've heard some bad comments about the lens of the  new Hasselblad X Pan
camera.
    They say the lenses are from Fujinon. Is it true ? And the Fujinon
lenses are fine, no ? A more recent gossip tells about the unsharpness of
these glasses, like serious imperfections on the borders of the frame and
the need of a special filter to correct this malfunction.

I am guilty of making comments many people are taking wrong. I have not
seen the camera, but past experience has taught me that the lenses are
probably OK. Not spectacular, and not to the same degree of quality I have
enjoyed with Hasselblad. I also hear the finish on the camera is not what a
Hasselblad user is accustomed to.

The first View Camera I ever bought, was a budget killing Linhoff Kardan B.
I immediately saw that this camera was nothing like any other 4 X 5 camera
on the market. The fit of parts, engraving, bellows construction,
lensboards, rack and pinion... all were amazingly beautiful. But if you
compare it to current Linhoff 4 X 5 cameras, there is something lacking.
The appearance of the camera is somehow different, and not to the same
extreme standards of my old Kardan B. Still, Linhoff is superior to any
other 4 X 5 on the current market. No, I am not saying there are problems
with other manufacturers products, it's just that Linhoff is different.

I also feel sad that Hasselblad is not using the top quality optics they
have used in the past. If the are going to offer a mult- thousand dollar
camera, they should do it right. Fiji might be OK, but that's my point. I
do not want a Hasselblad that is just OK. In a world filled with plenty of
medium format cameras that are indistinguishable from one another,
Hasselblad has always been at the top. For me, there are two basic types of
Medium format cameras: Hasselblads and all the others lumped together as a
single, indistinguishable group. OK for most, but not what I prefer. I must
add a caveat here, there are the Linhoff roll film cameras and the new
ALPA, but they are in another class altogether.

This extends to 35MM cameras as well. Leica and all the others. I agree
that the Japanese makers build a fine product. Certainly, cameras other
than Leica are quality and the pictures made with them are terrific. Leica,
however, is still ahead of the pack.

Is Hasselblad worth the cost? Who knows...I am at the point where I think
the prices are so high, that even I would consider adding accessories from
other manufacturers. Check the prices for their filters, shades, extension
tubes and other such parts. It is not just Hasselblad...anyone bought a
lens shade for any Leica Products lately?

RM