Newbie

[Unregistered]

Hi there, I'm Peejay. Just joined up and having some fun getting my username and logon ID sorted out........However, I'm not currently a rangefinder user. My gear is Nikon F5 / D70 and assorted Nikkor and Sigma lenses. That said, I'm considering getting an XPan or Fuji equivalent. The photos in the galleries are excellent which suggests that people get on okay with the XPan, but are there any potential weaknesses. The 30mm lens seems to be extortionate. Are there any 'independent' lens manufacturers or others like Leica that would fit? Sorry if this is a stooooopid question, but I'm a total novice as far as rangefinders are concerned. Anyway, please have a look at my gallery and give me some (positive) critique. Also, how do you go about getting the negs / trannies scanned to digital? Thanks and look forward to hearing from you. Paul.

[tamerlin]

There aren't any third party XPan lenses, no. The 45 and 90 mm lenses aren't particularly
expensive, and the 45mm lens gives you about the same viewing angle as a 25mm lens on a
standard 35mm camera, so the high cost of the 30mm isn't really a big deal. In fact, most of the
XPan galleries out there have hardly any images made with the 30mm. :)

From the review on The Luminous Landscape, the 30mm in panorama mode isn't very flexible
anyway; it requires the center spot filter which reduces it to an f/11 lens, which is slow enough
that you'd need a tripod and a long exposure for just about anything that is brightly sunlit :)