Considering an XPan II

[plk]

Hello,

I'm considering the purchase of an XPan II but am finding myself reluctant to return from the all-digital world. I probably wouldn't return from the all-digital world, except that, having recently inherited my grandfather's slide collection, I have no choice but to buy a dedicated film scanner. I'm wondering ...

1.) Does anyone know whether the Nikon Super Coolscan 5000 ED can scan the over-size XPan negatives? Or must one use a scanner like, for instance, the Super Coolscan 9000 ED? I don't want to make section scans and stitch them together.

2.) Is there not likely a digital equivalent of the XPan II coming in the months and years ahead?

Thanks for observations on these subjects.

[wdenies]

Welcome to the Xpan world. Once you have it, you will love it!
On your scanner question, I have no answer because I am using the Epson perfection photo scanner, accepting film strips: no problem with the Xpan format.

Digital Xpan?
Seen the present prices of large format sensors, this will be a very expensive toy.
This my "digital" Xpan version:
During walks I not always carry the Xpan with me (leasy?), but always have a digital or film RF in the pocket.
In the digital darkroom pictures are stitched into a panoramic format. This technique gives amazing results. I alrady achieved very sharp prints at 480 dpi on 1m/40" format starting from shots taken with a modest 5M digital RF.
The same technique is used to transform my Xpan in a medium or large format camera. (imagine the resulution when you stitch 4 or more Xpan shots together)

To have an idea of the results of this workflow have a look at the gallery on the panoramafactory.com site.

Wim

[x-ray]

If you're looking for the finest in scanners I have a 343 Imacon in like new condition for sale with a custom film holder that works with the x-pan. It has a 26-60 opening and works with widelux and x-pan.


yls11648@hotmail.com

www.x-rayarts.com

[plk]

Thanks. I wish I could afford an Imacon. I know that's the right machine for the job.