Comment by anta40
3 days ago
I unserstand this camera is pretty popular among street shooters/photodocumentary folks.
Personally, I prefer less distortion and XPan is the better choice for that (and of course interchangeable lens support). Too bad it's bloody expensive nowadays and since the shutter is battery-dependant, you just have to accept one day it may become a paper weight.
A decent electronics repair shop/individual should be able to replace the battery with an equivalent, it'll be worth it given the cost of them. I wouldn't be surprised if camera repair joints would consider it unsavable but the expertise will be at an electronics repair place.
It's not that the battery goes bad (it's just a CR2). It's the rest of the electronics - if any of that goes bad, the camera becomes a paperweight.
Whereas something like a vintage Olympus OM-1 is fully mechanical - if the electronic fails, you lose the light meter, but the shutter speed, aperture, ISO, and shutter release are all mechanics, so the camera is still completely functional (enthusiast photographers can get exposure correct through experience, or an external light meter if they want to be fancy).
Is there a completely mechanical version of XPan? Of course I mean shoot 65:24 and have interchangebale lens support?
So far, I think there's no one for 35mm. For medium format shooters, there's the much bigger Fuji/Linhof 617. Of course pretty expensive. Perhaps 3D print is the only viable option...
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