It wasn’t long after deciding to take film photography a little more seriously with my CL that I decided to finally adopt an XPan into my lineup. I know for many people the XPan is a divisive camera, and it is an odd choice to go for as a second film option – however my style for a while has called for manipulating the frame into odd aspect ratios, which are often cinematic.
![](https://www.35mmc.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/wq3r9PG-scaled.jpg)
Cinema and videography composition has always been influential over my work, storytelling approach, and the way I frame scenes since I started photography, and this specialist camera seemed ideal for capturing images with those elements. The XPan exposes across two frames of 35mm film (making this a “10 Frames With” write-up) and offers very a unique panoramic aesthetic.
I am used to rangefinder cameras from my digital Leica M’s, and film CL, so there was no learning curve there; however I did have an issue framing through the letterbox viewfinder. There is so much more context than I am used to, especially considering that the majority of my work is shot in portrait.
![](https://www.35mmc.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/SaN8zi4-scaled.jpg)
Having such a vast horizontal field of view to work with was quite tricky to navigate, and I lost many images due to elements entering or exiting my frame when I did not notice, or was not ready for them.
![](https://www.35mmc.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/T2M6REY-scaled.jpg)
I think this will be the hardest thing to master about the XPan, truly owning my frames and paying special attention to the edges where things most often go amiss.
![](https://www.35mmc.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/PuUd5QN-scaled.jpg)
Although I like my black and white work I think that colour film really looks great when shot in a cinematic ratio, and I will be using some CineStill 800 in future projects with this camera.
![](https://www.35mmc.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/DZWTqTp-scaled.jpg)
Thank you for taking the time to read my thoughts, and look at my photographs. If you’d like to see more of my work, please follow me on Instagram, where I have links in my Bio for my personal blog and portfolio.
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Gregoire Huret on 5 Frames with a Hasselblad XPan – By Simon King
Comment posted: 23/01/2018
Comment posted: 23/01/2018
Dexter on 5 Frames with a Hasselblad XPan – By Simon King
Comment posted: 23/01/2018
Comment posted: 23/01/2018
George Appletree on 5 Frames with a Hasselblad XPan – By Simon King
Comment posted: 24/01/2018
There's much to learn from that camera.
Luc O on 5 Frames with a Hasselblad XPan – By Simon King
Comment posted: 24/01/2018
One question: how do you enlarge/scan the film and or make print ?
Comment posted: 24/01/2018
Andy Karlson on 5 Frames with a Hasselblad XPan – By Simon King
Comment posted: 06/03/2018
A Few Frames More, with the Hasselblad XPan – by Simon King - 35mmc on 5 Frames with a Hasselblad XPan – By Simon King
Comment posted: 12/03/2018
Gandhi Cabanas on 5 Frames with a Hasselblad XPan – By Simon King
Comment posted: 16/04/2019