unbelievable: rumor about a Fuji panorama camera

I still use the fabulous film Hasselblad XPAN Panorama camera for panos. So I was exited to find this post about a rumour of an upcoming extrawide digital sensor pano camera from Fuji:

http://www.43rumors.com/some-fun-restaurant-rumor-the-second-after-the-e-p1/#comments

Do you think this could be true?
I would love to take 'real' larger sensor panos.
Stitching is not the solution for scenes with moving objects.

Cropping normal photos to 'imitate' a panorama reduces IQ too much for large prints - and printing large size is exactly what is needed for a pano. That's why I still use my film XPAN.

But it is hard to believe that Fuji will bring such a camera to the market.
Would this be a wide sensor Fuji X100?

Or could they use 2 synchronized lenses and sensors and stitch the pano internally?

Crazy ideas - it will be fun to read your comments!

I dont know but they could call it the X10000000

I used to own a Noblex panoramic and I often wondered whether the format would ever go digital.

Well, Fuji has done this before with their GSW617 (or was it 619?). That was an amazing camera but god awful expensive. It is amazing to see how cheap that camera is now!

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http://fujifilmimages.aminus3.com/

unbelievable is the correct term here. if they make a camera like this it wont be any time soon.
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wssa member #320PX

well why not? Given that global camera sales are over 120 million per year, surely we are going to see some more niche products come to market in this very healthy environment.
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Kevin Coppalotti
http://maxhr.zenfolio.com/

Yeah, I remember when the Fuji 6x17 cam came out (G617, GX617).

http://www.luminous-landscape.com/reviews/cameras/fuji617.shtml
http://www.luminous-landscape.com/reviews/cameras/using_617.shtml

I looked around and the the GSW690 was 6x9. Ooooh...."the precious."

dotbalm said:

Yeah, I remember when the Fuji 6x17 cam came out (G617, GX617).

http://www.luminous-landscape.com/reviews/cameras/fuji617.shtml
http://www.luminous-landscape.com/reviews/cameras/using_617.shtml

I looked around and the the GSW690 was 6x9. Ooooh...."the precious."

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The GSW690 was my very first Fuji. Man, was that a camera! An enormous lens on that box, it was beyond sharp. I wish I had some of my prints that were back home. I could stare at them for hours admiring the resolution caught by that thing.

It was a huge camera, but I used it for street photography, in Hong Kong no less! It was easy to focus and metering was not too bad once you knew how to use a hand held meter. Wonderful camera. I just cant shoot film anymore.

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http://fujifilmimages.aminus3.com/

dotbalm said:

Yeah, I remember when the Fuji 6x17 cam came out (G617, GX617).

http://www.luminous-landscape.com/reviews/cameras/fuji617.shtml
http://www.luminous-landscape.com/reviews/cameras/using_617.shtml

I looked around and the the GSW690 was 6x9. Ooooh...."the precious."

Click to expand...

I was in B&H a week ago for some unknown reason (ok, Mr. T was there too) and afterward as I was leaving, I stepped into the used camera section to look around and something caught my eye.

Unbelievable coinkidink. And you took a shot of it?! Pardon my not knowing, but after googling, that's Thom Hogan is it not?

dotbalm said:

Unbelievable coinkidink. And you took a shot of it?! Pardon my not knowing, but after googling, that's Thom Hogan is it not?

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Yes on both counts - check the EXIF dates!. I'm not sure that the G617 is supposed to be a for-sale item but I haven't looked for it on-line, so it could be. Thom showed one of his earlier photos and here's another that doesn't go back so far in time. Not a very good one but not too bad given the dim lighting, and the F300 was a lot less intrusive than my D700 would have been.




The talk that he gave dealt with "reality" and he mentioned that the next photo used for the cover art involved no trickery. The rifles were real and that was a real KayPro. He said that it wasn't all that easy lugging it into (IIRC) the mountains of northern Afghanistan.

Billx08 said:

The talk that he gave dealt with "reality" and he mentioned that the next photo used for the cover art involved no trickery. The rifles were real and that was a real KayPro. He said that it wasn't all that easy lugging it into (IIRC) the mountains of northern Afghanistan.

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You may not believe this but I have that issue of Portable Companion in my attic still along with all the rest of the issues of Portable Companions that were ever printed. You were almost right about the computer, it is an Osborne 1 not a Kaypro. The Kaypro launched soon after the Osborne 1 and is differentiated by its larger screen and metal case. Both ran CP/M. I have an Osborne 1 in my attic which I bought new in 1982 in the USA, along with the magazine subscription. They were really a publication for Osborne 1 users. My Osborne is the next version with the blue gray case rather than the beige.

My favorite cover story from those mags is the one where they took an Osborne up Mount Everest along with a car battery and used it to prove that portable computers could go anywhere. I can't believe Thom shot that premier issue cover, thats brilliant.