Hasselblad XPan by Fujifilm GFX
On a chilly February day in 2023, I decided to explore North Shields Fish Quay, the beach, and Tynemouth Pier with my Fujifilm GFX50s and GF23mm F4 lens in hand.
I set up my camera to use the preset wide-angle XPan panoramic aspect ratio and “Classic Chrome” film simulation. These two photos from that day really caught my eye. I managed to capture a great composition of North Shields beach, stretching from North Shields to South Shields, with the piers of Tynemouth and South Shields in the background. It’s always been a fantastic viewpoint, a lovely spot to visit, and I absolutely love spending time here with Susan. We usually enjoy the view and the boats with a bag of freshly caught local fish and chips.
View across the mouth of the Tyne from North Shields to South Shields and the piers of Tynemouth and South Shields.
View across North Shields beach and the mouth of the Tyne from North Shields to South Shields and the piers of Tynemouth and South Shields..
I processed both of these photos in Adobe Lightroom. The one with the beach in the foreground was almost straight out of the camera and only slightly warmed up in Lightroom, the other photo was taken into ON1 for some extra processing and texture.
The Hasselblad XPan
In 1998, Hasselblad teamed up with Fuji to introduce the Hasselblad badged XPan and Fujifilm based TX-1 a camera with a 16:24 aspect ratio. It was a unique camera that combined the benefits of 35mm format with the ability to switch to full panorama format without changing the film. The XPan used a dual-format system, producing both full panorama 24x65mm format and conventional 24x36mm format on the same roll of film. It was the first dual-format 35mm camera that expanded the format instead of masking it, ensuring that every exposure used the full area of the film.
Medium Format images out of 35mm film
The 65mm width of the full panorama images is similar to medium format, making the XPan a medium format camera for 35mm film.