I tried to find someone who bought and used this nice looking panoramic camera but could not aim nobody. It seems no LFP forum users or APUG or Photo-Net have it. I searched net and no one review about Panoraflex 6x17. A friend of mine wants to buy it but it think it is hazardous decision.
www.panoraflex.de
Looks to me like a German knock-off version of the Chinese DaYi 6x17 S-IIA camera, lol.Originally Posted by renes
See the Da-Yi here:
http://www.bhcamera.us/dayi617.html
Maybe they simply order cameras from Da-Yi and put their own "Panoraflex" label on them.
Thanks.
It's the same camera.
I contacted mr. Achim Hoos from Panoraflex some time ago. His answer on this camera:
I also heared about the problems with film flatness , specially with
Gaoersi Cameras. Most people don ´t know that
Gaoersi and Dayi are complete different brands. I think the reason is a
dealer in Hongkong who sells Cameras as
Gaoersi Dayi . I don ´t know why, but the Gaoersi´s i held in hand in
China are really in a poor condition. I could
find dust and little metal pieces from production inside. My Cameras
come from the Dayi factory cause they offer
the best quality of the chinese Panocams. I let them made stronger
springs behind the film pressure plate, for make
sure the film is flat in the camerabody. Its one of our improvements. I
also travelled a lot with the Panoraflex and took
many Pictures, so I´m sure we solved this problem. You know i also use
this cam for myself...
And some more from Mr. Hoos:
4. If you like adventures i suggest you to buy a cam in china : ) When
i saw the chinese Panoramic cams the first time,
two years ago, i loved the effective construction from beginning,
but i hated the poor , dirty finish. I´m photographer since
more than 20 years and that time i visited a friend who lives in
Shanghai. After i showed him this Panocams we decided
to make a good quality control and import it to europe. We made
many improvements, like stronger springs for filmplate,
clean thread windings, grease for screw channel, precise drill
holes , round edges at the body and many things more.
Cause of all these Improvements for european standart, we decided
to give these Cameras a own Name: Panoraflex.
It looks very similar to the ones produced for chinese common
market, but the finish, the service with spare parts, the
warranty for two years makes the different.
The chinese version reminds me on russian motorcycles: The
customer must be his own mechanic and fix it before
using the first time.
But you are right: At the first view Its cheaper than my ones : )
5. I´m not familiar with photo market in your country. What kind of
pictures do you want to take: Art Shots, or Advertising?
Nobody can look into future, but with a 6x17 cam you can produce
large format prints in excellent quality. If somebody
just want to make 13x18cm prints, no need for a Camera like ours.
He can use a small digital one. But for large format,
what mean, really large, its the best way . A customer made
advertising shots for a company which are producing
caravans and motorhomes. For a exhibition and fair he printed 4m
long posters with 300DPI. You could see the inner
details in original size in a phantastic quality. All details are
sharp and clear...also a professional digital back for
30000 EUR don´t delivers a better quality. He rented one before,
but choosed the traditional way at the end.
6. I think this is no problem in the next 10 or 20 years. Many
photographers all over the world prefer also the classical
way. Maybe the price for films and developing will go up, but I´m
sure its available for long time. Cause if you really
want Quality in Large format printing there is nothing better. And
instead of spending 30000 EUR for a Medium format
digital back i can really buy many films...
I was considering Panoraflex or Shen Hao bellows camera, but bought Fotoman finally. I think Fotoman has the best price/peformance ratio for this type of the camera.
What criteria do you use to come to this conclusion?
At [at least] twice the price of the Gaoersi/DaYi, I'm not sure where the [at least] twice the performance will be found.
And this is for a single lens cone. Again, not sure how the ration can come out in favour of the Fotoman when the "Shen Hao bellows camera" can accept any lens from about 72mm up to a 400mm Fujinon T with no additional expense (assuming you have said lenses).
Your explanation is eagerly awaited!!
Lachlan.
You miss 100% of the shots you never take. -- Wayne Gretzky
Maybe handheld ability? I used to have Fotoman 612 and it was slightly faster to shoot than my TFC617A - but faster mostly because I didn't have many adjustments to tweak around. No GG framing, no GND placement, no tilt/shift, and even no lense-changing mid-roll. You just place the camera on the tripod, frame with the VF, and shoot. Some people think these limitations actually help them to concentrate on taking pics itself.
TFC617A's swing zeros are not very accurate and front/rear stands could drift out of their neutral positions during transportation, so every time I take it out of my bag I will do a swing zero check-up first with loupe. That costs 30 sec ~ 1 min or so as well.
Fotoman's build quality is somehow mixed. The machined body is of course very well made, but ironically the 4 screws holding the lens cone are made of cheap plastic - don't know what was in their mind when designing it. Fotoman's viewfinder is really inaccurate, the worst I've ever seen. You move your eye a tiny bit and the scene in the frame will change a hell lot. That they put the mask inside the VF optics could be the reason. If the mask is in front of the VF it will be much better. Gaoersi & DaYi's VF are better; Fujifilm/Linhof's bright-line VFs are the best.
1. I am not comparing Shen Hao and Fotoman. They are different types, both with its own strenghts. I talk about 617 viewfinder cameras (Gaoersi, Fotoman, Linhof ...).
2. It is my opinion only, your's may differ.
3. I see three price ranges:
low - Gaoersi, Da-Yi, ...
medium - Fotoman
high - Linhof, Horseman, (Fuji)
4. Fotoman vs Gaoersi, ...
Lens range: F:72-400 G:75-250
G. has the same helical foucus mount for 72 and 75
Production finishing better with Fotoman (opinion based on extensive web research)
F: lower weight
Film flatness with Fotoman surely OK, read some complaints about G., howewer, this can be early models.
5. Found no complaints about Fotoman on web.
6. Once again, this is my opinion only. These are arguments leading ME to buy Fotoman. I believe, there are many happy Gaoersi user out there.
Ambroz
For your purpose a Fotoman body with a Horseman sw617 Viewfinder will be a perfect match. VF costs around $500 but a brightline VF is way better and more accurate than Fotoman's.
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