Archived posting to the Leica Users Group, 1998/07/23

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Subject: Re: [Leica] Hassie XPAN
From: Chris Bitmead <chrisb@ans.com.au>
Date: Thu, 23 Jul 1998 12:18:52 +0000

jeremy.kime@bbc.co.uk wrote:

> I cannot see a great future for this camera.

I have to agree. I just can't see the point.

If you're shooting slides they won't fit a standard slide mount.
Undoubtedly from time to time you lab will chop them up against
your orders and ruin them. The panoramas aren't big enough that
you will ooh and arrrh about them on a light table. Standard labs
won't be able to print them from negatives. There's only 2
lenses, and they are really slow at f4.

Even the marketing is daggy, describing it as a "bridge camera".
If I wanted an f4 rangefinder I would get a Mamiya 7. If I wanted
a nice 35mm rangefinder I would get a Leica. I can't even see a
small niche for this oddity.