OK, I have another confession.

Besides being a Birder , I am also addicted to shooting panoramic images.

There, I said it. There’s something about 1x2 and 1x3 ratio images that just appeals to me. Especially wide, 1x3 images with sweeping scenes of beautiful nature or architecture. The human eye doesn’t really see in square, or at least your brain doesn’t process it that way. In reality you are walking around viewing the world in a ratio that is much wider than it is tall – and panoramic images often replicate that field of view. Wide 1x3 panos also have a very cinematic in feel –- think of movies like Hateful Eight or Dunkirk.

There are lots of ways to shoot panoramas. The most common way is to shoot portrait (vertical oriented) digital images of the scene and stitch them together to make a high-megapixel, wide digital image. This certainly works well, and I have done this many times in the past and still do even today.

Where that approach can often fall short is if you have something moving in the scene. In general a long enough exposure for each panel you shoot means that often moving things get smoothed out and therefor easier to stitch together, but not always. Clouds and moving car light streaks are problematic. Yes, with today’s super-high megapixel cameras, you could just shoot one image of the overall scene with the intent to crop later. That can certainly work. I’ve done that as well but often I can’t quite compose the scene I want it to be when looking at the entire 2x3 ratio scene in my modern camera.

This is where film cameras come in. There are many film cameras out there that shoot in a much wider ratio than today’s common 2x3. There are some cheap options out there like the Holga Wide and the Sprocket Rocket, but for the most part this post is about quality, sharp images. I’m not knocking those options - in fact I also own both of them.

The X-Pan is the most famous of “wide” film cameras, shooting 35mm film in a double-wide frame format, but unfortunately the prices for X-Pan’s have went crazy in the past few years. I wish I would have purchased one years ago when they were realistic. Today its not uncommon to see them going for $5,000 USD or more.

Another well-known pano film camera is the Fuji GX617. The GX617 shoots medium format film in basically a 1x3 ratio. This means you get 4 shots on a roll of 120 film. The GX617 has been a long-standing choice for professionals shooting cityscapes and nature panos. I do happen to own a GX617 with all 4 of the available lenses, and have made many great images with it. This is another film camera that has SKYROCKETED in price recently. So much so that I am often paranoid about shooting with mine or going somewhere with it where I have to leave it in the car for any period of time. The other consideration is the fact that it is a one-trick pony (panos-only!) that takes a lot of effort to haul around, if I am hiking or walking a lot. And especially if I want to carry more than one lens option with it.

What to do then if you want to compose and shoot in panoramic format? Spend a lot of money on a panoramic film camera? Buy a low-fidelity solution?

Here’s a possible solution for you – shoot 35mm film in your medium format camera.

I shoot a lot with my Mamiya RB67 ProSD. It’s become my workhorse for just about anything involving landscapes and architecture. Shooting panoramic images with 35mm film in my RB67 adds some flexibility to my work, and also means that I can carry just one camera to shoot different looks in one outing. 

Here’s what you need to compose and shoot 35mm panoramic images in an RB67:

220 Film Back – in order to shoot 35mm film you need to start with a 220 back. Why? Because 35mm film, like 220, doesn’t have backing paper. That means the 220 back sets the film plane in the correct position. Also, 220 backs are designed to shoot 20 exposures instead of 10 – so the back won’t stop allowing you to advance it after your 10th shot. And you should get more than 10 shots out of a roll of 36-exposure 35mm film. More on that later. Assume that any 220 back you buy needs the seals rebuilt – unless you buy a 220 ProSD back. ProSD backs have light traps instead of light seals. I recommend spending the small amount of extra money on the ProSD back versus the earlier Pro or ProS backs. All 220 backs are relatively cheap since 220 film is no longer made and the supply of expired 220 film is dwindling. These can commonly be found on eBay for less than $100. A recent price check shows that ProS backs are about $65 and ProSD are around $90.

35mm to 120 Film Adapters – These are available on eBay, Amazon, and also filmphotographyproject.com and range from $12 to $25. I recommend buying the more expensive set that has both the adapters for the 35mm canister AND also the take-up spool. The take-up spool that’s in the kit is much easier to use than a standard 120 spool as it keeps the film centered by its design. But the cheaper option works fine if you do a good job of centering the film on the 120/220 spool and ensuring that it’s taped or somehow well-connected to it.

Dark Bag – if you shoot more than one roll of 35mm film in the RB67 during a session in the field, you’ll need a dark bag to swap out the exposed roll. The one drawback to shooting 35mm film in a medium format camera is the fact that they aren’t designed to REWIND the film because of the nature of how medium format film works – it moves from one spool to the other and then when done you remove the second spool that its now wound onto. With 35mm film this doesn’t happen, and, it doesn’t have backing paper like 120 or the end of 220 so you can’t remove it in light. That’s where the dark bag comes in. You place the back in the bag, seal the bag, and stick your arms through the holes. Then inside the back you can open the back, and rewind the exposed 35mm film back into its canister. Once in the canister, you can open the dark bag and then put another roll of 35mm film into the back to shoot more. (If you have a dark room at home and only shoot one roll at a time, you can just unload the 220 back in the dark  after you get home, and then put it straight into your canister for developing.) Dark bags are available on Amazon and filmphotographyproject.com for generally less than $25. It’s good to have one anyway just in case.

Panoramic Mask for the Viewfinder – this is OPTIONAL, but highly recommended. This REALLY helps with composing, and ensures what you want in the frame is actually in the frame. No one sells these, so you have to be a little creative in order to make one. I simply cut a piece of 0.5mm thick black plastic in a 65mm x 65mm square to match the dimensions of the RB67 viewfinder glass. Then, I drew an opening in the middle that’s 24mm high by 60mm wide, and cut out that rectangle. This open rectangle now represents the area between the sprocket holes of the film, with the exception of the little tiny bit on the sides that’s covered up in order to keep the mask one piece instead of two. The mask then drops nicely onto the glass when you need it, and is held in place by the WLF or the prism, depending on which one you use.  Pro Tip: Go out and buy a black Five Star plastic 2-pocket folder and cut your mask from that. There’s enough poly there that you have plenty to work with in case you make a mistake while you are doing it.

I keep the mask, the 220 back, and the adapters all in a small pouch as a set. This pouch and the dark bag all fit nicely in my main RB67 camera bag and don’t take up much room.

Some notes about using this set-up. These are things I’ve found from trial and error that hopefully will help you along your way:

Loading the film – remember that the film needs to be oriented so that the EMULSION SIDE is OUT or facing toward the front of the camera. It’s counter-intuitive but in the RB67 back you need to put the 35mm canister so that the film comes out of the back of it (when looking into the open back) and almost has to make a 180 bend around the first roller next to the canister. Once you’ve loaded it and closed the back, advance it two full lever throws to get to an unexposed section.

Shooting – Flip the double exposure lever on the back to where it thinks it is making a double exposure and leave it that way (the red indicator should show). That allows you to start shooting right away after you’ve taken your two first lever cranks to set it up, even if the back counter hasn’t made it all the way to #1 yet. After each shot, rotate the wind lever 1 FULL rotation. No need to do more than that, it will completely advance it to the next frame. (The alternative to using the double exposure lever “on” to make a long paper leader out of a used roll of 120, attach it to the 35mm film leader, and roll it back into the canister before loading. This is a crap-ton of work in my opinion and also not easy to deal with in the field if you are shooting multiple rolls.) The only drawback to my method is that YOU have to mentally keep count of how many shots you’ve taken. If you forget, no big deal as the roll will just keep advancing until its done and you can’t move the lever anymore. That’s how you know you’ve shot to the end of the roll. Alright, maybe the other problem is if you forget to advance the film between frames and because the double exposure lever is on you do a double exposure. Don’t do that. Or do. If that’s what you are going for.

Number of Shots per Roll – shooting with my method above, generally you get 16-ish shots out of a roll of 36 exposure 35mm film. On a 24 exposure roll, you get 12-ish shots.

Wider is Better – I’ve found that shooting with the 35mm pano format has dictated that I am usually NOT shooting with anything much longer than my 127mm Mamiya lens. Generally for panos I will have the following in my bag – 90mm, 50mm, and 37mm. These convert to the following “full frame” field of views of approximately 45mm, 25mm, and 18mm respectively. Lately I’ve been shooting panos mostly with the 50mm and 37mm lenses.

OK, that’s it! I know that was a lot of reading, and it may sound like a lot of work. But it really isn’t. Once you’ve shot a roll or two this way you get into the flow fairly easily. Just like everything else about shooting film, its all about having a good workflow and being regimented about your shooting process.

Shooting with the mask does make composing for 1x3 much easier. And it does ensure what you want in the final frame doesn’t get covered up with the sprocket holes. That said, images that have sprocket holes in them are very trendy right now. That’s a personal preference kind of thing – if you end up with an image that looks interesting with the holes, you have that option as well. Sometimes I like it, sometimes I don’t.

Know that this should also work with other medium format cameras - as long as they spool film in a horizontal orientation. So Fuji GW cameras, Pentax 67’s, etc should all work similar. Cameras like my Mamiya 645 ProTL won’t really work well as they have the film in vertical spool in the 4.5cm side so you wouldn’t get a pano width with that.

Please feel free to leave a comment or reach out to me if you have any questions. I’m happy to help.

Thanks for reading!

Jeremy

11.26.2022 UPDATE: If you are interested in just HOW I scan my 35mm panoramic images, please check out my post on that HERE.