RF's and Leaf shuttered cameras definitely have less vibration. How
many stops slower you can hand hold them is open to individual
opinion. Somewhere between 1 and 2 stops would be a safe
rule-of-thumb.
The XPan is a nice machine. I wouldn't call it gimmicky. But it
has a very specialized use and a very unique look. I wouldn't buy
it as a 35mm rangefinder with panorama format capability, but just
the opposite. It's quite expensive for what you get, IMO. The
comparison with the Mamiya 7 is interesting, but that's quite a
larger beast and moving up to MF has lots of issues with film
handling, etc. At least the XPan is still 35mm.
RF's are nice. The cheapest way to get a very good, modern one
these days is the Bessa R2, which takes Leica M lenses. $550 for
the body. Lot's cheaper than a new Leica.
As nice and smooth as Focal Plane Shuttered RF's are, they're no
match for a leaf-shuttered camera. Go look at a Konica Hexar if you
want a quiet, no-vibration camera. Or a Rollieflex. Now there's
smooth!
Skip
I think the Mamiya 7 was mentioned because it has a 35mm panorama kit
so that you get a nominal 24x70 frame. It is very smooth, too. The
rangefinder/viewfinder is a little dim though. Don't know about the
others except the Leica M which is the standard of clarity.
--
Winsor Crosby
Long Beach, California
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