The Spinshot panoramic camera

The Spinshot is a slit-scan camera in league with cameras like Globuscope, Hulcherama, Roundshot etc. I recently discovered a great source of information on Spinshot provided by Mrs. Heather Oelklaus. Click here to read her very engrossing article titled "The art of spinning" which appeared in the JPG Magazine.

Her book titled "Long & skinny" showcases some of the great panoramic photographs she has taken using the Spinshot and other panoramic cameras. To have a preview of the book click here.

To see more of her works visit her website http://www.camerakarma.com/ .

I thank Heather Oelklaus for allowing me to use the picture of this camera.

It's important to note that the Spinshot was invented and fabricated by Rick Corrales, a talented photographer and engineer. Unfortunately he passed away in 2005, only at the age of 48. You can have more information on Rick Corrales here. 

If you're interested in the internal mechanisms of such a camera have a look at Patent 1  and Patent 2 filed by Richard Corrales.

P.S: A crude emulation of the Spinshot can me made with a Diana camera. For details visit this site.

In case you own a Spinshot which is in need of servicing, you can send it to 3R Camera of New York.

Pics from Olaf's new panoramic camera

Here goes three example pics of Olaf Matthes' pannaroma inspired camera. As you can see, the 50mm Mamiya lens is very sharp. For more details of this camera view this post.

I thank Mr. Matthes for allowing to use these pictures.

Another gem from Olaf Matthes

Here comes another great piece of craftsmanship from Olaf Matthes. Those who are still not familiar with the work of this great camera maker click here .

This camera, according to Olaf was inspired by Thomas Roma's Pannaroma. It's quite similar to the Pannaroma, with the same negative format and also uses a Mamiya Press 50mm lens. Some parts are CNC milled as you can see in the bottom picture. The lens mount consists of the first two parts of the spacer rings of a Mamiya macro extension ring. In the main aluminum block there is a circular slot and the spacer ring directly fits into that.

For the details of construction click here.

The pictures taken by this camera are very sharp. I'll be posting a few examples in my next post.


Many thanks to Mr. Matthes for providing the information and pics. of this camera.

A paper made rangefinder

This is a novel gadget by Thomas Achtemichuk . You can customize,download and print this card sized rangefinder. Ideal for cameras that use zone focusing like my Horizon. I use a 1930's Simon-Brown instrument but this handmade rangefinder is possibly going to replace the old one.

Get this DIY paper rangefinder from here.

A great handmade 6x12 panoramic camera

Have a look how Steve Smith constructs his 6X12 step-by-step from simple starting materials. The lens he'll be going to use is a large format Super Angulon 65mm. He also fabricated a helicoid focussing mount of his own. The viewfinder is handmade too. The camera is now almost complete. To have a regular update visit this page.

I thank Mr. Steve Smith for allowing me to use this picture. To see more of his works have a visit to his site.

The Panoraflex 6x17 panoramic camera

Panoraflex is a modular panoramic camera with solid metal body and supports lens shift. This is a 6x17 format camera, but with appropriate masks, one can get 6x12 or 6x14 sized pictures. The following large format lenses are acceptable with cognate adapters: 75 mm, 90 mm, 150 mm, 180 mm and 210 mm.

For more information visit the camera home page: http://www.panoraflex.de/

There are only a few companies left that make 6x17 cameras now-a-days. Both Fuji and Fotoman have stopped production recently. Hope that this camera will fulfill the needs of medium format panoramic photographers, who are not left with many options these days.

I thank Mr. Achim Hoos for allowing me to use the picture and for his encouraging words.

Noblex in action

Look how the Medium format Noblex camera rotates, gaining up speed and then exposes the film. Unlike most other rotational panoramic cameras it can make multiple exposures.

Compare the movements of Noblex with that of Panon (Widelux) medium format swing lens panoramic camera.