Lomography Horizon Perfekt Panoramic 35mm Film Camera

by Lomography

Product Details

• Item Weight: 5.4 pounds
• Shipping Weight: 6 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Shipping: This item is also available for shipping to select countries outside the U.S.
• ASIN: B000CC5F8I
• Item model number: 951
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,335 in Camera & Photo (See Top 100 in Camera & Photo)
  • #5 in Electronics > Camera & Photo > Film Cameras > Point & Shoot Film Cameras
• Date first available at Amazon.com: November 14, 2005

Product Description

From the Manufacturer

From the Manufacturer The heavyweight champ and undisputed professional choice. Clad in high-impact and undeniably sexy ABS plastic, the Perfekt features a full range of aperture and shutter settings--allowing you to dial in the precise exposure every time. Advanced clockwork mechanics provide whisper-quiet lens sweep and a host of handy built-in accessories allow you to capture any scene on YOUR terms.

Features
If the Horizon's 60 year looks like ancient history to you young'uns, then I have some more news for you--panoramic photography as an art has been around for over 150 years The Panorama aficionados around the world owe a collective danke to Austria's own Joseph Puchberger, who patented a hand-cranked panoramic camera consisting of successive Daguerreotype plates. The resulting image yielded an amazing 120 degrees of vision. Taken at its most basic functions, not a whole lot has changed in panoramic photography since Herr Puchberger's days. It goes to show--the best ideas can truly stand the test of time.

Multicoated Arsat 28/2.8 Glass Lens
This crispy glass heart of the Horizon is just as lovely as it sounds: a multi-element masterpiece that yields eye-popping color, jaw-dropping contrast, and slamming sharpness all around.

Swing-Lens Technology
Cocking the Horizon's shutter charges its clockwork mechanics, and touching the shutter release sets the lens into motion. As the lens swings from side to side, a narrow vertical slit between the lens and film rotates along with it--thereby progressively exposing the film as the lens moves. The film plane is curved, thereby keeping the film tight and maintaining a uniform distance from the lens. Whisper-Quiet Clockwork Mechanics
If you've ever shot the old-school Horizon 202, then you may have heard its buzzy "little engine that could" clockwork engine each time a long exposure was selected. If that sound charmed your heart, then you're in for a disappointment with the Perfekt, as its motor is silky smooth and dead-quiet. That yields subtle operation when you need it--such as in museums, graduation ceremonies, poetry slams, funerals, and chicken mummification rituals.

Variable Aperture Settings
From a wide open f2.8 to a teensy-tiny f16, you can dial in your precise aperture setting to get the optimum exposure for each shot. On the flip side, you can also control the depth of field for your own creative uses. Choose a large aperture (f2.8) for a crispy subject against a somewhat blurred background. Nice for portraits, that is. Or, choose a small aperture (f11 or f16) for razor-sharpness from front to back.

Variable Shutter Settings
A blazing 1/500sec top shutter speed gets you high-speed freezes on the brightest days of the year. A shhhh-looowww ½ second brings partially-lit nights and gloomy indoors into full, glowing brilliance. And all the settings in between (1/250, 1/125. 1/60, 1/8, 1/4) are just perfect for light conditions that are...in between.

Built-In Pro Accessories
These little touches make your Perfekt an absolute joy. The tripod thread and cable release thread, when used together, give you the most perfect shake-free long exposures that folks have ever seen. The bubble-eye level, available through the viewfinder, allows you to perfectly place the "horizon" of each photograph. And the fat handgrip gives you a slow-steady hand for those low-light situations when a tripod just ain't proper.

Battery-Free Operation
Everything that your Horizon does, from the shutter firing to that little lens moving left to right, is powered by a classic clockwork motor. If you and a buddy trek to Outer Mongolia, and his megapixel machine kicks the bucket for lack of power, then you'll be able to fill the empty slots of his travel album with your unending Horizon snaps!

Uses All Varieties of 35mm Film
That's right--all the 35mm color negative, black and white, slide, infrared, ultraviolet, and film that you haven't even heard of can be loaded into your Horizon's greedy little gullet.

Two-Year Limited Warranty
The Lomographic Society International guarantees your Horizon to be free of manufacturer defects for two full years after purchase. This does not include misuse, abuse, or dropping your camera into the Ganges.

What's in the Box
Horizon Perfekt camera, faux leather carrying case, Horizon book (132 pages), original Russian packaging box, Horizon poster, carrying belt, and handgrip.

Product Description

The prime pick for professional panoramic images! Variable shutter and aperture settings give you creative control. A grandiose view of 120- degrees takes all the details in one 58mm-long negative nearly the width of two standard frames!Clad in space-age ABS plastic, the Perfekt features full aperture and shutter settings allowing you to dial in the precise exposure. Its OF-28P swing-lens sweeps across and sees a full 120 degrees. Clockwork mechanics provide quiet operation without batteries

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars An exceptional camera, July 1, 2008

By 

John Whittaker - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Lomography Horizon Perfekt Panoramic 35mm Film Camera (Electronics)

Well made and easy to use. The shutter speed and aperture ranges allow total flexability in exposure settings. The film image size fits in a 2 1/4 enlarger film holder. The included camera handle is unecessary if attention is payed to holding the fingers at the edge if the camera. A real bargain besides.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Great Introduction to Swing-Lens Panoramic Photography, March 26, 2010

By 

Leigh Hanlon (Chicago, IL USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Lomography Horizon Perfekt Panoramic 35mm Film Camera (Electronics)

I couldn't afford to spend $1,500 for a used Widelux F7 or F8 in excellent condition, so I decided on a new Horizon Perfekt. I reached this decision after looking at a number of Horizon images on Flickr and elsewhere that really impressed me.

I had originally hesitated in buying a Horizon because I'd heard its body is made of plastic. The interior mechanism, however, appears to be largely metallic. In addition, the plastic body doesn't feel all that bad; its textured surface is easy to grasp. I've had the camera for several days now and, based on the first few rolls of film I've shot, I'm extremely happy with this purchase. Once you get the hang of it, loading the camera is pretty easy -- and as long as you follow the instructions, the Horizon is straightforward and almost easy to use. I especially liked being able to see the spirit level in the viewfinder.

I was slightly disappointed with the film chamber door, which feels even more plasticky to me than the rest of the camera body, but it's really no worse than doors on many other film cameras, so I'm not worrying about it.

I'm able to scan the Horizon Perfekt's 24x58mm frames using a CanoScan 8800F.

Included with the Horizon Perfekt is a set of filters that look incredibly twitchy to use, a detachable handle for the camera, a Lomography book featuring Horizon photos, and a camera case.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Camera is good, the leather case was moldy, December 8, 2009

By 

Gheorghe Chistol (Berkeley, CA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Lomography Horizon Perfekt Panoramic 35mm Film Camera (Electronics)

I just got the camera today.
The camera itself works well, I am shooting my first roll of film. I will add more to this review when I get the film developed.

The leather case that comes with the camera was moldy. Quite moldy. This is pretty disappointing given that I paid almost $500 for this thing. I cleaned it with 70% ethanol and hopefully the mold will not come back. I would have sent it back, but you can't send only the case back. And I do love this beast of a camera.