Quick Guide to Panoramic Photography
Panoramic photography has many practitioners and followers throughout photographic history. There were many cameras made over time and in a large number of different formats.
617, 612 and 4x10 are probably the most popular formats today and in that order. The smaller Hasselblad XPan format is popular but very limited by scarcity and pricing of that camera. For the price of an XPan camera several other setups with lenses can be acquired.
Another type of panoramic camera is a swing lens camera. The most common are Widelux, Noblex and Horizon. There are also historic models like different Kodak Panoram models. Some others are using geared movement of the camera and film. Namely Cirkut and Seitz.
All of these different cameras and designs have their advantages and disadvantages.
Cameras using flat film path are the easiest and most predictable. CCB 617C and CCB 612C can also be used as a Graflok back on large format cameras that feature standard Graflok back. There are other cameras in these formats and each one has pros and cons. Some of the other cameras in this group are made by Fuji and Horseman.
XPan belongs in the same group but negative is much smaller. Rangefinder focusing is very convenient even though viewfinder magnification and RF patch size is on the smaller side.
Swing lens and geared cameras are exceedingly reliant on good leveling so they don't produce curved lines and horizons. This con also has a pro as some photographers have found a way to use this undesirable feature creatively. These types of cameras come in different formats. Some of the larger format cameras are very old and use discontinued film sizes.
Another group is large format panoramic cameras like Grundlach Korona and similar; they're common in smaller and larger ULF (ultra large format) sizes up to 12x20 inch. Some smaller view cameras are available in 6x12 and 6x17 formats.
Decision on which camera to use mostly comes to image quality requirements, handling and film size required.
Further requirements that can help eliminate most of these is whether any movements for perspective corrections are needed or not. If movements are needed, one of the film backs can be used or a dedicated panoramic camera in that size. That's where CCB 617C, CCB 612C and other 120 film roll backs are the most convenient. Other dedicated roll backs like Horseman or Sinar for example stop at maximum 6x12.
Check out our vibration performance guide here. Some of the cameras have significant advantages in rigidity and vibration dampening performance. Different designs and cameras are compared in this guide. Cameras with exceptional vibration dampening are capable of producing significantly sharper negatives than the less stable and rigid ones.