 Horizon 202
Swing Lens Camera
Frequently Asked Questions
Q: What film would you recommend that I shoot in my Horizon 202?
A: If you are shooting for publication, then by all means stick with
transparency film. You shoot it, you have it processed, then you cut off the
image and hand it over to the client. However, if prints are what you want or
you don't know what you may want, then shoot color print film. From a color
negative you can get anything. I send my color negative print film to Dale
Laboratories, 2960 Simms Street, Hollywood, FL 33020-1579, Phone: 800-327-1776, http://www.dalelabs.com
Any brand will do. They have a special "Film Strip" service. You send
them the unprocessed or a processed but uncut roll, and they make a contact
print. You get both a negative and a transparency, what could be better! If you
are shooting stock remember not to cut the roll of negatives so that you can
send it back to Dale for more transparencies. They even make corrections for
density and color. Cool!
Q: Where do I get proof prints made?
A: Proofs are easy. Take your film to your local one hour processing lab.
Make friends with the person who does the printing. (If you are bashful then you
can simply print this using your web browser and include these instructions with
the film.) You will need to explain to them that your negative may be too wide
to fit in their negative holder, but that they still can make prints. Ask for
double prints. One set to be made with the negative lined up on the left side,
the other set with the negatives set up on the right side. The finished product
will be two prints that overlap to show the entire view. Use transparent tape to
hold them together.
Q: Where do I get high quality finished prints made?
A: Look for a local professional photographic processing lab. They are almost
never located at the mall, but rather in industrial sections of the town. The
good one's often have locked doors with a bell to signal when there is a
customer. Don't be intimidated. Photo processing is a painfully boring job. Most
will be happy to see a new face and tackle a new challenge. Wholesale labs get
most of their film delivered directly from the pros, camera shops, one hour
labs, etc. In the yellow pages they will be listed under "photo processing
wholesale" or something like that. Call and ask if they process 120 format
film. This is the format of choice for wedding photographers. Your 35mm film
Horizon 202 negative will fit in their 120 format negative holder. All
that they need is a mask for the 24mm x 58mm image to fit into their 6x6
negative carrier. You may need
to cut one for them to hold your film. They are easy to make with a good blade
and stiff plastic like the kind that is used for report binders from the office
supply store. I take my film to Enviro-Photo, 7400 N. Federal Hwy., Boca Raton,
FL 33487 USA. Phone: 407-995-7823. Yes, they do processing by mail!
Q: I can't get the full number of exposures on the roll of film. My Horizon
keeps jamming. What is wrong?
A: Nothing. The negative is wider than a normal 35mm negative. If you put a
24 exposure roll in the camera, then you should expect to get about 15 panorama
exposures.
Q: My Horizon will not load film - The sprocket holes rip - I get funny
looking vertical lines in my images. What's wrong with the camera?
A: Nothing. You are loading it incorrectly. Believe me, these cameras load
like no other camera on the planet. If you do not do it exactly correct, then
you are domed to failure. There is a diagram on the inside cover for you to
follow. You MUST thread the film UNDER all rollers; the first big rubber one,
the sprocket one, and the take up spool. It is impeditive that you remove all
the slack from the film prior to closing the back. After inserting the film end
in the take up roll, push in the release button on the bottom, hold the take up
reel with your thumb, and use the rewind crank to wind the slack back into the
film cassette. Failure to follow this procedure will dome you to strange looking
vertical bands in the image if you are lucky, or complete camera jam and ripped
film if you are not. NEVER force the mechanism! If the camera jams, then you
must rewind the film back into the cassette. If it will not rewind, then most
likely the film is wound around the sprocket reel. You will need to open the
back to cut out the film. :-(
Q: My Horizon stopped in the middle of taking a picture. What do I do?
A: Don't panic! It's going to be OK. The Horizon swing lens is driven by a
fine spring driven geared mechanism. What most likely has happened is that some
foreign matter has gotten into the gears. If you are not comfortable with
opening a camera, you should send it to a camera (or clock) repair shop. The
front cover comes off by removing the two screws on the front, and loosening the
ring holding the bubble level. Taking off the front cover will expose the gears.
Give the gears a shot of WD40 lubricant. Gently wiggle them slightly looking for
the grit, dirt, or what ever is lodged in there. Often, the action of slightly
moving the gears, and the WD40 will free the obstruction. Remember to be careful
to keep your Horizon clean.
Q: My Horizon 202 slows down and speeds up while taking an exposure. The
images show horizontal bands of light and dark uneven exposure. What do I do?
A: It's time for a good cleaning and lubrication. Send your Horizon 202 to a
camera or clock repairman. If you are comfortable doing the job yourself, it's
not difficult to do. The front cover comes off by removing the two screws on the
front, and loosening the ring holding the bubble level. Give the gears a shot of
WD40. It's great for cleaning out the works. I use the blower on my shop vacuum
to force out the dirt with the excess WD40. Compressed caned air works too. The
WD40 is not a permanent lubricant. You will need a fine clock oil for that. I
buy a brand that comes in a tube with a syringe on the end for getting a drop to
just the right spots. If you buy oil in the can use a fine artist brush to make
the application. Lubricate the pivot points of the gears and every where metal
moves against metal.
Q: The Horizon 202 does not focus. Don't I need a camera that focuses?
A: Not unless you have a very special need. The Hyper focal
distance is 5.5 meters to infinity at f/2.8., 1 meter to infinity at f/16. Even
with the lens wide open everything from about 17 feet to infinity is in focus.
Perfect for most interior shooting. With the lens closed down to f/16 everything
from an arms length in front of the camera to infinity is in focus. How much
more could you need?
Q: I've heard that the Horizon 202 has problems with uneven exposures. Would
I be better off with a Widelux F7? Also, where can repairs be made?:
A: No, you would not be better off with a Widelux, the Horizon is the Russian
knock off of the Japanese spring driven designed Widelux. (If you are looking
for the state of the art swinglens camera, then buy the microprocessor
controlled electric motor driven Noblex.) There should not be any noticeable unevenness
of the exposure. All swinglens cameras do work differently than conventional
cameras. Uneven exposures from any swinflens camera can be caused by a lack of lubrication,
dry metal rubbing against dry metal and/or dirt in the works. When was your last
cleaning and lubrication done? If you can't remember, then now is a good time.
Uneven exposures can also be caused by foreign matter in front of or behind the
lens. Look for hair or dust bunnies that shade some of the light hitting
the film. An other cause of uneven looking exposures is operator error. The lens
takes a while to move from one side to the other. If you shake, swing, pitch or
in any other way move the camera it can show up as uneven looking bands on the
film. Shoot a test roll with the camera on a tripod to eliminate operator error
as a cause. If the bands only appear when the camera is hand held, then the
operator is at blame, not the camera. Some other operator caused problems... I
do not have the camera strap attached to my Horizon. The darn thing kept showing
up as a funky looking band. It is so close to the lens that you can not tell
that it was the strap. One more thing to consider...the brown blobs at one or
both ends are you fingers. Hold the camera on the top and the bottom, not on the
sides like you would with a regular camera.
Cleaning and lubricating are easy for the owner to do. The first place
that I would go to for repairs would be my local clock repairman. Look in
shutterbug magazine for "Russian Specialist" for camera repair.
ProPhoto Connection in Irvine CA repairs all makes of panorama cameras.
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Horizon 202 FAQs
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