The Horizon Perfekt is the most recent iteration of a line of swing lens panoramic cameras made in the Krasnogorsky Zavod (Krasnogorsk Works) factory in Russia (formerly the Soviet Union); the same place where Zenit and Zorki cameras are made.
Released in 2005 in collaboration with Lomography, the Horizon Perfekt was released alongside a simpler version known as the Horizon Kompakt, which lacked the aperture & shutter speed adjustments of the Perfekt.
slow shutter speed
The Horizon Perfekt works by swinging a lens across the film from left to right. The fixed focus lens is baffled to only expose a thin vertical strip as it moves, like a scanner.
It takes extra wide images on 35mm film: 24x58mm compared with the standard 24x36mm.
The lens is a 28mm, so the vertical field of view matches that of a 28mm lens. The horizontal field of view is 120°.
The lens’ focus is fixed at a hyperfocal distance, to ensure sharpness at infinity at any aperture. You can control how much foreground is in focus by how much you stop down the aperture.
Horizon Perfekt Hyperfocal Distances
f/2.8 : 5.5m - ∞ / f/4 : 3.9m - ∞ / f/5.6 : 2.9m - ∞ / f/8 : 2m - ∞ / f/11 : 1.5m - ∞ / f/16 : 1m - ∞
Shutter Speeds
[1/500] [1/250] [1/125] [1/60] • [1/8 1/4 1/2]
The shutter speeds are split between handheld speeds (in white) and slower, tripod only speeds (in yellow). The two sets of shutter speeds are set on the same wheel, and a small switch on the top of the camera changes between the two gears. I consider the 1/60th shutter speed to be a tripod speed as there was noticeable motion blur hand held at that setting.
Loading film
When you load film into the Horizon Perfekt, make sure to feed the film behind both vertical columns on the left, NOT between them.
After you feed the film behind both rollers on the left, lead the film around the curved section to the other side and feed it behind all the rollers on the right. Connect the film to the take up spool and gently wind it on, checking everything is in place.
Close the back and wind on till you get to 1 in the frame counter.
This is what happens when you load it incorrectly, see the right hand side of the image:
Using the Horizon Perfekt
Wind the film on. Adjust aperture and shutter speed settings by using the wheels above the lens.
Use the bubble level, keep those horizons straight. Even the slightest deviation can cause notable warping in your images. Trust the bubble. Fire.
ignore the bubble and bend spacetime
Tips
Get your fingers out of the way. If you hold the camera in an orthodox manner with your hands on the left and right, you will likely get your sausage fingers in the shots. Use a handle to get your hands underneath the shot.
When you shoot with the sun directly in the frame, you will get a noticeable vertical band where the swing lens turns in/out of the sun’s glare. ←
Only adjust the camera settings when the camera is wound on, doing otherwise can damage the mechanisms. It is also advisable to not leave the camera cocked for extended periods of time, as the camera holds itself under a certain degree of tension when primed.
The actual exposure time is longer than the shutter speed, as the camera records data sequentially rather than all at once. The slow (yellow) shutter speeds are noticeably long.
Use negative film, 400 or 800, to give yourself good exposure latitude and shadow detail.
