INTRODUCTION

The Horizon 202 is a 35mm panoramic camera. It was made in Russia between 1991 and 2005.

This camera uses a swing lens, and produces 24x58mm images.

You can still find some in good shape on eBay for about $250.

BEST SUITED FOR:

Street

Fun!

PERSONAL NOTES

There are some pros and cons about the Horizon 202. The size is nice, you can easily bring this camera anywhere and shoot with it. But the fact that the lens moves, a lot of gears are moving inside, making this camera a loud one, especially when using the slower speeds. So one could think that because of the size you can use this camera for street photography, but in fact, it gathers too much attention because of its weird shape, but mainly because of its noise.

On the other side, having a swing lens gives the images a more natural perspective. Instead of using a very wide angle lens, it uses a plain 28mm lens but due to its swiveling motion, the subject is always in front of the lens wether its in the center or on the side of the frame. I really like the more natural perspective that the swing lens design produces.

One thing you have to remember is to hold the camera properly in order not keep your fingers out of the frame.

The viewfinder is nice, and when you look in it you can see a bubble level on the top, so you can be sure that the horizon line is straight.

CONCLUSION

The Horizon 202 is an affordable panoramic camera but has some limits. If you like the perspective given by swing lens cameras, get one. If you want to be more discreet, get a Hasselblad X-Pan (or Fuji TX-1) instead. If you want an even better image quality, go with a Fuji G617. And if on top of that you want a different perspective, try a Noblex!

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