Uploaded May 2026 | Updated September 2026, 1 week ago
Start Your 30 Day Free Trial of ON1 Photo RAW and Use Code "ALEX20" to Save 20% When You Buy a License - on1.sjv.io/AlexArmitageRaw
I Wish More Cameras Had This Feature - alexarmitage.com/blog/2026/5/13/the-unique-power-of-an-xpan-image
Hasselblad X2D II - geni.us/Hasselblad-X2DII
Hasselblad XCD 35-100 - geni.us/Hasselblad-XCD35-100
Up until a few years ago, I never used a crop mode outside of creating thumbnails. Honestly I thought they were kinda stupid because I could always just crop into the image later, why would I waste time doing it on my camera? Well, as it turns out with many things in life, I realized it was me who was stupid.
Now of course there’s nothing wrong with snapping full sized images and just cropping later but as time has gone on it’s become very apparent that the hardest part about photography is simply “seeing”. It’s not about the light, the shutter speed, the settings, or even the focal length. It’s just finding the hidden pieces too a complicated puzzle. Using a crop helps by being able to cut out a bit of the noise or simply piece together as much of the image right into the camera as I can. It helps to build something you otherwise might not even know was there.
The crop I probably use the most happens to also be the most ridiculous. 65x24, also known as XPan. Being that we are in Alaska now, it doesn’t get much better than this for some super wide shots.
Patreon + Support - patreon.com/alexarmitage
New to Photography? Start Here - alexarmitage.com/learn-photography-basics
Landscape Photography Gear Guide for 2025: alexarmitage.com/2025-landscape-photography-gear-guide
𝐒𝐨𝐜𝐢𝐚𝐥𝐬
Website: alexarmitage.com
Newsletter: alexarmitage.com/newsletter
Discord Community: discord.gg/NEsSB7ArKW
Instagram: instagram.com/alexarmitage_
Camera/Video 𝐆𝐞𝐚𝐫 (Affiliate Links)
𝐅𝐮𝐥𝐥 𝐆𝐞𝐚𝐫 𝐋𝐢𝐬𝐭 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐌𝐲 𝐎𝐩𝐢𝐧𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐬 : alexarmitage.com/gear
Colored Magnetic Filters: mavenfilters.com/aff/12
Photography Camera: geni.us/Canon-R5
Vlog Camera: geni.us/DJIOsmPocket3
Video Camera: geni.us/Canon-R7
Drone: geni.us/DJI-Mavic3-Pro
Music (Typically) from Musicbed:
fm.pxf.io/c/3300666/1347628/16252
0:00 I Thought Aspect Ratios Were Stupid
2:45 The Xpan Aspect Ratio
4:46 The Feature Most Brands Don't Include
8:10 Why is Xpan Cinematic?
10:08 Balancing Subjects with Xpan
14:12 The Curiosity of Xpan
Start Your 30 Day Free Trial of ON1 Photo RAW and Use Code "ALEX20" to Save 20% When You Buy a License - on1.sjv.io/AlexArmitageRaw
I Wish More Cameras Had This Feature - alexarmitage.com/blog/2026/5/13/the-unique-power-of-an-xpan-image
Hasselblad X2D II - geni.us/Hasselblad-X2DII
Hasselblad XCD 35-100 - geni.us/Hasselblad-XCD35-100
Up until a few years ago, I never used a crop mode outside of creating thumbnails. Honestly I thought they were kinda stupid because I could always just crop into the image later, why would I waste time doing it on my camera? Well, as it turns out with many things in life, I realized it was me who was stupid.
Now of course there’s nothing wrong with snapping full sized images and just cropping later but as time has gone on it’s become very apparent that the hardest part about photography is simply “seeing”. It’s not about the light, the shutter speed, the settings, or even the focal length. It’s just finding the hidden pieces too a complicated puzzle. Using a crop helps by being able to cut out a bit of the noise or simply piece together as much of the image right into the camera as I can. It helps to build something you otherwise might not even know was there.
The crop I probably use the most happens to also be the most ridiculous. 65x24, also known as XPan. Being that we are in Alaska now, it doesn’t get much better than this for some super wide shots.
Patreon + Support - patreon.com/alexarmitage
New to Photography? Start Here - alexarmitage.com/learn-photography-basics
Landscape Photography Gear Guide for 2025: alexarmitage.com/2025-landscape-photography-gear-guide
𝐒𝐨𝐜𝐢𝐚𝐥𝐬
Website: alexarmitage.com
Newsletter: alexarmitage.com/newsletter
Discord Community: discord.gg/NEsSB7ArKW
Instagram: instagram.com/alexarmitage_
Camera/Video 𝐆𝐞𝐚𝐫 (Affiliate Links)
𝐅𝐮𝐥𝐥 𝐆𝐞𝐚𝐫 𝐋𝐢𝐬𝐭 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐌𝐲 𝐎𝐩𝐢𝐧𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐬 : alexarmitage.com/gear
Colored Magnetic Filters: mavenfilters.com/aff/12
Photography Camera: geni.us/Canon-R5
Vlog Camera: geni.us/DJIOsmPocket3
Video Camera: geni.us/Canon-R7
Drone: geni.us/DJI-Mavic3-Pro
Music (Typically) from Musicbed:
fm.pxf.io/c/3300666/1347628/16252
0:00 I Thought Aspect Ratios Were Stupid
2:45 The Xpan Aspect Ratio
4:46 The Feature Most Brands Don't Include
8:10 Why is Xpan Cinematic?
10:08 Balancing Subjects with Xpan
14:12 The Curiosity of Xpan
