Now Showing In Widelux Vision

[MikeyGaGa]

Pulling old gear out of the closet;here's a favorite,the PANON WIDELUX F7!

I bought it from Olden Camera in NYC in 1980;used to use it for 2-projector slide presentations.

I would like to open this subject for discussion,perhaps a new forum on panoramic shooting.

Lets wind it up and watch it rotate!

Mikey GaGa

 

[Dougg]

I would like to open this subject for discussion,perhaps a new forum on panoramic shooting.

Mikey, interesting idea! And the old Widelux is a classic swinger! I've just received a pano kit for my 6x7 format camera that allows 35mm film shooting 24mm x 66mm. I've only shot one roll so far, still not back from processing, but surprisingly the first real obstacles I've already faced involve the processing!

My usual lab offers "pro" processing with 2000 ppi scans but they cannot scan single whole frames of 35mm film in oddball formats like half-frame and XPan-style pano. Unless I'm willing to pay about $5.75 per scan, they'll only do a 24x66 frame in two overlapping 24x36 scans. With auto exposure, so splicing the scans is made more complicated.

I may try running 120 film, but the masked-off area is likely to confuse their auto-exposed scanning.

There should be a few labs out there where I could mail my 35mm 24x66 film for high quality yet economical process and scan... And it occurs to me that this is likely to be a common problem for pano-format shooters. Any good answers?

 

[ClaremontPhoto]

I use regular 35mm 36x24 fine grain film but mask the negative area down to 36x12 to get a panorama format of 3:1.

With Reala I have had enlargements made up to 40cm wide, and could probabaly go bigger.

 

[Roger]

I support the opening of a new panorama forum. Like Mikey Gaga I have a Widelux F6,
and although it has been a little unreliable on the last couple of outings and there's nowhere I can get it repaired (the factory gave me what I later learned was its last CLA some two years ago) I still love to use it. I have the set of filters, and use the ND filter to choke 400 ISO film back to 100 ISO in strong sunlight, whipping it off for indoor shots.

I have a very cooperative local Fuji DPE shop who are prepared to do pro scans of the LH and RH halves of the 24 x 65mm slides separately, like Dougg, for USD5 per 36 exp cassette. I use PTgui to stitch the two together. It works like a charm, almost completely automatic once you've done it the first time, and it copes with differences between the two halves in apparent exposure by blending over the entire area of the overlap. Since automatic exposure differences at the scanner often reflect actual differences in lighting on the the two different areas of the negative, this is often quite helpful in producing a better end result than a straight scan would.

I also shoot immersive panoramas using a Peleng fisheye lens with my Voigtlander Bessaflex SLR but I guess that's even further off topic than a non RF camera like the Widelux. I DO have a Fuji TX-1 (equivalent of the Hasselblad Xpan I), which is an RF, and even have a few examples posted here on RFF.

 

[wyk_penguin]

I did some research after seeing this post. And now, because of you guys, I want to get something that does 6X17.

 

[MikeyGaGa]

Carry On!

Carry On!

Thank you friends for the replies!

I remember seeing someone on the net advertising Widelux repairs,Ill do the research and get back to you.

As many of you know,Ive been out of photography for ten years and just getting back into it. I know nothing about digital

I need to get a scanner.

I intend to set up my old darkroom;I used to print Widelux negs using a carrier I made out of a WESS slide mount.

I like to project my Widelux slides with an ancient Brumberger 21/4 projector;would like to get a Hasselblad projector or perhaps two old Rollei projectors and link them with a dissolve unit.

Until I get a scanner and start posting,please keep the discussion going.

The art of panoramic shooting involves SEEING and PRE-VISUALIZING the result;in my experience,the view or the subject matter must suit the format;otherwise,put the pano camera away and use something else.

The Widelux is very simple to use;its basically a 50s viewfinder camera with fixed focus;framing is everything when shooting panos.

Lets hear from people who use Noble,Horizant,Mamiya,or just mask down to a 1:3 ratio.

Hey,I just remembered,Ive got a Panorama head for my Rollei TLR that I never got around to using.

Mikey

 

[Roger]

Recommended 6 x 17 panorama camera

Recommended 6 x 17 panorama camera

I did some research after seeing this post. And now, because of you guys, I want to get something that does 6X17.

You might like to consider the rotary Voyageur, hand made by a professional panorama photographer in France. The website is scantech.pano@wanadoo.fr. A couple of my panos taken with the camera are on permanent show there.

Your first instinct may be to go for Fuji (used by so many professionals) or Horsmann. These have the advantage of using rectilinear lenses, but this limits the effective field of view and introduces severe spatial distortion near the edges of the image with wider-angle lenses. The Voyageur is not quite as expensive, even though hand made, and is a true rotary camera, taking either 180 or 360-degree panos. The problems of distortion are quite different-- there is no spatial distortion, but straight lines, particularly horizontal straight lines not passing through the lens horizon, are curved.

If you are interested I may be able to help.

Scanning can be a problem... with the lead-in to get the rotary camera up to speed, the entire negative is well over 17cm long. The only scanner I know in my price range that can handle them is the Epson F3200 film scanner, which is what I use. You get three 360-degree or six 180-degree panoramas or any combination of the two from a single 120 spool. I believe the latest model takes 220 spools, too. It comes with an industrial-strength remote control unit which, if you think about it, is pretty essential if you are not going to appear in your own photos. Even so, I frequently do. <g>

Roger

 

[Roger]

Thank you friends for the replies!

I remember seeing someone on the net advertising Widelux repairs,Ill do the research and get back to you.

Lets hear from people who use Noble,Horizant,Mamiya,or just mask down to a 1:3 ratio.

Hey,I just remembered,Ive got a Panorama head for my Rollei TLR that I never got around to using.

Mikey

Thanks Mikey. My Widelux F7 is still usable but I occasionally miss shots when the shutter release jams. You absolutely MUST NOT reset the shutter speed before the film is wound on. I don't remember doing this, but I may well have done. It is potentially a camera-killer. Be warned.

I have a Kiev/Arax SLR with a panorama back (24 x 60mm nominal size--20 shots on a 12 exp roll), a Widelux for very wide (130-degree) panoramas, a Fuji TX-1 for similar but less extreme panos (24 x 67mm), and I regularly shoot stitched immersive panoramas (360 x 180 degrees) using a circular fisheye lens with my trusty Bessaflex. I have also been known to trim shots taken by standard 35mm lenses of various focal lengths from 20 to 30mm to panorama aspect ratio, which I take as being at least 2:1.

You could say that I like panoramas... In fact I have problems using telephoto lenses. 50mm is my medium-tele portrait lens (!)

Roger

 

[MikeyGaGa]

Way to go,Rog!

Way to go,Rog!

Wow! I thought I had some exotic gear!

Thanks for the replies,everyone-when I have more time I will follow up on the cameras and resources you and dougg mentioned.

Not splitting hairs here,but there is a distinction between PANORAMIC cameras and WIDE-FIELD cameras.

Only cameras with rotating lenses are truly panoramic cameras.

The WIDELUX was said to have a very sturdy mechanism,but like the transmission of a true sports car,you can strip gears inadvertently.

Again,I apologize for not posting photos;Im shopping for a scanner;when I can I would like to show not only landscapes but very interesting shots of people done with the F7.

There was an F8,wasnt there? Is PANON out of biz?

Mikey

 

[Roger]

Wow! I thought I had some exotic gear!

Not splitting hairs here,but there is a distinction between PANORAMIC cameras and WIDE-FIELD cameras.

Only cameras with rotating lenses are truly panoramic cameras.

There was an F8,wasnt there? Is PANON out of biz?

Mikey

Sorry, but I do consider that to be an inappropriate distinction. While I personally would not call anything with an aspect ratio of less than 2:1 a panorama, my immersive panoramas have exactly that--and cover 360 degrees around and 180 degrees in front, i.e., the full spherical view. And the rather limited FOV of the Fuji TX-1 with 45mm lens (roughly equipvalent to a 25mm lens in standard 135 format) has an aspect ratio of 2.7:1. The latter, on the face of it, is "more" panoramic! Both, in my humble opinion, truly deserve to be called panoramas. Within the broad panorama category, by all means lets be more specific, but not (surely) exclusive!

There certainly was an F8. And PANON is now out of business, I believe. I think I got the last CLA, set of filters, and camera case, about two years ago. An attempted repeat order to the same telephone number was never answered. Perhaps I should add I live in Tokyo, so all the calls were local and I have the lingo...

Roger

 

[MikeyGaGa]

Split ends

Split ends

Roger:

OK-you win! I said I was splitting hairs.

What matters,is not the equipment,but the vision. I believe that one must work for a long time with pano/widefields before the necessary pre-visualization skills are acquired;that is getting in the image what you want others to see.

In photography there is a tendency to think in terms of the means(gear)and less in terms of aesthetic. In the other arts(music,painting)it is a given that much practice and thought must precede every piece;in photography I think that there is a tendency just to shoot and see youve got later.

We had a lively exchange a couple of weeks ago about composing and shooting in square format;this is what I mean. When I first started shooting with a Rollei TLR as a teenager,many scenes looked minature is scale on the groundglass;I took a long time teaching myself how to get a scene to fit;a similar learning process occured with the 1;3 ratio.

Later today,I will post some information about the Widelux,as I found some stuff in my files last night. The manual says damage can come from not setting the speed dial exactly at the detents. I recall equipment reviews in Modern and Pop which contradicted each other-one said set before,the other said set after film advance!

Mikey

 

[Roger]

I agree about "thinking panoramic" but....

I agree about "thinking panoramic" but....

Roger:

Later today,I will post some information about the Widelux,as I found some stuff in my files last night. The manual says damage can come from not setting the speed dial exactly at the detents. I recall equipment reviews in Modern and Pop which contradicted each other-one said set before,the other said set after film advance!

Mikey

There is absolutely no room for confusion on this. It is essential to wind on the film BEFORE changing the shutter settings. To say anything else is most mischievous. I am not suggesting you are, of course, but either Modern or Pop suffered a very seriously misleading misprint. Try to get the alternative possibility completely out of your mind or you will have one very sick Widelux on your hands. This is SO important when all modern cameras require no distinction to be made between setting shutter speeds before or after winding on. Wind FIRST. Change speed LATER. Always check whether the film is properly wound on before touching any settings... Can't emphasize that too strongly.

I agree that not getting the speed setting in exactly the right place is also dangerous. Been there, done that.

Roger

 

[MikeyGaGa]

Thanks,Roger-I took careful note;wind first,then set speed.

I seem to remember that was the rule for the pre and post war German SLRs as well.

Mikey

 

[Roger]

Thanks,Roger-I took careful note;wind first,then set speed.

I seem to remember that was the rule for the pre and post war German SLRs as well.

Mikey

Yes, and this is still true for the Kiev MF SLR. The latter has quite a few other "gotchas."

Roger