The WideluxX is coming! New camera from Jeff Bridges

[ellisson]

Entering the Penitentiary Cell Blocks
Widelux 7, Tmax400

 

[ellisson]

Need a Cab?
30th Street Station, Philadelphia
Widelux 7, Tmax400

 

[santino]

Panoramic cameras are special and I use mine way more often than super wide lenses on a normal 35mm frame.

 

[shawn]

I would love to see/shoot a X-Pan and a full frame camera side by side with the appropriate lenses to what, if any, differences there are. This may not be backed up with measurements and calculations, but I often suspect I'm getting a 'fake' x-pan mode by cropping to 65:24. Otherwise, why even bother with a X-Pan that has double width frames, why not just shoot wider lenses and crop?

It's similar to a 17mm lens on micro four thirds, it's supposedly a 35mm equivalent of full frame in terms of field of view, but I wonder how much the lens design accounts for the look of the image.

 

[38Deardorff]

The Dutch war photographer Eddy Van Wessel, routinely uses a Widelux

 

[fdu]

With great success. But I was disappointed that the panoramic in his Ukraine book are not on gatefold pages (not sure if it's the right term).
Jens Olof Lasthein, Paolo Pellizzari and Michael Von Graffenried are also very inspiring.

 

[fdu]

Larry Niehues, Mississippi Dream, should be added to the list.

 

[ellisson]

With the Widelux 7 on a visit to the Eastern State Penitentiary in Philadelphia. With some other RFF members in 2016.
1/15 second at f11, Tmax 400.

Cell blocks encircling a central hub. Eastern State Penitentiary

 

[osullic]

With the Widelux 7 on a visit to the Eastern State Penitentiary in Philadelphia. With some other RFF members in 2016.
1/15 second at f11, Tmax 400.

Cell blocks encircling a central hub. Eastern State Penitentiary

I'm very interested in the (new) Widelux, but (as mentioned before) I have some reservations about the exposure options available... Would you mind explaining why you chose 1/15 at f/11 instead of 1/125 at f/4? I would have assumed that 1/125 would be very much more usable than 1/15. Of course f/11 gives more depth of field, but even at f/4 with such a wide lens, hyperfocal focusing would render everything from c. 10 feet to infinity in focus. I'm assuming, maybe wrongly, that the Widelux's focusing behaviour uses the hyperfocal principle. Is 1/15 really hand-holdable?

 

[ellisson]

I'm very interested in the (new) Widelux, but (as mentioned before) I have some reservations about the exposure options available... Would you mind explaining why you chose 1/15 at f/11 instead of 1/125 at f/4? I would have assumed that 1/125 would be very much more usable than 1/15. Of course f/11 gives more depth of field, but even at f/4 with such a wide lens, hyperfocal focusing would render everything from c. 10 feet to infinity in focus. I'm assuming, maybe wrongly,, that the Widelux's focusing behaviour uses the hyperfocal principle. Is 1/15 really hand-holdable?

It may have been possible to use a larger aperture and faster shutter speed, but my experience with the Widelux is that hand-holding with a rotating, moving lens differs from holding a camera with a similar focal length lens that does not rotate. You are not exposing the same area of film while the open shutter rotates, so in effect you are shooting at a faster shutter speed and camera movements are less of a concern with handholding. So 1/15 of a second is definitely practical with the Widelux camera. My distance varied from the various cell block entrances in addition to the long hallways in each block. So f/11 and 1/15 second was a setting I knew from experience with the camera would get the results I wanted in this lighting and composition.

 

[Out to Lunch]

I just had a peek at the new Widelux: hand made in Germany using CNC-machined metal parts, rather than the mass-produced Japanese construction of the original models. I suppose this will translate into Leica like pricing.

 

[osullic]

I just had a peek at the new Widelux: hand made in Germany using CNC-machined metal parts, rather than the mass-produced Japanese construction of the original models. I suppose this will translate into Leica like pricing.

By all accounts, the original was not a mass-produced camera. When individual cameras are taken apart, there are apparent differences between them - indicating that there was some amount of dedication given to each camera built. Still, I'm not expecting a cheap camera. On the plus side, there is no (expensive) shutter in these cameras. On the minus side, you are not only buying a boutique camera body here but the (presumably high quality) lens is included too.

 

[shawn]

By all accounts, the original was not a mass-produced camera. When individual cameras are taken apart, there are apparent differences between them - indicating that there was some amount of dedication given to each camera built. Still, I'm not expecting a cheap camera. On the plus side, there is no (expensive) shutter in these cameras. On the minus side, you are not only buying a boutique camera body here but the (presumably high quality) lens is included too.

One of the interesting thing about swing lens cameras is the lens doesn't really need to be all that exceptional. Edge to edge sharpness isn't required since you are only using a small sliver of the center of the lens.

 

[ellisson]

Regarding depth of field and camera settings with the widelux cameras, this is information from a posting on Jeff Bridges's Widelux website by John Stamets from 1989, TIPS_ON_WIDELUX — JEFFBRIDGES.COM. There are more tips on the camera usage on that website.

12. The camera's 26mm lens is fixed-focused at 11 feet. You can't change that. The amount of picture in focus (depth of field) is determined by the lens aperture. (f2.8, 4, 5.6, 8, 11).

At f11 everything is in focus from 3 feet to infinity. At f2.8 the picture is not sharp until about from 10 feet from the camera, and the far distance won't be sharp. If shooting at f2.8 or f4, stand about 10 feet from the principle subject.

If shooting at f5.6, f8 or f11, do not worry about focus, except perhaps for close-up subjects.

Also, regarding the speed of the rotating turret containing the slit that exposes film, at 1/15 second, the time it takes to complete a full rotation (126 degrees) is about 2 seconds. This results in all points on the film having an exposure of 1/15th second. So while the camera has to be held still for this time, it seems small movements from hand holding do not cause blurring of the images. Much of my shooting with the widelux 7 is at 1/15 second and f11 and I have not seen image blurring.

Hair Salon
Widelux 7, Tmax 400

 

[shawn]

You are not exposing the same area of film while the open shutter rotates, so in effect you are shooting at a faster shutter speed and camera movements are less of a concern with handholding. So 1/15 of a second is definitely practical with the Widelux camera.

A fraction of the image is being exposed at 1/15 but the total image takes 3-4 seconds to be captured on the Widelux at 1/15. If the camera moves during that time you risk changing the geometry of your image (horizon bending for example), having blur in portions of the image and if there is subject movement the potential for essentially rolling shutter artifacts.

Jeff Bridges used that long exposure time for his happy/sad Widelux portraits.

 

[ellisson]

A fraction of the image is being exposed at 1/15 but the total image takes 3-4 seconds to be captured on the Widelux at 1/15. If the camera moves during that time you risk changing the geometry of your image (horizon bending for example), having blur in portions of the image and if there is subject movement the potential for essentially rolling shutter artifacts.

Jeff Bridges used that long exposure time for his happy/sad Widelux portraits.

It's 2.5 seconds at 1/15 second by stopwatch from the Bridges website.
Also, it takes significant movement to alter the geometry if you take care in shooting. My images show this, and they are at 1/15 second.
Rolling shutter is more likely at the higher shutter speeds. Florescent lights can cause light/dark banding at the higher speeds.

 

[shawn]

I timed a couple from Youtube and they were 3-4 seconds. I no longer have a Widelux so I can't test it directly. I'll have to go through some negatives. I know I had some that had blur in portions of the exposure. Wouldn't take much movement to change geometry.

Interesting that you have seen banding at higher shutter speeds. I didn't run into that with mine though I didn't shoot too much under florescent lights. Will have to try that with my HorizonT.

I was talking about rolling shutter movement artifacts. Take a shot at 1/15 of a car driving across the plane in front of you. The slow shutter rotation speed is either going to elongate the car or shorten it depending on if the car is moving with or against the shutter rotation.

 

[ellisson]

Probably because of the subject matter I shoot, I have not seen the rolling shutter movement artifact. Mostly stationary objects and some where the movement was perpendicular to the plane of focus, as in a shot above of trains at Union Station in Wash D.C. I expect I'd see it if photographing traffic or fast moving things in focal plane.

 

[Godfrey]

I'm warming up to this funky camera. Wonder when it will be available and how much it will cost.

G

 

[Out to Lunch]

By all accounts, the original was not a mass-produced camera.

Well, the company made some 21.000 of them. Granted, it took them 40 years to do so.