Widelux F7

N

Nikkor AIS

Nikkor AIS
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Say hello to my new Widelux F7 :). After seeing a Toronto Star photographer use it at a funeral, the seed was planted. That was over 20 years ago. So when the opportunity presented itself recently, I jumped all over it.

I'm still getting a handle on scanning/stitching issues. I'm really looking forward to printing images from the Widelux F7 in the darkroom. Until then I will get by scanning the negs. So far I'm really happy with the camera and the images I've made with it. I can see a steep learning curve with this camera but already I can see a huge upside to having it in the bag. It's really sweet to use. And although I've just started shooting, I'm already hooked.

































Gregory
 
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I hope it's his finger! :eek::D:D:D

I have lusted after a Widelux for many years. For now I've settled for an Horizon 202 which falls short of the mark in so many ways. It's unreliable and the focus lacks 'punch'. Maybe I've simply got a bad 'un.

Comparing the OP's photographs with mine there's a comparison to be made - clarity, super colours (may be the film - I'll try some of that stuff if I can find it) versus indistinct focus and vertical bands in the frame.

One day I might stump up the money and buy an F7.

BTW if you Google Jeff Bridges you'll find that he uses one and gets some interesting results.
 
Swinglens (Widelux) vs fixed lens (XPan).

The Widelux lens rotates to capture the wide field of view. If you type Widelux into You Tube you'll see what I mean.
 
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Thanks everyone for replying to my post. I'm new to panoramic photography. Well, I had a Russian model several years ago but it broke soon after I got it so that doesn't count.

So far I'm really happy with the results from the Widelux F7. In truth I'm finishing off some out-of-date Ektapress, so some of the colours might be a little funky. What can I say, I got it cheap and I like to shoot a lot of film.
You get 21 frames on a 36 exposure using the Widelux F7. My camera thankfully has no banding issues such as I've read about. The negatives are sharp all the way to the edge. I've been working way too much as of late and have not had as much time to shoot as I would like, and I have had issues getting my local Superstore to scan the neg right. And then some twit cut several images in half :rolleyes:. And since I don't have Photoshop, my friend Kat has been stitching the two halves into one. Other than that, shooting with the Widelux is a piece of cake :p. Oh ya, that and getting my big hands/finger in the edge of the frame. And to top it off, the CDs I got from Superstore with several rolls of Widelux images won't load on my iMac.

Anyways, tomorrow is my birthday so I'm going to celebrate by going out and shooting as many great images as I can with my new Widelux F7.

Gregory





























Gregory
 
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Very cool, I always think that would be fun to use when I see them in the KEH catalogs that show up.
 
I've got to say it is just about the most fun of any camera I have ever used. And it's neat for the people that you photograph as well. When they see the lens pan in front of their eyes, they're like, "Wwhat the hell?" :) Then they go, "How old is that thing?" :D. I'm like, "I don't know how old." Then comes the inevitable, "Do you mean they still sell film?" :bang: Why yes, you can even get it in colour :rolleyes:.



























Gregory
 
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Some really nice photo you managed to pull off with the Widelux. I've had mine for about a year and a half, but I do admit I don't use it enough. However, I doubt I'll ever get rid of it, being I've listed after one of these since the late 70's.

You're fortunate to have the case and the filter set with yours, knowing how much the filters are worth on the use market.

Great camera, simple to use. However my only beef about the Widelux is rewinding the film. One must hold the rewind button on the bottom of the camera while you rewind the film. And two, the rewind knob on the top of the camera does lift like the older style Leicas (M2 & M3). Rewinding is a slow and painful process with 36 exposure film.
 
Thanks all for your interest and kind words. I went out and burned about five rolls with the Widelux yesterday. Post a little later on. The more I use this camera, the better I like it. And being an extreme/somewhat obsessive type of person, I phoned my pal Tim at Vintage and had him put the other Widelux F8 he has for sale on hold. Slightly more expensive than the F7 I picked up but it's newer and in mint shape. I'll pick it up when he gets back from holidays.
As a way of celebrating my birthday, I bought another big bag of out-of-date Ektapress. I scored equal amounts of 160 ASA and 800 ASA. I also did some shots with the Nikkor 16 mm 2.8 and the 8 mm 2.8 to get a sense of comparison.

Gregory
 
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Starting to get in the the rythm of this camera. I'm still having issues with my fingers. Hope you guys like these images.
I've got some more in B+W that I'll post later.

Gregory
 
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I think you make good use of the whole frame, nice. But your colors really are off, in a bad way (assuming there's a good way).

martin
 
Thanks for the comments.

I'm afraid the off colour is a result of expired film. In the beginning I tried to fix it; now I just try to make it look good :). I'm not worried as this work is mostly in the experimental stage. How about some B+W? In this case XP2 which is technically not true B+W.

I'm going to shoot the Widelux F7 with the tripod next week in hopes of avoiding the field curvature and my fingers on the edge of the frame :bang:.
































One last one in colour.





I like the composition better than the other shot I posted.


Gregory
 
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