Widelux filters. Do they work?

[Roel]

The Widelux 6B,7 and 8 take the Widelux filterset.

I have a F8 underway (sold the f6) and ask myself if the filterset is worth the crazy high price you see on the bay. At least 250usd.

I can see the biggest need for the ND filter because I plan to shoot BW at 1600 Iso.
The 1/250 speed and F11 will not be fast enough for the sunny outdoor conditions. The ND filter (or a 2nd Body with slower film.. ;o) ) seems to be necessary.

What are your opinions/experiences? Do i 'need' it? Does it work well? is it worth it?

 

[Huss]

I'm in the same boat as you, looking for an ND filter but the prices I have seen are crazy. Right now there is a set for $400!
I think this is the one flaw of the Widelux . 1/250 and f11 limits you to slow film in daylight hours if it is sunny out. Right now I have BW400CN loaded in my F8 and this will result in a 2 stop overexposure in the sunlight. One stop would be fine with this film (it is C41 based) so I will have to pick and choose the shots. I loaded 400 speed with the intention of shots when the light gets more interesting.
My cheapo Horizon Perfekt has a top speed of 1/500 and min aperture of f16 (as does my Noblex) so these cameras are more versatile. The Horizon even came with a filter kit set!

Maybe the way to go would be to buy a second Panoramic body loaded with different film. A Horizon, or even a Noblex 135 would cost less than that $400 filter set!

 

[mfogiel]

The way to go is to look for another widelux with a filter set, and then sell off the body only...
As to the filters, if you are going to shoot lots of landscapes, then a filter for darkening the skies comes handy. If you scan, one way of avoiding the hassle of ND filters if you want to keep the average film speed high, is to develop in Diafine - Diafine will give you a usable Tri X negative anywhere between EI 50 and EI 2000 and the sweet spot is probably around EI 500.

 

[Roel]

I already have the Horizon 202 which looked quit good image wise by looking at my first testroll.

So I could carry the F8 and 202 with different Iso. It's just that i rather would have a leica M and a wide camera with me. Two camera is already a lot. Probably filters are smarter then.

Or I could try the mfogiels tip by using Diafine. Never tried it yet. Sounds interesting. Does it work with Tmax 400 too? or just with Tri-x?

How would that actually work. Expose at 1600 and not blow the highlights or expose at 500 and have enough (shadow) detail/information to pull up exposure in post?

 

[Huss]

It's just that i rather would have a leica M and a wide camera with me. Two camera is already a lot. Probably filters are smarter then.

Yeah, I have one bag with a film M, the Widelux and a Fuji Instax. Two pano cameras would be a bit much.

 

[gdi]

I know this an old thread - but I have used my filters with my F8 and they work great. The only problem is that you need to make sure they fit snugly. I had a full set and was at the beach and my ND just fell off the camera some where in the sand.

I ended up having to hunt up another and the only way to find it was to buy a second set! Expensive, but at least have backups for all the colored filters!

 

[Keith]

I was very lucky when I bought my F8 ... it came with a filter set that looked like it had never been used. I've never tried them though!

 

[x-ray]

When I had my Widelux I took the frames apart that held the filters. The filters in mine were made in 2 pieces and separated easily. I wanted to shoot IR film so I cut an 87c filter to fit the frame. You can put any filter in them that you can find In a gelatin or resin. It worked quite well.

If the filters are going for $400 I need to locate the ones I have. I dont have the Widelux and won't buy another so might as well cash in. The trick is to find them :-(

 

[gdi]

When I had my Widelux I took the frames apart that held the filters. The filters in mine were made in 2 pieces and separated easily. I wanted to shoot IR film so I cut an 87c filter to fit the frame. You can put any filter in them that you can find In a gelatin or resin. It worked quite well.

If the filters are going for $400 I need to locate the ones I have. I dont have the Widelux and won't buy another so might as well cash in. The trick is to find them :-(

I have played around and dismantled a filter, it is easy. I just need to find someone who will cut a filter to fit and I could swap out for one of the useless filters - like the UV one or the blue - for something like an r72 for IR.

 

[Roel]

When I had my Widelux I took the frames apart that held the filters. The filters in mine were made in 2 pieces and separated easily. I wanted to shoot IR film so I cut an 87c filter to fit the frame. You can put any filter in them that you can find In a gelatin or resin. It worked quite well.

If the filters are going for $400 I need to locate the ones I have. I dont have the Widelux and won't buy another so might as well cash in. The trick is to find them :-(

Should you find the filters you might want to consider splitting the 6 filters in 3 pairs. I am sure you would make 3 RFF guys really happy🙂 If it is so easy to retrofit another filter inside it would be a great solution. I am interested in a ND and Yellow filter and two filter of the total set would be perfect.

 

[nanntonaku]

i managed to get my hands on a set,...

the UV filter i had an optician replace with a +1 diopter for closer focus as I mostly shoot people. it works nicely 🙂 but DoF at 2.8 is quite narrow and not the easiest to nail focus. but well worth getting. also the optician that did it for me only charged USD50 for the work of grinding the diopter down to size and installing.

 

[roseha]

I have recently bought a four filter set from KEH for my F7. It was $199, the UV and light orange were missing but it has the ND, yellow, dark orange and blue and they all look good. Previously I bought a set on Ebay that had the yellow and the rest converted to closeups, but I never found anyone who would swap out the closeups for me. Also the yellow in that one is not in great shape. Also I found the odd set with no stems, but Nippon Photo Clinic looked at it and said they would not quite fit in the other holders. I'm wondering, is there much use for the blue filter? Isn't it for color conversion? I'm wondering if I can put some other gel over it to experiment. Is it a big process for the optician to remove the old filter?
Thanks, sorry for all the questions!

 

[nanntonaku]

i dont know how hard it was to do but i cant imagine it would be that hard,.... mostly grinding down to size?

i have no idea how long that takes though. my filters were with the optician for two weeks.

i'd suggest popping into your friendliest looking local optician and asking.

 

[roseha]

Thanks, I may do that.

 

[Roel]

I'm going to check my optician too. I have a set of 4 filters.
Thinking of adding a +0.5 filter. I read a post sometime where the poster tested a +0,5 and +1 filter and i recall the +0,5 was more versatile.

@nanntonaku Can you post a picture of a +1 filtered image?

 

[nanntonaku]

I'm going to check my optician too. I have a set of 4 filters.
Thinking of adding a +0.5 filter. I read a post sometime where the poster tested a +0,5 and +1 filter and i recall the +0,5 was more versatile.

@nanntonaku Can you post a picture of a +1 filtered image?

sorry man I only just seen this.

and unfortunately no i cant seem to find the tests I did,... hdd crash a while ago 🙁

plus i think i gave the +1 to someone, now I cant recall who to get it back from.

I do still have the 0.5 and did a few tests the other day. coupled with pulling the lens out further for closer focus it is getting to where the widelux is becoming exaclty what i want, close focusing compact-ish pano cameras for people 🙂

this was at 2.8 after pulling the lens out further. No diopter.

The Widelux close focus mod by Shuji Moriwaki, on Flickr



this is at f11 plus a 0.5 diopter in a filter, after pulling the lens out. still working on my distance judging but you can see her top being super sharp.

The Widelux and KFC by Shuji Moriwaki, on Flickr

I hope that helps 😀

 

[gdi]

After a few years of selling and buying, I find myself with several sets of filters. So I am considering having a couple of closeup diopters made. I just need to figure out how to calculate closest focus and DOF on the F7 for various filters. Any tips would be appreciated.

 

[nanntonaku]

After a few years of selling and buying, I find myself with several sets of filters. So I am considering having a couple of closeup diopters made. I just need to figure out how to calculate closest focus and DOF on the F7 for various filters. Any tips would be appreciated.

I havent got a clue how to calculate it....🙁

instead I'm just going out and shooting and trying to get a feel for it. so far I've found the +0.5 to be the most convenient as far as decent DoF at 2.8 and proximity. The +1 which I dont have any more made the DoF much too narrow at closer distances, making it a true crap shoot.

with the 0.5 everything should be about half I think? dont quote me on that, math and sciencey stuff is what I suck most at.

if you can find an optician to do it for you cheaply it's a good couple weekends of fun,... like having a new camera 😀 mine cost me USD50 a piece, I got two done.