Tag: panoramic

The Widelux Revival Project

From 2023, The Widelux Revival Project on SilvergrainClassics.

It is about a new venture started by two members of SilvergrainClassic and Susan and Jeff Bridges (yes that Jeff Brigdes) to recreate the Widelux. Jeff Bridges started using it in 1984, bringing on set a Widelux F8 camera to shoot behind the scenes, portraits and others. And like any vintage camera, they are getting old and will fail, if they are not outright temperamental, with little options to get spare parts.

A camera viewed from the front with a lens inside a slit. On the top of the camera, various knobs and a viewfinder in the right.
Widelux F7 panoramic camera – by Kenneth C. Zirkel – CC BY-SA 4.0

The design of the Widelux is rather unusual, and its Japanese manufacturer ended production in 2000. It’s a camera with a swinging lens to shoot 126 degrees wide on 135 film, or on 120 film. Jeff Bridge’s use of it was unusual as it’s a camera aimed at landscape photography to be used on a tripod as the shot take a couple of seconds at 1/15 shutter speed. This is unlike the Fujifilm TX-1 / Hasselblad X-Pan.

The Widelux F7, using 135 film, did cost USD750 in 1988, while the Widelux 1500, using 120 film, cost USD4500.

The German Noblex and Russian Horizon were similar in function.

Time will tell if the revival happens. This require a great deal of re-engineering and the result will probably be quite expensive, both as it is niche and likely costly to make.

Link: Fujifilm TX-1 long term review

Gale Lee wrote a Fujifilm TX-1 long term review for Casual Photophile.

The Fujifilm TX-1 (also known as the Hasselblad XPan) is a camera defined by a single design directive: take true panoramic images using 35mm film without wasting a millimeter of material, and everything about it— from its design to its physical engineering— flows from that goal.

and

The Fujifilm TX-1 (also known as the Hasselblad XPan) is a camera defined by a single design directive: take true panoramic images using 35mm film without wasting a millimeter of material, and everything about it— from its design to its physical engineering— flows from that goal.

Last year, I linked about the Hasselblad X-Pan which is the rebadged version of the Fujifilm, and talked about rangefinders. The Fujifilm TX-1 remains on top of my list of camera to try, this is why each time somebody write about it I wished I had one.

And what Gale tells us is that this camera is a tool a tool that may work for you, but maybe not. What make the TX-1 is the 1:2.70 aspect ratio and the fact that this is camera that you can shoot hand held, like street photography, but not only. It can be challenging to use but, once you are able to control, the results are… wow.

Back in the early 2000s I considered getting one, but its price, and the fact that the 24x65mm frame would be difficult (read expensive) to scan, I sort of chickened out. I’m pretty sure it’s more expensive now than it was back then.

This made me think on what kind of specs would I need to have similar quality panoramic format camera, but digital. Cropping is easy but in that aspect ratio the loss of pixels is significant. And then there is framing, I don’t know which camera allow setting a custom aspect ratio; back when I used an Olympus E-P1, I shot a lot in 16:9 aspect ratio. This scale down on the 12 megapixel.

Hasselblad X-Pan

Beau Photo tells us Hasselblad “The Holy Grail” XPan – Is it worth it?:

I’ve shot with the XPan numerous times, and each time I would put my clown mask on and tell myself that this camera will be mine someday. After a year of using this camera, I believe the XPan is worth it.

I remember more than 20 years ago hearing about the Hasselblad XPan, or its Japanese original, the Fujifilm TX-1 (the Hasselblad is actually just a rebadged Fujifilm). It was expensive, its lenses were expensive.

But what is it? It is a rangefinder film camera that could shoot in panoramic format, 24x65mm on a 35mm film (135) as well as the standard 24x36mm. It was pretty much the only option for panoramic photography without using a rotating lens like the Horizon or Widelux cameras, or without getting an expensive Mamiya 7 with the adapter to use 135 film instead of the 6×7 120 film frames.

I remember reading an article where the photographer used the XPan to cover a bicycle race. And vertically framed pictures showed us how unique this camera could be.

Too bad it is even more expensive now.