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Overview | |
---|---|
Maker | Panon Camera Shoko |
Type | swing-lens panoramic camera |
Intro price | about US$750 in 1988 [1] |
Lens | |
Lens | 26mm pivoting lens |
F-numbers | 2.8, 4, 5.6, 8 and 11 |
Sensor/medium | |
Film format | 35mm |
Film size | 24mm x 56mm |
Focusing | |
Focus | Set at 5-6 feet |
Exposure/metering | |
Exposure | 1/15, 1/125, 1/250 |
Exposure metering | No |
Flash | |
Flash | No |
Shutter | |
Shutter speeds | 1/15, 1/125, and 1/250 |
Viewfinder | |
Viewfinder | Yes |
General | |
Made in | Japan |
The Widelux is a fully mechanical swing-lens panoramic camera first developed in Japan in 1958, [2] by Panon Camera Shoko. There are both 35mm and medium-format models. Instead of a shutter, the camera has a slit that exposes the film as the lens pivots on a horizontal arc. This pivot allows for some distortion effects not available with traditional cameras. The last Widelux model F8 ended production in 2000. [2]
The medium format Widelux model 1500 make 50x122 mm frames on 120 film, and cover a 150-degree horizontal angle across the long side. It was described as newly introduced in 1988 and cost "about US$4,500" at the time. [1]
There are important differences between the F and 1500 series cameras. The 35mm cameras have a set focus (5 ft to infinity), whereas the 1500 Widelux can focus from a bit less than 1m to infinity with seven markers. The 35mm cameras have three shutter speeds, 1/15, 1/125 and 1/250 of a second, whereas the 1500 Widelux has shutter speeds of 1/8, 1/60 and 1/250 of a second. The F series cover a 140 degree view, whereas the 1500 series covers a slightly wider area (150 degree view-diagonally-140 degr.horizontally). Finally, the 1500 Widelux, like most manual film cameras, has a shutter that must be cocked before the camera will fire. When setting focus below 5m on Widelux 1500 the resolution will be reduced due to optical limitations. There were a lot of problems for the first models in the 90s, uneven rotation, filmplane so buyers are encouraged to test beforehand.[ citation needed ]
Actor/photographer Jeff Bridges started photographing movie sets with the camera in 1984. In 2003, he published a book of his panoramic pictures called simply "Pictures". [3] Bridges was recognized for his Widelux photography by the International Center of Photography's Infinity Award in 2013. [3]
A few of filmmaker Stanley Kubrick's Widelux photos appear in the book "Stanley Kubrick: A Life in Pictures" by his wife Christiane. [4]
The Widelux has been used on the Gemini 5 mission for its 140° coverage. [5]
Cameras with similar functions include the Noblex and Horizon.
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Stanley took this photograph in the Dorchester Hotel ... in early 1965 ... he shot it with one of his favorite cameras: the 35mm Widelux.