Widelux Revival Project: Jeff and Susan Bridges & Silvergrain Classics Making a New 35mm Film Camera
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- Опубликовано: 28 сен 2023
- The legendary (and very rare!) Widelux swing-lens 35mm panoramic camera is getting a new life through the joined efforts of an Oscar-winning actor, Jeff Bridges, actress and photographer Susan Geston Bridges, and the Silvergrain Classics editorial team - Charys Schuler and Marwan El Mozayen.
Going into camera manufacturing is not something Charys and Marwan ever planned to do - but here they are, talking about how the Widelux story started, how it's going and what's to come next!
And, of course, I was very curious about what exactly makes this camera SO special compared to, say, a Hasselblad Xpan. I learned it all, and now I want one!
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00:35 - Intro
01:27 - How did the cooperation of Silvergrain Classics with Jeff and Susan Bridges start?
03:23 - Location matters: Wetzlar and camera manufacturing
04:45 - How long did it take to get to the first Widelux prototype?
05:55 - Jeff Bridges the film photographer - he is “one of us”
06:52 - The Widelux construction challenges
07:56 - How is Widelux different from the Hasselblad Xpan?
10:21 - Making the rotating mechanism VS regular shutter
13:07 - How the original Panon Widelux was produced
14:08 - How to handle the Widelux
15:01 - The use of Widelux in Cinema
16:24 - Using Widelux’s three shutter speeds and creating special effects
18:03 - The photography of Susan Geston Bridges
19:20 - Horizon camera - an alternative swing-lens camera
22:01 - Panon first cameras
23:21 - Landscape photography on Widelux & Marwan’s Adventures in the Wadi Rum Desert
25:19 - Publishing a Magazine AND making a camera: how is both possible?
28:09 - The philosophy behind Silvergrain Classics: making a book-a-zine
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www.jeffbridges.com/
A print international magazine about analog photography - silvergrainclassics.com
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linabessonova.photography
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I hope that the project is a roaring success. Thanks for getting this interview, Lina
Sehr beeindruckend. Insbesondere wie Ihr am Schluß über Eure Passion sprecht. Das klingt sehr authentisch.
EXCELLENT. I am one of the last dinosaurs (Widelux camera repairman) and I greatly appreciate this project of resurrecting these WIDELUX cameras. Thank you for this excellent interview.
Oh man, good to know of you. What’s your shop called?
I had mine repaired Yesterday in argentina. My camera repairman had the faulty parts machined by hand at an emco lathe and milling machine. I had a fine bottle of gin as a gift for him as an appraisal. You people rule!
@@EfeGe-yx3oy That's amazing. Can you share the place?
Wild, this is really nice to see/hear a fellow panoramic photographer. I'm a fanatic of a panoramisist with about a dozen cameras. just don't speak so loud though, I want to continue to be rather unique in the film world.
This is truly amazing to see. Once they're ready to proceed with manufacturing. I hope they consider utilizing a kickstart 'like' campaign to jump start their funding. I think I would end up ordering one.
I don't really know how they will eventually do it. I think so far it's all privately funded, but the big production would cost more than that...
I’m so looking forward to this camera and I’m looking forward to purchasing and using one.
me too!!!
Lina just fell in love with this camera. I can't wait to see her work with it.
haha it's hard NOT to fall in love with it.
So pleased to see the posible return of the Widelux. Hired one for week in 1995 great fun to use and a really interesting image format. Slight banding was the biggest issue. I ended up building a home made Rotoscope camera using 120 stock but with the invention of digital scanning it got packed up and now lives under the bed! Shame I can’t up load some images.
This is awesome! Just attended a talk by Eddy van Wessel yesterday, who uses one in his war photography. Eats a lot of sand he says, but the results are amazing.
everything action-packed and dynamic should be mind blowing in this format
What a fascinating video!!! As a young photographer, I remember seeing photos of a Wide-Lux Camera but never saw one in person. After watching your video, I now want one! When the "new" Wide-Lux comes out into production, I hope I might be able to afford one!!! Thanks for this very informative video!!!
I also kind of started to want one too! :) :) Had no idea how cool it was before holding one
What wonderful project, I hope a big success.
I own three diferent Horizon models, and I love the format. As has been mentioned, it has this magic cinema flavour.
Of course, Widelux is great but difficult to find, so the project is a ray of light in the hope to get one.
Wideluxes are borderline impossible to get! I'm also just hoping for the new one...
Absolutely wonderful!
It would have been interesting to know what are the next milestones of this very cool project.
You never know! :) :) Well, they're refining the prototype parts so that they fit perfectly, and then i guess the turning mechanism!
fantastic ! thank you for sharing
Sometimes the universe comes through!
Very excited about this but more details of progress would be nice. I've started using a Stereo Realist recently and that has a simple shutter with a maximum speed of 150th. Very robust. I'm sure shutters would be more possible if they were slower because you could use heavier parts. An electronic timer rather than clockwork as electronics are cheaper. But culturally people want fast shutter speeds and all mechanical. A 2000th of a second mechanical shutter will never happen again!
I am going to start saving up now
I got hooked to your maga… bookazine by this story and really love it. Unfortunately my first copy of this issue, I forgot on a plane into holydays, but the #2 is already on its ways. 😅
I really hope you will finish this project successfully, because I would really love to get one of the new Wideluxes for myself. 😊
Keep going!!!
Ахринеть. Я только сегодня смотрел фотографии Джеффа Бриджеса, и выходит этот ролик...
Have had the Widelux 7 for about 20 years.. love it!
Good news!!
I see a Pogue there ;)
Fantastic project! I would be very interested in a new Widelux. If they could combine the original design with some German craftmanship and ingenuity perhaps it can be even better than the original. Looking forward to a finished product!
Awesome video and an exciting project! And an awesome bookazine!
i will be sooooo happy to replace my horizon if they can bring these to market at a reasonable price.
Very interesting project! I own a Russian FT-2, which follows the same principle and was the predecessor of the Horizon. It is all metal, looks like a brick, and it works like a charm. The negatives are 110mm wide. Love the panoramic format!
Oh cool! I'll look into those
@@linabessonova In case you want to buy one beware that the camera comes with both spools. The camera doesn't use normal 35mm cartridges but the film has to be winded on a specific spool. My camera came with the original spool for the unexposed film and a DIY takeup spool made from an Exakta varex spool. This means that I have to change film in a changing bag, but it works nicely otherwise.
Big film loving student from the netherlands and this was so incredibly intresting to watch loved it! if you guys ever do release this camera i'll be sure to be there to order the first batch!
I have three Horizons and use them every day so would love to buy a new widelux. If you like the medium format swing lens cameras the 20 or so shops in Seoul clustered together have so many of them.
Amazing project!
it is!
@@linabessonova I loved the shared enthusiasm around the table. The Widelux is an amazing piece of ingenuity.
Great questions. Your conducting of this was very professional despite this man being very annoying and rude.
I hope the Noblex 150 would be produced again!
Is there a release date?
Not that I would know of. I don't think anyone knows yet
they interviewed “the dude” on the analog photography podcast about his photography , books and the widelux.. its a good interview if you are into film photography to listen to
Are there any updates for 2024?
PLEASE TAKE MY MONEY…!!
Seriously, hope to see the new camera soon…
We are some in Denmark hoping to get a new one
This is great! Can't wait for the first production. Since this camera will be made in the region of Germany where there are various camera and lens manufacturers, can you share who the lens manufacturer will be? I.E. : Carl Zeiss, Leitz, Voigtlander, Schneider, etc.?
If the Silvergrain guys come in the comments, they might answer - I did not really ask such details!
@@linabessonova Okay, thanks. I already asked Charys. Have a great day!
Voigtländer is a japanese brand belonging to Cosina, no more German for a long time.
What about a Noblex revival ?
It was a german made camera, that was not discontinued for too long, it should be possible finding again the german contractors that made the parts ?
what a nice Revox recorder and Nizo Super 8 camera 😊
What’s the latest on the new Widelux, Lina?
Curious what their timeline is for production? Great interview.
I also wonder, but probably another two years at least... that's just my estimation
It's interesting to get a newly created Widelux, but somehow i guess that the price will be killing. These days I use the same Horizon 202 as you have. It's made from plastic but heavy like hell due to the massive metal parts inside. It's already my second one because the previous one stopped working completely due to the bad design and connection of the metal and plastic parts. But despite of the origin and the age - the mechanical parts swirling the lens worked until the last day.
Yeah it's not gonna be a budget camera, that's for sure.
@@linabessonova Last night i developed the recently exposed roll of the Agent Shadow 400 with this Horizon 202 and found a lot of light leak lines on many frames. Something that has not happened before, here and there but not in these amounts. highly frustrating. Yes, I can take this as an Artistic touch, but I didn't plan these. Now I'm really willing to see the new Widelux :-)))
A shame they chose the Widelux as a model. I shot an F7 for about a decade in the 80s and it was alright but in the desert Southwest, grit in the gear train constantly needed cleaning out. The shutter speeds were very limiting. Since then. I've used the Horizon S3 Pro, which works quite well and has a full range of shutter speeds so you can use something slower than ASA 400 film. If the light conditions permit, my preferred camera is a Noblex 135s, the best of all of them. THAT'S the camera that should be made again!
1/ 15 only a big problem and only three exposure times. big mess always exchanging ND-filters. we made by changing its weights 4 sec/ 1/8 exposure 12 sec. long. other two automatically were prolonged. non-still people blurred!
really boring pictures but i love ur show
God will also use it.
Fingers on the images... Ok it's not for me!
na dann mal gugn wie sich die kamera machen wird 🙂 ja so ne panon panox ist schon etwas anders als die kleine widelux.
Noblex very plastic hahaha. the cover like newer Horizon. yes inside Noblex was some plastic. not Horizon all metall inside!!! widelux copy-making a bad idea.