Widelux...........

[CMoore]

..........anybody own one of these things.?
How do you like it.?
A quick check on Ebay shows Big Prices for these cameras........................800-2000 USD seems common.

 

[Jesper]

Very happy with the one I´ve got. Just two things to consider. Make sure that there is no banding (darker/lighter bands on the negative due to uneven movement) and the filters may be hard to come by (an expensive).

The pictures have a very special character and requires some consideration when photographing (sometimes you want the effect and sometimes not). If you are just into panorama pictures maybe you should consider Hasselblad Xpan.

 

[AnselMortensen]

I had an F6 for a while, it was fun to use.
I second the warning about "banding", that's a concern with rotating-lens cameras.
If you are on a budget, you might consider the Soviet "Horizont", a similar design, to try out and see how you like the format. You wouldn't lose much re-selling it. They are much less expensive, but can be prone to issues. They have a removable viewfinder...don't buy one without it.
There is significant distortion when not shot level, although that can be used for creative purposes.
Check out Jeff Bridges' photography, he uses a Widelux very well.

 

[Huss]

I hated the F7 and F8 that I had. I got sucked into buying them after checking out Jeff Bridges' fantastic work.
But for me? The worst handling/haptics of any camera I ever owned. Awful positioning of the viewfinder where you can't see most of what will be in the right side of the image. Why is it on the left? All the other swingers have it in the middle, where it makes sense.
Extremely limited number of shutter speeds. Limited aperture settings - only to F11.

Positives? Super cool art deco design. The Dude uses one.

I much prefer my Horizon 202 and even more, the Noblex 135 series. The Noblex 135s do not band as they have an electric motor that brings the lens drum up to speed, maintaining consistency. Mine was serviced by Precision Camera Works who upgraded the hard rubber rollers to higher quality items (these control the drum speed).

I wish I kept my F7 and F8, just so I could sell them at today's going rates!

 

[NB23]

Why mess with xpan wannabes?
Why mess with abysmal distortion?

Ok, Jeff Bridges. But what about Madonna?

 

[Huss]

Why mess with xpan wannabes?
Why mess with abysmal distortion?

Tool for the job. The photographer picks depending on what is intended.

Horizon picked BECAUSE of the distortion:



Xpan picked BECAUSE did not want distortion:





The distortion is only evident if the camera is angled away from neutral (to a greater extent than regular cameras), but the flip side is that it has a much greater angle of view than an XPan - because the lens swings, and it is sharp from absolute corner to absolute corner because it uses on the center of the lens. Because it swings. An Xpan image will be softer to the corners. And suffers from vignetting unless you use the center spot filter. Which then causes you to lose 2 stops of light.

Noblex 135:



Crop from extreme corner showing no loss of sharpness or vignetting. Hand held. Cannot do this w an Xpan - would need a tripod:

 

[NB23]

Xpan, printed to 10”x24” shows extreme sharpness all the way to the corners.
I’ve shot around the world with the xpan and it is such a seamless camera that I would pick it over Leica, any day. It’s a workhorse. It is the standard. Nothing can touch it.

 

[Sirius Glass]

I have a WideLux F7 with the filters. It works well. I will check it out and put it up for sale soon.

 

[CMoore]

Great replies and photos.....Thank You.
Kind of a fascinating topic

 

[Huss]

Xpan, printed to 10”x24” shows extreme sharpness all the way to the corners.
I’ve shot around the world with the xpan and it is such a seamless camera that I would pick it over Leica, any day. It’s a workhorse. It is the standard. Nothing can touch it.

Thing is, the Xpan was never asked about. But if you're going to Xpan, don't waste time with the 1, step up to the much improved Xpan-2..



For the OP, you get the Widelux BECAUSE it is pretty cool as long as it works properly. Banding is a severe issue with these and there are very few places that are skilled enough to work on them.
Jeff Bridges' website has some very good tips as to how NOT to break one! I think he may also have some service tips.

But for $1000, $2000 or however much they are going for now, they really are not good cameras. They are art pieces that if working properly can make great pics.
Compared against their swing camera rivals, the Wideluxes come up way short. But if you want a Widelux, then that doesn't matter..

 

[CMoore]

Thing is, the Xpan was never asked about. But if you're going to Xpan, don't waste time with the 1, step up to the much improved Xpan-2..



For the OP, you get the Widelux BECAUSE it is pretty cool as long as it works properly. Banding is a severe issue with these and there are very few places that are skilled enough to work on them.
Jeff Bridges' website has some very good tips as to how NOT to break one! I think he may also have some service tips.

But for $1000, $2000 or however much they are going for now, they really are not good cameras. They are art pieces that if working properly can make great pics.
Compared against their swing camera rivals, the Wideluxes come up way short. But if you want a Widelux, then that doesn't matter..

I WAS thinking about buying one. I had no idea how expensive they are.
They are not worth even half that much..... to ME.

 

[Vaughn]

A friend who used one regularly with infra-red film would have his camera CLA every year.

 

[Mike Lopez]

Go with a Noblex over a Widelux for the reasons noted above. You won’t have to trip the shutter like a trained monkey a hundred times to avoid the banding any time you want to use it.

 

[awty]

The poor mans version......

 

[Huss]

The poor mans version......

View attachment 282908

Given away free as a promotional offer for the drug Zomig!

 

[Huss]

I WAS thinking about buying one. I had no idea how expensive they are.
They are not worth even half that much..... to ME.

The XPans really are spectacular cameras though. Fuji lenses are second to none, the ability to shoot between regular 35mm format and pano mid roll with the flick of a switch is unmatched. This is real pano, not a mask dropping down on the 35m frame.
They really are unique items. I had both the 1 and the 2, sold off the 1 mainly because it has an engineering flaw where the on-off switch wears out and gets harder and harder to use. There are no more parts made for it, and this IS a parts needed item. My Xpan1 definitely showed the onset of this, as compared to my identical but barely used TX-1 it was much rougher. When Fuji re-designed it as the Xpan2/TX2, they completely redesigned that switch, as well as adding stuff like exposure info in the VF.

Anyway, they are not swingers, etc.

Xpan:



Noblex 135:

 

[tomkatf]

Had an F6B for a while in the '70's... Nice for some things... banding was a problem at lower speeds but disappeared at 1/125... Banaue rice terraces on Luzon...

 

[Huss]

. banding was a problem at lower speeds but disappeared at 1/125...

It only has 3 shutter speeds.

 

[Arthurwg]

Great book, shot surreptitiously with a Widelux: "Inside Algeria," by Michael von Graffenried, published by Aperture. Show what can be done with this camera.

 

[Arthurwg]

NB23 takes the Xpan prize.

 

[Huss]

NB23 takes the Xpan prize.

They are great shots.

 

[Paul Ozzello]

The Noblex 150 is far superior - and cheaper

 

[Huss]

The Noblex 150 is far superior - and cheaper

Not remotely in the same category! I had one and sold it after 2 rolls because it is such a specialized piece of equipment. Huge. Only 6 exposures per roll. Huge. Unwieldy. Did I mention huge?
Upside - someone on this site bought it from me w/ no $$ loss to myself.

 

[Arthurwg]

Nick Carver on Youtube has a recently posted write-up on the Noblex 150. But I will say Fatso has some great pictures here.

 

[Paul Ozzello]

Not remotely in the same category! I had one and sold it after 2 rolls because it is such a specialized piece of equipment. Huge. Only 6 exposures per roll. Huge. Unwieldy. Did I mention huge?
Upside - someone on this site bought it from me w/ no $$ loss to myself.

Huge is good ;-)

These are 36” x 72” and could be even larger.
The sharpness of the Tessar lens in the Noblex 150 is outstanding.

Nick Carver on Youtube has a recently posted write-up on the Noblex 150. But I will say Fatso has some great pictures here.

Thanks Arthurwg