- Jeff Bridges is a long-time fan of the original Widelux line of cameras, released in the 1950s.
- Actor’s company Silverbridges plans to restart commercial production of panoramic camera
- The WideluxX uses a unique rotating lens to capture images with a cinematic panoramic aspect ratio
What do you get when you bring together a successful A-list actor and a lover of photography and classic cameras? No, this is not a trick question or the precursor to a joke; it’s just Jeff Bridges lifting the veil on his passionate rebirth of the Widelux, the extraordinary mechanical panoramic camera with a rotating lens from the late 1950s.
There was understandable buzz in 2024, when Bridges announced plans to bring back one of the most unusual and collectible cameras of all time, but for the first time we got a glimpse of a working model.
In a new video posted on the website of Bridge’s company, SilverBridges, he is seen excitedly taking delivery of a package. As a camera critic, I’m used to feeling that sense of anticipation every time I see a Peli Case-shaped box that I know contains something special, so I can immediately understand the actor’s obvious enthusiasm. For him, it’s the culmination of years of planning and development as he aspired to bring one of his favorite cameras back to life.
He then opens the case to reveal two cameras, bearing the serial numbers 0001 and 0002, indicating that these are the first pair of cameras to come off the production line. He then loads number two with film, carefully feeding the leader into factory-fresh advanced assembly, before replacing the backplate and creating an image of his wife, Susan Bridges née Geston.
The video beautifully illustrates the Widelux’s unique mechanism (now designated WideluxX, the extra
What is WideluxX and why now?
The Widelux was released in 1958 and used an original rotating lens design to capture panoramic images. As Jeff Bridges himself explains in another video on the SilverBridges WideluxX site, this worked by using optics that moved in an arc, behind which was a slit that passed through the area of the film, exposing it in a long, wide aspect.
Although the camera was capable of capturing good levels of sharpness across the entire frame, it was the quirks and flaws that Bridges claims to have fallen in love with. He says he always liked the way the Widelux delivered images with a mix of sharp and out-of-focus areas, creating a distinctive atmosphere that he enhanced by using fast ISO3200 films, often processed at ISO6400.
It was the Widelux that got Bridges into photography, largely due to the way the widescreen format reproduced the cinematic images he was accustomed to in his work as a film actor.
“I only started getting into photography when I bought a Widelux camera,” he explains. “It was sort of the missing link between still photography and film photography.”
Bridges also explains some of the practical benefits of using such a broad framework. “It’s possible to hold it in your hand at 1/15th of a second, it’s very forgiving like that.”
“That’s pretty much the only camera I use, my Widelux.”
So the actor was understandably upset when the original camera line was discontinued in the early 2000s. Pann Camera Shokai, the Tokyo-based manufacturer, rolled the last unit off the production line in 2000. Since then, Bridges’ company, co-owned by his wife Susan, has worked to restart commercial production. While no official date has been revealed yet, meaning it might still be a while before we get our hands on a sample, the latest video is another sign that the Bridges are serious. To get updates on WideluxX, there is a registration form on the SilverBridges website.
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