The Widelux was a film camera series with an unusual rotating lens – but more than 20 years after the camera was discontinued, Oscar-winning actor Jeff Bridges decided to bring the iconic camera back. The re-made WideluxX film camera opened for the first pre-orders on April 28.
Bridges has been sharing his journey to recreate the camera since at least 2023, and now the revived WideluxX – spelled with two Xs to differentiate from the original Widelux – is nearing completion and taking the first batch of pre-orders.
The Widelux was a 35mm film camera series that created panoramic film images by rotating the lens – the Widelux F8 is the model that the new camera is based on. That unusual feature creates images with a wide 140-degree view. While the camera is somewhat niche, Bridges was among those mourning the camera’s loss when the film camera was discontinued.
Created by Silver Bridges – the new company created by the Big Lebowski actor Bridges and photographer, artist, and philanthropist Susan Bridges – the new WideluxX keeps the swinging lens of the original. But, as the website describes, “the WideluxX is not a nostalgic return to the past. It exists alongside contemporary tools, offering a different way to create.”
The camera uses 35mm film, fitting around 21 images on the usual 36-image roll thanks to the wider format. The swinging lens means that each panorama is captured in one exposure, but across a longer time frame, with the available shutter speeds of 1/15, 1/125, and 1/250th of a second. The camera’s moving lens can use apertures as wide as f/2.8 and as narrow as f/11 with fixed focus.
The WideluxX camera will be manufactured and hand-assembled in Germany. The company says that each one will be prepared specially for its owner, including the option to customize the camera with engraved initials.
The first pre-orders are expected to ship in around six to eight months, with the full batch expected to be completed within a year. The first batch of pre-orders is limited to 350 cameras – as of this writing, less than eight hours after the pre-orders opened, more than 100 of those cameras have already been sold.
The hand-assembled camera revived from the dead comes with a price tag of $4,400. In the UK, the camera is £3,720. In Australia, it’s AU$7,050, and in Canada CA$6,020. Those prices do not include shipping and – outside the European Union – the cost doesn’t include taxes or import fees.
The pre-orders are now open from the Silver Bridges website.
You may also like
Take a look at the best film cameras or the best 35mm film.
