When Oscar-winning actor Jeff Bridges announced he was recreating the unusual panoramic film camera with a rotating lens, the Widelux, the photography community took note – and now Bridges has unboxed the first cameras off the production line. In the process, Bridges has shared the first images captured with the recreated film camera.
The Widelux is a film camera that takes panoramas with an unusual feature: rotating the lens around the scene. But Pann Camera Shokai in Tokoyo ended production of the panoramic film camera in 2000.
For Bridges, the Widelux was his camera of choice, so the line’s demise was particularly heart-wrenching for the actor. But, last year, Bridges announced he was reviving the camera, adding an extra X on the end of the name to distinguish the remade Wideluxx camera from the originals.
Now, Bridges has shared a heartwarming unboxing as he opens the first camera off the production line, after sharing prototype 001 last October. Bridges looks like a kid at Christmas as he pulls the camera out of the box, alongside his wife, Susan Bridges. The video shows the actor loading the camera with Kodak Tri-X 400, a black and white 35mm film, and then that iconic rotating lens as Bridges snaps the first photo.
The video – available to watch at the Wideluxx website – gives photographers anticipating the camera’s launch the best look at the camera yet. The video shows a camera with the classic dials, viewfinder, and rotating lens of the original. The details go down to even the white panoramic shape on the front of the camera.
Like the original, the upcoming Wideluxx is a mechanical camera. The images that Bridges shared in the video show that iconic wide panoramic shot with the classic look that only comes from analog.
While the unboxing proves the camera is getting closer to a full launch, SilverBridges – the company owned by Jeff and Susan Bridges to recreate the camera – hasn’t yet shared a launch date.
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