Widelux F7 Review

Newborn's bath being watched carefully by older sister. Canones, Northern New Mexico

With increased interest in the Widelux camera due to actor Jeff Bridges’ love of the camera and a new version of the Widelux he and some associates have introduced, I decided to do a hands-on review of the Widelux F7. This won’t be one of those overly technical reviews but more of my own interactions with the camera over the years.

You get three shutter speeds; 1/15, 1/125, 1/250 and five apertures; 2.8, 4, 5.6, 8, 11.

The limited range of speeds and apertures can be “enhanced” by the use of specialty designed Widelux filters, specifically the neutral density filters, which helped when using higher ASA/ISO films.

Widelux filters are rare and expensive these days. There was a fellow in, I think New Zealand, who was marketing custom-made filters but he unfortunately stopped production.

Apparently the new Wideluxx (the F10) by Bridges’ team is offering the same speeds and apertures, which I thought unfortunate since they are fairly limited. I would have thought with a new (re-design) they would have offered a bit more flexibility in terms of speeds and apertures but I’m sure there are technical issues that influenced their decision.

But back to the F7.

I got my first Widelux F7 when I was importing them in the early 1980s. (If you’d like to know a little more about my importing of the camera, you can check out my Widelux Panoramic Images page here)

The F7 was the next to the last model Panon (the company that made Widelux cameras) manufactured. The F7 was made from 1979 to 1988. The F8 was made from 1988 to 2000. Panon experienced a fire in 2005 and the original designed were lost.

The Widelux, no matter what model you are interested in, is a fairly unique camera, as all rotating lens cameras are.

Horizontal lines are often cured, which for some is a deal-breaker. For me, if I pay attention to the composition, the curvature isn’t annoying, and can add to the image’s allure.

But with that curvature in mind, keeping the horizon in the middle of the images is a good rule to follow. And tilting the camera is also considered a no-no but a lot of users since it will accentuate curvature and distortion.

Holding the camera is another thing that bothers a lot of users. If you grasp the camera’s body in normal fashion, but wrapping your hands around each side, you will include your hands, or at least finger in the image, so holding the camera by “pinching” it between your fingers, keeping your hands on the sides of the camera will reduce the change of including fingers in the images, but holding this was also lessons, at least in my opinion, a sturdy hold on the camera, so keeping it securely against for face helps reduce shake.

The help hold the camera securely, I occasionally use a handle that screws into the tripod socket letting me hold the grip securely with my left hand while pressing the shutter with my right. I’ve also used tabletop tripods screwed into the tripod socket as handles.

Loading film, at least initially, can, and probably will, take a bit of practice, but once I became accustomed to the puzzle-like, up-and-down, over-and-under technique, I got so I could load it without looking.

Rewinding can be tedious. I’ve thought about making a rewind handle that attaches to the rewind knob but haven’t gotten around to it yet.

There is a lot of talk about banding; exposures where uneven lens rotation resulted in uneven exposure, or bands, were created.

I haven’t had too much problem with banding. Banding most often due to dirt gumming up the rotating lens and making it rotate erratically. In order to combat this I try to keep my Widelux protected by its leather case as much as possible, and in dusty conditions try to protect the lens slit from dust as much as I can; covering it with my hands or putting it inside my shirt or coat until I’m ready to take a photo.

A note on the leather cases Panon provided. Although I feel the camera is well made, the leather Panon used was of the highest quality, and over the years, both leather cases I have for my cameras have not ages well; particularly the straps, which on both cases have become cracked and eventually have broken.

I also try to “exercise” the shutter during times of inactivity by winding and pressing the shutter without film in the camera simply to keep the gears in use. It’s a mechanical camera and frequent use keeps things in order better than non-use, the same as exercise in humans keep them working better.

One thing that most rotating lens cameras (Widelux, Horizon, etc) have in common is you always have to remember to advance the film and cock the shutter prior to changing shutter speeds or apertures. To neglect this can seriously damage the camera.

Of all the unusual cameras I own, the Widelux is probably my favorite.

Below are a few of my Widelux F7 favorite images.