The WideluxX 35mm panoramic camera – produced by a team which includes Hollywood actor Jeff Bridges – has officially launched, with the camera now available to pre-order.
The camera, which is based on the Japanese Widelux panoramic camera, is being handbuilt in Germany by a new company called Silverbridges, which includes Bridges and his wife Susan, as well as Marwan El Moyazen and Charys Schuler of the film photography magazine Silvergrain Classics.
Bridges, who has starred in films such as ‘The Big Lebowski’, ‘Tron’, ‘Iron Man’ and ‘True Grit’ has been a longtime user of the original Widelux 35mm cameras, which were made until the early 2000s by Panon Camera Shoku. He has released several books of photographs taken on movie sets with his Widelux cameras.
The first batch of the new WideluXx camera is limited to just 350 examples and finished examples are expected to ship from the end of 2026.
The new camera will cost €5,200 (£4,500/$6,100) including VAT, Silverbridges sauys.
In a press release, the company said: “WideluxX uses a rotating lens to produce panoramic images in a single continuous exposure on 35mm film. As the lens rotates, the image is formed progressively across the frame, with each part of the scene recorded in sequence rather than at a single moment.
“The result is a panoramic image formed progressively over time, with movement recorded as part of the exposure rather than frozen in a single instant.
“Made in Germany, WideluxX is built as a mechanical instrument using precision-manufactured components and assembled by specialised technicians. It retains the character of the original camera while incorporating modern materials and methods.
“The first cameras are expected to ship within approximately 6–8 months of order.”
The camera has been in development for the past few years and was officially announced by Silverbridges in late 2024, with the camera initially expected to be released by the end of 2025.
Silverbridges has released some example images taken on the camera which can be seen below.
I'm a New Zealander who has been living in London since the mid-1990s, shooting film seriously since the year 2000. Kosmo Foto was launched in 2012 and has since become a film brand, with the release of my first films Kosmo Foto Mono 35mm (2017) and Kosmo Foto Mono 120 (2019).
I’m doing everything I can to promote film photography in the 21st Century, and help it survive and thrive. If you want to write something for Kosmo Foto, please drop me a line at foto.dowling@gmail.com.
Winderbar….
How much???????
Seems to me that a stitch in time might save a lot of dosh….
Either that or a scan of the stately columns of Ebay.