New mechanical panoramic film camera from Jeff Bridges

aarmadsen 2 days ago 37 commentsRead Article on wideluxx.com

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Discussion (37 Comments)Read Original on HackerNews

peteforde•2 days ago

I've been patiently waiting for this to drop for ~5 years, and I was hoping that it would somehow be under $1000.

Oh my god. $4400 is... a lot of money. $175 shipping had better include a Jeff Bridges Cameo video.

Don't get me wrong: I suspect that he's spent millions of dollars getting the project to this point, and that it's a mechanically perfect instrument. Huge respect for caring this much and seeing the project through.

But damn.

marssaxman•about 2 hours ago

I feel better now about the $700 I spent buying a 35mm panoramic film back for my medium-format Bronica SQA. It seemed like a real splurge at the time, but for the price of this new camera, you could get a whole Bronica system - including four or five lenses, an alternate viewfinder, a couple of 120 backs, and the panoramic film back - with enough left over for a year's worth of film and processing.

People must really like that swing-lens effect. It's not for me, but I imagine that this camera must seem much more compelling if it's what you're after.

> Huge respect for caring this much and seeing the project through.

Second that: product development is hard, and manufacturing is really expensive in small quantities.

spaqin•about 2 hours ago

I kind of expected that pricing - although even worse, in Europe, after VAT, it reaches $6000. Yeah it's not for me, and 350 units is probably capturing the whole target audience at this price.

The good part that could come out from it I would hope for would be new parts for old cameras. I managed to snag a Widelux F6 for about $800 last year that would need some servicing - sometimes it suffers from the infamous banding...

_doctor_love•about 6 hours ago

Just because we're film enthusiasts doesn't make us SAPS!

JohnnyLarue•about 5 hours ago

Nice marmot

_doctor_love•about 4 hours ago

Yeah dude, keeping an amphibious rodent within the city, you know, for domestic?

That ain't legal either.

armadsen•2 days ago

Yeah, I've been waiting for it for years too. I thought it was going to be substantially more than $4400 (more like $6-7K). Under $1,000 is unfortunately simply impossible. Used Wideluxes go for a fair bit more than $1K.

That said, too much for me right now. Maybe someday.

Finnucane•about 2 hours ago

My first thought is, that looks cool. [looks in wallet. Looks at cabinet with other cameras. Looks at wallet again.] Oh well.

kyleblarson•about 1 hour ago

That's just like, your opinion, man.

fnord77•about 1 hour ago

Cheaper than Leica

joe_mamba•about 5 hours ago

>and I was hoping that it would somehow be under $1000.

Does this product have iPhone levels of sweatshop manufacturing and economies of scale, that such a price point would be realistic to you?

From what I know, the price is exactly where low-volume hand-made artisanal hardware is in the west, especially given the supply chain geopolitical challenges Trump caused.

I fact, the value for such a niche boutique engineered product seems pretty decent. Just look how much Swiss watches cost.

peteforde•about 4 hours ago

Like I said, I was hoping that it would be closer to what an iPhone costs so that a lot more people can justify buying one.

I believe that it's better for their long-term viability if they sell 1000 for $2000 instead of 300 for $4400.

joe_mamba•about 4 hours ago

>Like I said, I was hoping that it would be closer to what an iPhone costs so that a lot more people can justify buying one.

And as I said, the realities of profitably shipping boutique developed and manufactured HW, are vastly different that what you'd wish for them to be, if your only reference is products from the likes of Apple. It doesn't matter what you hope for, the math of economics is what dictates the end result.

>I believe that it's better for their long-term viability if they sell 1000 for $2000 instead of 300 for $4400.

That's like wanting 9 women to deliver a baby in a month.

Why doesn't Apple choose to sell 100 million units of their iPhone 17 Pro Max at 700€, instead of selling 30 million units at 1300€, so more people can enjoy it?

keyle•about 2 hours ago

That is bonkers pricing. There is no way they actually expect a sell out with this price.

Finnucane•about 2 hours ago

A new Leica M6 goes for about $7K at B&H. When you could still buy them, Rolleiflexes were about that much. A mechanical camera hand-made in short runs in Germany? Not gonna be cheap. If you can afford and think you'll use it enough to make it worthwhile, there are worse things you could spend your money on.

michrassena•22 minutes ago

It's neat that this exists, and I'm happy that people are still funding these kinds of projects.

But 6x17 panoramic cameras exist at a price point with money left over for film and processing, a much larger negative, instant shutter, flash sync, wireless, more space than a nomad, etc.

anta40•31 minutes ago

I unserstand this camera is pretty popular among street shooters/photodocumentary folks.

Personally, I prefer less distortion and XPan is the better choice for that (and of course interchangeable lens support). Too bad it's bloody expensive nowadays and since the shutter is battery-dependant, you just have to accept one day it may become a paper weight.

post_break•40 minutes ago

This is neat, but I will stick with Instax wide. With a $1000 mint body you can get full control of the film. Is it the same aspect ratio? No. But I can get film at Target and it’s instant. Very cool, any analog film is awesome, but this price just isn’t sustainable.

smallerize•about 2 hours ago

Did I miss something or are there only 3 example photos?

_aavaa_•about 2 hours ago

> I confirm that this is a customized product and that the statutory right of withdrawal under Section 312g(2)(1) of the German Civil Code (BGB) does not apply.

Interesting checkbox on the purchase page. I wonder what the implications are.

bravura•about 2 hours ago

When you buy something in Germany and the EU, you typically can return it.

That does not apply to custom buildouts, like this camear.

_aavaa_•10 minutes ago

Is it that it’s a custom item, or is it because of the mandatory engraving of initials you have to do?

freetime2•about 3 hours ago

I'm glad that this exists. I hope Wideluxx is able to make a profit and remain in operation.

But for me, while I think film is cool, that's one rabbit hole that I have no interest in going down personally. And if I did, I would probably buy used vintage gear rather than spending $4,400 on a new (and extremely niche) film camera.

Digitial photography and retro film simulations/filters are good enough for me if I want to add some "character" to my photos. And ideally most of the character would come from the subject rather than the medium. But I get that lots of people derive inspiration from the process and the medium - and that's why I'm glad things like this exist.

tedggh•about 3 hours ago

It sounds like you are not the customer for this camera.

freetime2•about 3 hours ago

Probably not.

But I do think it's cool and look forward to seeing reviews when people start getting their hands on them.

tpoindex•about 2 hours ago

The camera abides.

khazhoux•about 3 hours ago

For those that don't understand the connection: Jeff Bridges has been using Widelux cameras since at least the 80s. He's even got shots from the set of Tron!

https://archive.nytimes.com/lens.blogs.nytimes.com/2013/04/3...

https://www.reddit.com/r/lebowski/comments/1rjcrfj/behindthe...

lschueller•about 4 hours ago

I don't see, what Jeff Bridges has actively to do with it. Besides being the marketing bait. Thr about us section just repeats the pr biography. What was his part in this camera?

CharlesW•about 4 hours ago

Jeff Bridges is a photographer (among other things) who’s been shooting with Widelux cameras for 40+ years. He’s the co-founder of the company who’s creating this revival. It would not exist without him.

armadsen•about 4 hours ago

Right. The whole revival was his idea, according to the story told by the other founders. Also, presumably he has funded the whole effort so far.

mschuster91•about 4 hours ago

TIL Jeff Bridges isn't just a pretty accomplished actor, but also a photographer who got an award and released multiple photo books [1].

[1] https://www.washingtonpost.com/photography/2019/12/04/did-yo...

kensai•about 4 hours ago

Among other things, he is The Dude! ;)

bitwize•about 5 hours ago

He built it in a cave. With a box of scraps.

wvbdmp•about 4 hours ago

Well, in Germany. Seems like a great fit for Germany, too – precision optics and mechanics and zero digital complications.

gregjw•about 3 hours ago

Iron Man reference.

fdsajfkldsfklds•about 5 hours ago

It seems to suffer from an un-necessary amount of panoramic distortion, unless that is supposed to be part of the charm.

armadsen•about 4 hours ago

That is indeed part of the charm. The people who like swing lens panoramic cameras like the Widelux like that look. The alternative is something like the Hasselblad Xpan, or even just a panoramic crop from a regular camera. A swing lens does something unique.