Widelux F8 in the land of the Pharoahs

I have long toyed with the idea of owning a panoramic camera - ever since I came across Wim Wender's work with a ART Panorama. The possibilities of the format fascinated me but I found the prices of most panoramic cameras rather less appealing. In fact it was while trawling Ebay for cheap panoramics that I came across the Holga - rather than spend £1,000 plus on a Hasselblad Xpan I spent fifteen odd quid on a Holga and so began my love affair with plastic cameras.

I had the good fortune to receive a small windfall this year and decided that part of that would be spent on a panoramic camera. I started looking at the various makes and models and came across Jeff Bridge's excellent work with a Widelux camera. As it happened a Widelux F8 came up on Ebay which looked in good condition and I was lucky enough to win the auction.

At the same time I was about to leave for a well earned holiday with my wife and various In Laws (or should that be Out Laws) to Egypt. The camera arrived a week before I was due to leave and what better place to try it out than Egypt. I managed to ruin a couple of films by not loading the camera properly but other than that it's a joy to use.

This shot was taken at the temple of Hathor in Dendera. Shot vertically the panoramic format let's you take in all of the column and the detail in the roof. You can see other shots taken with the Widelux F8 by following the link