anyway, first time i visited Japan in ´87 i got hold of a booklet for a Widelux camera which somewhat fascinated me but thought it was a bit expensive.
the clue with this cam is that it takes 140-150° images to a 56x24mm frame to stanard 35mm film with little distortion. the cam i had booklet on could wary the angle so it covered all between normal 36x24mm frame to 140°. the ones for sale now seem to do only 140 or 150°.
anywayhow, i have dislocated my booklet and could not remember the cams name but finally i snapped it and it was the Widelux made in Japan. They were apparently the first one to develop this technology in 1948. Later several copies entered the stage and are also available on ebay and other places.
there is one version for standard 35mm film and a bigger one for 120 film. this makes 150° images.
so, could i get one.... ebay yes, WOW, the first one popped up at $2,314.57 "Buy It Now". there were several lower priced ones there but i felt they were out of reach still .. but i may reconsider. my thought about it is that the images could be fab when digitally transferred, projected or else .. well options are many.
How it works: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CsBBkF07IeM
sample images: there are plenty on flick - search Widelux. check out full sizes.
anywayhow, shoot - film....
