Photographer uses a legendary retro panoramic film camera with a "swinging" lens to capture band at Abbey Road Studios

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UK-based photographer Chris Lombardi shot disco-rock band The Great Leslie using a Widelux, a swing-lens panoramic film camera with legendary status

A band rehearsing in a studio.
(Image credit: Chris Lombardi (photographer) / The Great Leslie (Band))

Panoramic cameras are typically used for wide landscapes, but one photographer repurposed a legendary panoramic camera with a moving lens to record a hip disco-rock band on film. At the Photography & Video Show 2026, I met a photographer who used a legendary panoramic film camera to photograph a band at the equally legendary Abbey Road Studios in London, England.

Chris Lombardi, a London-based photographer and self-proclaimed “film nerd”, used the Widelux panoramic swing-lens camera to snap The Great Leslie during a recording session at Abbey Road.

I met Lombardi at the Vintage Camera Hut stand at the show earlier this week, and he gave me the lowdown on how the Widelux works and shared his photos from the band shoot, which I now have the privilege of sharing here.

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Lombardi shot The Great Leslie, a disco-rock band at Abbey Road Studios (Image credit: Chris Lombardi (photographer) / The Great Leslie (Band))

The Widelux is a swing-lens panoramic film camera that was introduced in the 1950s by Japanese firm Panon Camera Shoko. It became known for its unique design featuring a rotating f/8 lens that achieves a 126-degree field of view for cinematic-style shots

This unconventional camera was initially produced for 120 medium format film, but in 1958 its creators rolled out the Widelux F1 for 35mm. On 35mm film, the Widelux creates a 24x59mm image exposing the film through a slit which enables creatively distorting frames – which Chris took full advantage of at Abbey Road.

A legendary Widelux panoramic film camera at the Photography & Video Show (Image credit: Future)

As if using this retro panoramic shooter at Abbey Road Studios, of all places, wasn't cool enough, the actor Jeff Bridges is now bringing the camera back decades after it went out of production.

The Wideluxx (Bridges' rebranding), recreated by Bridge’s company SilverBridges, went into production last year and it combines the iconic f/8 rotating lens with modern tech and durability, featuring a full-metal construction.

We don’t know when the Wideluxx will go on sale, but Bridges already has working prototypes, so my hope is that at some point this year we’ll see this panoramic film camera make its legendary comeback.

(Image credit: Chris Lombardi (photographer) / The Great Leslie (Band))

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Alan Palazon
Alan Palazon
Staff Writer

I’m a writer, journalist and photographer who joined Digital Camera World in 2026. I started out in editorial in 2021 and my words have spanned sustainability, careers advice, travel and tourism, and photography – the latter two being my passions.

I first picked up a camera in my early twenties having had an interest in photography from a young age. Since then, I’ve worked on a freelance basis, mostly internationally in the travel and tourism sector. You’ll usually find me out on a hike shooting landscapes and adventure shots in my free time.

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