Anyone had any experience with this camera? It has a 45mm f/5.6 lens, no rangefinder but a zone focusing system.
I have one on loan looking to buy from a work colleague. There is very limited info on the web. I will put some film through it this weekend but was wondering if there is any info out there on this camera/lens for landscape photography.
Frankly, unless the price is 'too good to pass up' and by that I mean under $350, just double the amount you spend, on a GSW 6x8 or 6x9 instead. You'll double the 45 dimension and get an actual RF focussing mechanism.
If it's landscapes you're shooting, you can never have too large a negative...until the DoF impairment hits.
I'd personally sooner go with a refurbished folder, certo6.com being the best place to get them from. I had an isollete 3 - incredible how compact it was, fitted in my jacket pocket without any problem what so ever. 6x6 negative. Of course, there are some nicer, more modern folders, but then the cost is much, much higher..
I owned the GSW690II (65mm f/3.5), GW670II (90mm f/3.5), and GS645S Wide 60 (60mm f/4). The Wide 60 is similar to the GS645W, and it was my least used Fuji, even though it was a very compact folder. My favourite of the lot was the GW6700II. It has the same size body as the 690 series. The big ones are a.k.a. "Texas Leica".
Here's some links on Fuji rangefinders and the GX680 that Greg mentioned. There's not much on the GS645W in particular. Many of the online resources for these cameras are now only dead links.
the whole turning the camera vertically to take a landscape was always a bummer for me. But I still was very fond of the wide-60 and GS folder with a 75mm lens. I'd go 6x7-6x9 though. More detail for blow ups.
I had the GS645S Wide 60 (60mm f/4). It was my favorite landscape camera. Light and sharp. I even used it with studio strobes. I have 20x30 inch prints using Tech-Pan film that are very sharp.
All the 645 Fuji film cameras are fabulous performers, much more so than the overweight, bulky, over-rated 670/690 series which suffer from stone age engineering in the shutter linkage department (2 shutter release buttons) and an LF lens which is OK but needs all that film real estate to get somewhere. You also need a light meter as the camera is just a big box holding the film transport and lens.
A 645 frame (56mm x 41mm) cut from a 690 frame will not compare favourably at all with the 60mm 645 cameras. I always used to flinch when using the shutter of the 690, even with a CR. The RF on the 690 was a dim small circle...The 645 folders were not highly regarded, a little fragile; unlike the GA series, which Dante Stella compares to the Mamiyas, and which featured AF, AE and auto wind. There is loads of info on rangefinder.com and at photo.net. Dante's take: http://www.dantestella.com/technical/ga645.html
The 60mm f4 lens that powers the GA645 and GS645 (I believe its the same lens) deliver IQ that few 645 lenses even approach. It takes something like a Mamiya 7 to look 'somewhat' better!
Super light also, they make a wonderful nature/landscape hiking camera, as you can use a very light tripod/head. Diffraction comes on slowly so you can gain huge DOF - I did a lot of work at f11-f16 with Velvia and Reala. Ultra low inertia shutter and 32 shots per 220 roll. Retractable lens, so the cam could be stowed almost anywhere. Very accurate meter and AF, great lens coating (EBC).
Due to the low weight (which would embarrass most DSLRs) they are delightful to use in landscape mode - any head can hold the camera on its side. The 4:3 aspect ratio is perhaps the best overall for general use. The 645 lenses also delivered great colour depth and balance, the best of the 6 or 7 rangefinder cameras I used for over a decade. I'll dig up a jpg for you to check out.
