Fuji GW670II

[Michael I.]

Hi!

I want to buy one of those(the 90/3.5 ones).
I can live without a meter, the 10 shots per roll, the single lens and the weight.

I am used to 35mm rf's(leica M4, canon 7, fixed lens ones), never had one in med format(had slr's and tlr's).

I shoot 90% BW, and my cameras are not treated gently.
Is there a reason why i shouldnt get it? How well does it handle close up portraits(not compared to an SLR, in Rf terms).

Thanks in advance
Mike

 

[sevo]

The prime reason would be that many users, schooled on 35mm cameras, prefer the 2:3 ratio of 6x9 to the less than 4:5 of 6x7. Get a GW690II, unless film saving is your top priority or you know that you indeed like the squarish 6x7 format...

 

[skibeerr]

Hello,

it is not meant to be a close up portrait camera, upper torso it does ok.
The integrated lensshade is a pain and it is a big, enormous, beast.

Beside the above everything else is wonderfull, it is a great reliable workhorse with a very sharp lens.

Cheers,

Wim

 

[kuzano]

Searching...? use the proper model designation..

Searching...? use the proper model designation..

Hi!

I want to buy one of those(the 90/3.5 ones).
I can live without a meter, the 10 shots per roll, the single lens and the weight.

I am used to 35mm rf's(leica M4, canon 7, fixed lens ones), never had one in med format(had slr's and tlr's).

I shoot 90% BW, and my cameras are not treated gently.
Is there a reason why i shouldnt get it? How well does it handle close up portraits(not compared to an SLR, in Rf terms).

Thanks in advance
Mike

It's a GW670II. It's a great camera and the same camera as the GW690II with the exception of the 8 exposures per roll on the 690, to the 10 on the 670. Tack sharp 90mm EBC coated lens.

There have been many recent threads on the various 690 Fuji rangefinders of late. They all pertain to the camera you are looking at with the exception of the shots per roll. Plenty of information on this forum, not to mention a couple of dedicated sites.

It's a big camera compared to 35mm, but stout, reliable and great Image Quality, all for a reasonable price. Many flow through eBay regularly.

http://fujirangefinder.com/

http://www.dantestella.com/technical/gw.html

http://www.lallement.com/pictures/links.htm

Lots of links to other sites on the Lallement page.

No shortage of information on these great cameras.

Like others, I would at least take a look at the the 690, but have found the 690 to be less easy to find printers who will handle the format. Not a problem if you are printing your own work. 6X7 seems to be more well received by printers as a standard, in my own experience.

 

[Michael I.]

thanks for the speedy response, everyone.
why most of you prefer 6x9? because of the 35mm ratio?

 

[Doug]

6x7 sounds squarer than it really is; actually quite close to 4x5 and 8x10 proportions at 56mm x 68.5 for the Fuji. (These frame sizes vary a bit for other brands, for instance Pentax is 55x70mm.) The 690 model would be 56 x 82.6mm. I have a GW670III and like the frame size and the camera; bought three years ago from another RFF member. It's a largish camera, but not hard to carry if you use a wide strap. The .75x viewfinder is pretty nice, with the framelines moving as you focus, for field size as well as parallax compensation.

The GW670II was introduced in 1985, and was the first 6x7 Fuji, while the 670III came along in 1992.

 

[skibeerr]

6X7 or 6X9 depends entirely on your taste and to make things more difficult there is even a 6X8 GW680 III wish gives a 3:4ratio.

Don't forget the wonderful Fuji 645 cameras wish are smaller and have a meter.

Just do your homework, they are all great cameras.

Your choice 🙂.

Whatever you choose the second hand price is somewhat steady so you will not loose a lot if you deside to sell afterwards .

Cheers,
wim

 

[Phantomas]

I have a reason not to get one..... 🙂 It's huge, really. Don't get me wrong, it's an excellent camera and the results (huge negatives) are great. Yes, you can use it for portraits too.
The reason I got one is because I wanted to do some street shots in 3:2 ratio with MF quality. In general I'm using a Hassie and a Rolleiflex for MF work. So I ordered a GW690 without having seen or held one. It arrived and I quickly realized that for the purpose I want to use it for it's too large. It attracts too much comical attention, people call it "Fisher Prize camera" 🙂 Too bad, the results are fantastic, but the camera is too big and ugly for candid street work (for me). Of course I can use it for slow work like landscapes, architecture, that type of stuff, but I really prefer 6x6, Hassie or Rollei for slow stuff.
All in all - camera is great for the results it produces, but the physical attributes (size) make it less useful for me. Just my personal opinion and something to think about if you want to make it your "walkaround" camera.

 

[Phantomas]

I've got it standing right in front of me next to D700. Yep, huge, sorry 🙂 Again, not trying to put the camera down in any way, just giving a little bit of a different perspective. If I've seen it before I wouldn't have bought it, due to size/application (my application) mismatch.

 

[benno]

It's ****ing huge!

Seriously.

The M3 is not a dainty camera and this thing dwarfs it.

To put it into perspective, it does not easily fit into a Domke F2, unless you put it in on an angle and use a bit of encouragement. This leaves very little room for it's little brother, the M3, let alone an extra lens and film.

 

[Krzys]

Yes it is HUGE. Its okay to use but the novelty wears off.

 

[Luna]

It's ****ing huge!

Seriously.

The M3 is not a dainty camera and this thing dwarfs it.

To put it into perspective, it does not easily fit into a Domke F2, unless you put it in on an angle and use a bit of encouragement. This leaves very little room for it's little brother, the M3, let alone an extra lens and film.

Doug is going to PM you for saying naughty words. 😉

6x9 is great. You both get off!

Yes it is HUGE. Its okay to use but the novelty wears off.

But the image quality doesn't.

 

[rlouzan]

Mike,

The Plaubel Makina 67/670 is another option, but not as strong as the Fuji.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/peta-w/2229858185/

Regards,
RLouzan
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FS: Hand Made Leather Straps
http://www.rangefinderforum.com/phot...3/limit/recent
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[rover]

Doug is going to PM you for saying naughty words. 😉

no need for a PM, Luna helped out.

That is bleeping huge though. 😉

 

[sevo]

The Plaubel Makina 67/670 is another option, but not as strong as the Fuji.

The Makina is very strong, indeed in collapsed state it survives more abuse than the Fuji. It has a somewhat odd focusing with a knob on top, and needs more frequent servicing as the wiring wears out once in a while. But apart from that, it is noticeably superior - it has a better lens, better finder, smaller size, single-stroke transport and integrated exposure meter. At a price, though - about three or four times that of a GW670II...

Sevo

 

[JRG]

Forget the whining about the size. Yes, it's a large camera, but it seems small compared to the Koni-Omega that I sometimes use for 6x7 format.

It's down to the aspect ratio you prefer. As already noted, "6x7" is really (nominal) 4:5 aspect ratio. The only major difference between the Fuji 670 and 690 RF cameras is the aspect ratio. Take a look at your photos, the ones that really have some lasting impact for you: Are they closer to 4:5 (670), or to 2:3 (690)? I find myself cropping my 35mm negs toward about 4:5 more than I leave them at 2:3. So, I bought a Fuji GW670II --- right here, and for an excellent price.

My only complaint is that you can't dry-fire the camera: You must have a roll of film loaded to get the shutter release to operate. So, keep a roll of trashed 120 film around for those times when you want to practice working with the camera.

 

[kuzano]

The GW670II was introduced in 1985, and was the first 6x7 Fuji, while the 670III came along in 1992.

Actually, the first 6X7 was the GM670, which was made on the G and GL 690 platform and used all the interchangeable lenses for the system. 4 lenses as I recall, of which the two most often found are the 65 and 100. A less often found 180 has been on eBay for a couple of months now at an very large price.

A couple of the GM670's have sold recently on eBay at the routine used prices. The GW670II is likely to sell at the most reasonable price, while the GW680III tends to be overpriced as it is found less often and was not imported to the US.

 

[Doug]

Actually, the first 6X7 was the GM670, which was made on the G and GL 690 platform and used all the interchangeable lenses for the system. ...

Thanks for the correction; I was going by Dan Colucci's info and wasn't aware of the GM. 😱

 

[Michael I.]

I'd like to seeportraits taken with 6x9 or 6x7 camears please

 

[Luna]

Domke F2...

Do you own a Chinese knock-off F2 or is yours the only one of its kind?
The F2 can hold 2 SLRs, 1 RF, 2 RF lenses, 4 SLR lens, a flash, meter, and several other knick-knacks.