alecto
Member
Bought this camera about 2 months ago and for some reason it took almost that time to arrive, all I can say is never send anything via USPS's First Class International service!
The camera is very clean and although there one or two slight marks it's easily in mint -/excellent condition. I was mainly worried about what I had read about the delicate lens assembly and the RF patch. From my experience thus far the lens is perfectly stable and doesn't feel particularly delicate and I have no worries about tossing (literally!) the camera into my backpack. The RF patch is a little small and disappears very easily if you do not position your eye directly in the center of the viewfinder. In low light it really isn't very useful, but that isn't to say you can't get by without too much trouble.
As they say, the proof is in the pudding:
All shot on Delta 400 processed in Fotospeed FD10
And for the sake of it, a couple of 100% crops, this lens really is very sharp!
The camera is very clean and although there one or two slight marks it's easily in mint -/excellent condition. I was mainly worried about what I had read about the delicate lens assembly and the RF patch. From my experience thus far the lens is perfectly stable and doesn't feel particularly delicate and I have no worries about tossing (literally!) the camera into my backpack. The RF patch is a little small and disappears very easily if you do not position your eye directly in the center of the viewfinder. In low light it really isn't very useful, but that isn't to say you can't get by without too much trouble.
As they say, the proof is in the pudding:
All shot on Delta 400 processed in Fotospeed FD10
And for the sake of it, a couple of 100% crops, this lens really is very sharp!
Maineiac
Member
I have a GS645S that I bought new about 20 years ago. During the ten years after that that I lived in Paris and traveled extensively throughout Europe, it was my primary travel camera. Probably 85% of all the shots I took during that period were taken with that camera. Not only did it perform flawlessly (it still does), but it is a lot more rugged than it gets credit for.
Once, while bicycling in Brittany, with the camera dangling (foolishly) from my shoulder, it slipped down my arm, and the lens banged into the whirling spokes of the front wheel, instantly decapitating the lens with the front lens cell and aperture ring lying on the ground and the shutter ring, shutter, and rear cell still on the camera.
After saying a few words of "blessing," over it, I took it back to our rented farmhouse, sat down at the dining table with an overhead light, got out my jewler's screwdriver set, and within half an hour, had it reassembled and working perfectly, but with a bit of a "loosey-goose" feel. Turned out I only had two of three tiny set screws to hold the front cell in place.
Now, ten years beyond that, the camera isn't getting quite as much use as my Mamiya 7 or my Rollei SL66 or Wista 4X5 since I'm not traveling as much, but it still works fine. The rangefinder gets a bit sticky with sitting around, and I have to give it a whack with the heel of my hand on the upper corner, to free it up and get it moving again, but it is still one great camera. Interestingly enough, it's now selling on ebay for about what I paid for it new all those years ago.
If you can get used to having only one lens-- that 60mm is a superb performer-- and no close-up capability, in my opinion, it's one of the all-time great camera designs, if also one of the most under-rated. Light as a feather for traveling, good-sized neg, virtually indestructible, and excellent built-in light meter and superb lens.
I also have its fancier sibling, the GA645Zi, which has the titanium shell, autofocus, auto/manual exposure modes, etc., as well as a 55-90 (compare to a 40-60 in 35mm) lens that is the equal of the GS's 60mm. The GA is also great, but for me, I still prefer the GS and its much simpler design.
Larry
Once, while bicycling in Brittany, with the camera dangling (foolishly) from my shoulder, it slipped down my arm, and the lens banged into the whirling spokes of the front wheel, instantly decapitating the lens with the front lens cell and aperture ring lying on the ground and the shutter ring, shutter, and rear cell still on the camera.
After saying a few words of "blessing," over it, I took it back to our rented farmhouse, sat down at the dining table with an overhead light, got out my jewler's screwdriver set, and within half an hour, had it reassembled and working perfectly, but with a bit of a "loosey-goose" feel. Turned out I only had two of three tiny set screws to hold the front cell in place.
Now, ten years beyond that, the camera isn't getting quite as much use as my Mamiya 7 or my Rollei SL66 or Wista 4X5 since I'm not traveling as much, but it still works fine. The rangefinder gets a bit sticky with sitting around, and I have to give it a whack with the heel of my hand on the upper corner, to free it up and get it moving again, but it is still one great camera. Interestingly enough, it's now selling on ebay for about what I paid for it new all those years ago.
If you can get used to having only one lens-- that 60mm is a superb performer-- and no close-up capability, in my opinion, it's one of the all-time great camera designs, if also one of the most under-rated. Light as a feather for traveling, good-sized neg, virtually indestructible, and excellent built-in light meter and superb lens.
I also have its fancier sibling, the GA645Zi, which has the titanium shell, autofocus, auto/manual exposure modes, etc., as well as a 55-90 (compare to a 40-60 in 35mm) lens that is the equal of the GS's 60mm. The GA is also great, but for me, I still prefer the GS and its much simpler design.
Larry
Bryce
Well-known
My GS645s has gracefully survived 3 years of backpack duty, through very thick brush and scrambling, as well as use in abandoned mines.
It is still holding up beautifully.
It is still holding up beautifully.
R
rich815
Guest
Fuji glass on those MF babies is hard to top. I have a Fuji GW690III and GA645 and am always in awe at the results.
Agree with the above assessments; it's a great little camera with a terrific lens, and so light and compact it's a joy to carry. Congrats, Alecto, on your new best camera! 