Fuji GA645 - first photos/impressions - wow!

[Steveh]

So I've been dabbling in MF recently, the postman bringing me in quick succession a beautiful Mamiya C330 (retro-tastic, not an everyday camera though), a Mamiya 645E (great photos, too big and heavy, crazy-loud), and latterly a GA645.

On Saturday I got to nip into town for an hour or so with the Fuji, and got round to doing some scanning this morning. In short - WOW 😱.

This camera is the mutt's nuts - lighter than my D700 with a lens on, nice big viewfinder, quick to use, accurate metering. The only thing I don't like is the noise - like my old Contax G1 only noisier. The lens is really amazingly sharp - there's way more detail in scans than I get from the C330 (although that has its charm). The shots below were all done on Neopan 400 in DD-X and scanned on a cheapo Epson V500, but I'm looking now at beautiful detailed, rich A4 prints of all three, with a real analogue feel and lots and lots of detail, and minimal grain. My wife thinks all my dabbling with film is insane, but I put a print of the bike shot side by side with an almost identical shot done on the D700 with a Zeiss Distagon, converted in Silver Efex, and she immediately identiifed the film shot, and said it was "much better" - through slightly gritted teeth!

So here are the best 3 from the first roll - small Jpegs don't do justice to the amount of detail, but show the look of the lens I think. More experiments to follow!

Clare College:

Running child:

Bike:

 

[Krosya]

Very nice - please show more pics!

 

[david.elliott]

Great stuff. I particularly like the bicycle.

 

[ChrisN]

Nice photos there, and you have done some nice work to hold the detail in the shadows. It's a great "little" camera. I find mine tends to underexpose a little and I've been thinking of exposing my next roll of HP5 at 200 iso. How do you find your exposures?

 

[shadowfox]

The bike shot has excellent not only details, but also tones. 400ASA B&W films like Neopan really shines in larger negative format where grain becomes detail enhancing material instead of distractions.

 

[Steveh]

Nice photos there, and you have done some nice work to hold the detail in the shadows. It's a great "little" camera. I find mine tends to underexpose a little and I've been thinking of exposing my next roll of HP5 at 200 iso. How do you find your exposures?

Thanks Chris - will report back when I have a few more rolls under my belt! It seemed to manage ok though - all the shots above were shot on straight auto exposure without any exposure comp and there was enough detail in the shadows to scan properly, although I probably should have opened up a bit to get more detail in the wall on the top shot. It was a very sunny, contrasty day by UK standards though - most of the time it's so murky here that everything fits within about three stops so you have a bit of leeway. I imagine Oz is a bit different!

 

[Steveh]

The bike shot has excellent not only details, but also tones. 400ASA B&W films like Neopan really shines in larger negative format where grain becomes detail enhancing material instead of distractions.

Couldn't agree more - and even my photo-phobic wife spotted that straight away! The print is beautiful, even as an inkjet, and it is that tonal quality I really notice after stepping up from 35mm. I think modern digis are so good 35mm doesn't offer much to me any more, but the tonality I'm getting from medium format scans is nothing like I get from 35mm or digital.

 

[kuzano]

Essentially same camera, plus Zoom plus NO NOISE

Essentially same camera, plus Zoom plus NO NOISE

I was out shooting with my GA645Zi this morning. It's so quiet, I have to look at the film count on the back to see if it took a picture. That is not an exxageration.

Your camera, plus Zoom 55-90, and very little noise. Wonderful EBC coated lens and accurate metering.

Very nice pics there. Another Fuji convert???

 

[Steveh]

Yup, definitely a convert.

Just a couple more, from the second roll, both Neopan 400 in DD-X again.

Local transportation:

This one is so ridiculously sharp I almost laughed when I saw the scan - handheld at 1/30-1/60. I'm liking this camera more and more!

 

[photogdave]

I've been shooting Delta 3200 in mine. Less grain and more detail than ISO 400 film in 35mm format!
I really love this camera!

 

[Leighgion]

I love my GA645. It's noisy, yes, but that's the only bad thing to say about it.

 

[shadowfox]

Most people skip 6x4.5 and went straight to 6x6 or bigger. I think with these compact and light Fuji GA series, this format is almost perfect.

I just got the W version (45mm instead of 60mm) last week and I find the camera super easy to use and the large negative is very satisfying to scan/view.

 

[Jim Simon]

Mmm... They do look great these images. I'm begining to wonder if I did the right thing by going for the more industrial GA645S. I didn't like the idea of the lens popping in and out on a motor, but maybe that's not a problem if the motor lasts and works and works...
And you're right; even if the web limitations make resolution difficult to convey, the look of the lens does come across. Good exposures, good scans.
Doh!
Jim.

 

[Steveh]

Mmm... They do look great these images. I'm begining to wonder if I did the right thing by going for the more industrial GA645S. I didn't like the idea of the lens popping in and out on a motor, but maybe that's not a problem if the motor lasts and works and works...
And you're right; even if the web limitations make resolution difficult to convey, the look of the lens does come across. Good exposures, good scans.
Doh!
Jim.

According to the shot counter this one only has 1700 shots under its belt and I've just had it serviced so I'm hoping it's got a bit of life in it yet - if it stops me caving in and buying the inevitable Mamiya 7 for another year it'll have served it's purpose 🙄

Jim - just saw your comment in "your" thread above this one about web images not showing anything, but actually they do - it's that tonal quality and "plasticity" the combination of a great lens and bigger film gives that I'm loving - I've used Zeiss lenses on an M6 and a G1 and never managed to get close to that feel, which is why I've more or less given up on 35mm, but even looking at these on this thread they just have something to them - and the prints are much better!

 

[sebastian toombs]

According to the shot counter this one only has 1700 shots under its belt and I've just had it serviced so I'm hoping it's got a bit of life in it yet - if it stops me caving in and buying the inevitable Mamiya 7 for another year it'll have served it's purpose 🙄

i got a fuji ga645wi first, and then went for the mamiya 7. so long as you dont need to focus in close or shoot in low light, theyre a perfect razor sharp pairing for walking around, street photography, landscapes...

 

[jvan01]

GA645 + 400VC:

 

[kuzano]

Try 32,400 shutter actuations.

Try 32,400 shutter actuations.

According to the shot counter this one only has 1700 shots under its belt and I've just had it serviced so I'm hoping it's got a bit of life in it yet - if it stops me caving in and buying the inevitable Mamiya 7 for another year it'll have served it's purpose 🙄

The shutters are durable. I've never had a low count Fuji that I know of. My current GA645Zi has 32,400 shutter actuations and has been opened and closed enough times to wear out the ribbon cable to the data lcd on the back. I just had that lcd replaced by Frank Marshman at Camera Wiz (in my mind he is the "go to" guy on Fuji's), along with a shutter service. He has access to Fuji parts in a matter of days.

The camera is still running strong. In fact, I have been advised by both Frank and the Fuji Service department that the service intervals on the GA series and the GW series are suggested, and usually not needed very often.

 

[jmilkins]

I really like my GA645wi for a light weight walking camera.

 

[jmilkins]

and they can be used for close range work - not real close admittedly. This one is from the GA645i 60mm/4

 

[jvan01]

Has anyone used the Fuji closeup kit with the GA645 for close focus work? Alternatively could I put a Canon 250D +4 diopter filter on the lens and have it focus close in?