[fuji] GW/GSW690 a good street photo camera?

[Abbazz]

Thelovecollect, if you are interested in old G690 cameras, you can get an idea of the results attainable by a gifted individual equipped with one of those by checking the book "Along the Ohio (Creating the North American Landscape)" by Andrew Borowiec (The Johns Hopkins University Press). All the pictures were taken with a G690, though obviously not handheld.

I just received the following mail from Andrew Borowiec: "Actually, you are mistaken in that regard: only nine photos in Along the Ohio were made using a tripod, the rest were all handheld".

Point taken. I am in awe seeing the level sharpness that Andrew managed to attain shooting the big Fuji handheld. Most people seeing these pictures will guess that they were taken with a 4x5 Technika on a sturdy tripod, not with a handheld rollfilm camera.

Cheers!

Abbazz

 

[Pherdinand]

i bought a gw690ii with some hesitation but it turned out to be a great decision.
Yes it is B I G (some friends of mine made fun of me saying, there is probably a small digicam inside that actually takes the picture, maybe even a small guy is in there operating the digicam).
But i had no problem carrying it for hours and using it.
It has a reasonable grip and a very good balance.

What I would be more concerned of, is the film change procedure that needs to be done too often compared to 35mm, and it is more cumbersome than 35mm. Even with 220 size film (difficult to get), you get only 16 frames per roll...
If this doesn't bother you i sa go for it and try it.
The technical quality you will get will surpass any whateve-cron supersharp aspherical lens.

 

[Solinar]

The big Fuji is much better suited for street photography than my old 6x9 folders, a Record III and a Bessa II. This includes better a hand-hold. Also, with a 6x9 folder, you generally get one shot of your subject. With the big Fuji, you can get at least two.

Technically, there is often a crop within the full-frame, that can be printed at up to 11 by 14 with little loss of image quality. I usually don't see this second composition until I am in the darkroom. Your mileage may vary.