GA645 repairs?

[Dante_Stella]

Well, after 8,000 exposures, 17 years, and 18 countries, I've finally had a failure on my GA645 - the little latch that holds the flash shut. After the last rebuild at Fuji (which at 7,200 was mainly to fix squeakiness, a bug in the VF, and generally scratched-up plastic parts, the flash button was stiff - yesterday, the latch on the flash head sheared off, and now the flash doesn't want to stay down (and therefore wants to stay turned on). For as little as I use the flash, tape could probably do the job... but it's ugly.

Has anyone had one of these fixed at Fuji recently? It does not seem clear from their site whether they still repair these (not that it was cheap - the last run-through was $220; they only seem to do a fixed-price service).

Does anyone else fix these?

Or does anyone have a beater parts camera they want to unload?

Thanks!
Dante

 

[Lucadomi]

Dante, I had a Fuji GS645, the folding model, repaired at Nippon Photoclinic in New York City.
However, I don't think this is something they regulary do, and it was not that cheap.
It might be worth it give them a call and ask.

 

[rhl-oregon]

It's your sentimental GA, and maybe taping the flash seems like forcing a family member to wear a permanent bandaid over a nose wart rather than pay for its excision, but $220 is over 2/3 of the way to the next GA that someone else hardly let out of the house after hearing the focus motor.

I had a sorta beater for $299, sold it for a bit more in a period of rational gear demobilization, missed the IQ terribly within a few months, and just got a rather more beautiful one sans strap but with lenscap for $300 shipped. As though someone paid me $25 so they could perform magic plastic surgery on my cosmetically challenged, noisy model and return it flawless and purring.

Just another perspective. Good luck!

 

[Pioneer]

C.R.I.S. in Arizona repairs Fuji camera but I don't think they work on film cameras. The last time I had a film camera repaired I had to send it to Fujifilm USA in New Jersey.

This is the camera repair center phone number 800-659-3854 (x3461)

 

[Doug]

Dante, you might check with Frank Marshman at Camera Wiz, an expert with Fuji rangefinders. He overhauled my GS645S, but I have not needed to send him my GA...
Camera Wiz Camera Repair
169B Pleasant Hill Road
Harrisonburg VA 22801
800/471-8133; 540/434-8133

 

[philosli]

I called Fuji repair about 2 years back inquiring the flash trigger voltage tolerance of GA645. Apparently there was an experienced technician who used to work on these. He checked his notes to find the answer for me ("Yes, it's fine to use your old flash."). But I vaguely remember he also mentioned that they no longer service these because they have no parts. But give them a call, you may be surprised.

I also read forum discussions that people have sent their GAs to Mark Harma and Camera Wiz with good results.

 

[Dante_Stella]

Hey, Robert, it's not beyond the pale - I mean, I've had my dad's Autoreflex T redone twice in the past 15 years even though I hardly use it (I suspect the second time is due to NOS rubber parts going bad even before they are installed).

Even the GA is really on the cusp of being a fetish item; in most circumstances, it has been supplanted by my 6x9 Fujis - because if you are going to go through the trouble of developing and printing (or scanning), it's a question of going big or going home. Were it a simple matter of economics, I would just ditch it.

Dante

 

[RattyMouse]

Hey, Robert, it's not beyond the pale - I mean, I've had my dad's Autoreflex T redone twice in the past 15 years even though I hardly use it (I suspect the second time is due to NOS rubber parts going bad even before they are installed).

Even the GA is really on the cusp of being a fetish item; in most circumstances, it has been supplanted by my 6x9 Fujis - because if you are going to go through the trouble of developing and printing (or scanning), it's a question of going big or going home. Were it a simple matter of economics, I would just ditch it.

Dante

Fuji 6 x 9's are much larger than the GA645. Is it really impossible to see applications where a smaller camera might be more useful than the large Texas Leicas?

 

[kuzano]

I am sure Frank will work on it.....

I am sure Frank will work on it.....

Dante, you might check with Frank Marshman at Camera Wiz, an expert with Fuji rangefinders. He overhauled my GS645S, but I have not needed to send him my GA...
Camera Wiz Camera Repair
169B Pleasant Hill Road
Harrisonburg VA 22801
800/471-8133; 540/434-8133

Frank has done about a dozen camera's over time for me. As for the GA, he did put a new LCD cable on my GA645Zi, which came after the GA you are talking about. Franks seems to have quite close ties with Fujifilm. He was able to source the data cable (chronic issue to the rear LCD on the GA645Zi) and fixed mine for an incredibly low price, including the cable. I think he had the camera at his shop about a week.

Don't try to eMail Frank... Call him on the telephone. That will get your best communication with him.

Good Man Frank!!!

That looks like his current contact information, He was out of touch for a bit a couple of years ago, when he moved his shop. If that number does not connect with him, PM me, as I just got a BIG GL690 back from him just 2-3 months ago.

 

[kuzano]

YES!!! it's really impossible to go 645 .... once

YES!!! it's really impossible to go 645 .... once

Fuji 6 x 9's are much larger than the GA645. Is it really impossible to see applications where a smaller camera might be more useful than the large Texas Leicas?

Absolutely! Not possible to see where a 645 will compete with a 6X9 once you've handled those huge negatives.

I can shoot near 6X17 with my GL690, by doing two frames with overlap, scanning and stitching them. NO need for $3000 of dedicated 6X17 gear.

I can shoot 24mm x 88mm panos in my GL690, simulating 135mm pano, with a mask in the film frame opening... much longer pano than the Hasselblad/Fuji TX-1 for a pittance of the price.

Shot 645 for years with Mamiya Pro, Bronica 645 ETRS, Fujifilm GS and GA. Have hardly shot any 645 since moving up to 6X9.

Big Camera to lug around???? Big deal, considering the rewards in IQ and frame size/format. 6X9 is simply 2:3 on steroids.

 

[Dante_Stella]

Fuji 6 x 9's are much larger than the GA645. Is it really impossible to see applications where a smaller camera might be more useful than the large Texas Leicas?

"Ditch it" as in not fix the old one and simply buy another one. Or save up and buy a Monochrom, which is probably inching up on 6x4.5 anyway (this is actually an immaterial discussion, since Frank Marshman has the GA645 now and said it was a relatively minor fix).

Kuzano might disagree, but I find that the 6x4.5 format is the smallest format where the effort (and risk) of developing film pays off. A GA645 plus 20 rolls of film is a lot smaller than a GL690 with 40, it has greater DOF, doesn't need a meter, and is a lot faster to reload. The big G series does, though, have a crushing resolution advantage, particularly with the 50mm. I also like the aspect ratio better (and not the least that most of the prints I've sold have been from the 6x9 series).

I have been puttering around with a GS645 folder while the GA has been in the shop, and though it is closer in size to the GA than vintage folders, it is smaller enough than the GA that it fits into the pocket of a closely tailored overcoat. Using contrast filters is pretty unpleasant (due to the snap-on hood/filter ring), but c'est la vie. The bellows "issue" seems overblown; most 1950s folders seem to have repairs; the Fujis are a minimum of 30 years old now, and the bellows on a folder gets a lot more wear and tear than the bellows of a view camera.

Dante

 

[RattyMouse]

Absolutely! Not possible to see where a 645 will compete with a 6X9 once you've handled those huge negatives.

I can shoot near 6X17 with my GL690, by doing two frames with overlap, scanning and stitching them. NO need for $3000 of dedicated 6X17 gear.

I can shoot 24mm x 88mm panos in my GL690, simulating 135mm pano, with a mask in the film frame opening... much longer pano than the Hasselblad/Fuji TX-1 for a pittance of the price.

Shot 645 for years with Mamiya Pro, Bronica 645 ETRS, Fujifilm GS and GA. Have hardly shot any 645 since moving up to 6X9.

Big Camera to lug around???? Big deal, considering the rewards in IQ and frame size/format. 6X9 is simply 2:3 on steroids.

I travel frequently for business. When I do so, the #1 priority for me is the work at hand, not photography. It would be ludicrous for me to even think about carrying around a Fuji 6 x 9 rangefinder. But it is VERY easy for me to slip my GA645 into my bag or even wear it on a strap under or over my coat. It doesnt slow me down in the slightest.

As such, my GA645 goes where my larger medium format cameras don't dare to go.