GS645 Focussing Issues

[rollbahn]

I got a Fuji GS645 75/f3.4 folder from KEH.com recently and really like the camera but…I got back my first roll on Friday and everything is out of focus eg the target of the photo is OOF and the focal point is behind them - which is very sharp.

At around 1m the focus point is about 10-15 cm off. So a shot of my daughter and her cat for example - the faces are OOF but behind them you can clearly send the focal plane.

I ran off several shots of the kids around the house just to see how the camera performed and all were off. They were stationary shots too so not an issue with them moving out of the focus plane.

I shot a few also around the house of things and at longer lengths 5m-10m some shots were 2m out of whack! I've used heaps of RF's and never had an issue as I love that way of focussing as it is always so accurate.

I took a shot across the road to the park at full infinity and it was the only shot that came out ok.

I took the top of the camera off and gave the front H alignment screw a tweak to line things up at infinity but when I checked with distances from 10m through to 2m using a tape measure and a tripod - nothing matched up to the tape measure.

2m away was in focus in the RF patch at about 1.5m on the lens, 10m away was aligned at about 3m on the lens scale.

If I stand 10m away down the hall from an object and start from infinity on the lens - nothing changes in the patch in terms of alignment until it gets to around 3m on the scale.

So moving from infinity through 10m to 5m and then eventually around 4m the patch start moving and aligns at 3m for a distance of 10m. Is this normal on a folder? This is my first of this type of camera.

Any helps would be great thanks. Maybe I just got a dud.

Thanks
Jason

 

[kuzano]

Send it to Frank.....

Send it to Frank.....

Call him... don't email...

He's been doing all my Fuji's for over twenty years and I have one now to send to him. He did three bellows replacements for me on the camera you are talking about. He developed a tweak for the weak shutter linkage when these camera's were new. The GS645 had a synthetic bellows material and was one of the reasons the camera was only produced for a bit over one year. Frank started replacing bellows on them from the beginning. The bellows on these cameras failed early and often. Miserable mistake on Fuji's part. The weak lens linkage often failed as a result of the need to set the focus on infinity BEFORE closing the camera. Frank has a "fix" for that, although you must still honor the rule to set the focus on infinity before closing, even with Frank's fix.

If the camera is an adjustment of the RF, Frank is the man. I just talked with him two weeks ago.

And no, what you are experiencing is not normal. Every Fuji rangefinder I have used... about a dozen of the GS models, have been on the money. The GS folder has been great, after the production mistakes of Fujica have been serviced or corrected.

If you want to check out the rangefinder your self, get a piece of ground glass cut to fit the frame rails in the back and a loupe. Measure off some distances. On that camera I would use 3 feet (closest focus the camera will do), 10 feet, 20, 30 feet and infinity. With the camera open and on a tripod, check the dual image along with the focus on the ground glass (rough side toward the lens) and adjust accordingly. In lieu of ground glass you can use opaque flat plastic like cut from a flat surface of a tupperware bowl (have a party), but be sure to put the rough side toward the lens, flat on the film frame rails. I've used this method for many years. You need a good loupe.

Me.... I'd send it to Frank, but call ahead. Forget eMail unless it's just to send your phone number for him to call.

Franks probably serviced and repaired 15 to 17 Fuji rangefinders and lenses for me.


Phone: 540-867-9671

Email: camerawiz@msn.com

Address for shipping: Mr. Frank Marshman
1495 Needmore Lane
Harrisonburg, Virginia 22802

 

[rollbahn]

Thanks so much kuzano for your detailed reply and help.

I ended up talking with KEH and describing the issue and they gave me a full refund and also refunded shipping costs to Australia and back - so great service there for sure.

I am on the look out for another mint copy and I think I will get it sent to FRank first up and make sure it is perfect before I get it. I just love the feel of the camera in general so it was disappointing it didn't work out.

 

[analogpics]

I was also wondering about the accuracy of the gs645's RF patch as i'm considering getting one myself. Held one yesterday at a camera show and noticed the rf patch is a bit faint. I sold my gf670 not too long ago because i just wasn't ever able to really nail focus with it, despite numerous trips to the repairman. Never a prob with my mamiya 6, mamiya 7, leica m7, etc. so hoping this one works out! 🙂

 

[x-ray]

I had a GS645 several years ago and the RF was dead on. I now have a GS645S and it too is very accurate. No complaints at all.

 

[analogpics]

X-ray do you have any photos uploaded from the cam? Maybe ones that were at f3.4-4? 🙂