I love my Fuji GS645...

[Bobfrance]

...and I love big negs!

Just had my first roll of film developed (Ilford Delto 100) and I'm over the moon with the quality.
I've attached a couple examples - they even scan far better than 35mm.

The camera is a joy to use and the big negs look stunning.
I now want to take MF all the time. I may go bankrupt in the process!

Bob.

 

[MatthewThompson]

MF is like a disease. I thought I had cured myself when I liquidated m Hasselblad stuff a few years ago...I don't know if you ever *really* recover from those huge negs.

 

[oftheherd]

35mm is so much fun. Especially when you develop your own film and can make your own prints.

Then one day you see a large negative ...

I rarely use my Rolleiflex TLR because it is only 6x6. I prefer my folders and my Mamiya Super Press 23. If your first camera is a 645, you will love the larger negative. And you picked a good brand.

But there are 6x7 and 6x9 easily available. You have been warned!

 

[Richard Black]

I have the folding GS645 with the 75mm lens and it is a constant traveling companion. I had the bellows replaced by CameraWiz with an English bellows, great quality and they did some other minor work on it. It is easier to carry than the Pentacon Sixtl or Mamiya Sekor C330f I have.

 

[Bobfrance]

I agree. It's a suprisingly heavy little beast but it is extreemely portable.
I find it easier to carry around than my G1 or SLR because it folds down to such a slim shape.

It is true what they say - everything does look better with big negs.

 

[kaiyen]

big negative? I have a 5x7 LF camera, and you can see stuff like the texture of glass on a window on the negative

Personally, I'm not a big 645 fan. But as far as RF's go, the GS645, original, folding...it's very nice. I'd have that, and a Mamiya 7, and a Hasselblad and...oh, wait. Gotta have money first

allan

 

[TJV]

I like the shot of the floating heads. I never considered the 645 format because in my brain some chemical reaction pushed me to thinking "get the biggest neg size you can easily carry all the time, just like your M3." So I went with the Mamiya 7ii. I can see that sometimes a different dimension neg like the 645 would be better compositionally, though. I like composing with a full frame and it's nice to frame shots properly in the viewfinder as opposed to cropping later. If I had the money, I'd buy a Plaubel Makina 67 wide. Can you post a pic of your Fuji or a link to a pic? I'd love to see to what size it folds down etc.

Tim

 

[Bobfrance]

I like the shot of the floating heads. I never considered the 645 format because in my brain some chemical reaction pushed me to thinking "get the biggest neg size you can easily carry all the time, just like your M3." So I went with the Mamiya 7ii. I can see that sometimes a different dimension neg like the 645 would be better compositionally, though. I like composing with a full frame and it's nice to frame shots properly in the viewfinder as opposed to cropping later. If I had the money, I'd buy a Plaubel Makina 67 wide. Can you post a pic of your Fuji or a link to a pic? I'd love to see to what size it folds down etc.

Tim

Hi Tim,

There's a good page on the Fuji camera somewhere that features reviews and manuals, but unfortunately I can't seem to locate it. I have found this page that has some images of it...
http://www.glennview.com/med.htm

If you like your negs really big and are used to carrying around large cameras then you could view the GS645 as your portable snapping camera.

 

[Meleica]

My Fuji page has a photo of each of the 645 models:

http://antiquecameras.net/fuji645cameras.html

Best,

Dan

 

[Bobfrance]

That's the page I was looking for!

Thanks for putting it together Dan I found it really useful.

Bob.

 

[Maineiac]

...and I love big negs!

Just had my first roll of film developed (Ilford Delto 100) and I'm over the moon with the quality.
I've attached a couple examples - they even scan far better than 35mm.

The camera is a joy to use and the big negs look stunning.
I now want to take MF all the time. I may go bankrupt in the process!

Bob.

My GS645S is now 16 years old, and was my constant traveling companion while living and working in Europe for nearly ten years. I shoot in a variety of MF formats as well as LF, but at least 80% of all my B&W negs were shot on the GS645 during that time.

It's also very rugged, despite appearances to the contrary. While biking in Brittany, I ripped off the front lens cell including shutter speed ring when the camera slipped from my shoulder and hit the spokes of my whirling front wheel. Like a guillotine!
Took me 45 minutes on the dining room table under an overhead light to fix it almost as good as new with nothing more than a pair of tweezers and a jeweler's screwdriver. Construction is very simple, but deceptively strong. It's still working just fine, though takes a back seat nowadays to my Mamiya 7 or Rollei SL66 for the kind of photography I'm now doing. It deserves a more restful retirement.

Larry

 

[SimonPG]

Frankly I enjoy all the 120 film formats. My folders cover 6x4.5, 6x6, and 6x9. This attached shot ws taken with the cute Voigtlander Bessa 66. The lens is fantastic in all light.