Massive GAS attack on eBay tonight...

[DougK]

OK, I'm not sure if a Fuji G645 60mm f/4 autofocus viewfinder counts as a rangefinder but I finally got me one of them "fancy" MF cameras 🙂. It's a little wider angle than I really wanted but then again, that's what I said when I got my XA (35mm lens) and it quickly became my favorite 35mm camera.

I've been lusting after one of these for quite some time and I can't wait till it gets here... hope it gets here in time to play with it before my vacation. I can tell you I'll be eagerly watching my mailbox... 🙂

 

[SolaresLarrave]

Have you seen them "in the flesh"?

They're big, Doug. Don't say later you weren't warned!

And, of course, it's a rangefinder camera. In fact, it's known as The Texas Leica.

Now... I don't think it's the AF body, as that one is the 645zi.

Is that the one you nabbed? 😕

In any event <getting green with envy> Congratulations! 🙂

 

[DougK]

Nope, for sure it's AF and not the 645zi which is the one I've really lusted after. I checked out this link (http://www.dantestella.com/technical/ga645.html) to make sure it was the camera in the auction before I plunked down the plastic.

I have a feeling I'll be quite happy with this camera, I've really wanted to go MF for some time but I kept getting sidetracked by 35mm cameras. My TLRs take great photos but I'll be the first to admit they aren't always the most convenient cameras to use. This will meet my needs much better although I'll be a bit sad to lose the 6x6 format.

 

[Little Prince]

Hey, just thought I'd confirm this. It is AF. Don't know about rangefinder though. I've only once used a rangefinder before. A (Fuji) GS645 that I rented. It had an RF patch. The GA645 doesn't have one. You can focus by setting the distance if you don't want to use AF.

I bought one of these a few months back and admit I was surprised by the size. Deceptively light however. Only complaint I have is that even though the shutter is very quiet, the electronic frame advance is very noisy. But otherwise simple to use and promises to be great.

 

[DougK]

I've seen this camera in person before and yeah, it's pretty sizable but hey, at least it's smaller and lighter than my friend's Bronica SLR outfit. I'm willing to make some tradeoffs in camera size vs. negative/transparency size and I can live with the film advance noise... I have a couple of autowind 35mm cameras that are darn near deafening in use but it won't matter much in most of the situations I shoot in.

On the rangefinder bit, I was trying to poke gentle fun at the thread we had a couple of days back where we were discussing "honorary rangefinder" status for some cameras. I was just putting in a plug for my soon-to-be new baby. 🙂

 

[Pherdinand]

doug, if you want something with a longer lens, why don't you go for a classic folder. They always came with the "normal" focal length, that is, 75-80mm for the 6x6 and 105-110 for the 6x9. Or, if you buy a 6x9 with a mask, you can get a "tele" 6x6 or 6x4.5 camera. They should not cost more than the fuji, they are very portable and could complement your wide-angle MF fuji very well. And, no film advance noise🙂
When you carry both of them, you can use the fuji as light meter if you really need one.

I ssay all this because i am contemplating on a fuji GS645 with a wider lens. I'd go for the really-wide but that's not RF coupled, alas, so probably the 60/4 lens will have to be wide enough. Is that 35-ish corresp. to 35mm?

 

[Doug]

Pherdi, the 60mm is roughly equivalent to 40mm in 35 camera terms. For wider, the GS645 you mentioned with the uncoupled wider lens is an f/5.6 45mm that's about like a 28-30mm in field of view... And at that wide angle and modest aperture, guess-focus and hyperfocal distance methods work pretty well. Except for minimum distance wide open, which I like to do!

So, with the next model GA, there's an option for the f/4 45mm that does autofocus down to 2.3ft.. The GA645W and Wi. I have the GA645Wi and love it. All these 645 Fujis can make great pics. Doug, you're gonna love yours too! 😀

 

[Pherdinand]

Yeah...in fact, i calculated, and there's not much difference between a 60mm on 6x4.5 and a 75mm on 6x6. Which is good because that means no GAS for me 😀
Thanks for the autofocus-idea, Doug.

 

[DougK]

Actually Pherdi, I thought about either a folder or something like a Pentacon with a normal lens but I really wanted something a bit newer with a meter that would be reasonably light and handy. Autofocus, autoexposure, and autowinding are just nice bonuses.

I prefer the normal focal length but given the success I had in 35mm with the 35mm lens on my XA instead of my usual 50mm I decided that I'd probably be OK with the 60mm lens on the Fuji. I think I'm slowly becoming more of a wider-angle lens fan anyway although I still can't get used to anything wider than 28mm (in 35mm terms), it just seems too strange through the finder.

 

[SolaresLarrave]

Well... I learned something today. I didn't know about this camera being AF...

Thanks! 😀

 

[Doug]

Hi Francisco -- It actually can get a little confusing, as there was the earlier three-model GS series that were smaller lighter all-manual, including the original folder with 75mm f/3.4, the slightly later non-folding GS645S with 60/4 and the less-common non-folding scale focus Wide model with 45/5.6.

Then this earlier GS series was replaced by the GA series of full-auto, AF, motorized, pop-up flash etc that included one with 60/4 and the now-faster Wide one with 45/4. Finally these were joined by the last of the series, a differently-styled GA645Z with 55-90mm slow zoom. There was an improvement made to these three partway through production, adding an "i" to their designations. Improved AF I think, and a front-mounted second shutter release.

I've been wondering if the GA645W's 45mm f/4 lens is the same glass as the XPan's...

 

[DougK]

WOO HOO!!!! My camera is on its way! It looks like I'll have it in time for my vacation. This is totally awesome, my first "professional" camera. I just hope my shots are worthy <gulp> ....

 

[Doug]

Outstanding, Doug, so I guess you'll be keeping your eye out for the BBT to drive up to your house. Totally cool that it's "professional" too; we know since it says so right on the camera! 😉

 

[DougK]

IT'S HERE!!! YEAH BABY!!!! :dance:

No, I'm not excited at all, although my co-workers have been ducking for cover all day for some reason 🙂

All kidding aside, I can see why these are highly desired cameras. It's large, but not nearly as big as I expected, and it feels very solid and well-built. The seller was kind enough to include 10 rolls of Fuji NPH (ISO 400, I think) at no extra charge (5 expired in January and 5 expired in April, should be OK though as they were still cold from the freezer when I unpacked the box this morning.

This camera and I are going to have a lot of fun together.

 

[Doug]

Good film too! Congratulations on the package arrival, with hopes for seeing some pics soon!

 

[DougK]

I'm taking it to Orlando with me next weekend, so I imagine I'll come back with one or two exposed rolls 🙂. I'll have to figure out a good way to scan MF on my flatbed since it didn't come with a MF transparency adapter, but that's a problem for a little later. More immediately, how much should I worry about the film being expired and color alteration?

 

[DougK]

Whoops, never mind, I answered my own question on the expired film. Love that forum search feature... anyway, looks like I'll be fine since it's fairly obvious the seller kept it frozen (still-cold film box when I unpacked it after a WEEK in shipment; good sign, that) and then I threw it stright into the fridge.

Only way to know for sure is to shoot it, right? 🙂