My BIG A55 Fuji G690BL arrived

[atlcruiser]

So the beast arrived. Thanks to gshybrid I got a very nice camera at a very fair price...........it is BIG

I had seen pictures, I had heard stories but until I opened the box I had no idea just how big this guy is 🙂

I feel very "safe" with it as I can bash any badguy in the head. It is just a VERY BIG leica M with a much nicer lens and giant negatives.

My first shots from the backyard photostudio:


cc mid974.jpg by urbanlandcruiser, on Flickr


cc mid975.jpg by urbanlandcruiser, on Flickr


cc mid978.jpg by urbanlandcruiser, on Flickr


cc mid977.jpg by urbanlandcruiser, on Flickr

 

[andredossantos]

Very nice!!

I got one a couple months back and absolutely LOVE it! Another RFF forum member Calzone has two of them PLUS the 6x7 "little brother" version that takes the same lenses. Everytime I go out to photograph I want to bring it along. Those 6x9 negs are simply addictive (especially the chromes)!

 

[mto'brien]

Nice! The BL has interchangeable lenses right? Which lens(es) came with yours?

 

[atlcruiser]

in theory it has interchangable lenses but they seem to be expensive and hard to find. The 100 that I got with it is a monster...........i cannot see carrying more than one lens but if i could find the 65 i would jump on it.

 

[andredossantos]

Yes, interchangeble lenses:

-65mm f/8 (and also a rarer f/5.6)
-100mm f/3.5 --this is the standard lens and the most common to see for sale
-150mm -- not sure of the aperture on this one but it's a Sonnar design

There is also a AE version of the 100mm which is super rare. All the lenses have leaf shutters inside. The body is simply a lightproof box.

 

[mto'brien]

100 and 65 would be such a killlller combo.
Nice purchase altcruiser, have fun!

Edit: My fave is the wheelbarrow shot, the DOF is tasty.

 

[mathomas]

Congrats! That third shot just has that "you are there" quality that I love about MF (I own a GW690III, BTW).

 

[Keith]

So when people say 'big' are we talking bigger than a P67? I remember when I unpacked my P67ii when it arrived from 'barnwulf' I was somewhat taken aback!

Like ... you know you've bought a big camera but until you pick these monsters up it doesn't really hit home! 😛

Nice pics by the way. 🙂

 

[P C Headland]

They're big in a different kind of way compared to a P67.

I really like mine, and some day I might get hold of a 65mm lens.

 

[Abbazz]

Yes, interchangeble lenses:

-65mm f/8 (and also a rarer f/5.6)
-100mm f/3.5 --this is the standard lens and the most common to see for sale
-150mm -- not sure of the aperture on this one but it's a Sonnar design

There is also a AE version of the 100mm which is super rare. All the lenses have leaf shutters inside. The body is simply a lightproof box.

There are also a 50/5.6 superwide (extremely rare) and a 180/5.6 telephoto, which is somewhat easier to find than the 150mm lens. All are excellent, but the 50mm is the absolute stunner: 21mm equivalent on 6x9 film rocks!

Here's the page about lenses on my modest website: http://artbig.com/lenses.htm

The body is a bit more than a lightproof box: there is a coupled rangefinder, shutter cocking is coupled with film advance and there is a frame counter. There are also interlocks that prevent you from shooting with the darkslide closed or with no lens on! That looks pretty much state of the art to me for a mechanical camera, and certainly much more user friendly than a 6x9 folder!

Cheers!

Abbazz

 

[Ezzie]

Congratulations!

Congrats! That third shot just has that "you are there" quality that I love about MF (I own a GW690III, BTW).

I agree. The third shot especially oozes of MF.

 

[atlcruiser]

thanks! #3 is cool!

 

[Wouter]

A couple of years ago a G690, G670 (I don't remember the models exactly but one was 6x9 and another 6x7) together with the 5.6/50, 3.5/100AE and 150 appeared on the brazilian ebay for a little less than 1000 dollars. It remained there for almost two months, provoking little interest. I then bought the set and played with it for a while, then sold it and made a huge profit. The 5.6/50 alone sold for something like 1300 euros to a collector in France.

Now, for those of you who are interested in this kind of equipment: there's a new in box GM670 with also minty 3.5/100AE right now being offered on brazilian ebay, for about 900 dollars. See this link: http://produto.mercadolivre.com.br/MLB-174178837-camera-fujica-gm670-profissional-_JM - (please: I have no links to this seller). If someone's interested, I could intermediate.

 

[zhengpeng]

I got my GSW690III yesterday. Although I knew it's as big as Texas, I was still shocked by its size when I opened the box.

 

[Calzone]

Very nice!!

I got one a couple months back and absolutely LOVE it! Another RFF forum member Calzone has two of them PLUS the 6x7 "little brother" version that takes the same lenses. Everytime I go out to photograph I want to bring it along. Those 6x9 negs are simply addictive (especially the chromes)!

I was lucky and got a packaged deal for a G690BL and three lenses, and then I bought a GL690 and a GM670. All the glass is superb, but I consider the 100/3.5 "The King Of The Tessars." With its close focus wide open it has amazing Bokeh that really gets exploited on a 6x9 negative.

The 150/5.6 is a great match on the GM670 and is a 70mm equiv. Kinda wonderful for urban landscape and portraits.

The parallex displayed in the VF'ers is very-very accurate and the GM and GL VF'ers have less cluttered framelines and a higher magnification than on a G690BL.

I feel very lucky to have found all this amazing Fuji glass at a great price. For superwide I use a Plaubel 69W that has a Schneider 47/5.6 Super Angulon.

The results are so great that someone who shoots 4x5 was examining my negatives on a light table with an 8x lupe told me that with the results that I'm getting in 120, I don't need a 4x5.

The best of luck.

Cal

 

[Abbazz]

A couple of years ago a G690, G670 (I don't remember the models exactly but one was 6x9 and another 6x7) together with the 5.6/50, 3.5/100AE and 150 appeared on the brazilian ebay for a little less than 1000 dollars. It remained there for almost two months, provoking little interest. I then bought the set and played with it for a while, then sold it and made a huge profit. The 5.6/50 alone sold for something like 1300 euros to a collector in France.

Now, for those of you who are interested in this kind of equipment: there's a new in box GM670 with also minty 3.5/100AE right now being offered on brazilian ebay, for about 900 dollars. See this link: http://produto.mercadolivre.com.br/MLB-174178837-camera-fujica-gm670-profissional-_JM - (please: I have no links to this seller). If someone's interested, I could intermediate.

There is a GL690 with 3 lenses (50, 100, 180) for sale in Marseille (France). Price asked for the set is 1,200 Euros (including both viewfinders for the 50 and 180 lenses), which is quite reasonable IMHO. Here's the link (no connection with the seller):

http://www.occasionphoto.fr/component/option,com_adsmanager/Itemid,61/page,show_ad/adid,2984/catid,20/

Cheers!

Abbazz