New Fuji / Voigtlander 667 Folder Update

[joachim]

Sorry if I was unclear.
I was trying to say that it was possible to make a good bellows 50 years ago and you'd think they (cosina/fuji) will be able to make one now.

Thanks for the clarification.

 

[JohnTF]

[

I really hope that Cosina does not get its fingers burned with this one!!
I sold the 645, to a dealer, after its last repair. He told me later, it has been back for further repairs.[/quote]


Guess I have been lucky with mine, did you run a lot of film through it?

People seem to still want them, I traded off the 60mm, kept the normal and wide.

If possible, a 6x9 in the new one would be quite a camera, would not care if it was multi-format then.

It may also be a scaling problem, with fewer problems in a larger package, were your problems all related to the bellows?

Did you buy it new?

Would have thought if you returned it to Fuji they would have sorted it out properly, or given you another.

Have sent a couple cameras back to them, they were fast and reasonable.

Regards, John

 

[scorpius73]

i cant wait to hear things when it hits the market.

 

[John Robertson]

[

I really hope that Cosina does not get its fingers burned with this one!!
I sold the 645, to a dealer, after its last repair. He told me later, it has been back for further repairs.

Guess I have been lucky with mine, did you run a lot of film through it?

People seem to still want them, I traded off the 60mm, kept the normal and wide.

If possible, a 6x9 in the new one would be quite a camera, would not care if it was multi-format then.

It may also be a scaling problem, with fewer problems in a larger package, were your problems all related to the bellows?

Did you buy it new?

Would have thought if you returned it to Fuji they would have sorted it out properly, or given you another.

Have sent a couple cameras back to them, they were fast and reasonable.

Regards, John[/QUOTE]

Yes it was bought new after reading about it in Modern Photography.
Faults were
1. Wind on would move the film but not arm the shutter correctly, ie. shutter would fire but remain open. (three times)
2. Crack apeared in the body on the hinge side of the front door, seemed to be caused by the fixture of the hinge. Camera was never dropped!!
Caused a light leak cured with a strip of black Dymo Tape!!
3. Bellows developed light leaks, at corners, the top plastic layer developed cracks. Bellows replaced (twice)
On average I put one film a week through it (when it was working!)
I am known to look after my cameras, the ones bought new still work and look excellent some after 50 years!!
My Adox Golf 6x6 r/f was more reliable, and cheaper.
I also had the close up kit with two supplementary lenses and suplementary R/F

depressingly similar🙁

 

[Abbazz]

You no doubt know more than I, but the Pentax looks like a Tessar with the rear glass split into two, or an Astro Tachar with the third group turned into a cemented doublet, and I can't quite follow your 'Heliar + 1': wouldn't the fourth and fifth glasses need to go plano-convex? Or am I completely put of my depth?

Dear Roger,

I am by no means a specialist in optics. This was just wild speculation fueled by my love for those old Heliar lenses.

Cheers!

Abbazz

 

[Ernst Dinkla]

Rangefinder coupling

Rangefinder coupling

The Fuji 645 folder was without doubt, in 50+ years of photography, the most unreliable camera I ever owned.

While the rangefinder base on the new Fuji/Bessa is small it could still be competent for the job. My main worry would be the lens<>rangefinder coupling and how rigid the lens board is. If that isn't good you will still not get a decent control of focus even with the best optical solution for the rangefinder itself which seems to me a Bessa R implant and not a Fuji one. The rest has a lot of similarity with the Fuji 645 so I guess the rangefinder coupling and strut design could be the same. Did you have any trouble with focusing related to the aspects I mentioned ?


Ernst Dinkla

 

[ClaremontPhoto]

A 6x7 camera is a big camera, it needs to be big to accommodate the film.

So Fuji and Cosina, both very highly respected camera companies, can be expected to design and fabricate a focussing mechanism in a larger body than the more common 35mm rangefinder cameras.

 

[John Robertson]

Did you have any trouble with focusing related to the aspects I mentioned ?


Ernst Dinkla

No that was OK, to be fair when it was working, it was a really nice camera which produced great shots. I was told by the repairer that it was poor choice of constructional materials that was the main problem.

 

[joachim]

No that was OK, to be fair when it was working, it was a really nice camera which produced great shots. I was told by the repairer that it was poor choice of constructional materials that was the main problem.

If that is the problem, that should be reasonably easy to improve on. What do you think?

 

[John Robertson]

If that is the problem, that should be reasonably easy to improve on. What do you think?

Should be, my only concern is that Cosina, which has built up an enviable reputation for quality at a fair price, has its "name" spoiled!
The similarities of the parts makes me wonder if Fuji has "stock"left over
see bottom of this table
http://members.aol.com/dcolucci/fujirf.htm
the original folder was discontinued very quickly!!
BTW I have never seen the close-up kit advertised s/h anywhere, they can't have made many, I should have held on to it🙄 might have got a good price on evilbay.

 

[novum]

Thanks for the answer, but I am not getting it. Who is they?

What, you're not familiar with the Ubiquitous They?

 

[joachim]

Should be, my only concern is that Cosina, which has built up an enviable reputation for quality at a fair price, has its "name" spoiled!
The similarities of the parts makes me wonder if Fuji has "stock"left over ...

I would not worry that these are the same parts. If you compare the images you posted yesterday closely, you notice that the parts are similar but not identically. E.g. size of the screw heads is different. Also the 80mm lens needs to extend further than the 75mm lens on the older design.

 

[Turtle]

I think we need to give the camera a chance before slating it. Fuji and Cosina have made plenty of rangefinders and so I would guess that the rangefinder will be accurate enough. as for build, perhaps fuji have learned from their mistakes with earlier folders? Just maybe. As for using parts left over. That would probably be more trouble than it would be worth - maybe.

If they keep the price down and it performs well, I may well look at getting one. Very handy. I take the point that it is not as flat as some designs but it is FAR flatter than a conventional camera and as such will slip into bags, camera bag or not, with ease and be comfortable to tote about with no bulges.

 

[sooner]

I may be naive, but I find it hard to believe they would produce this new folder and repeat mistakes of old, i.e. have a flimsy bellows or whatever. I also think it will be priced a fair bit less than the Mamiya 7, which means at most $1300 but probably less. If they are going for the limited collector's market, I predict $1199, if they want to sell more volume than more like $799. Just my two cents. --John

 

[pevelg]

This camera is a beauty!!! Can't wait to find out what the price will be. Also wondering why they didn't go with an advance lever, would have been nice.

 

[John Robertson]

This camera is a beauty!!! Can't wait to find out what the price will be. Also wondering why they didn't go with an advance lever, would have been nice.

Perhaps the K.I.S.S. principle, Keep it simple etc, has been applied.😎

 

[CK Dexter Haven]

Perhaps the K.I.S.S. principle, Keep it simple etc, has been applied.😎

How complex is an advance lever?

I think they're just designing in a bit of nostalgia, rather than going for practicality. After all, it's a folder....

Maybe, though, there will be some manner of 'boutique accessory,' like the Leica rewind thingy.

Whatever. I still want one. Assuming it works and doesn't give me cross-eyed bokeh.

 

[atlnq9]

So when am I ever going to get a chance to switch to digital now that this is coming out? I hung up my 35mm for the Mamiya 7, but then when will a digital camera come out with this type of resolution coupled with a good lens and this compact? I am only wishing the film advance was a lever, that knob looks hard to turn with gloves.

 

[Abbazz]

How complex is an advance lever?

No so complex of course but if the 667 were to have an advance lever, it would require a ratcheted advance mechanism = additional cost + noise.

Cheers!

Abbazz

 

[David Goldfarb]

Think about the Mamiya 6 or the Pentacon 6--MF cameras with ratcheting advance levers that are notoriously problematic. Then compare the advance crank on a modular MF SLR like a Bronica, Hassy, Rolleiflex SL66, etc.--a really big mechanism. The Fuji 6x9 cameras have crank wind, but they're really bulky cameras. I think that to add a crank wind that wouldn't be prone to failure would make this already largish folder even larger.