new to me GS645W

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Just got this and have 2 questions: How does the "time" function work, and does it have anything to do with the button beside the shutter with the letter T on it? Are the metering diodes supposed to light up with slight pressure of the shutter button or is there another way of activating the meter? Thanks for your help.
Frank
 
Hi, you have an unusual camera, from what I hear; one that carries a price premium over the more common GS645S like I have. :)

I think the meter and shutter setup is the same for these two, the major differences being your lack of a rangefinder, and your 45/5.6 lens instead of my 60/4. I don't recall if yours has the same lens-guard/cow-catcher as mine, since your lens might not stick out as far.

Anyway -- yes, light pressure on the shutter button activates the meter and its viewfinder diodes, the only way I know to do that. And there's no delay in their turning off when you remove your finger.

There is no "B" shutter setting, and as you suggest, "T" is activated with the grey button beside the lens labled T rather than as a setting on the shutter dial.

With the shutter cocked, press the T button and the shutter will open and stay open until you press the shutter button (or recock the shutter by winding the film).

You can also use the self-timer to trip the shutter in T mode. Crank the self-timer lever (at left between the aperture and focus rings) down a ways and when you press the grey T button, the shutter will open and stay open after the set delay. This would be handy for time exposures, to let vibrations from your pressing the T button subside before the shutter opens. And you could use a cable release to close the shutter and end the exposure without jiggling the camera.

I also have the later GA645Wi, like yours with a 45mm lens, and like it a lot. The wide lens means you have to get right in close to your subject to fill the frame, and for scenic landscapes it'll be good to have something interesting in the foreground.

Good luck, and have fun!
 
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Doug,
New batteries solved my light meter problem. It works just fine now. Thanks for the info on the "time" function. I had tried pressing the grey button but could not press it far enough with my stubby fingertip. Knowing that this was the proper proceedure, I used a pen tip and it worked just fine. I didn't know at all about the self timer before because the lever end is so inconspicuous, so thanks also for that info.
This camera does not have a bumper-bar like the 60mm lens version, and you are correct, there is no rangefinder. Focussing is by scale.
Now that I'm set, I plan to go out in a few minutes on my motorcycle with my new camera and see what I can see!
Thank you for your help!
 
Well I got back with a roll of 120 filled with images. After the last shot the camera shutter button was locked out as it should be and I wound on the film to get it all onto the takeup spool. It became very difficult to wind, long past when all the film should have been transfered. At home I opened the camera in the dark to see what was up and found that all the film and paper backing had transfiered over to the take-up spool, and the paper tape used to seal the roll once it is taken from the camera was rubbingalong the inside of the take-up spool chamber, making the winding of the film difficult. The reason it was rubbing though, was because the fim/paper backing had not loaded tightly onto the take-up spool and the roll of film/paper backing was larger in diameter than the film spool edges. I'm hoping that this was just due to mis-matched film spools: I was winding HP5+ onto a leftover Delta 100 spool. I know it shouldn't matter, but until I finish my second roll of HP% wound onto an old HP5 spool, that is my hope. BTW, I have read about putting tension on the film as you begin winding it onto the take-up spook with this camera, so I did, and I even pulled up on the flexible metal tensioning tab that presses against the film feed spool. We'll see what happens...
I did enjoy using the camera very much though. The large legible markings for shutter speed, lens aperture, and distance were great too use. No problem zone focussing, and the metering LED's worked well. Perhaps Fuji should have named this camera "the Clack" though, because the shutter makes such a loud sound going off! Is this normal?
 
Good news! The second roll wound on tughtly. Maybe it was the rollers, or perhaps I was a bit more careful loading it. Now to do some developing tonight. Anyone else care to join this thread? I'm feeling a bit lonely.
 
well frank, we're all glad to have you in out little forum but for me, i have no clue about the fuji so i'm just an observer on this one.

joe
 
Thanks for saying "Hi." Joe.

More good news: Based on a look with a loop at the negs, they're sharp, well exposed, and properly spaced. I'm going to have to learn how to post images to this site now.
 
Hi Frank, glad to see you join the Forum! And sorry to hear of your trouble with that first roll loosely wound. I think you're quite right about the cause... Somehow that roll must not have started off taut as it should be, and that created the problem at the end.

The small chrome spring-roller in the left-side feed chamber I think just keeps the film from loosening up on the feed side. The roller certainly isn't designed to offer any resistance to the movement of the film.

But the "spool axle" for want of the correct term, at the top of the feed chamber, notches into the keyway at the top of the spool, and for a reason. There's a brake in the body above that to provide some resistance to the rotation of the feed spool, in aid of tighter takeup. You might try rotating now-empty feed spool to see how much resistance to rotation you feel. In mine it's not a lot of resistance, but it obviously isn't freely rotating either. Too little braking action might lead to loose takeup.

On the takup side chamber, there's a larger chrome spring/roller to help get the film on the spool snugly. This camera has clearly been designed to avoid this loose takeup problem. But as I load the film, I commonly press my thumb firmly on the feed-side film as I use the film-advance to get the roll around to the start marks. I think that's a good habit.

Glad your second try worked better. Maybe you applied more resistance this time in getting the film started. Different brand spools shouldn't make a difference. And nice to hear the negs look good! Always encouraging. :) (BTW, that magnifier is a "loupe")

The "CLACK" is a feature of this camera that I think was deliberately added in. If you use the self-timer, the CLACK comes at the start of the delay sequence, and the shutter works later with a soft click, so it's not inherent in the shutter itself, but in the tripping mechanism.

Why is it that way? Who knows, but it certainly alerts the "victim" they've been snapped, so sneaking around doesn't work! A few years ago on vacation at the beach I was wandering along a little-trod section, well up away from the wave line. I came up behind a young lady reclining on her blanket, no one else around, with a nice view down the coastline. As two runners came jogging along the wet sand lower down I snapped a picture of the scene. Poor young lady almost jumped out of her skin, she was so startled by that CLACK!

When I had my camera overhauled by CameraWiz (broken lens mount etc), I asked if he could remove that sound, but he said it was built into the shutter.

If you hit the Quote or Post Reply buttons at the right instead of using the default text box below, a window will open with provision for posting an illustration too.
 
Thanks again for your help Doug!

Here's a test to see if an image post works for me. It's a photo of a GS645W from KEH Camera, selling for about $700 US. I got mine for $500 Cdn.

(Spelling is not one of my strong points.)
 
Hello Joe in Edmonton,

I'm from a bit north of Toronto, in a very nice little town called Uxbridge.
 
Cute little camera, isn't it, Frank! So light and small for such a sizable negative. It looks to me your T button would be harder to depress than mine, which is on the corner radius of that little side-housing.

Assuming yours has similar structure inside, be careful not to knock the camera lens against anything! Broken plastic parts in the lens mount seems to be a common problem with these cameras.

When I got mine (used) it had this hidden damage, though it appeared to function ok at the time. I quickly found that the RF spot was sticky; the moving prism/mirror must use a spring to return it one direction, and the lube was sticky. Then I found that while the camera's meter was accurate in daylight, it underexposed progressively more as the light dimmed. CameraTechs in Seattle said it was infeasible to repair. :-(

When I later sent it to Fuji-expert CameraWiz, he found the broken lens mount too. All three issues were fixed, and a few weeks later I had the camera back functioning like new for only $135. I'm delighted...

And I think you are probably delighted at having found yours for only $500CDN, as that seems very reasonable. That's about what I paid for mine, and from what little I've seen, your W model usually sells for more. How did you find it?
 
And I think you are probably delighted at having found yours for only $500CDN, as that seems very reasonable. That's about what I paid for mine, and from what little I've seen, your W model usually sells for more. How did you find it? [/B][/QUOTE]

There is a monthly buy and sell magazine for my geographical area that also has a website that is updated every week. (Since I have promised my wife I would stop checking it out, I don't mind letting out this information and I don't have to kill you now that you know:) ) I also found my Konica Hexar AF from the same source. My problem is that since I know what to look for, if I see an attractive and under-priced quality camera, I can't control myself from trying to aquire it, hence the promise to stop looking.
 
Ah! I see you know about the Dark Side! Or at least your wife does. :-D

Perhaps your local "exchange" is better than bigger ones with broad geographical participation. More likely perhaps to have face-to-face transactions and repeated contacts, and this would seem to reduce the likelihood of bad trades of various sorts.

But, I did get my broken GS645S in a similar way, and I'm sure the seller was aware the camera had problems that he chose not to mention. That was at the annual Puget Sound Photo Collectors Society swap meet in Puyallup WA, an event big enough to have an international draw. Always on the 4th Saturday of April.

So, I'm now taught that one should know the product before buying, and examine the individual item carefully, knowing what to look for. Most people are honorable, but some put short-term self-interest first.
 
Doug said:

Perhaps your local "exchange" is better than bigger ones with broad geographical participation.
Click to expand...

Doug, I think you're right on. It's big enough that some interesting stuff comes up, but not so big that all the good stuff gets snatched up right away. When I bought the Hexar, the seller told me that I was the only person to contact him. Nobody else looking at that time realized what a great camera this is for the asking price of $350 Cdn.
 
Wow, phenomenal deals like a Hexar RF for $350CDN could lead to a feeding frenzy! Well done... :) But true that you have to know about the camera and value its attributes before recognizing the killer deal.
 
Oops, yes, I knew it was an AF, and I thought I was being careful to be correct, but obviously the fickle finger of fate mistyped that! In referring to is attributes I was thinking of the positives like lens quality, exposure system and such, as well as the negative of only 1/250 top shutter speed.
 
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