The Fujifilm GF670: 2008-2014
A fond farewell to the last of the folding roll film rangefinder cameras
By Jason Schneider
Folding roll film cameras have been around since the late 19[SUP]th[/SUP] century, but it wasn’t until the Kodak 3A and 1A Autographic Specials of c.1916 that they acquired an integral coupled rangefinder—in this case a patented 3-banded split image rangefinder built into the base of the front standard. The golden age of roll film rangefinder cameras lasted from the early ‘30s through the late ‘50s. It began with the robust and ingenious Zeiss Super Ikontas and brilliant, but more delicate Voigtlander Rangefinder Bessas of the ‘30s and concluded with the advanced film-plane-focusing Mamiya Six Automat 2 and the exquisite Konica Pearl IV with its parallax-compensating projected frame line finder, both released in 1958. There were of course many other examples over the course of these two decades but none of them had built in meters except for the landmark Kodak Super Six-20 of 1938 (the world’s first autoexposure still camera) and the rare Agfa Automatic 66 of 1956. Both are idiosyncratic autoexposure cameras that used selenium cells to measure the light.
The last Super Ikontas, the 6x6cm III and IV, were in production for only 4 years, from 1956-1960, and the glorious Konica Pearl IV was made for about a year, with a total production of only 4-5 thousand. Fujifilm, which had offered the high quality full featured Super Fujica-6 folding 6 x 6cm rangefinder camera in the mid ‘50s, unexpectedly brought forth the Fujica GS645 Professional in 1983. It’s a thoroughly modern 6 x 4,5cm folder with built-in GPD cell metering, match-LED readouts, and projected parallax compensating frame lines in the finder. Many thought the GS645 was the last gasp medium format, analog rangefinder folders, which had been eclipsed by medium format SLRs and rigid bodied, interchangeable lens rangefinder cameras, and made superfluous by the digital revolution. And then, to everyone’s amazement roughly 25 years later, in 2008, Fujifilm and Cosina simultaneously released the Fujifiljm GF670 and the Voigtlander Bessa III, essentially badge engineered versions of the same fascinating dual format (6 x 7 and 6 x 6cm) folder with features closely paralleling those of the widely acclaimed Fuica GS645 Pro.
Fuji GS645: Fuji's 6 x 4.5 cm classic of 1983 provided non-TTL metering and parallax-compensating finder frame lines, presaging the GF670 of 2008.
Prototypes of the Fujifilm version in black and silver finish were first shown at the PMA Show in Las Vegas, which opened on January 31[SUP], [/SUP]2008. They were referred to informally as “the GF670 “but inscribed FUJIFILM 6x7. It’s not known whether these were mockups or functional cameras, but at the Photo and Imaging Expo in Tokyo in March 2008 Fujifilm assured everyone that the camera would be marketed by the end of the year. At Photokina 2008 in late September, three black GF670s were shown, and it was announced that the camera would be released as the Fujifilm GF670 Professional and Voigtlander Bessa III, the latter sporting the Voigtlander logo and an 80mm f/3.5 marked Heliar instead of Fujinon. Both are superb 6-element, 4-group double Gauss lenses that were evidently designed by Fuji. Based on contemporary reportage both versions of the camera were manufactured in the Cosina factory. But how much design input did Cosina have in the camera’s design, and did they produce the lens to Fuji’s specs or source it directly from Fuji? I suspect that Cosina, which has prodigious optical capabilities, made the lens, and also had a hand in configuring the GF670’s superb projected, parallax-compensating frame line, 2-format range/viewfinder. However, I can’t conclusively confirm this. In any event, neither version of the camera was widely available until 2009. Some markets like the USA had both Fuji and Voigtlander versions avai;able.
Fujifilm GF670 in silver: The last rangefinder roll film folder has a fantastic lens and a superb viewfinder. It was also marketed as the Voigtlander Bessa III.
For convenience, going forward I’ll simply refer to this camera as the GF670 with the understanding that the Bessa III is essentially the same camera in snazzy Voigtlander livery. It’s a handsome folding rangefinder camera that provides a choice of 6x7 and 6x6 formats (with automatic viewfinder adjustment!) by turning a little slotted screw inside the camera on the right-hand side of the film aperture, and accepts 120 or (sadly, discontinued) 220 film . Its outstanding range/viewfinder is extremely bright and clear and not only provides projected parallax compensating frame lines for either format, but also corrects for field frame size, the decrease in angular lens coverage as you focus closer. Its 37mm rangefinder base length combined with a 07x magnification finder provides an effective base length of only 25.9mm, which is adequate, but not stellar for critical focusing, Its topnotch 80mm f/3.5 lens covers a 35mm equivalent of 40mm when using the 6x7cm format and a 44mm lens for 6x6 cm, both semi-wide focal lengths great for general shooting but a little too wide for traditional portraiture. The minimum focus distance is 0.9m or 3 feet, which is par for the course for folding roll film camera, and the lens has a 7-bladed diaphragm that should produce nearly circular specular highlights The electronically controlled leaf shutter is extremely quiet, provides speeds of 4-1/500 sec plus B, and will not operate without battery power, rendering the camera inoperable without a fresh 3v CR2 Lithium cell in the battery compartment, On the plus side, folding the camera closed turns off the meter and shutter circuits to conserve battery power, and having a big shutter dial and adjacent +/- 2-stop exposure compensation dial atop the left-hand side od the camera is elegant and very convenient.
Voigtlander Bessa III: Gorgeous in black, this alternate version of the GF670 had the same superb 6-element, 4-group 80mm f/3.5 lens, but labeled "Heliar".
The GF670’s metering system employs an SPD (silicon photo diode), non-TTL metering system and has a small, round meter port located next to the rangefinder window on the front of the camera. The system provides center-weighted readings in aperture priority or metered manual mode, has LED shutter speed readouts, out of range, and low battery warnings in the finder, an EV coupling range of EV 0.5 to 19 at ISO 100, and sensitivity settings from ISO 25-3200. What it lacks in extreme low light sensitivity it makes up for in excellent overall performance—all GF670 reviewers praised its accuracy ease of use. Other features: hot shoe plus PC terminal, mechanical cable release socket, and a fully automatic film counter with knob film wind and manual first frame positioning (yay, no red window!). A soft case and optional lens hood were available at the time. The GF670 has a metal chassis but some plastic exterior components. It measures 7 x 4.29 x 2.52 inches (L x H x D) folded and its depth increases to 5.43 inches when open in shooting position. It weighs in at a portable 35.3 ounces without batteries, strap or film and was widely retailed at $1,899 in black or chrome (Fujifilm GF670 version) and about $400 more for the black Voigtlander Bessa III version. Current price range for pristine, fully functional examples of either at the major online auction sites: $3,000-$4,000!
Voigtlander Bessa III Wide: Rigid bodied wide-angle version has a superb 55mm f/4.5 Color-Skopar lens, internal upgrades, same feature set as Bessa III.
Just how good is the GF670/Bessa III? In a way it’s almost an irrelevant question since there’s nothing else quite like it. However, based on my admittedly unscientific analysis of posted online reviews here are its main assets and liabilities:
Plus points: very light compact and portable for a medium format film camera, spectacularly sharp lens, superb super bright and sharp parallax-compensating viewfinder that rivals the Leica M, very quiet shutter, very accurate metering system, aperture-priority AE with center-weighted pattern great for fast moving subjects, a unique fun camera to use.
The whole shebang: Voigtlander Bessa III Wide with boxes, lens cap, and original custom lens shade. Nice, but is it really worth $6K?
Minus points: Camera can be damaged by careless photographers who close the camera without unlocking the struts properly, shutter release is a hair trigger or (alternatively) requires too much pressure and release point is hard to anticipate, camera must be handled with extra care and the rangefinder may require frequent adjustments, camera has become a cult classic and is now too expensive for what you get. Alas, Fuji is not giving this now discontinued camera service support in the US, which means shipping the camera back to Fuji in Japan. Voigtlander is supporting their version providing it’s a genuine USA and not a grey market import.
This is a distillation of subjective comments and impressions posted online. I have no dog in this fight, and I will not pass judgments except to say that I agree with the two guys who said that this fascinating camera, the last of the rangefinder roll film folders, has attained the status of a cult classic. I’d be delighted to own one if these beasts if I could afford one, but that’s not going to happen anytime soon, if ever.
By the way, if you’re looking for a more robust, quite compact non-folding, wide-angle version of the GF670/Bessa III look no further than its wide-angle sibling, the Voigtlander Bessa III Wide, a model that was introduced a bit later and is now sadly out of production as well. It features a rigidly mounted 55mm f/4.5 Color-Skopar, a stunning 10-element, 8-group 28mm-equivalent design said to be exquisitely sharp and to provide beautiful natural rendition. All other features aside from the lens, closely parallel those of the folding Bessa III, and it was evidently produced only in beautiful black finish. It’s gorgeous all right, but alas it’s even rarer and more expensive the folding versions. Would you believe $5-6K for a near mint example? Internally, the Wide is more sophisticated than the III. The only places you’re likely to get it serviced are Fuji or Voigtlander in Japan.
A fond farewell to the last of the folding roll film rangefinder cameras
By Jason Schneider
Folding roll film cameras have been around since the late 19[SUP]th[/SUP] century, but it wasn’t until the Kodak 3A and 1A Autographic Specials of c.1916 that they acquired an integral coupled rangefinder—in this case a patented 3-banded split image rangefinder built into the base of the front standard. The golden age of roll film rangefinder cameras lasted from the early ‘30s through the late ‘50s. It began with the robust and ingenious Zeiss Super Ikontas and brilliant, but more delicate Voigtlander Rangefinder Bessas of the ‘30s and concluded with the advanced film-plane-focusing Mamiya Six Automat 2 and the exquisite Konica Pearl IV with its parallax-compensating projected frame line finder, both released in 1958. There were of course many other examples over the course of these two decades but none of them had built in meters except for the landmark Kodak Super Six-20 of 1938 (the world’s first autoexposure still camera) and the rare Agfa Automatic 66 of 1956. Both are idiosyncratic autoexposure cameras that used selenium cells to measure the light.
The last Super Ikontas, the 6x6cm III and IV, were in production for only 4 years, from 1956-1960, and the glorious Konica Pearl IV was made for about a year, with a total production of only 4-5 thousand. Fujifilm, which had offered the high quality full featured Super Fujica-6 folding 6 x 6cm rangefinder camera in the mid ‘50s, unexpectedly brought forth the Fujica GS645 Professional in 1983. It’s a thoroughly modern 6 x 4,5cm folder with built-in GPD cell metering, match-LED readouts, and projected parallax compensating frame lines in the finder. Many thought the GS645 was the last gasp medium format, analog rangefinder folders, which had been eclipsed by medium format SLRs and rigid bodied, interchangeable lens rangefinder cameras, and made superfluous by the digital revolution. And then, to everyone’s amazement roughly 25 years later, in 2008, Fujifilm and Cosina simultaneously released the Fujifiljm GF670 and the Voigtlander Bessa III, essentially badge engineered versions of the same fascinating dual format (6 x 7 and 6 x 6cm) folder with features closely paralleling those of the widely acclaimed Fuica GS645 Pro.
Fuji GS645: Fuji's 6 x 4.5 cm classic of 1983 provided non-TTL metering and parallax-compensating finder frame lines, presaging the GF670 of 2008.
Prototypes of the Fujifilm version in black and silver finish were first shown at the PMA Show in Las Vegas, which opened on January 31[SUP], [/SUP]2008. They were referred to informally as “the GF670 “but inscribed FUJIFILM 6x7. It’s not known whether these were mockups or functional cameras, but at the Photo and Imaging Expo in Tokyo in March 2008 Fujifilm assured everyone that the camera would be marketed by the end of the year. At Photokina 2008 in late September, three black GF670s were shown, and it was announced that the camera would be released as the Fujifilm GF670 Professional and Voigtlander Bessa III, the latter sporting the Voigtlander logo and an 80mm f/3.5 marked Heliar instead of Fujinon. Both are superb 6-element, 4-group double Gauss lenses that were evidently designed by Fuji. Based on contemporary reportage both versions of the camera were manufactured in the Cosina factory. But how much design input did Cosina have in the camera’s design, and did they produce the lens to Fuji’s specs or source it directly from Fuji? I suspect that Cosina, which has prodigious optical capabilities, made the lens, and also had a hand in configuring the GF670’s superb projected, parallax-compensating frame line, 2-format range/viewfinder. However, I can’t conclusively confirm this. In any event, neither version of the camera was widely available until 2009. Some markets like the USA had both Fuji and Voigtlander versions avai;able.
Fujifilm GF670 in silver: The last rangefinder roll film folder has a fantastic lens and a superb viewfinder. It was also marketed as the Voigtlander Bessa III.
For convenience, going forward I’ll simply refer to this camera as the GF670 with the understanding that the Bessa III is essentially the same camera in snazzy Voigtlander livery. It’s a handsome folding rangefinder camera that provides a choice of 6x7 and 6x6 formats (with automatic viewfinder adjustment!) by turning a little slotted screw inside the camera on the right-hand side of the film aperture, and accepts 120 or (sadly, discontinued) 220 film . Its outstanding range/viewfinder is extremely bright and clear and not only provides projected parallax compensating frame lines for either format, but also corrects for field frame size, the decrease in angular lens coverage as you focus closer. Its 37mm rangefinder base length combined with a 07x magnification finder provides an effective base length of only 25.9mm, which is adequate, but not stellar for critical focusing, Its topnotch 80mm f/3.5 lens covers a 35mm equivalent of 40mm when using the 6x7cm format and a 44mm lens for 6x6 cm, both semi-wide focal lengths great for general shooting but a little too wide for traditional portraiture. The minimum focus distance is 0.9m or 3 feet, which is par for the course for folding roll film camera, and the lens has a 7-bladed diaphragm that should produce nearly circular specular highlights The electronically controlled leaf shutter is extremely quiet, provides speeds of 4-1/500 sec plus B, and will not operate without battery power, rendering the camera inoperable without a fresh 3v CR2 Lithium cell in the battery compartment, On the plus side, folding the camera closed turns off the meter and shutter circuits to conserve battery power, and having a big shutter dial and adjacent +/- 2-stop exposure compensation dial atop the left-hand side od the camera is elegant and very convenient.
Voigtlander Bessa III: Gorgeous in black, this alternate version of the GF670 had the same superb 6-element, 4-group 80mm f/3.5 lens, but labeled "Heliar".
The GF670’s metering system employs an SPD (silicon photo diode), non-TTL metering system and has a small, round meter port located next to the rangefinder window on the front of the camera. The system provides center-weighted readings in aperture priority or metered manual mode, has LED shutter speed readouts, out of range, and low battery warnings in the finder, an EV coupling range of EV 0.5 to 19 at ISO 100, and sensitivity settings from ISO 25-3200. What it lacks in extreme low light sensitivity it makes up for in excellent overall performance—all GF670 reviewers praised its accuracy ease of use. Other features: hot shoe plus PC terminal, mechanical cable release socket, and a fully automatic film counter with knob film wind and manual first frame positioning (yay, no red window!). A soft case and optional lens hood were available at the time. The GF670 has a metal chassis but some plastic exterior components. It measures 7 x 4.29 x 2.52 inches (L x H x D) folded and its depth increases to 5.43 inches when open in shooting position. It weighs in at a portable 35.3 ounces without batteries, strap or film and was widely retailed at $1,899 in black or chrome (Fujifilm GF670 version) and about $400 more for the black Voigtlander Bessa III version. Current price range for pristine, fully functional examples of either at the major online auction sites: $3,000-$4,000!
Voigtlander Bessa III Wide: Rigid bodied wide-angle version has a superb 55mm f/4.5 Color-Skopar lens, internal upgrades, same feature set as Bessa III.
Just how good is the GF670/Bessa III? In a way it’s almost an irrelevant question since there’s nothing else quite like it. However, based on my admittedly unscientific analysis of posted online reviews here are its main assets and liabilities:
Plus points: very light compact and portable for a medium format film camera, spectacularly sharp lens, superb super bright and sharp parallax-compensating viewfinder that rivals the Leica M, very quiet shutter, very accurate metering system, aperture-priority AE with center-weighted pattern great for fast moving subjects, a unique fun camera to use.
The whole shebang: Voigtlander Bessa III Wide with boxes, lens cap, and original custom lens shade. Nice, but is it really worth $6K?
Minus points: Camera can be damaged by careless photographers who close the camera without unlocking the struts properly, shutter release is a hair trigger or (alternatively) requires too much pressure and release point is hard to anticipate, camera must be handled with extra care and the rangefinder may require frequent adjustments, camera has become a cult classic and is now too expensive for what you get. Alas, Fuji is not giving this now discontinued camera service support in the US, which means shipping the camera back to Fuji in Japan. Voigtlander is supporting their version providing it’s a genuine USA and not a grey market import.
This is a distillation of subjective comments and impressions posted online. I have no dog in this fight, and I will not pass judgments except to say that I agree with the two guys who said that this fascinating camera, the last of the rangefinder roll film folders, has attained the status of a cult classic. I’d be delighted to own one if these beasts if I could afford one, but that’s not going to happen anytime soon, if ever.
By the way, if you’re looking for a more robust, quite compact non-folding, wide-angle version of the GF670/Bessa III look no further than its wide-angle sibling, the Voigtlander Bessa III Wide, a model that was introduced a bit later and is now sadly out of production as well. It features a rigidly mounted 55mm f/4.5 Color-Skopar, a stunning 10-element, 8-group 28mm-equivalent design said to be exquisitely sharp and to provide beautiful natural rendition. All other features aside from the lens, closely parallel those of the folding Bessa III, and it was evidently produced only in beautiful black finish. It’s gorgeous all right, but alas it’s even rarer and more expensive the folding versions. Would you believe $5-6K for a near mint example? Internally, the Wide is more sophisticated than the III. The only places you’re likely to get it serviced are Fuji or Voigtlander in Japan.
