What to look for when buying GS645 GS645W

[gregarpp]

I have been using a Hasselblad system. But it has been sitting lately, cause the 3 bags of equipment is too much to lug around.

The main lenses that I use on the Hasselblad is my 40mm and 80mm

I recently purchased a GS645 (75mm) and GS645W (45mm)
To try out.

I want to see if I can use these instead of my hassleblad.

Anything I should look for when I get them? Things that are normal problems?

The photos of them shows they still look like new..
Hopefully $800 wasn't too much money for them

 

[rayfoxlee]

The standard GS645W has a 60mm fixed lens - at least as sold in the UK. Mine has the metal shield around the front of the lens. Apart from having a really nasty shuuter release noise ('crack'!), these are great cameras with fantastic glass. You do have to keep the film tensioned with your thumb as you make the initial wind-on, though.

Happy shooting

 

[kaiyen]

I'm pretty sure my 60m GS645 was a GS645S, not W. The W is the zone focus 45mm model.

allan

 

[Doug]

Yep, Allen, the GS645 is the folder with 75mm f/3.4, the GS645S is the non-folding 60mm with "bumper", and the GS645W is the zone-focus non-folding 45mm f/5.6 model.

I have a GS645S that had a sticky RF spot and broken plastic parts in the lens mount when I got it used. I guess the bumper wasn't sufficient to protect it from impact. Light meter was also non-linear, doing well in daylight but underexposing a few stops in low light. Fixed up by CameraWiz, great shop. I sense that these can't take a lot of abuse.

Sure is a great little camera to carry though, and the lens is excellent. I like the viewfinder framelines, which features not only parallax compensation but also field-size correction as you focus.

The GS645W despite its simpler design seems to carry a higher price used. Rarity?

I also have the GA645Wi, all motorized, AE, and AF... larger but still a great camera, and the 45mm is faster at f/4, handily focuses to 2.3 ft.

Greg, I'd check them out, or have your favorite repair person look them over, then throw some film in and see what you think. Sounds like a nice combo, but I have no experience with the use of a folder...

Oh, and I hear that the GS645 folder's bellows was subject to failure, someone said it was made of paper. There are suppliers for new leather bellows, and again I'd turn to Camera Wiz (800/471-8133) to supply and install one, if yours doesn't already have a replacement.

 

[Meleica]

Fuji 645 Page

http://members.aol.com/dcolucci/fujirf.htm

Dan

 

[Kragmeister]

Hey Greg,

I bought a GS645 folder via eBay several months ago. It was supposed to be good except for pinholes in the bellows. Seller misrepresented it but I kept it anyway. I used black duct tape to cover the holes on the bellows so it was light tight. I've since gotten a replacement bellows but another problem has me baffled.

The shutter release linkage is really screwey, it keeps hanging up. I know that this is a known problem and at one time Fuji had a revised linkage that they were installing but they don't service these cameras anymore. I hope to get this thing working right eventually because it is a replacement for a Super Ikonta A that went missing some years ago.

Anyway, the two main things to be aware of with the folders are the bellows and the shutter release linkage. Oh yeah, the linkage seems OK in warm weather, but it gets sticky when the weather is cold. It is NOT an issue with the shutter, but rather with the release linkage on the body and cover.

Later,
Greg