Any consensus on Fujifilm GF670?

As my medium format cameras are starting to get too heavy for travel, I'm considering the now-discontinued GF670. B&H is out of stock but Adorama still has new ones. True, they are very expensive and have a fixed 80mm lens while I prefer a wide angle, but they weigh just over two pounds w/o battery. So what is the consensus on the performance of this camera? As with all folders, there's the question of the lens remaining parallel to the film plane, but perhaps Fuji has conquered that problem.

I had the same thought about the heavy MF kits. I really wanted a Mamiya 7II but they are way over-priced for my skill set. And, then I looked at the Fuji series 6x7's but couldn't find one in my price range newer than the 1970's (SN's vs dates). SO, i settled for a Fuji GW690III and a manual light meter..

 

The GW690III has a fixed 90mm f3.5 lens or a 65mm f5.6. The GF670 you're looking at has a fixed 80 mm f3.5. Both of those 90mm lenses are 35mm-equivalent of about 40mm. Seems like they're just on the border of a decent landscape lens but versatile enough to capture people. .

 

So, at this point I'm still shopping for a 670 of some kind to have a MF rangefinder with a couple interchangeable lenses for better light manipulation (lower f stops). Most of what's available are from Japan where ebay descriptions seem rubber-stamped from one auction to another and are generally shadowy. I'd have to be convinced of trustworthiness before I'd drop that much money on something thousands of miles away with no decent way to return it.

 

I shoot mostly landscape stuff and try double exposure when it seems tasteful. The 40mm-equivalent focal length does ok at the upper end of what I'd call 'wide-angle'. But I'd still prefer a smaller camera to deliver the same product, i.e. there's a reason the GW690 is referred to as the 'Texas Leica" - it's huge for a range finder. But, it's nowhere near as cumbersome as my Mamiya 1000s with it's 45mm lens trying to compose something without four hands and three arms. Then again, that's why there's tripods:-) So, I've decided that MF film photography is an exercise in patience and camera size & weight are sometimes just not-negotiable.

 

I liked the idea of the small GF670 you're looking at but didn't care for the price tag on such a frail piece of technology. Seems like one pin hole in that bellows and you're really screwed. That, and buying a used folding camera with a bellows would be beyond my threshold of trust. I was looking hard at the GS645 at one time but then saw what some of them looked like after ten years or so: pretty ratty.

 

Just two cents from an amateur. .

Nico's Photography show on you-tube did a review on that camera about 4 months ago. I have no experience with it myself.

Nico's stuff is very interesting. Thanks for that. But as for the GF670, I think I'll give it a pass.

I have a GW690 II that I have not used (I also have a GW670 II). if anyone's looking. It has a high shutter count (on the order of 5,600) but is in otherwise good shape (the lens hood got bent slightly). I do like the GW670 II, but it is a handful. Still, it's lighter than a Kodak Medalist or something like that. Anyone looking for one of those? I have Kodak Medalist I and IIs.

As my medium format cameras are starting to get too heavy for travel, I'm considering the now-discontinued GF670. B&H is out of stock but Adorama still has new ones. True, they are very expensive and have a fixed 80mm lens while I prefer a wide angle, but they weigh just over two pounds w/o battery. So what is the consensus on the performance of this camera? As with all folders, there's the question of the lens remaining parallel to the film plane, but perhaps Fuji has conquered that problem.

I had the same thought about the heavy MF kits. I really wanted a Mamiya 7II but they are way over-priced for my skill set. And, then I looked at the Fuji series 6x7's but couldn't find one in my price range newer than the 1970's (SN's vs dates). SO, i settled for a Fuji GW690III and a manual light meter..

 

The GW690III has a fixed 90mm f3.5 lens or a 65mm f5.6. The GF670 you're looking at has a fixed 80 mm f3.5. Both of those 90mm lenses are 35mm-equivalent of about 40mm. Seems like they're just on the border of a decent landscape lens but versatile enough to capture people. .

 

So, at this point I'm still shopping for a 670 of some kind to have a MF rangefinder with a couple interchangeable lenses for better light manipulation (lower f stops). Most of what's available are from Japan where ebay descriptions seem rubber-stamped from one auction to another and are generally shadowy. I'd have to be convinced of trustworthiness before I'd drop that much money on something thousands of miles away with no decent way to return it.

 

I shoot mostly landscape stuff and try double exposure when it seems tasteful. The 40mm-equivalent focal length does ok at the upper end of what I'd call 'wide-angle'. But I'd still prefer a smaller camera to deliver the same product, i.e. there's a reason the GW690 is referred to as the 'Texas Leica" - it's huge for a range finder. But, it's nowhere near as cumbersome as my Mamiya 1000s with it's 45mm lens trying to compose something without four hands and three arms. Then again, that's why there's tripods:) So, I've decided that MF film photography is an exercise in patience and camera size & weight are sometimes just not-negotiable.

 

I liked the idea of the small GF670 you're looking at but didn't care for the price tag on such a frail piece of technology. Seems like one pin hole in that bellows and you're really screwed. That, and buying a used folding camera with a bellows would be beyond my threshold of trust. I was looking hard at the GS645 at one time but then saw what some of them looked like after ten years or so: pretty ratty.

 

Just two cents from an amateur. .

 

I've carried a Fuji GW690 around Europe in a shoulder bag several summers recently. Wonderful negatives (FP4 at ASA100), but this last time I concluded that the camera was becoming too heavy and awkward to carry all day. I thought I'd surrender some negative area and bring something easier to use in the future.

 

I also considered the GF670 but concluded that there was little advantage, to me, over a late model Rolleiflex. The 6x6 negative is very close in area to the 6x7 in the Fuji, the Rollei is of similar weight, and is compact and fits into a small bag. Worries about durability of a folding mechanism and bellows life don't arise. The cost of the GF670, even used, is less than attractive.