GA645zi Lens Hood and Cable release

<p>Hi everyone, I'm new to this forum so best wishes to you all..<br>

I have bought a GA645zi from ebay and have just started using it, but it came without a lens hood - can I trust an off the shelf hood? Does it really need a hood?<br>

Can anyone recommend a general purpose cable release that will work with this model?<br>

How sharp is the lens at maximum aperture?<br>

thanks for your help!<br>

Ben</p>

 

<p>Hi Ben,<br>

most off-the-shelf hoods will obstruct the viewfinder in a major way. Keep looking at keh.com, they have the correct hood, which slants inwards, once in a while. The Zi doesn't really need one from my experience, a third party hood may be worse than none. The lens is very good at all apertures. Make sure to compensate exposure in backlighting situations, the integral metering of the Zi isn't very forgiving. As for the cable release, here is what the manual says:

<p align="left">"When using the cable release, the halfway-down mode is not possible. Be careful to make one positive shutter pressing to operate the distance, exposure and shutter."</p>

<p align="left">Not very clear on which model can be used, but I guess a regular mechanical cable release will do.</p>

<p align="left">Christoph</p>

</p>

<p>Christoph -- compensate exposure in which direction (for backlight situations)? Bump it up a notch to bring out the darker subject, or down to avoid blowing out backlights? I haven't really used mine much yet, so your tip will encourage me to try expermenting some in those situations to see which is best for my particular camera's meter.</p>

<p>I find my Zi underexposes quite a bit when there is a large difference in light intensity in the picture.<br>

Christoph</p>

<p>I just use a standard cable release. When using a release you can't lock in exposure or focus by pushing the shutter button halfway down. So if faced with a scene that requires you to point the camera in one direction to lock in exposure or focus and then turn the camera to the wanted composition you will have to use manual mode. I turn the camera to check the distance and exposure I want. Then manually sent them in the camera, compose the scene and fire the shutter with the cable release. <br>

I always use the factory hood so can't comment on other options. I have seen some lens flair in extreme conditions. The hood does make using filters (screw-in 52mm) harder. </p>

<p>Guys, that's fantastic, thanks for your help.<br>

Chuck, any idea what brand your standard cable release is?</p>

<p>If still reading Ben,<br>

See if you can get a Nikon or Pentax CR - well-made and reliable. Buy two, they are cheap. Never had a problem using the hood, which is a dinky little shield...<br>

I will add that hoods on zoom lenses are quite ineffective for longer focal lengths than the widest setting. I use a hat, checking first that the hat does not appear in the viewfinder for each shot. If you are keen on the hood idea, jsut buy a simple rubber one and screw it into the filter thread or filter ; that way you can fold it back if it vignettes.<br>

The Zi is very well made, but will respond to a solid reading of the manual.<br>

When released a lot of whiners complained that the zoom range was too small (55-90mm) but the reason is the lens nearly equals the fixed FL Fuji GA645, the lens of which (60mm f4) is tiny and as sharp as my Mamiya 7 lenses. These go for chicken feed these days, but are not anywhere as sophisticated as the zoom.</p>

<p> </p>

<p>I just use a Calumet house brand release. It is one of the better models with disk lock and is cloth covered. I use the 18 in model because I also use it for view camera lenses. As recommended Pentax or Nikon releases would get the job done. </p>