The Fujica Compact Deluxe - Definitely a Keeper

<p lang="en-GB">The Fujica Compact Deluxe. When you got one of these back in the day, you had arrived! Nice high aperture Fujinon 45mm F1.8 lens. Automatic exposure or manual with a cute little exposure meter on the top, and an aperture scale in the finder.</p><div></div>

<p lang="en-GB">Its got a good bright coupled rangefinder and, joy! It's actuated by a thumbwheel on the back, just where your thumb comes to rest. No turning a ring on the lens barrel to focus, and accidentally changing the aperture or shutter speed instead, like with most rangefinders. The distance is indicated by a disc on the top, which turns as you focus.</p>

<p>Forgot the picture.</p>

<p lang="en-GB">I acquired mine in a mixed lot at a local auction and quickly realised it was a keeper. It takes a standard button battery, and it is beautifully made and finished, with a really good ever ready case.</p><div></div>

<p lang="en-GB">The viewfinder is nice and bright, although the frame lines don't move to compensate for parallax, they seem accurate enough. Best of all, a large red spot appears in the finder now and again. I think its a camera shake warning. I don't have the manual.</p><div></div>

<p lang="en-GB">To be honest I never quite worked out the exposure metering but perhaps more by luck than judgement ended up with at least 35 nicely exposed, sharp Fuji slides, all from the Botanic Garden. How about that, Fuji film in a Fuji camera?</p><div></div>

<p>These were done about three weeks ago. Sadly the flowers are pretty much all gone now.</p><div></div>

<p>These were "scanned" by putting them on a light box and photographing them with my Sony Alpha 900 and 50mm Macro lens. Followed by cropping and minor levels adjustments.</p><div></div>

<p>You have surely seen this sculpture before, if you look at my posts. The sculptures are being removed soon, at the end of the exhibition.</p><div></div>

<p>Another sculpture:</p><div></div>

<p>Back to the Botanical theme. I think these are quinces.</p><div></div>

<p>I forgot to mention the advance lever is at the base but you soon get used to it. The only complaint against the Fujica is that I had to push the shutter button right down below the surrounding ring to trip it, but perhaps its just my example.</p>

<p>Last one for now anyway, thanks for looking.</p><div></div>

<p>Now <em>that's</em> a Fujica I haven't come across; it looks like a later version of the 35SE of which I'm so fond, using a battery-powered meter rather than the selenium cell. With the thumbwheel focusing and and great Fujinon f/1.8 lens, you can't really go far wrong,and the build quality looks right up to the very high Fuji standards. I see that the rewind handle has been shifted back to the top and it looks as if the battery compartment has replaced it on the side. It appears to be a very usable camera, <strong>John</strong>, and your images show the high quality one would expect. Thanks for the post.</p>

<p>Same as Rick, I haven't seen this model but it is an obvious development of the 35SE, a camera that I really like. The Fujis have a nice quality to them, especially the lenses, and you can see that in these colour pics.<br>

Neat little camera, great find, and thanks for the post.</p>

<p>Most definitely a keeper. Great shots. Thanks for posting.</p>

<p>Nice find, John. The camera looks new! Crisp examples</p>

<p>I remember my good friend Jan really like this camera too, looks like a beauty! I'm always partial to Fujinon lenses too.</p>

<p>Thanks for the responses. I've also got a Fujica 35EE (not SE) which has a Selenium meter but sadly it's not usable because the aperture blades are stuck. And yes Rick it has the rewind lever where the battery compartment is on the De Luxe. I dont know what the differences are between the SE and EE. And I'm still not sure what the red spot means in the viewfinder.</p>

<p>Nice camera and images John. Thanks for sharing.</p>

<p>That thumb wheel focusing seems like a great idea. I wish it had caught on with more manufacturers. Lovely series of images, John. Thanks for sharing them with us.</p>

<p>I concur in liking the thumb-wheel focusing where I have it (Voigtlaenders Vitessa and Bessa--the old pre-war RF one). Apparently the engineering of the wheel got complex where you had interchangeable lenses (Contax II/II &c.), but for fixed-lens cameras like this Fuji, it's great. As someone who uses many different cameras and lenses, I sometimes find myself having to look away from the VF (or fumble a bit) to find the focus ring vs. the aperture ring vs. (if applicable) the shutter-speed ring on cameras/lenses where all three are near each other. The thumb-wheel focusing avoids that. This Fujica seems to have acres of space on the lens barrel; the Vitessa's tiny lens bezel is already fiddly with just the aperture, speed, and sync settings in that tiny little space; I can't imagine the clutter if they had shoehorned a focusing device in there as well.<br>

<em>--Dave</em></p>

<p>Another advantage is that its the whole lens which moves in and out to focus, not just the front cell as in some rangefindrers. I guess its quite complicated on the inside, despite the clean exterior.</p>

<p>Heres another couple of shots.</p><div></div>

<p>Pampas grass was one of those 1970's things.</p><div></div>

<p>This sculpture is called Wing</p><div></div>

<p>And finally</p><div></div>

<p>too bad, I will miss that mermaid.</p>