Fuji GSW690

[jeremiah_lee]

I am considering purchasing the Fuji GSW690III mainly to be used

for Landscape photography. Does anyone know how well the lens perform

at close range; and what is the minimum focusing distance. Also,

how accurate is the DOF scale on the lens (I presumme that it does have it). Since I take photographs mainly in the Alps where the sun is always bright and the sky is clear, lens flare is an important issue. Can anyone tell me the optical properties of the Fuji lens? I tried the Fuji corporate web-site, and there is no way to get the MTF graph for the lens on this camera (or any lens for that matter). Also, I shoot mainly with an M6, I found the lens shade on the wide angle lens always protrude into the viewfinder (in the camera body), and the auxillary viewfinder makes it rather hard to frame accurately on near field objects. Does the Fuji have similar problems with parts of the lens shade getting in the way?

Any response will be greatly appreciated.

Many thanks in advance,

Jerry

[p_ll_stef_nsson]

I have the GSW & GS690III cameras. The lenses are like 28 & 35 on M6. I have used Leica M6 since 1984, and 3 years ago i started to use Fuji. The lenses are as good as Leicas, but have a limeted life time of the shutter. But the price is so low on this cameras and it cost only about 500 DM to fix new after 6000 exposure. But to work with this cameras are almost similar to Leica. But the lenses protrude into the viewfinder. It4s a rangefinder. And no rangefinder camera in the world is good for closeups. But for landscapes it4s a very good cameras.

I have been photographer for 16 years and never ever looked at the DOF scale. At infinity it does not matter. But MF camers has a lot shallower DOF than 35mm. But the booklet ho came with the cameras the have a long list of DOF for people who are intrested. But it4s a great camera for landscape and traveling.

All the best

PS

[zonghou_xiong1]

Lens flare has never been a problem for me using a Fuji GSW690III.

This is quite amazing because I often experienced flares with my best

Nikkor AIS lense for the same shot. Fuji has a unique coating:

Electron Beam Coating, or EBC in short. Experts claim EBC coating

layers are extremely accurate. This perhaps explains the high

optical quality of Fujinon lenses. The DOF scale looks accurate to

me. The GSW comes with a 65mm/f5.6 lens. In practice I think the

widest aperture you can use is f/8 because at f/5.6 vegnetting is a

problem. For landscape use I normally ensure the infinity is in

focus. This pretty much guarantees the greatest depth of field for

all f-stop settings. I once in a rash forgot to focus, leaving the

camera focused at about a couple of meters, the picture was ruined

despite that the aperture setting was f/11.

[craig_schroeder]

The minimum focusing distance is 1 meter according to some Fuji literature I have.

[bill_keeler]

I've been using a GW690II for a number of years and have all but abandoned my other med format cameras.I've never had any problems with flare even when shooting into the sun.I found the GSW a bit too wide for my taste and have stayed with the GW.I don't think there is any better value for the money.There is a lot of negitive area to play with,especially in the darkroom.I don't work in color,so I can only speak for the b/w side of the coin.If you work with the Konica IR as I've been for a few years the GW6x9 is a match made in heaven.So jump in and if it doesn't work you can always sell the camera.

[jack_chase]

I use Hassy's for production work, and a GW690III for alot of my personal work. I recently enlarged a 6 x 4.5 portion of of a negative from the GW and found it to be every bit as sharp as a 6 x4.5 crop on negs produced by the Hassy. The color rendition seemed better than the Hassy negs! That FUJI lens is an incredibly sharp, contrasty lens. That, combined with the huge negative size, light weight, ease of use and low price make it a good buy, IMO.

 

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Close focus distance is 1 meter for both the GW & the GSW.

[fred___1]

The Fuji Rangefinders are excellent cameras, simple rugged very good optics. They work surprising well close up since rangefinder focusing is very accurate. And the depth of field scales are very accurate.

[ellis_vener_photography]

My Fujica GSW 690 was easily my favorite non 6x17 medium format camera. I use the past tense because my assistant dropped it and possibly fatally damaged it. I found the range finder and the DoF scale to be very accurate and used for everything from portraits to landscapes. The lens is not only tack sharp, but also crisp and vibrant and color was always a delight. Enjoy yours

[craig_mccormick]

I have used a GSW690II for some landscape and

interior architectural photography. I have found

the depth of field in the 90mm lens at f32 to

remain sharp up to about 2.5'. The camera has

one major drawback per my experience. The 'T'

time exposure setting cannot be released by a

second pressing of the shutter release button.

Instead, the shutter closes by advancing the

film. When I first began to use this camera, I lost

many good shots to streaking in longer (3 sec +)

exposures. Now I quickly apply the lens cap

before advancing, which is still terribly

inconvenient. Why Fuji would not change this

mechanism puzzles me, because the optics,

durability and price of the camera make it my

favorite medium format camera.

[peter_thoshinsky]

I just started a rather lengthy photo project (enviornmental portraits in San Francisco, TMAX 400). After throwing thirty fast rolls through the camera I can honestly say that it's a joy to use. Be forewarned, one needs to find a methodical system. The cameras linmitations force some careful steps everytime one takes out the camera. Once you fall into the routine it's pretty damn easy. I use one film speed. One. I always pull the camera out and IMMEDIATELY pull off the lens cap. This needs to be done everytime without fail as soon the camera clears the bag. I then take an immediate, right off the bat, incident reading which I set on the body , (after confirming the ISO is set to 400 ... that's why one film speed, it avoids meter/exposure errors). I immediately transfer that meter reading to the camera. Now all of that takes 30 seconds. 90% of the pitfalls are taken care of. Now just remember to focus, that's the last 10%( easy to forget) and fire away. You can't load or advance the film improperly. You can't shoot on an empty camera. You can't shoot after you have run out of film. The camera will not let you. Changing film is a bit tedious, but I get better each time. The camera is in a word "simple". As far as the lack of a "Time" feature, not a problem. Just toss on the lens cap and move the shutter dial. That took 12 seconds to learn to do. The images are stunning. I see no need for TMAX 100, as the grain of 6x9 is non existant. The tonality is not to be believed. Creamy is the word that comes to mind. Next purchase is a GW 690.....for a more head and shoulders approach. As for non interchangeable backs. Who cares. I shoot eight frames and switch, which is about my norm anyhow.

A contact sheet of 8 6x9's is very cool....easy to work from. Overall is really a great photographers tool. If you like "KISS" this is the camera for you.

[bob_yildiran]

Can anyone help me with some comperative information on the results obtained with Fuji GSW690 and 4X5 format with, say, a good 90-120 mm lens? I am considering to do mostly landscape photography with wide angle to supplement my N90S gear which is perfect for slides but falls short in quality when printed larger than 16X20. I have seen the larger size prints of Mamiya 7 as well as a lot of 4X5s and the difference was obvious in most cases. I am just wondering whether the 690 would be a good choice to obtain better results than those with Mamiya. (Printing is no problem.) Thanks.

[davidgarth]

I agree with all of the other responses about the GSW690. These cameras are amazing and the lenses are incredible. However, for a 20x24 print, the difference between a print from a 690 negative and a good 4x5 negative will be obvious on most subjects. Can the print from the 690 be excellent? Yes. Can the 4x5 be a little better? Yes. The difference on a 16x20 print will be less, and there will be virtually no difference in 11x14s.

 

Dave Garth