FUJICA G 690, PERFORMANCE ?

[bengt_rehn]

I am thinking of buying a used Fujica G 690 with one 65mm and one

100mm lens. The camera are about thirty years old, but in very good

condition. My intention is to use it for panorama and as a 6x6 by

cropping. I want to know if the technical quality of the slides will

be significant worse, compared to newer FUJI GSW 690 models or Zeiss

CF Distagon 60/3,5 or zeiss Planar CF 80/2,8 for the same film area?

My main interest are landscape photography. I will be thankful for

any comments. Would 700 USD be a reasonable price for the body plus

two lenses ?

[brian yarvin]

I remember these cameras well! And if my memory serves me correctly, sharpness won't be the problem you'll be facing. These cameras were tough to maintain and repair when they were new, now that they're thirty years old; you're looking at a technician's nightmare.

 

But if they're in working order you'll get slides of good "technical quality."

 

The problem with a camera like this is that you're really rolling the dice - the next roll you load may well be its' last. Is this a risk you want to be taking?

 

Brian in Queens, NY

[andrew_schank]

Here's an older thread from the archives <a href=" http://www.photo.net/bboard/q-and-a-fetch-msg?msg_id=000wOL">Fuji G690 info</a>. I looked into the camera a while back myself, but was turned off by the lack of parts availability and questionable reliability. It might be worth picking up if the price is extremely reasonable.

[daniel_kreithen1]

I used to have one of these (actually two bodies) as well as the 65, 100, and 180mm lenses. The lenses are great...sharpness will not be an issue, just be sure to use a lens hood. The color rendition will be commensurate with other single coated simple formulation lenses you may have used (not an issue for black and white, of course). For landscapes on a tripod, it's a pretty good camera. While it's relatively easy to hand hold (if you have big hands), the shutter release is not so smooth, the "firing point" is sometimes difficult to predict and will vary from lens to lens. I found that camera "jerk" or shake can be a problem when hand-holding. Don't be fooled by the talk of it being a Texas-Leica...it's nothing of the sort, both in build quality and handling Leica beats it to a pulp (but not in negative size, of course). Camera Wiz in Harrisonburg, VA will still repair these things, but there are no spare parts. Definitely budget a trip there (in time as well as $$$), you'll be glad you did if you intend to use it for any length of time. $700 would be a more than reasonable price if everything works fine, but you'll probably need something overhauled. For my money, even though the film size is smaller, I'd check out the new Bronica 645 rangefinder before I bought another of these beasts. I do like the 6x9 format though. Perhaps a small 6x9 view camera would better meet your needs.

[allan_jamieson2]

I don't have any experience of the Fuji G690 cameras with the interchangeable lenses. However, I did buy a used Fuji GSW 690 MK 2 camera a few years ago and I can tell you that the results that I am getting from it are much better than what I used to get from my virtually redundant Pentax 67.

 

If landscape type work is your main interest then this sort of camera will be ideal for your needs. The main problem being the difficulty in getting spare parts for the G 690 model and also for that matter even the much newer GSW 690 Mk 2 that I have myself.

 

If you can afford it you might be better getting a Mk 3 version of the GSW 690 with the fixed 65 mm lense or even a good Mk 2 version. It might only be just one lense, but you can do an awful lot with it. The 6 x 9 cm format isn't really panoramic, but a bit of cropping here and there can make it appear to be. Pity that Fuji don't make a 6 x12 cm rangefinder camera with a good wide angle lense, now that would be pretty much my ideal camera !

 

I will try to attach a recent example or two of my work with my GSW 690 to give you an idea of what you can achieve with this type of camera.

[david_f._stein]

Fujica G 690: Nothing wrong with this camera: not much bigger than the newest ones; much more robust with an excellent tripod mount, MUCH quieter shutter and true B setting; lenses were not only finest of their era but there is much to be said for this generation lens; maybe not as sharp as the latest and greatest, whatever that means, but you are likely to get better tonalities and shadow rendering. Modern lenses favor the magazine cover look. Like all Fuji RFs, the G690 has a great VF and RF: at a higher magnification than the Mamiya 7 and showing a greater percentage of the image, also. Everyone talks about the Fuji lenses-the VF and RF is also great.There are only 2 things that will generally require maintenance: the leaf shutter and the film wind-the last being the weak link in most any camera I've ever examined. Short of a shutter spring or leaf flat-out breaking, many fine servicers can do the shutter overhaul. If a film wind part breaks, we may be out of luck but again, service your camera periodically and like our cars we get to the problem soon enough. Good luck.

[kaj_froling]

Hi

 

I bought one a year ago,(dont have any ides of age but condition is good and it works just fine), the 100 f3.5 lens is very big.

Sharpnes if very good, the rangefinder is easy to use, and even if the lens is single coated I have no problem with flare (I do use the hood though)

I mainly uses BW but color is OK.

Anyway mine is for sale for US 350 because I prefere a lighter camera. - and can only enlarge up to 6x7 so I loose quit a bit.

[bengt_rehn]

Thank you ALL for your helpful responses ! After reading all so far, I am very hesitant to buy the gear. At first sight, I was very excited about to have the oppertunity to get high quality 6x9 with a RF camera with a wide angle and a normal lens at a very low cost. Besides landscape, I could use it for cermonies like weddings but in that situations I would like to use longer lenses like 100 mm. I thought it would be a nice complement to my Hassy 500 CM with a waistlevel finder. It sounds like it´s too risky to buy it. A view camera with rollfilm back will certainly serve me better for planned landscape photography, but sometimes a want something quicker and more portable and handholdable. Other MF RF cameras are either too expensive for me or too limited in use. I think a used Fuji 670 or 690 II,III with a fixed 90mm lens would be the closest alternative.

[kevin_ho]

Hi Bengt,

 

I've got a solution for you, as far as medium format goes. In fact 2:

Imaging being able to get a top-quality MF system for under US 200!

 

Check out ebay for the following systems:

 

1) 6x6 - the Pentacon 6 system. The bodies come so cheap that you can even buy a spare! What makes this system shine is the lenses. Carl Zeiss Jena Lenses. I have most of their lenses and must say that they compare very well with my Mamiya lenses. Go especially for the 180/2.8 sonnar. The 50/4 flektogon is quite good as well.

 

2) 6x7 - Koni-Omega system. They are old-fashioned rangefinder press cameras. Check out the Koni-Omega Rapid 100 or 200. They were the last Konis built. Mamiya later took over production and produced the mamiya press system. The system has fewer lenses than the Pentacon (which has soviet 30mm fisheyes to 500mm sonnars). The koni-omega lenses are reputed to be very sharp.

 

Hope this helps!

 

Kevin Ho

[pat_raymore]

Having done some formal testing of two samples of the 100mm f3.5 (single coated) on the G690 recently I can tell you the both resolution and contrast do not come close to that of the Mamiya 7 lenses or the newer fuji 6*9 with the fixed lenses. The modern formulations are very much better. As you know the 100mm f3.5 is a tessar design and it lives up to its billing. That is, very sharp dead center, but really (and quickly) gets pretty poor in the mid periphery and periphery. You will have to stop down to f16 before it gets optimum in the periphery, and even then, it is not even close to the center resolution. I was surprise at the results, but I should not have been. Being a large format shooter I know that a large negative covers many

[marc_falcone]

I use my FUJICA G 690 with 100mm lens for infrared photography. I use Konica IR 750 film and have excellent results, far more better than that of 35mm photography, which are very grainy. With 6x9 negatives, no grain and excellent sharpness even in 8"x10" prints.