Fuji GW67III. An Appreciation.

"Nick Fotis" wrote in message
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"Bandicoot" wrote in
message
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They take interchangeable lenses, and I have 50, 65, 100 and
180mm - the 100

Personally, I would *love* to see a Fuji GT690 (T=telephoto) with a
180mm lens bolted on it - this would be a killer machine for portrait
work (does the 180mm focus near enough? 1-1.5 meters would be
ideal for such a task).

Sorry to take so long to answer your question - I was away for a few days.

Closest focus for the 180mm on the breechlock 670s and 690s is 2.5m. That's
a good distance, and perspective, for a head and shoulders shot, but it's
too far for a tight head-shot. It is a very sharp lens, though some might
feel that f5.6 wouldn't give them as shallow a DoF as they might want for
some portraits: it behaves like a 180mm Zeiss Sonnar does on 6x6, except
that the Sonnar is an f2.8. Bokeh is nice, as it is with all the lenses I
have for the Fujicas.

The 150mm (which I don't have: too close to the 100mm and 180mm) has a
closest focus of 2m. The 250mm has closest focus of 2.5m, so the latter
might be the best portrait lens, if you have enough room to back up.

The leaf shutters of course are good for fill flash, synch.ing at all
speeds, which is helpful for outdoor portraiture. They're also very quiet.

Or even a 180mm macro lens - often I would dream of shooting
flowers etc. with such a camera...

Interesting thought, but I'd probably find doing macro with a non-SLR too
much of a pain.

Unfortunately, Fuji has decided to exit the medium format market...
:-(

Oh the other hand, especially the 3rd generation models (GW690 III
and GSW690 III) are wonderful machines (and I prefer much more
the 6x9 format than the 6x7, being more of a landscape man).

6x7 works well in portrait orientation more of the time than 6x9 does, and I
like the format, but the sheer size of 6x9 is nice to have, and as you say,
some landscapes (in both senses) do benefit from the extra 'length'. 10
shots vs. 8 is a consideration as well though (or 20 vs 16 on 220). I have
a 670 as well as my 690s and getting 25% more shots per roll makes the 6x7
the automatic choice for anything involving action.

Essentially, you get a free camera body with an excellent lens, and
their all-mechanical construction warrantees these will last for a
LONG time. Maybe a new GL690 would be even better (with
interchangeable lenses), but Fuji has decided to pursue a different
path, with their fixed lens rangefinders.


Alas they've left the MF field altogether :-(

I agree that a new interchangeable lens 690 ought to be a nice proposition.
The originals are heavy and while I find them easy to hold, the ergonomics
could be updated.

The electronic shutter of the AE lens gives speeds out to 8s. Putting this
shutter in all the lenses, with contacts so it was powered from a battery in
the body, would let them add a meter in the body and provide aperture
priority auto with all lenses - I think that would make for quite a popular,
and certainly unique, system. Since most of the 690 lens designs ended up
being re-used as lenses for the GX680 system they've been kept 'current' and
it would be relatively simple for Fuji to make them again - assuming they
haven't scrapped everything from GX680 production.


Peter