Another Fuji 645Zi ?

[Erational]

My first post. In 2005 I was shooting with a 2nd hand Fuji 645Zi. My slides had a slight blur to them. I was using a tripod and tried to be fastidious with the film spooling. Never got convincingly sharp pics. Now, I'm thinking of getting another one to complement my digital gear. Am I crazy for wanting another Fuji 645Zi ? Could it have just been the rangefinder settings were thrown out of whack ? Or, the backplate out of calibration? No part of my shots were ever razor-sharp. Have no idea what it cost to professionally align the Fuji 645Zi, should I buy another bad copy.
Have read other post about the Fuji 645Zi's blurriness. The form factor, weight, size and feel were so great (eventually sold my Fuji). But, the lack of direct manual focus drove me nuts. Have thought about a Contax G2 or Miamya 7II, as alternatives.
Is my experience par for the course with the Fuji 645Zi, or should I give the 'ol girl one more try ?

 

[Mark Fisher]

All I know is that mine takes pictures at least as sharp than my Hasselblad. I only use it handheld since that is the reason I bought it to complement my Hasselblad. If it was off, either the camera wasn't working properly or the autofocus wasn't used properly. If you want medium format film, this is a good choice.

 

[agfarapid]

Can't speak for the 645zi but I have Fuji GS645 folder which is manual focus. The results have always been tack sharp. You might also want to try one of their non-zoom autofocus models.

 

[ContaxRTSFundus]

There is a problem with the 645Zi in that the entire lens assembly has been known to drop out of its mount when the camera is severely jarred. The lens will come away as a single unit and can usually be easily re-seated. It may be that this had happened to your first camera but the lens had not been correctly seated - the actual retaining mechanism is not very strong. This could certainly be enough to have caused the problems you experienced; it happened to a 645Zi I bought from a colleague who later admitted that the lens did disengage when he droppped his camera bag down some steps.... It was a simple matter to get it fixed and cost me about £80 about 5 years ago. Persevere - the images from the camera are usually very sharp and full of contrast, so it would certainly be worth buying another...if the price is right as they seem to get more expensive with each passing year!

 

[eclarke]

My Zi is razor sharp..shockingly so...EC

 

[Роберт]

A big difference between Contax G2 35mm and a Mamiya 7 II (6x7cm). I have a Leica M7 and a C.V. Bessa III 667 (also 6x6cm or 6x7cm) but you will need a high resolution micro film in the Leica/Contax to come a bit close to a regular film in 6x7cm roll film format.

About Fuji/C.V. RF camera's: Tack sharp, like Mamiya 7 too.

Best regards,

Роберт