Are Fuji GX617s still using used by many professionals?

rayonline_nz · Feb 7, 2022

Or have they crossed over to the other side? Are they mainly now used by artists and hobbyists now? Those in the commercial professional field with the need or panos are they simply stitching now? I understand that panoramas are still only available in a film format camera.

I have always preferred E6 film and often even with overseas travel an exposure of 36 could take me 3 days to finish. I have shot with standard 120 format now but not yet panos.

Cheers.

Jeremy Mudd · Feb 8, 2022

I think like a lot of film cameras they are now in the hands of artists and hobbyists for the most part. I have a friend that earns his living shooting commercial real estate and he shoots digital and stiches for panoramas, while on the side as a hobby he's a great large format film shooter.

I consider myself to be a part-time professional, meaning, that I do sell my work and take on jobs and assignments/commissions, but its not my primary source of income. I do own a GX617 and all 4 lenses.

As a tie-in to this subject, one of the lenses I purchased for it, was owned by a gentleman that used it to commercially photograph a certain golf course in Ireland that was owned by a former US President.

Jeremy

Alan9940 · Feb 8, 2022

Thomas Heaton (YouTube) has done several videos of field work with his GX617.

Jeremy Mudd · Feb 8, 2022

Alan9940 said:
Thomas Heaton (YouTube) has done several videos of field work with his GX617.

Yes, I enjoy following his videos. A while back, before he revealed he had the GX617, I started getting likes from him on my Instagram feed on my GX617 posts. So when a few weeks later he showed a blurred out camera as a teaser, I knew what it was.

I watched his end-of-year recap recently where he ran thru the stats of how many shots he took, how many were keepers, how many were portfolio worthy, etc. I was shocked at how few rolls of film he had actually shot. Guessing that most of the rolls were shot on his Hasselblad and maybe only a few on the GX617, I'm guessing it was less than 15 rolls of film. I know he shoots mainly digital, of course, but it takes a lot of repetition to get good at something and I thought that he had shot more film than that in a year.

Jeremy

rayonline_nz · Feb 8, 2022

Yes I have been following Thomas Heaton

Other than starting a new thread. With the GX617 cameras you can get lenses of 90mm, 105mm, 180mm and 300mm I think. How do they compare with a 135 format camera? Meaning if you use 35mm film and you want the left to right side coverage (horizontal?) and then you crop the top and bottom off. Is a 90mm like a 20mm? A 105mm like a 28mm?

The G617 is a lot cheaper but then again I need to dwell on it, if I am going to use it often enough or not.

Cheers

mshchem · Feb 8, 2022

I have a G617. Love it. To get a GX you are going to spend a Lot of money. You need a 5x7 enlarger. If you're not going to make optically enlarged prints I would use a digital camera and stitch.
I have made 617 Fujichromes, scanned with a cheap Canon scanner and made 12"×60" prints.

rayonline_nz · Feb 8, 2022

mshchem said:
I have a G617. Love it. To get a GX you are going to spend a Lot of money. You need a 5x7 enlarger. If you're not going to make optically enlarged prints I would use a digital camera and stitch.
I have made 617 Fujichromes, scanned with a cheap Canon scanner and made 12"×60" prints.

Yes I have been thinking about the feasibility of it. With draws me to panorama is slide film with cityscapes and landscapes. I have shot BW film and home developed only, no wet prints, no darkroom. I have to admit that I am a color person and enjoy golden hour landscapes cityscapes esp in metropolis cities. The G617 is a lot affordable than the GX617. Yes I have thought and thought about it why not just stitch.

mshchem · Feb 8, 2022

rayonline_nz said:
Yes I have been thinking about the feasibility of it. With draws me to panorama is slide film with cityscapes and landscapes. I have shot BW film and home developed only, no wet prints, no darkroom. I have to admit that I am a color person and enjoy golden hour landscapes cityscapes esp in metropolis cities. The G617 is a lot affordable than the GX617. Yes I have thought and thought about it why not just stitch.

I first witnessed 6x17 chromes about 20 years ago strolling through B&H in New York, breathtaking! It's still a matter of time and money.

Jeremy Mudd · Feb 9, 2022

rayonline_nz said:
Yes I have been thinking about the feasibility of it. With draws me to panorama is slide film with cityscapes and landscapes. I have shot BW film and home developed only, no wet prints, no darkroom. I have to admit that I am a color person and enjoy golden hour landscapes cityscapes esp in metropolis cities. The G617 is a lot affordable than the GX617. Yes I have thought and thought about it why not just stitch.

I was originally looking at buying a G617 when a good deal on a GX617 popped up a few years back at Roberts Camera in Indiana. Bought it instead and I'm really happy with that purchase. The G17 is super capable and the 105 lens it comes with is very usable. That said I usually shoot with either the 90mm or the 180mm. Since I added the 90mm to my kit, the 105 seldom comes out to play.

I haven't shot any slide film thru it but have several rolls of E100 in the fridge so that may happen soon. I do shoot a lot of color thru mine though, mostly Ektar.

Jeremy

Jeremy Mudd · Feb 9, 2022

rayonline_nz said:
Yes I have been following Thomas Heaton

Other than starting a new thread. With the GX617 cameras you can get lenses of 90mm, 105mm, 180mm and 300mm I think. How do they compare with a 135 format camera? Meaning if you use 35mm film and you want the left to right side coverage (horizontal?) and then you crop the top and bottom off. Is a 90mm like a 20mm? A 105mm like a 28mm?

The G617 is a lot cheaper but then again I need to dwell on it, if I am going to use it often enough or not.

Cheers

Sorry, I totally missed this comment yesterday!

Yes, that's correct - 90/105/180/300 lenses. I have all 4 but most of the time my shots are with the 90 or the 180. The 105 is nearly redundant to the 90 and the 300 has maybe been used twice since I purchased it.

35mm "full frame" approximate equivalencies are:

90 = 20mm
105 = 26mm
180 = 46mm
300 = 74mm

If you want to get a similar 1x3 ratio on 135, to me the best way to accomplish this is to shoot 35mm film in a medium format camera. I do this often with my RB67 when I want a little flexibility and also don't want to haul the GX617 around. I have a custom mask I made for the RB's viewfinder that shows me the 24mm x 70mm area for composing.

Here are some shots taken on Ektar 135 film with the RB, also of Cincinnati. The first one was with the 37mm RB lens, the second was with the 50mm.

If you are interested in learning more about my method of doing this, here is a link:

https://www.jeremymuddphoto.com/blog/2020/3/4/how-to-35mm-panoramic-film-images

Jeremy

destroya · Feb 9, 2022

I have a g617. yes its a specialty camera, but when the scene calls for it, it delivers and then some. while it doesn't get a lot of use, especially lately, there is no way I would ever sell it. thankfully I bought it when everyone was giving away their film cameras.

i found that digital stitching cant compete with a proper 3x1 film camera shot, but that's just me. stitching always comes with issues and Ive tried hard to make them work. just gave up and went the easier way

john

Are Fuji GX617s still using used by many professionals?

Privacy & Transparency

Privacy & Transparency