BLOWN AWAY BY THE FUJI GW690

LMNOP · Mar 7, 2015

Alright, APUG, I know most of you may not care, but somebody will.

This has been quite the saga, starting with my doubts on ordering from Japan, and my not-so-surprising amazement when I finally handled this camera. Today, I have my first roll developed and I'm currently scanning (go ahead and hate me for scanning.)

This camera has completely taken my breath away. Somebody on this forum said, "Make sure you're sitting down when you see those negatives." - They were not kidding!

I was out on the lake again today, burning through my 5th roll on this camera, and I remarked to my girlfriend, "I don't even know if this RF is properly aligned, or if these images will come out properly exposed. I haven't seen what this camera can do." - Needless to say, I picked a winner. I have big plans for this camera, during the summer, especially. This first roll was Fujifilm 400H Pro, which I sort of regret, I'm not crazy about the blue/green saturation of this type, though it works well for certain subjects. I shot some Ektar, and a roll of BW today, so I am excited to see more results. This lighthouse shot is just the very beginning, but a good example of how sharp this thing is. I am completely obsessed with this camera, and I couldn't have found it without all your amazing advice!

snapguy · Mar 7, 2015

NO NEED

THERE IS NO NEED TO SHOUT but I am glad you like the camera.

Sirius Glass · Mar 7, 2015

Welcome to the world of medium format.

Texsport · Mar 7, 2015

I remember my first experience with a Fugi 690, also at a lake.

It is still one of my 3 go to cameras - Fuji 690 and Linhof 617 for landscapes - Fuji 690 and Norita 66 for portraits.

I am hoping that CineStill 50D, the world's finest grained color film, as well as CineStill 800Tungsten (also fine grained) are eventually available in 120 format film.

Combined with these cameras, the results would rival larger format cameras.

Congratulations again!

Texsport

dasBlute · Mar 7, 2015

awesome! sounds like you're in for a lot of fun! Only one problem...
you can't blame the camera anymore

let the film roll! and please share your adventures...

Richard S. (rich815) · Mar 7, 2015

Big negs do that. My first purchase on eBay back in 1999 was a GW690III.

marton · Mar 7, 2015

Looks great. My GSW690III arrives on Tuesday and fwiw I'll be scanning colour negs as well. I'm actually gonna use the 690 for my honours thesis this year.

LMNOP · Mar 7, 2015

marton said:
Looks great. My GSW690III arrives on Tuesday and fwiw I'll be scanning colour negs as well. I'm actually gonna use the 690 for my honours thesis this year.

Nice!

RattyMouse · Mar 7, 2015

400H is a GREAT film.

LMNOP · Mar 7, 2015

RattyMouse said:
400H is a GREAT film.

For sure! I am completely in love with the stuff. I don't usually use it for landscapes, especially in sunny weather. I love it for night shooting!

CropDusterMan · Mar 7, 2015

I have one of these Texas Leicas...I think it's one of the best cameras ever made. Glad you are
excited...have fun!

pbromaghin · Mar 8, 2015

Wow, I've been flirting with 6x9 for several years. What is stopping me?

j-dogg · Mar 8, 2015

Reminds me of when I got my first E6 positives back from my RB67 and they were Velvia 50 sunsets in the Florida Keys

The first thing I though of was "why am I still playing with this d*****l crap"

ruby.monkey · Mar 8, 2015

snapguy said:
THERE IS NO NEED TO SHOUT but I am glad you like the camera.

Well, if you wish to be heard over the sound of the shutter release...

It is a superb camera. It provides great image quality in an easy-to-use and fairly compact package.

ruby.monkey · Mar 8, 2015

pbromaghin said:
Wow, I've been flirting with 6x9 for several years. What is stopping me?

Just a couple of hundred dollars. If you shop carefully you can pick up a tidy GW690 for a very reasonable amount. And holding a 3x2" negative or slide is a real eye-opener if you're used to 35mm.

LMNOP · Mar 8, 2015

j-dogg said:
Reminds me of when I got my first E6 positives back from my RB67 and they were Velvia 50 sunsets in the Florida Keys

The first thing I though of was "why am I still playing with this d*****l crap"

I had this exact experience last night!! I was scanning my first roll of E6 - Velvia 50 shot on my RZ67 and I have never been so amazed by photographs in my life. This was a huge breakthrough for me, I never understood slide film until now. It requires a good relationship with your camera, so I am glad I waited so long.

ic-racer · Mar 8, 2015

I remember when I first started in 6x9 format. It was so much fun printing those big negatives.

frank · Mar 8, 2015

I have a GW670ii that I used for a group family portrait. Results were great but then after the fact the father asked for individual head shots of the 2 children. Even with the significant enlargement required to accomplish this from the group shot, those prints came out really well; a testament to the optical quality of the camera lens.

gzhuang · Mar 8, 2015

The Fuji G series medium format cameras are absolutely brilliant and under-rated. Will try to share some images when I get my hands on a medium format scanner.

gzhuang · Mar 8, 2015

Long live medium format film! No full frame digital cameras even come close to the quality.

LMNOP said:
I had this exact experience last night!! I was scanning my first roll of E6 - Velvia 50 shot on my RZ67 and I have never been so amazed by photographs in my life. This was a huge breakthrough for me, I never understood slide film until now. It requires a good relationship with your camera, so I am glad I waited so long.

heespharm · Mar 8, 2015

gzhuang said:
Long live medium format film! No full frame digital cameras even come close to the quality.

I once shot 6x9 slides at a engagment photo the couples favorite pics were from the slide film... Negatives Now sits in a shadow box in their home and they love it!

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Sirius Glass · Mar 8, 2015

LMNOP said:
I had this exact experience last night!! I was scanning my first roll of E6 - Velvia 50 shot on my RZ67 and I have never been so amazed by photographs in my life. This was a huge breakthrough for me, I never understood slide film until now. It requires a good relationship with your camera, so I am glad I waited so long.

With slides, expose for the highlights and let the shades be what they will be. Not like negative film.

Dr Croubie · Mar 8, 2015

LMNOP said:
This camera has completely taken my breath away. Somebody on this forum said, "Make sure you're sitting down when you see those negatives." - They were not kidding!

Yeah, shoot some 6x9 Velvia, and look at them on a light table...

Tony-S · Mar 8, 2015

Meh. 6x9 never turned me on. Same for 35mm. But great camera, that's for sure!

nbagno · Mar 8, 2015

Slide film from my 690iii caused me to by 2 Rollei P11 projectors, you know one for spare parts and of course you will want a good projection screen

BLOWN AWAY BY THE FUJI GW690

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