Fuji GA 645 ZI

Melvin J Bramley · Dec 12, 2022

Any Fuji GA 645 ZI users out there?
Real user opinions appreciated.
Yes they are expensive and difficult to repair so are they worth the hassle?

Grim Tuesday · Dec 12, 2022

It's a great camera. I got mine in 2018 for $200 with the back screen already broken and have more than gotten my moneys worth. Is it worth the current $1000 price point? I am not sure.

On the plus side, any image I take with it I know will be sharp and 95% of the time will be in focus. A better rate than I get with even other high quality medium format cameras. It is lightweight for a medium format camera. Especially considering it has a zoom lens, which is neat. On my particular camera, the back screen goes in and out. I don't really find it to be a problem -- you can set ISO for the meter by dead reckoning without knowing what's on the screen. Plus I try to use only one film at at a time now, so it's less of a problem. Other than that, I have found it to be perfectly reliable and the meter is perfect. It's very low-stress to use at e.g. a family event.

On the cons side, although it is small and light for a medium format camera, objectively, it is neither small nor lightweight. The lens is slow, so if you want to take portraits and get a "medium format look" you won't. In general, I don't love the 6x4.5 format, since I sometimes feel like I might as well just shoot 35mm on a much smaller and lighter weight camera. But I haven't sold it because it's so easy to use (especially the meter) and the lens is so damn good.

Here's a picture I took with it:

gone · Dec 12, 2022

Nice shot GT. I have a few issues w/ the 6x4.5 format too, but it's just a matter of getting used to a format that I seldom use. My first dip into making images was through painting and art printing. Over there, the 6x4.5 format is pretty close to what's the "norm", but usually turned vertically.

When I made my first 35mm images, the first thoughts were that this was way too wide! What am I supposed to do w/ all that space horizontally? But after a while that becomes the "norm". It still looks odd to me if it's turned vertically, I seldom see images turned that way.

Here's a really fun article on that camera.

Alan9940 · Dec 12, 2022

I've had mine for so many years I can't remember when I got it. I don't shoot it all that often, but I've never had any of the issues you see reported about this camera. Tack sharp lens, reliable meter, and provides a MF negative from a handheld camera. I use it as my "walk about" camera. Great fun to shoot!

250swb · Dec 13, 2022

Like all Fuji medium format cameras the lens is truly exceptional and I never had a problem with reliability. It is a great camera, but not all great cameras are suitable for everybody and while I loved it's flexibility for a day out it was the 6x4.5 format that annoyed me, I felt stuck in the no-mans-land between 35mm and 6x6. That's just me though, I would recommend it to anybody that thought it through and really wanted one.

Grim Tuesday · Dec 13, 2022

250swb said:
That's just me though

You're the third person in this thread to express a sentiment of unease with 6x4.5! Something tells me it's not just you

abruzzi · Dec 13, 2022

weird. I love 6x4.5. My two favorite sizes on 120 film are 6x9 and 6x4.5. Hate square, and am a bit <meh> on 6x7--not wide enough.

I have the Zi and its not my favorite camera. It is simple and easy to use (if the LCD still works) and as mentioned has a really sharp lens. the default portrait orientation is a pain since 99% of my shooting is landscape, and I've come to prefer less automation so auto-focus and auto-exposure are not my prefered camera features. I should probably sell mine, but I hanve't got around to selling anything.

4season · Dec 13, 2022

Melvin J Bramley said:
Any Fuji GA 645 ZI users out there?
Real user opinions appreciated.
Yes they are expensive and difficult to repair so are they worth the hassle?

When it was new, it was one of my most eagerly-awaited cameras ever. And it did not disappoint: It was exactly the sort of pro-grade point 'n shoot that I had hoped for. The Mamiya 6 came close, but the GA645zi was more to my liking.

But whether Fujifilm designed their cameras to last for more than a few years is another matter: By 2005, mine had developed hairline cracks in the hard plastic body cladding. Strictly superficial, but not the sort of thing I cared to see in a not-cheap camera which was only a few years old at the time. Were I to shop for one today, I'd assume that the original flexible circuit boards would need replacing sooner or later, and I'd factor that into my purchase price.

Repairs could be as simple as shipping the camera to Fototech in Poland, but I'd check beforehand to ensure that they still offer the service:
I assume that someone there recreated the original flexible PCB and had new ones made.

destroya · Dec 13, 2022

Have one and use it once in a while ( I really have to many cameras). my issue withit, and its not this camera specific is that its auto focus and I really prefer manual focus. I have never missed a shot because of the auto focus though. the results are great. nice and sharp with the typical fuji rendering. the meter is really good and shooting velvia 50 with it gives great results. the camera specific issue with this camera is the lens is real slow on the long end. not really a big deal, I just use faster film. my LCD works great, but you need to be careful when loading film as the ribbon cable on the door is the achilles heal of this camera. I have noticed a slight flicker once in a while when I load film, so I make sure to open the film door as little as possible and never let it open all the way. my feeling is that if the LCD dies I will no longer want to use it as I like to very the film I use and setting the ISO would be a pain. also, I have also heard from a few users about a sluggish command wheel.

otherwise a great camera that is worth it if you can find one with a functioning LCD

john

xya · Dec 13, 2022

I had one and I loved it. I love the format, I use my Fuji GA or an old Pearl III a lot. I made a page for it https://www.120folder.com/fuji_ga645zi.htm. Mine was working fine for years. And I have 2 friends who had theirs repaired in Poland. Both are very happy with this repair. Sold mine because I prefer the Wi, the wider lens.

Arcadia4 · Dec 13, 2022

The zi is fairly compact and light weight for medium format with useful zoom range (35 to 60mm Equiv compared to 38mm for the ga, but both weigh less than the nearest mf equivalent the bronica rf645) and fits well in the hand, a great walk about or travel camera. If you think of it as a medium format equivalent of a high end auto focus 35mm point and shoot with full controls for aperture, exp comp etc then its a guide for what its good at, so portrait photos are not its forte.

The review below is for the ga i but most of it applies to the zi too.

Fuji GA645 Review, Comparison & Guide | 60mm f/4 | Portraits + YouTube - Leica Blog (Matt Osborne)

Fuji GA645 Review - Looking for a super compact P&S medium format camera? The 60mm f/4 fixed lens Fujifilm GA645 Pro might be for you! After

mrleica.com

WhereSs · Dec 20, 2022

I like the idea of thinking of 6x4.5 as "Half Frame" medium format, and I feel like the 645zi hits a nice middle ground in terms of flexibility with the zoom mechanism vs. the aperture, especially compared to Fuji's other 6x4.5 point & shoots (given that they're f/4 or f/5.6 vs. f/4.5--6.9)

gone · Dec 20, 2022

4season said:
By 2005, mine had developed hairline cracks in the hard plastic body cladding. Strictly superficial, but not the sort of thing I cared to see in a not-cheap camera which was only a few years old at the time.

I had the same issue w/ a Mamiya 7. In fact, I had bought the camera at a discount due to the body cracks. The lens on it, and this is just my personal opinion, was "better" than the Fuji. That camera also had a loose fitting body over it's metal frame, it felt really odd to shoot it. But the images certainly delivered.

Loved my Fuji 6x4.5 Wide, it had killer lens. But KEH repaired it's shutter twice before giving up on it, saying that there were no parts available anymore to fix it.

guangong · Dec 20, 2022

I have a Fuji 645 folder version. I haven’t used it very much. If landscapes are difficult with fixed lens versions, my folder is even more awkward in use. This is from my perspective. Technically and mechanically camera takes very sharp pics.

Grim Tuesday · Dec 21, 2022

guangong said:
I have a Fuji 645 folder version. I haven’t used it very much. If landscapes are difficult with fixed lens versions, my folder is even more awkward in use. This is from my perspective. Technically and mechanically camera takes very sharp pics.

What's wrong with the ergonomics of it? I've always thought I would want one of these cameras, since it's one of the only pocketable medium format cameras ever, and certainly the only one to have a built in meter.

guangong · Dec 21, 2022

Grim Tuesday said:
What's wrong with the ergonomics of it? I've always thought I would want one of these cameras, since it's one of the only pocketable medium format cameras ever, and certainly the only one to have a built in meter.

“Would want one” is quite different than the experience of having and using one. I only commented on my user experience. My Super Ikonta B is jacket pocketable and more robust, but that’s 66 and not 645.Never dependent on meter, so that’s not decisive for me. But get one and try it out. One nice feature...camera works without batteries.

Grim Tuesday · Dec 22, 2022

guangong said:
“Would want one” is quite different than the experience of having and using one. I only commented on my user experience. My Super Ikonta B is jacket pocketable and more robust, but that’s 66 and not 645.Never dependent on meter, so that’s not decisive for me. But get one and try it out. One nice feature...camera works without batteries.

I don’t think the tone of my post made it through the internet. I was asking what about its ergonomics you don’t like, not disagreeing with you!

guangong · Dec 22, 2022

Grim Tuesday said:
I don’t think the tone of my post made it through the internet. I was asking what about its ergonomics you don’t like, not disagreeing with you!

I suppose it’s the need to turn camera on its side for landscape, which is what I normally shoot. This, of course, is due to 120 film feeding horizontally. As I understand, with most 645 cameras film runs vertically and landscape format is the norm. The upshot for me is habit. I see horizontal and simply raise camera to eye with 35mm & 67, and 66. Nothing intrinsically at fault with camera.

abruzzi · Dec 22, 2022

guangong said:
I suppose it’s the need to turn camera on its side for landscape, which is what I normally shoot. This, of course, is due to 120 film feeding horizontally. As I understand, with most 645 cameras film runs vertically and landscape format is the norm. The upshot for me is habit. I see horizontal and simply raise camera to eye with 35mm & 67, and 66. Nothing intrinsically at fault with camera.

basically my issue with all the compact 645 cameras as well. I can tolerate it for occasional shooting, so I do still have my Zi as well as a Konica Pearl III (the only medium format camera that fits in my jeans pocket), but I much prefer the Bronic ETRSi because of orientation.

WhereSs · Dec 22, 2022

I feel like it could be an interesting incentive to see the world in 'portrait' by default if you embrace it, but it is something that I'd find myself at odds with, given that almost all of my photography is typically 'landscape'

Randy Stewart · Dec 31, 2022

Melvin J Bramley said:
Any Fuji GA 645 ZI users out there?
Real user opinions appreciated.
Yes they are expensive and difficult to repair so are they worth the hassle?

Most of the critical comments to date seem to concern the vertical format or a preference for the older manual GS models, which therefore do not seem to address the question asked. Historically, the primary constraint on buying a GS645Zi was the well established potential for failure of the LCD display on the back, and its lack of repair. I bought one in "like new" condition about 2 and a half years ago for about $450 delivered from Japan with a shutter count of "002". Today, probably worth $1300 or more. I believe that difference is the rise of that Polish repair company which offers a bargain repair of the LCD issue. Apart from the LCD, the only issue I have with the GA645Zi is the somewhat small viewing image, which I've adapted to. The lens is slow, but it compensates by being fully usable at all apertures. Once you learn its extensive controls and features, it can be used as a fully automatic point-n-shoot, or a largely manual camera (with less convenience than most manual cameras). I prefer to use it in aperture priority with its compensation dial to adjust exposure from auto as I wish. Frankly, I do not think I prefer a camera of this type to pay the current prices, just as I would not buy a Contax T2.

Fuji GA 645 ZI

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