Fuji GX 680

jshaw35 · Feb 20, 2012

Anyone using the Fuji GX 680 series of cameras? I just purchased one (version1) of these cameras as well as two rollfilm backs, 150mm and 250mm lenses.
I am looking for a wide angle lens like the 80 or 60mm, any recommendations? What are you experiences with this camera? Thanks.

keithwms · Feb 20, 2012

Hmm I wonder if you can cross-mount one of the mamiya RB lenses on there... just a thought. Alas, those particular cameras and lenses are in short supply now.

Grazian · Feb 21, 2012

I have the gx 680III what ou would like to know?

got the 60mm too! im using it digitally and analog

greetings grazian

yurihuta · Feb 21, 2012

Congratulations on getting into this amazing system!

I have some of these amazing bodies, including a pair of the 680 version I. On the wider spectrum, I have both the 80mm f/5.6 and 50mm f/5.6 which are both spectacular. One word of warning, the 50mm is a large lens and the full range of movements, while they work, will vignette at the extremes. It is a beautiful, wide, wide beast though. You might want to look into the 65mm f/5.6, which I believe has the full range of movements available without worry of vignetting and is significantly less expensive than the 50mm.

For some fun pick up a Polaroid back and some of the Fuji FP peel apart films to use (don't put the mask in, leaving you more room of exposed emulsion). Lots of fun and you can give people something much nicer than a crappy little LCD screen to look at!

jshaw35 · Feb 22, 2012

Thanks for the suggestion, I had not thought of that. The lenses are still out there, as well as various parts for the camera, on ebay and sometimes available at KEH.

jshaw35 · Feb 22, 2012

Thanks for your reply. I was wondering what the best, ie; sharpest as well good contrast and color reproduction, lenses to look out for when they come out for sale on ebay? Is there anything to watch out for as far as the operation of the camera that can get me into trouble? The operation seems straight forward enough but I did have an issue with one of the film backs. I loaded the film properly but when I turned the camera on the film did not advance to the first frame. I kept firing the shutter, about 7 times and the frame number remained at 0exp. It eventually showed frame 1 but only after shutting it off, removing the back and starting over agian. To make it more complicated the other back that I have worked right away as soon as I turned the camera on. It loaded the film to frame 1 without any problems. I have to try that other back again to see if its just that back. I know you have to clean the contacts occasionally on the lens and back as well as the on the body of the camera, maybe that was the problem?
What digital back are you using? It can be very expensive to buy one of those, so it may be a while before I can do that. It seems that I can't go wrong with either the 65 or 80mm lenses, I just have to be careful to get one in good condition.

Regards
Joel

glbeas · Feb 22, 2012

Don't the film backs have thier own battery? May need checking.

jshaw35 · Feb 22, 2012

yurihuta said:
Congratulations on getting into this amazing system!

I have some of these amazing bodies, including a pair of the 680 version I. On the wider spectrum, I have both the 80mm f/5.6 and 50mm f/5.6 which are both spectacular. One word of warning, the 50mm is a large lens and the full range of movements, while they work, will vignette at the extremes. It is a beautiful, wide, wide beast though. You might want to look into the 65mm f/5.6, which I believe has the full range of movements available without worry of vignetting and is significantly less expensive than the 50mm.

For some fun pick up a Polaroid back and some of the Fuji FP peel apart films to use (don't put the mask in, leaving you more room of exposed emulsion). Lots of fun and you can give people something much nicer than a crappy little LCD screen to look at!

Its a great system, especially with the tilt shift movements of the lens. A bit of a bear to carry around though and it needs a good solid tripod for support. I have the remote trigger, and I hear that its best to lock the mirror up for most shutter speeds as it can cause blurry pictures.
I will probably get the 80mm as soon as I can, it usually goes for a better price than the 65mm and if its as good as you say it seems a better value. I will likely not get the 50mm because of its size and restrictions with vignetting. Do you have any photos in the gallery with the 65 and 80mm lenses for me to compare? I may change my mind on the 80mm.
The Polaroid back sounds good I'll check it out. Thanks

Joel

jshaw35 · Feb 22, 2012

glbeas said:
Don't the film backs have thier own battery? May need checking.

I have read that somewhere and Fuji has done a very good job in hiding it. I checked the CALL/LIGHT push button switch on the top of the film back with it off the camera body and the 0exp
indication on the LCD comes on, so I think the battery is still good but may be weak. The other film back that worked right away does not advance the film until it was connected to the camera.
Of course it may be smart enough to know that with the contacts between the back and camera body supplying info to the back to advance the film. I think I need an operators manual.

Grazian · Feb 23, 2012

Search for the 3.2 Aperture lenses they are imo the best you can get and Super Sharp , 180mm 3.2 my Favorite Portrait Lens , im using the fuji with a leaf aptus 75 Great results , but you have a new crop digitallY

Grazian · Feb 23, 2012

@yurihuti

Can you make a picture of that polaroid mask and tge procedure you was Talking about Yuri? Cause i would like to try Instant Film

Greetings

Simon Benton · Feb 23, 2012

You have chosen an amazing camera system. I have been using mine about 2 years now and have been delighted with its performance. The tilt and shift features are very useful and I use them more than I thought I would. The price of the various system components seems to be dropping and at present they are very readily available. I have the 80, 100, 125, 150, 180 3.2, 190SF, 210 and 250 lenses. Did not pay more than $150 for any of them. Get the bellows compendium shade. I also have the prism eye level viewfinder but do not use it very often. I have had no problem with blurring b/c of mirror slap and it is possible to use the camera hand held. It is a heavy beast but worth the effort of carrying it. I also have the large format lensboard adapter which allows the use of older barrel type lenses - I use my 9 inch Verito with it.

Grazian · Feb 23, 2012

Simon Benton said:
I also have the large format lensboard adapter which allows the use of older barrel type lenses - I use my 9 inch Verito with it.

great, i have send you somequestions about the adapter board, finally i found someone using it

jshaw35 · Feb 23, 2012

Grazian said:
Search for the 3.2 Aperture lenses they are imo the best you can get and Super Sharp , 180mm 3.2 my Favorite Portrait Lens , im using the fuji with a leaf aptus 75 Great results , but you have a new crop digitallY

Thanks..... I will look into the Leaf Aptus system and start saving my pennies. The 3.2 lenses are nice and I will look for those as well.

jshaw35 · Feb 24, 2012

Simon Benton said:
You have chosen an amazing camera system. I have been using mine about 2 years now and have been delighted with its performance. The tilt and shift features are very useful and I use them more than I thought I would. The price of the various system components seems to be dropping and at present they are very readily available. I have the 80, 100, 125, 150, 180 3.2, 190SF, 210 and 250 lenses. Did not pay more than $150 for any of them. Get the bellows compendium shade. I also have the prism eye level viewfinder but do not use it very often. I have had no problem with blurring b/c of mirror slap and it is possible to use the camera hand held. It is a heavy beast but worth the effort of carrying it. I also have the large format lensboard adapter which allows the use of older barrel type lenses - I use my 9 inch Verito with it.[/QUOTE

I found some very reasonable prices for the Fuji lenses but some of the fast glass (f3.2) can go for twice that or more. Is there a source other than Ebay or KEH to buy lenses? Is there an issue with flare for some of the lenses that requires a shade, or is it just good practice to have one on all the time? I usually use a shade with my Nikon digital camera but its not always necessary. Good to know that in practice,the mirror does not affect sharpness, it was a concern of mine. Thanks.

tnabbott · Feb 24, 2012

I recommend the 100mm lens. It was the best I encountered and worked great as a macro lens too. I still have mine in its original box (mint) if you are interested..

Simon Benton · Feb 24, 2012

There is (maybe was) an 125mm f3.2 on ebay for 149.95 currently. Says has some haze but could be cleaned?

I always try to use the compendium shade to reduce any chance of flare - I do not believe the Fujinon lenses are prone to flare.

jshaw35 · Feb 24, 2012

Simon Benton said:
There is (maybe was) an 125mm f3.2 on ebay for 149.95 currently. Says has some haze but could be cleaned?

I always try to use the compendium shade to reduce any chance of flare - I do not believe the Fujinon lenses are prone to flare.

The 125 f3.2 lens is still available on ebay (link below). The hazing looks like possible damage to the coating on the front element, not sure if that can be cleaned, or if not , how badly the lens would flare in certain lighting conditions? It is a really good price though, tempting but I think I'll hold off on that one and wait for another 125 to come up for auction. Thanks for mentioning it.

http://www.ebay.ca/itm/Fujifilm-Fuj...62134732?pt=Camera_Lenses&hash=item33725e9acc

jshaw35 · Feb 24, 2012

tnabbott said:
I recommend the 100mm lens. It was the best I encountered and worked great as a macro lens too. I still have mine in its original box (mint) if you are interested..

I am interested in the 100mm, I believe its an f4.0, and I would like to do macro with this camera. Do you need extension rails to get the focusing range for macro work and is the standard bellows ok to use as is?

yurihuta · Feb 24, 2012

jshaw35 said:
I am interested in the 100mm, I believe its an f4.0, and I would like to do macro with this camera. Do you need extension rails to get the focusing range for macro work and is the standard bellows ok to use as is?

There is a 40mm and 80mm extension available, very simple install.

Waiting on a 125mm f/3.2 (or 115mm or 180mm) is a good idea. I've the 125mm and 180mm f/3.2 and found them for a little more than the one with the haze... keep an eye out on craigslist if you are near a large-ish metro area.

yurihuta · Feb 24, 2012

Grazian said:
@yurihuti

Can you make a picture of that polaroid mask and tge procedure you was Talking about Yuri? Cause i would like to try Instant Film

Greetings

My polaroid back came without any mask, so nothing to photograph - sorry. I'm merely assuming they came with a mask. I like the effect sans mask, as it opens up an almost compete square (almost 8 x 8 size) with minor crops in the four corners.

whlogan · Feb 24, 2012

Fun days ahead for you! I have 2 680's and they are simply super! Arthritis now dictates little use of them now as they are hard handlers here. Heavy babies! But what performers. Dropped one in the Sanahannah Railroad Museum and it got right up and soldiered on. Bent the filter ring on the favored 125mm lens but otherwise no damage. Always carry a fresh pencil eraser for those pesky contacts, of course. those are not fun sometimes. If you find a spare AA battery pack, let me know, please (whlogan@loganphotographics.com)..... hard to find.
Best of luck!
Logan

andyptak · Feb 28, 2012

I've been looking for the magnifying viewfinder attachment for my Fuji GX680III and have found a couple on eBay that say GX680.Will that fit the version III? Anybody know? Thanks

glbeas · Feb 28, 2012

The pinouts for the electrical contacts are wrong. You might be able to use it just for focusing, I think the WLF does better because the camera is usually on a tripod and you will be leaning over it to use it anyway.

ContaxRTSFundus · Mar 2, 2012

By Magnifying Viewfinder I assume you're referring to the Magnifier Hood and that works fine with the III and IIIS - just remember to place the small plastic cover over the electrical contacts for the AE Finder. It's a very useful piece of kit - especially for architectural work when using a grid screen - Fuji seemed to have thought about almost everything when designing the GX680 leviathan.

I became addicted to the big Fuji when I bought a couple of GX680III cameras and a host of lenses, including the 125 and 185 f3.2s, on a whim. Superb. I then bought a couple of IIIS bodies for use with the 50mm and my last lens acquisition, the 100-200 which has proved blisteringly sharp and distortion-free. I managed to track down a new AE Finder too (though beware leaving it switched on as it drains batteries very quickly!) and with that I had my ultimate set-up. I even shoot with the kit hand-held outdoors though the weight when combined with a tripod/monopod tends to drag on the shoulders a bit. I've yet to come across a poor quality lens for the system - a photographer's dream if you don't mind the bulk.

Fuji GX 680

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