Talk me into /out of a Texas Leica

MTGseattle said:

I had two more thoughts if I may be so bold. I was recently at Glazers camera here in Seattle, one of the sales people had a gw690II. We talked a bit, and both think the Fuji rangefinder is the lightest, easiest handling camera* for getting a 6x9 negative. *(an Anba Ikeda with a 6x9 back, or that funny little Hansa 6x9 field camera may be lighter)

My other thought is if one is used to and at ease photographing with a Hasselblad, Bronica, Mamiya, Kiev, etc (cube body camera), The bigger rangefinders likely will not do it for you. I love my Mamiya 6, and the Hasselblad I ended up with just lurks on a shelf.

having said all of that if my Mamiya becomes irreparable, I may seek out one of the Fujis.

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Funny. Since I bought a Blad, my Mamiya 7 sits in the cabinet. Each to his own...

don’t understand… they are different cameras.

No, I will not discourage you from buying the Texas Leica. You are in the wrong forum for that. Besides you will sleep better one you have the camera.

Yeah Hasselblad and Big rangefinders two different beasts. I love all medium format cameras.

Radost said:

don’t understand… they are different cameras.

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Right. My comment prior to @bags27 alluded to the fact that one used to photographing with a 500cm or RB/RZ, or Bronica, etc might not immediately be comfortable with the ergonomics of a Fuji rangefinder. If one has used or been using one of the Mamiya rangefinders, the ergonomics are very similar to the Fuji cameras. It's a slightly better comparison when talking about Mamiya 6/6mf and a 500c/m since they both give a 6x6 negative. The Hasselblad and others are much more complete "systems" though so still not apple to apples.

For hand-held 6x9 negatives, I don't think anything comes close to the Fujis minus a couple of pre-war folders? And a 6x9 view camera is really not an apples to apples comparison.

I mostly shoot my Fuji 6X9 RF's on tripod; but handheld, I can actually hold these steady at slower speeds than my Nikon. My own MF SLR system is Pentax 6x7; and it's large lens selection, and teles in particular, is great. But that's as spontaneous or lightweight as the Texas Leica concept. One of my P67 teles actually requires equal or better tripod support than my 8x10. I also sometimes use 6X9 roll film holders on 4x5 cameras. Each of these approaches has its own pros and cons; and I'm glad to have "all the above" options.

MTGseattle said:

Right. My comment prior to @bags27 alluded to the fact that one used to photographing with a 500cm or RB/RZ, or Bronica, etc might not immediately be comfortable with the ergonomics of a Fuji rangefinder. If one has used or been using one of the Mamiya rangefinders, the ergonomics are very similar to the Fuji cameras. It's a slightly better comparison when talking about Mamiya 6/6mf and a 500c/m since they both give a 6x6 negative. The Hasselblad and others are much more complete "systems" though so still not apple to apples.

For hand-held 6x9 negatives, I don't think anything comes close to the Fujis minus a couple of pre-war folders? And a 6x9 view camera is really not an apples to apples comparison.

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My Mamiya 6 gets a lot more use than my Hasselblad. And for me it’s a hand held vs tripod issue. I much prefer moving/walking/hiking and shooting on the go vs working deliberately off a tripod. And I think it shows in my work. I much prefer the spontaneity of shooting on the go. Sometimes my tripod work feels too forced. Just my opinion.

Using the Hasselblad handheld has never really worked for me (like I had hoped). I hate how long the focus throws are on the lenses. Quick candid shots of people take too long to focus (for me). My Mamiya 645 has a nice short focus throw and I can focus that so much quicker for MF SLR work. But overall I’d rather shoot with MF RF.

brian steinberger said:

My Mamiya 6 gets a lot more use than my Hasselblad. And for me it’s a hand held vs tripod issue. I much prefer moving/walking/hiking and shooting on the go vs working deliberately off a tripod. And I think it shows in my work. I much prefer the spontaneity of shooting on the go. Sometimes my tripod work feels too forced. Just my opinion.

Using the Hasselblad handheld has never really worked for me (like I had hoped). I hate how long the focus throws are on the lenses. Quick candid shots of people take too long to focus (for me). My Mamiya 645 has a nice short focus throw and I can focus that so much quicker for MF SLR work. But overall I’d rather shoot with MF RF.

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The Mamiya 6MF is a brilliant camera. I regret selling mine..... essentially a 6x6 that handles like a Leica M.

In some ways the Fuji GW690's were brutally simple commercial photography tools intended to take a beating in some of the most banal jobs. They have no bells, whistles or other covetable accessories to play with, and have a propensity to rather ruthlessly reveal shortcomings in end users' imaging chains.

This is not a bad thing. In fact, for most of the purposes people want medium format cameras for - and some of the reasons people want large format for - they are spectacularly good. The air-spaced Xenotar/ Planar derivative rides the character/ sharpness line well - and, frankly, if you're worrying about 1/2 stop less max aperture (on a lens that has about the same effective depth of field as the P67's 105/2.4 wide open) than some 120 format SLR's, you're mostly looking for excuses to waste time and money on, rather than getting on with making images.

That being said, there are some small and subtle differences that can seem rather magnified because of the simplicity - for example, the GW690 is (at least to my experience) much faster to focus than the GW690III, but the latter has much less painful loading/ unloading - and is generally the best built/ toughest of the lot. And for whatever reason, the body kit on the III tends to amuse/ catch people's eyes rather more than the plainer MK I.

As good as the lenses on the Mamiya 6 & 7 are, I don't find the cameras much fun to use - they have slightly odd ergonomics and feel engineered to (successfully profit from) a market niche rather than for durability.

I bought a GW690ii with a bit of visible usage on the body, but an immaculate main lens, for a bargain price. I wanted something I wouldn't get paranoid about out in brutal weather, which it has certainly endured. I generally keep black and white film in that one.

Then afterwards, I bought an almost completely unused GW690iii still in its box for a reasonable price, and use it for color film. Pretty much the same camera except for easier loading and unloading.

Both were among the smartest gear purchases I ever made. No regrets.

I got my Fujica G690 in 2008 and it's been in constant use ever since. I can vouch for it. The lenses are super sharp, and I have the 100m f3.5, 65mm f8, and 50mm f5.6 lens. Subjectively, I consider them the to be the sharpest lenses that I own. I mostly use the 50mm f5.6 lens. The range finder focusing is also very accurate.

I have an early version and it's on the heavy side. With the 50mm lens (the lightest one) it weighs somewhere around 5 pounds. That might be a deal breaker for some. I just ignore the weight and I frequently take it on hiking and backpacking trips.

It's held up through a lot. It's been through rain storms, dust storms, and fires. The worst was when I loaned it to a friend and it got dropped out onto a freeway. They had a camper where the side door wouldn't latch properly. They went around a corner too fast and all the luggage including my camera flew through that door, and out on to the freeway. It had to have a dent hammered out and the rangefinder realigned, and then it went back into service.

Tumbles said:

my camera flew through that door, and out on to the freeway. It had to have a dent hammered out and the rangefinder realigned, and then it went back into service.

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I believe it. I have the same camera and it's probably the most robust thing Fuji ever made.

Don_ih said:

I believe it. I have the same camera and it's probably the most robust thing Fuji ever made.

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I got my first Fuji... GL690 from pro photographer & mountain guide Bruno Engler. It had taken a 20m rolling fall during a shoot on Sulphur Mtn. I paid Bruno $40 for it & sold the very first photo I took with it for $400! Years later I donated it to the Whyte Museum of the Canadian Rockies for a tax receipt...which bought a pair of used GW/GSW 690ll from Japan. Great cameras.
Lachlan, so much of what we choose is personal preference. I hated the bulk & handling of the Mamiya 7 & adored the Mamiya 6 MF. With the collapsible lens mount it was virtually a 6x6 Leica M. If it had been a mechanical camera, I'd still be using it.