Tag Archives: rangefinder

Fujfilm GF670W – The beast from the east – part 2

Fujifilm GF670W vs Canon 1d with 600mm f/4 size comparison.

Fujifilm GF670W vs Canon 1d with 600mm f/4 size comparison.


Are you one of those who enjoy a stripped down camera where you only get the basic tools for photography? Then you will without doubt familiarize yourself quickly with the Fujifilm GF670W. If you’re also a one lens man or girl we’re talking.

With the GF670W you are in no risk of having to scroll to page 20 to set the white balance, before scrolling back to page 9 part 3 to switch from aperture priority to manual.

Load the 120 or 220-film, set the ISO and you’re ready to rock.

Control wise you have a nob for setting the shutter speed and ISO, the on/off button and the focus ring on the lens. That’s it. That’s all I need. As an extra bonus you also find aperture priority mode with exposure compensation(+/- 2 stops). No real photographers use that, so I don’t understand why Fujifilm put it there. Just kidding – sometimes it’s quite nice to have it – especially with rapid changing light conditions.

fujifilm-gf670w-shutter-dial

The shutter dial you can turn from 1/500 to 4 sec plus Bulb exposure. I didn’t expect to use much the 4 or 2 second choice, but it was quite handy when I went out to do some nighttime cityscapes and forgot my cable release. My tripod wasn’t sturdy enough for Bulb exposure wihout cable release, and having the possibility to set 4 sec. at f/5.6 saved my night.

Lens wise the GF670W has a 55mm f/4.5 lens which is absolutely georgous. Superb color rendition and little disortion. If you’re a pixel(or grain?) peeper then I can’t help you with details, that’s not my cup of tea. The negatives looks nice and feels nice, that’s enough for me. Of course I would love to have a tiny f/2 lens on this baby, but that ain’t gonna happen. F/4.5 has so far been great. If I have to shoot by night there’s an option to stick something in the hot-shoe.

Fujifilm GF670W with lens hood

Fujifilm GF670W with lens hood

If you’re a square girl or guy you will fit 12 6×6 shots on one roll of 120-film or 24 on a roll of 220-film. Do you prefer a bit wider perspective on things then you can switch to 6×7 and fill the 120-roll with 10 exposure or 20 on the 220-roll. Switching between 6×6 or 6×7 is done while loading the film and you have to stick with it until the next roll.

Unlike the GF670W’s little sister, the GF670, the W-versjon is not a folder. That was a key point for me. After seeing pictures online of the GF670 covering the whole face of the photographer it was quite clear that it was not going to fit in my pocket anyway. In addition I want to have the hood constantly on, same goes for the filter if that’s needed. And probably the most important thing – the camera is always ready to shoot – no unfolding needed.

Powering this beast is a CR2 battery. How many shot’s you’ll get on one battery I don’t know, so far I’ve shot about 30 rolls. It will probably last for months or years.

A couple of days after getting the GF670W I traveled abroad for three weeks and also brought with me my Rolleiflex. You know why – to have both the wide lens of the GF and the little less wider perspective and that lovely waist level viewfinder on my Rolleiflex. Those who know me know how much I love my Rolleiflex – so it might be a surprise that for three weeks I didn’t expose a single frame with it.

To wrap things up – so far I’ve scanned about 10 rolls shot with the GF and they all look great – just remember to remove the lens cap before shooting. (The review is not continuing below the pictures in case you wonder.)

Original Fujifilm half case and lens hood attached.

Original Fujifilm half case and lens hood attached.

Fujifilm GF670W with leather case.

Fujifilm GF670W with leather case.

Fujifilm GF670W – The beast from the east – PART 1

fujifilm-gf670w-medium-format-range-finder-camera

It’s really quite insane, but totally true – the Fujifilm GF670W is so silent that it’s got a red light indicating you have pressed the shutter. That’s gotta be the definition of a quiet shutter.

But hey, let’s add an insanely noisy knob for winding the film forward for the next shot in case you want to notice your neighbours you’re getting ready for the next shot.
Why bother to engineer this remarkable shutter and then having to leave the room for winding the film if you want to be anonymous?

It’s absurd.

Maybe Fujifilm’s shutter department is in Japan and the knob department is on the other side of the world – I don’t know. My 65 year old Agfa folder winds the film totally silent, the Fuji should too.

That’s just how this camera is, like it or not. I love it.

Right from when I picked it out of the box and the smell of a new (and already discontinued) analog medium format camera filled the room I was sold. And did I mention – it got the looks too. Even my M6 Classic looks odd next to the GF670W.

But let’s get down to business – it doesn’t really matter how a camera looks or smells. How it performs and feel is the clue. And performs it does.
The lens is great, no wait a minute…I gotta say superb.
The viewfinder is like those gigantic panoramic windows you’ll see downtown on a funky office building.
The ergonomics are superb.
And it got all the knobs and buttons a photographer would dream of – that’s like two or three.

If I could ask for two more things it would be a quiet film winding knob and a mechanical shutter, because the electronics is the only thing I would imagine fail in this well engineered camera.

Did I mention the lightmeter broke down? Yes it did, and repairing it wasn’t easy. Fujifilm Norway didn’t want nothing to do with this camera even though is just a few years old and crazy expensive. I was quite surprised by this lack of service from Fujifilm, the service was non-existing. Luckily I got it repaired in Japan through a local camera shop. The way Fujifilm is developing their business with shutting down production of most of their film related products makes the film part of their name look kinda funny.

It may look like I got mixed emotions about this camera, but I don’t. I’m in love and love isn’t meant to always be easy. The GF670W might be the finest piece of photographic gear I have ever owned.

In part 2 I will get more into details. See below for a couple of photos taken with the Fujifilm GF670W.

Read more in part 2 – coming soon.

Wading in the Gulf of Finland. Photo: Svein Ove Ekornesvåg (Svein Ove Ekornesvåg)

Wading in the Gulf of Finland. Photo: Svein Ove Ekornesvåg (Svein Ove Ekornesvåg)

Something bright in sight. Foto: Svein Ove Ekornesvåg (Svein Ove Ekornesvåg)

Something bright in sight. Foto: Svein Ove Ekornesvåg (Svein Ove Ekornesvåg)