Fuji GA645Zi opinions

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Carl Hall

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Opinions required please :D

I’m contemplating getting a MF camera which is a bit quicker to use when I’m on holiday, as the 500c/m and RB67 etc take a bit too long to use when you’re walking about (there are only so many times my girlfriend can wait for me to compose, meter and focus a shot before for five minutes before she tells me off!).

I’m leaning towards a 645 of some sort for two reasons, 1) because I’ve never used or owned a 645 and it’s something new to me, and 2) because 15-16 frames per roll means more photos per trip, and less time changing rolls.

Ideally it should have autofocus and aperture priority mode. I understand that this leaves me with a pretty limited selection of a Contax 645 (£££££), a Mamiya 645AF, and a Fuji 645 of some sort, plus maybe a couple others.

After reading some reviews on the Fuji GA645Zi I think that’s the one I’m leaning towards, for a few reasons:

  • You can pick one up for around £250-300 which seems pretty good value considering it’s almost fully automatic in most ways.
  • The Zi model has a wide to standard zoom lens
  • It’s small and light to walk around with (well, smaller and lighter than my RB/C220/500cm anyway)
  • It’s pretty much fully automatic to use. Don’t get me wrong, I love fully manual cameras, but they’re not always ideal in every situation

Just curious if anyone who has used one is able to give me their opinions? I’ve seen a few YouTube videos and reviews online and it seems that the autofocus can focus on the wrong thing pretty easily.

So, those of you that have used/owned one, would you recommend it as a walk about camera for city trips?
 
Carl Hall said:
Opinions required please :D

I’m contemplating getting a MF camera which is a bit quicker to use when I’m on holiday, as the 500c/m and RB67 etc take a bit too long to use when you’re walking about (there are only so many times my girlfriend can wait for me to compose, meter and focus a shot before for five minutes before she tells me off!).

I’m leaning towards a 645 of some sort for two reasons, 1) because I’ve never used or owned a 645 and it’s something new to me, and 2) because 15-16 frames per roll means more photos per trip, and less time changing rolls.

Ideally it should have autofocus and aperture priority mode. I understand that this leaves me with a pretty limited selection of a Contax 645 (£££££), a Mamiya 645AF, and a Fuji 645 of some sort, plus maybe a couple others.

After reading some reviews on the Fuji GA645Zi I think that’s the one I’m leaning towards, for a few reasons:

  • You can pick one up for around £250-300 which seems pretty good value considering it’s almost fully automatic in most ways.
  • The Zi model has a wide to standard zoom lens
  • It’s small and light to walk around with (well, smaller and lighter than my RB/C220/500cm anyway)
  • It’s pretty much fully automatic to use. Don’t get me wrong, I love fully manual cameras, but they’re not always ideal in every situation

Just curious if anyone who has used one is able to give me their opinions? I’ve seen a few YouTube videos and reviews online and it seems that the autofocus can focus on the wrong thing pretty easily.

So, those of you that have used/owned one, would you recommend it as a walk about camera for city trips?
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Great cameras when they work. Unfortunately, in my experience with the GA645 series, they often don't. If you should decide to go this route, I would make sure to buy from somewhere that offers a good warranty or you could end up with a £300 paperweight.
 
I have a Ga645zi which I purchased for the same reasons and it worked well on a Paris holiday.

In terms of reliability, I have experienced a problem twice with the film not winding on, which I believe was due to not applying sufficient tension when loading the film. I now have an Olympic 35rc in the same bag as a manual backup
 
Had one for a few years and never had a problem with it. Took it out in all weathers Hill walking in the Lake District. Not sure where you would get one even on import for that price though. Although I am selling mine in the classifieds due to getting a mamiya 6

I did a review of it in the big review thread on here somewhere.
 
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skysh4rk said:
Great cameras when they work. Unfortunately, in my experience with the GA645 series, they often don't. If you should decide to go this route, I would make sure to buy from somewhere that offers a good warranty or you could end up with a £300 paperweight.
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Yeah that's what I've read in a few reviews, that the electronics are going to go pop at some point and it's just how much use you get beforehand! I think I'd likely buy from a place such as Ffordes as I've used them before and was very happy with them, but knowing my luck it would die after 6 months and 1 day :lol:
 
AshleyC said:
Had one for a few years and never had a problem with it. Took it out in all weathers Hill walking in the Lake District. Not sure where you would get one even on import for that price though. Although I am selling mine in the classifieds due to getting a mamiya 6

I did a review of it in the big review thread on here somewhere.
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What did you think of the autofocus of the camera? I suck at focusing on my 500c/m so autofocus would be ideal for me, but only if it's reliable and easy to use.

I have to admit I did just base the price on the sold items on ebay, which seem to float around the £280 mark from overseas, but then you've obviously got RM fees and VAT etc. £330-350+ is probably a better estimate!
 
I used to use an older GA645 (60/4) and had no electronic issues but it delivered probably the sharpest negatives I've had from any camera. The autofocus is a bit 'clunky' so it's never going to be a discrete street shooter but if you're happy with that and it looking a bit like a Tonka toy you'll be happy with the results :0)

Edit: I only sold it on because I found that it didn't give me the challenge that I like about more manual film cameras. It's basically a 6x4.5 point and shoot that anyone can pick up and use. To be fair though, it's one of the few film cameras I've had that I've regretted selling.
 
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Carl Hall said:
What did you think of the autofocus of the camera? I suck at focusing on my 500c/m so autofocus would be ideal for me, but only if it's reliable and easy to use.

I have to admit I did just base the price on the sold items on ebay, which seem to float around the £280 mark from overseas, but then you've obviously got RM fees and VAT etc. £330-350+ is probably a better estimate!
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well you dont see any focusing going on through the viewfinder for a start so you never really know :) Although you do feel the lens clicking into focus quickly enough and ive never noticed it having to spend time hunting. Its just the usual small square in the viewfinder which you focus through. If you can get a good one overseas for under £300 that really is in good condition then thats a good price, you might get lucky with it through customs.

Dont be worried by the lenses, fuji have been making really fine gear long before the X series came on the scene. I picked up an old 35mm Fuji stx-2 from a charity shop for a tenner and the lens is incredibly good. Wether you get one of these or the fixed lens version, they are fantastic.
 
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stevelmx5 said:
This is my Flickr set from the GA645, all handheld.

https://flickr.com/photos/8476499@N02/sets/72157633657525080

And an example shot scanned (badly!) on a V500

View attachment 57163
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Great photos there Steve, that lens looks incredibly sharp :)

AshleyC said:
well you dont see any focusing going on through the viewfinder for a start so you never really know :) Although you do feel the lens clicking into focus quickly enough and ive never noticed it having to spend time hunting. Its just the usual small square in the viewfinder which you focus through. If you can get a good one overseas for under £300 that really is in good condition then thats a good price, you might get lucky with it through customs.

Dont be worried by the lenses, fuji have been making really fine gear long before the X series came on the scene. I picked up an old 35mm Fuji stx-2 from a charity shop for a tenner and the lens is incredibly good. Wether you get one of these or the fixed lens version, they are fantastic.
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Ahh that's great, my biggest worry with (possibly) getting one is that I'll miss focus a lot and won't know until I get the photos back. Although that seems to be the norm for me with manual focus so no change there!

Kevin Allan said:
Some more thoughts now I have the luxury of a keypad as my first reply was on the phone.

I have a review with lots of example images on my blog at:
https://kevinthephotographer.wordpress.com/2015/03/07/first-thoughts-on-the-fujifilm-ga645zi/

The autofocus has been fine for me EXCEPT when I wanted to focus on a small and close object - in this scenario the focus spot was too large
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Kevin that's a fantastic review, very helpful for me. Thanks :)
 
Carl Hall said:
Ahh that's great, my biggest worry with (possibly) getting one is that I'll miss focus a lot and won't know until I get the photos back. Although that seems to be the norm for me with manual focus so no change there!
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Be warned, the autofocus system on the GA645 family of cameras is not exactly modern; besides being loud, it's also very slow and clunky, to say the least. In fact, I usually turned it off for fast moving subjects.

Carl Hall said:
What did you think of the autofocus of the camera? I suck at focusing on my 500c/m so autofocus would be ideal for me, but only if it's reliable and easy to use.
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Have you tried a different screen in your Hasselblad? There's a big difference over the years in their screens, so upgrading might really help your focusing. I have an Acute Matte D screen, which is the brightest screen I've ever seen by far! Unfortunately, while some of the Hasselblad screens are really bright, no Hasselblad camera is as easy to focus as a Bronica with a standard screen.
 
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