The
Fujifilm GA645Zi Professional Series (generally referred to as Fuji
GA645Zi) is a 120 film rangefinder camera, 4.5 x 6 format,
released in 1998 by Fujifilm Co, Minami-Ashigara, Kanagawa.
The Fuji GA645Zi
is the last model for a 120 film camera (black version in 1999). It is fully automatic:
film advance, focusing, metering, just everything. It has an extremely
good rangefinder with parallax correction, and, of course, a wonderful wide angle to normal zoom lens, 34-56mm equivalent.
Size (mm): 161.5 x 108 x 73 Weight: 885 g Lens: Super EBC Fujinon 4.5-6.9/55-90mm, closest focus 1 m Shutter: B, 2 - 1/700, F 4.5 - 22(38) Finder: autofocus rangefinder Film advance: automatic spooling
Here
are some photos of the camera. As it's a 4.5 x 6, you have to turn the
camera by 90° for ordinary landscape format. There is a short introduction to the use of it and how it
feels at the bottom of the page.
Camera
front, lens retracted. Grip: shutter release button. Range/viewfinder
windows, active/passive autofocus, AE sensor, flash sensor and red
self-timer lamp. Flash on the right edge. Note the cap sensor on the
lens, near the "S", very useful.
Seen
from the back. Top: Flash button, self-timer button, viewer, zoom
selector. LCD sceen with basic information: ISO, film counter, film
length and data info. Below the screen: data imprint selector,
AF/manual focus selector and LCD backlight.
Seen from the bottom. Battery compartment (2x CR123), tripod socket.
Seen
from above. Flash closed, finder and hot shoe, mode wheel and wheel
unlock, exposure compensation button, up/down selector wheel .
Camera on, lens extended to 55mm
Lens extended to 90mm.
Seen from the left.
Seen from the right.
Camera
back open. The LCD screen is connected via a flat band cable. If it
breaks, the camera becomes more or less useless. So don't stress it and
open the camera only by 90°.
Film chamber. Note the little red buttons that liberate the pegs, similar to a plaubel makina.
Camera and soft bag.
Camera with hood. It's extremely expensive, so don't lose it.
Handling
a Fuji GA645Zi
is very, very easy, it's like an electronic camera. Loading film
is very easy as well because of the little red buttons that liberate
the pegs. Open the
camera back and put the
film roll into place. Same
procedure for the take-up spool. Insert the film
paper
backing
into the spool and advance it using up/down wheel (it turns the
spool with a motor) and let it make 3-5 turns. No need to look for the
start arrow. Close the camera back. When you switch on the camera, it
will spool automatically.
Switch
the camera on. P-mode is the full automatic mode. Look
through the finder and aim the subject to focus. Press the shutter
button release
half-way down. Compose your picture, if everything is o.k., press the
shutter release down. That's it. The film advances itself to the next
picture. There is an AE (aperture priority) and a manual mode.
The Fujica GA645Zi
is a very nice, a bit bulky camera, very easy to use. It still fits
into a
large coat pocket. Handling is fluid and logic. The
lens gives phantastic results, the metering systems are excellent.
There isn't much choice for a pocketable wide angle 120 film camera.
This one is just phantastic. Don't mind the plastic toy look, the
plastic saves a lot of weight and the camera is sturdy
nevertheless. It's a
nice advance to old folders. I like it a lot.
There is only one critical point: The
LCD screen which is connected via a flat band cable through the hinge.
If it breaks, the camera
becomes more or less useless. There is no repair. You can no longer set
the ISO. On top of this, the pressure plate is set by electronics
between 120/220 film. If the camera gets it wrong, film spacing is
erratic. If your screen is dead, you can work around it, look it up on
internet. But you should not buy a camera with a dead screen.So don't stress your cable and open the camera back
only by 90°.
