First Rolls with the Fuji GX680 - The Largest Medium Format Camera
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- čas přidán 19. 11. 2023
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In this video, I’m sharing my experience shooting with the Fuji GX680II, after owning one for the past month, including some images, features I love, as well as some issues that I’ve had. This is a fully featured 6x8 medium format film camera that is very appealing but also can be a bit limiting, due to its size. It’s not going to be a fit for everyone, but for the right people, there’s a lot to love about it.
Brochure images from: ianbfoto.com/ (Also a great resource for buying GX680 gear)
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Fujinon EBC GX 80mm f5.6: ebay.us/XZQhjs
Fujinon EBC GX 100mm f4: ebay.us/KikTVN
Fujinon EBC GX 125mm f3.2: ebay.us/HdPOH9
Fuji GX680 Roll Film Holder IIIN: ebay.us/6a0eQZ
Fuji GX680 6x7 Mask: ebay.us/gS2jWC
Fuji GX680 6x7 Screen: ebay.us/AaIHFl
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This video is a vibe.
I watch these videos just to remind me how hard it used to be. Light leaks, xrays at the airport, massively limited # of shots, changing rolls, film flatness, iso fixed by roll, film scratches due to bad processing, your life passing by as you scan everything... I had the Fuji GW690, pentax 67, mamiya 645 and various 6x9 press cameras. When the Canon 5d2 came out, that was an amazing leap forward for me. There is nothing like ripping off 200 shots during magic hour as the light constantly changes. I am a little surprised there are not more medium format digital cameras, because the bigger apertures look amazing for landscapes. Its like looking at a 3d image.
TLDR: medium format digital is niche and the price can't be justified by the average consumer.
The biggest drawback of digital medium format is simply price. Many options are available, most notably the Hasselblad lineup, but these tend to be in the 5-30 THOUSAND dollar range, which is just not a realistic price point for most users.
The baseline medium format camera (no lens, grip, finder, etc) will set you back somewhere in the 5 grand range. For this price alone you could easily buy a FF digital camera with a few lenses, a grip, a tripod, batteries, sd cards, and even a mid-range printer to view your work. You can use this whole system with image composite technology to create a file with far more detail than the medium format digital camera. It just doesn't make sense to spend so much on something you will realistically never notice a difference with.
You can get a pentax 645z or 645d and older lenses cheap. I love that Camer. I mainly shoot with the Fujifilm gfx 50 and 100 now. I still like to get the Pentax out every once in a while. It still makes beautiful images.@@chanceclark2039
Seems you are just a „butcher“ but don’t be ashamed many photographers are !
I guess 99,99% of all pictures mean nothing to anybody else watching them.
But
There are a few of them touching our hearts.
Ever saw a photo of Sally Mann ?
Or Jim Rakete ?
Or Jeff Sturges ?
How do you think would their pictures look like
if they had used a iPhone ?
@@chanceclark2039 A GFX 50S can be had second hand for around 2000.
They should do something with a fernel glass fake-image plane down-conversion rig like that one youtube guy did with his diy ultra large format camera, though he didn’t have an aperture so people didn’t appreciate the magical effect such a large image plane can have
This is actually the most complete camera ever made, for "not run&gun" photography. The tilt/shift is awesome for a semi compact camera like that. Love it!
Great camera. I bought an almost unused version III a year ago from Japan. With the loupe finder, 100/180 lenses. Total beast but so easy to work with once set up. Enjoy!
I rented one from the university while doing my MFA. Tried shooting in the field. I killed so many frames due to my unfamiliarity with using a darkslide.
Absolute chonker but amazing quality and all the tilt/shift I'd ever need.
I’m don’t work out 🏋️♀️ with weights much any more so I wouldn’t even want to borrow it for an hour but I’m sure it works great. Certainly a very interesting camera. Best of luck on all your projects.
I had 5 of these at one time when I owned Lightstream Studios AKA Freezeframe - When they stopped making them - I went to France and bought the last remaining lenses (about 12) and 2 new bodies - We did architectural and brochures for Hamptons. 3 years ago I donated an entire unused full kit comprising of body, 2 backs (both types) and 14 lenses - some prototype bits and bobs including the one off Wedge shaped compendium hood to Fuji and it was on show at The Fujifilm House Of Photography Heritage Dept in Covent Garden London - I have not been there to see it as yet - and I know it has been to Japan for a tour as well. Great camera - still better than it's replacement the Fujifilm GFX100 but not as easy to use and does not require 6 rooms of processing machinery!!
Very cool. I'll have to pop in there and see if it's on display!
I honestly love this camera, I've carried it to the beach and even though it is heavy the image quality is just so good and has such a heavy medium format feel. It's absolutely unreal for portraits. Definitely a gem for a niche crowd.
Used this in the studio from the late 90's until 2014. Had a Leaf Aptus 75 on the back of it from about 2006/7. Insane image quality. Stunning camera!
what did you switch to ?
I used this beautiful camera in the studio and took it on location on a massive Gitzo tripod for photographing cars for brochure work. The Hasselblad, with its 120 film, was ideal for creating LP covers because for my work, I always had to crop to 6x4.5, losing 1/3 of my film in the process. Shooting at 6x8 allowed me to maximize the offered quality.
Another aspect was when photographing a car in 3/4 front or 3/4 rear, I could use the lens adjustment to give the image a beautiful diagonal sharpness, and with a minimal aperture, keep everything in focus. Also with low on the ground perspectives I could give my image more sky by pushing the lens down.
It's a top camera that you can't find digitally now!
In my childhood I was into photography working with 35mm and 6x6 films...spending hours on the hunt as well in the darkroom and I still remember how facinationg the quality of medium format was...and I still remember the typical smell of the darkroom coming from the developing chemicals...analog photography was so much more touchy.
About time we get a up to date review on this beast ! Thank you Kyle 🔥🙏🏾
This is also an absolutely awesome camera for studio portraits. Of course you're not having to haul it around in that instance. They also made extension rails that are really easy to use for close up work.
did lenses reverse like on the Rollei 66?
I've always loved your color work - so it's cool to see some color work from you again
Amazing video Kyle! Been looking forward to this video for a bit as the GX680 is a camera that has peaked my interest in the past. I’m excited to see future about the camera and the images you take with it!
What an amazing chonker of a camera! Also the Hasselblad flexbody and the Bronica s2a with bellows attachments have movements, I have the latter and find it a joy to use!
I appreciate your dedication to using such great equipment and keeping it alive.
I love the colour images that can be got from medium to large format film cameras and your's don't disappoint
Good luck with the purchase 📷👍
Kyle always gets me intrigued by cameras I've never heard of. Loved this one.
What an absolutely incredible system. Fuji really thought it through and took it to a next level. Feel like their working towards that level now with the GFX system, but it's great to see they really outdid themselves (and other manufacturers of the time?) with this system.
Hah! So cool to see the GX680 out in the field. I had one back in the early 2000’s with all the lenses and accessories for studio work. Loved it! Thanks for the great overview.
I rented one for an annual report portrait shoot a long time ago. Some of the sharpest film based results I’ve ever shot. I dreamed of owning one for years afterwards but already had an RB67 system that I stuck with.
I shot the RZ67 for years in Japan, but the GX680 was always my dream camera. For anyone looking at these from online sellers, be aware Fuji made two versions of these: Kyle's here in the video, and one without the rise/swing (tilt shift) movements. The latter has S in the name.They look the same, except of course the front standard is thinner and simpler on the S version and the price should be much lower.
The IIIS is what you're mentioning.
Watched your video and sure enough two days later I found myself ordering one off of eBay! Can’t wait. Keep inspiring!❤
Enjoy!
Wow, I could not imagine shooting with that beast or transporting it anywhere for that matter. I had not even heard about it until this video. It has to be a special camera for high-level film photographers. I can understand the features and technology attraction. But wow, what an effort it takes! Thanks for sharing and giving us mortals knowledge of what exists. I know my limitations.
I used this camera for years back before digital. It was the perfect compromise between 4x5 and 6x6 or 645. With its shifting ability and its superb lenses, it was excellent. Perfect location camera for my resort work for both lifestyle and architecture. Sadly there was no digital future for it…
Great video as always. I hope you craft more videos around this system. Fuji really has a long history of making some interesting cameras.
I used the GX680 system for ten years in my studio in Portugal.
it is indeed a beast but in the studio absolutely unbeatable, I had the 65 ,80 and 180mm lens.
I even used it handheld a couple of time shooting trucks and panning !
I love the GX680. I used to have both the III and the IIIs, the latter lacking movements but being slightly smaller, it became my travel camera. I even took it on a motorbike trip in Cambodia, carrying the camera and lenses in a large backpack. I used to own the 50mm lens, which I mostly used for industrial locations, with Ektar 100. The quality of those photos is unbelievable! Now I only have the "S" model left, and plan to use it for portrait work.
I'm looking forward to future videos featuring this beast of a camera!
I had 3. Love this camera in and outdoors.
I'm 53 and when I was a teenager my big hero was Morten Krogvold. He switched from Hasselblad to GX680 when it was released. He has shot so many beautiful photos with this camera that I still love.
pleasure to watch this! shot this for a short amount of time back in the late 20th century lol. just something magical about loading a 220 roll and knowing you have 18 chances (17 if you didn't load it correcly!) to create something special, and with an incredible amount of detail. thanks for making this vid 👏👏
Never even heard of this camera before it looks fantastic with the shifting built in! Really wish they'd look at making a large format/field camera-esque version of their GFX with shifting like this built in. It would be so great for fine art/commercial architecture and landscape work. I'd snap one up! But I guess there just aren't enough of us "slow photographers" out there anymore sadly.
I remember seeing the GX680 at the back of AP in the 80's/90's and was always fascinated by it! Thank you so much for sharing your experience!! I love the project of recording all the WW2 stuff - we're in east Sussex, by the coast, so have a great supply of locations....
Thanks! So many places to explore here in the UK. That's an area that isn't too far from me. Hoping to get over there soon.
I got one off eBay about four years ago in fantastic condition. I’ve used it on a road trip up the California coast all the way to Canada. In two weeks I’ve shot almost 100 rolls of film. I also carried the Pentax 67 and a Rolleiflex TLR. Oh and a Canon 5D mklll. The next year I went towards Yellowstone with the same setups. This coming year post pandemic I am preparing for a southwest Journey .
Very beautiful camera!. Thanks for sharing the experience
The Pentax 6x7 was my main camera for about 20 years. It was very good in the field, handled well, and perfect for mobile use, but it was not a studio camera as most of the other 6x7s were. It was also pretty basic and all manual so you needed good skills and thorough technical knowledge to use it successfully. The Fuji 6x8 was developed near the end of the film era and was much more advanced. I always thought it would be a great camera to use but never got the chance.
Love all your videos. Hope you can talk more about these camera movement and its application with examples
It's been my main studio camera with a digital back for the past 10 years. I have the third version, and I absolutely love that camera.
Its a lovely camera, I used it for several years back in the days and although it has some auto features and I did move over to the RZ in the end but have a look at the Linhof Technical 6x9 that has more movement and is considerably lighter and more flexible. by swapping backs you can use 6x4,5, 6x6, 6x7 and 6x9 and I also used the polaroid back where you could use the smaller film that was a lot cheaper then the 5x4 polaroid back then. Also there was accessories pack you could get for it with a enlarger stand and a cold light head that you replaced the film back with and mounted on the enlarger stand and you had a medium format enlarger when you reversed the lenses. It also came with a standard pack of lenses (tessar if I remember correctly) and the cold light head was fantastic although not very powerful so it was a bit dark but it still worked. It worked as my main enlarger for several years.
I rented the GX680 every chance I could in the 1990s. Almost always for people photography. Always loved it and the results.
I remember working with these as a young assistant in the mid-late 90's. Thing was a tank. I liked it! The lens/accessories were quite impressive
Thanks for the review. Before I bought my Bronica GS-1 in Feb 2021, I momentarily considered the GX680 until I read someone's comment that the RB67 and GS-1 were monsters, and the GX680 was a monster's monster. Yes, the SLR+movements was intriguing to me too, but not enough to overcome the weight, the GS-1 is at the limit of my backs strength. I learned a lot from this video, thanks.
For me it is the peak of (Medium Format) analog Kameras. Glad to see a review here. I wish stuff like these was still made
I full-time assisted a photog in the 90's that had a couple of the GX680s. Awesome camera. We shot architecture, portraits, tabletop product and lifestyle advertising on that thing. Loved that thing! We even adapted it early on for one of the Kodak DCS digital backs in the early 2000's.
Awesome, thanks for the review and rundown!! I wont be buying one, but its cool to see how it works. look forward to seeing the work you produce.
nice! I assisted a photographer 20 years ago and his camera of choice was the RZ67, though we also shot on a Sinar 10x8. I loved them both and often handheld the RZ on my own fashion work. Never knew about his camera though. Really nice.
I've got a Mk1 that I love to bits. It's absolutely the best full-size camera (as opposed to a small everyday carry camera) for me. I'm using it for landscape/nature and urban photography and it's fantastic for that! The only thing I miss is an easy way to use a digital back in an easy manner. You can adapt for example IQ backs but need to use a very annoying shutter box for it to make it work which means using it handheld doesnt work anymore.
Love the look and features of the GX680 and your commitment to film and slow pace shooting. I started off pro work with a Sinar rail camera and a Linhof Technika, both 4 *5 back in 1970, plus a Mamiya C330 6*6 for medium format work. I was young and fit then, so the weight of the large format gear was not really an issue. These days even my Nikon D850 seems like a beast.
I have had the version lll for a couple years now. It is my primary landscape/architecture camera. The F3.2 lenses make great portraits
What an amazing system. I would just say though that for a relatively small outlay you can get a GW690 with no frills but amazing images in 6x9 format
wow… what an incredible system. thanks for sharing.
Great video. Man. I shot with that camera for a decade (version II) and schlepped it all over the world on work. Probably my favourite camera of all time. I ended up going back to an RZ because I like hand holding more and my style shifted where being tripod bound was not doing it and I was liberated by the "smaller" size of the rz. but having tilt shift swing rise built into every lens is an absolute dream that I dearly miss. The 180 3.2 is one of my favourite ever lenses. Damn I miss this camera.
This camera is a beast, I purchased a 680 iii 10 years ago from another photographer with a set of 3-4 lenses and they are all amazing
What a beast of camera !!!
I always was thinking about getting one of them, but I refused due to weight and size.
And as always, a really appealing video !
The GX680iii is a great camera, I love the lenses for the system. I've borrowed one twice now. They are a little heavy for my tastes, but I cannot fault them on quality and ease of use!
I seriously considered this camera for a long time. 67 produces 10 images which makes for a very awkward contact sheet. 6x6 does 12 and 68 produces 9 which is the sweet spot for medium format.
This is truly a exceptional system. Sort of the Atlas rocket if medium format.
I eventually went with the Arca Swiss F compact 69 view camera. Which is much much lighter and with complete movements. Tho marginally slower to operate, it can go from 47 mm to 600mm and is all metal. The metric version is simply superb. Now that film is taking a back seat to digital this camera and lenses for it are affordable.
I used most Schneider XL. The 110mm lens to this day puts everything else I have worked with to shame. The Nikkor 300mm f8 is absolutely tiny but is a 8x10 lens so movements are more or less infinite. For architecture it was the best! Great video! The roll film backs for Arca come 67, 68, and 69.
Definitely one of my favorites
I barely use it because film is so expensive, but it has produced my favorite pictures over the years
For light leaks, with the lens off shine a small LED flashlight, preferably supported on a box with cloth around it. In a very dark room and look around the back and the bellows folds for pinhole light leaks.
This technique was used in the musical instrument repair shop to find bad pads on clarinet's and saxophone's. I also found light leaks in an antique folding camera bellows and used a bottle of red sealant to dab on each pinhole light leak as found on prints. I may still have it but it remained somewhat pliable. I do not recall the product name.
Actually just found it, shining a light through the dark slide slot shows that stray light is coming through at a certain angle.
@@KyleMcDougall Good to know and how will you fix it? If it is the soft material that fills a void you may be able to order new.
My mum used to shoot on this for studio work back in the day, she sold it as she doing more and more weddings and got a Bronica. It's great to have inherited the Bronica but I always wanted to get my hands on this one.
ooooh, finally someone did a nice video on the 680! I've owned mine since 2005(gx680iii), and its my favorite. Lots of haters out there, glad to see you praise the pros of the system and what a joy it is to shoot with. It was the bomb back in the late 90's and early 00's for all the top photogs out there.
damn, I've never seen this beast! great video as always, Kyle!
Kyle, you’re a bad bad man. Great video as always. Love the project.
I have a GW690II that I use as a vacation camera. I always use a sturdy tripod and a remote shutter release cable.
The images are incredibly sharp and with 100 ISO film can be enlarged almost indefinitely.
It is a heavy camera. It's not likely as heavy as yours. It does take time to get accustomed to the weight.
As an engineer I geeked out about this system in the mid-90s. I actually shot mostly Canon and Leica M, though before going Leica a Contax G was my walk-around outfit. I also tried the Rollei SE66 which was a tiny bit similar to this though smaller and steam-powered, not electronic. I really liked my Mamiya 7 with 43, 80 and 150mm lenses though and would recommend that for anyone who wants MF but also wants to work relatively fast.
Good choice and nice vid. Best camera I’ve ever owned. Carried it even when hiking for a week. Better work muscles while carrying the gear you really like than work out the gym and choose gear only because of weight. Gx680 is pure joy to work with and lenses are simply superb!
My go to camera for pictures of the kids around the house. It's always set up on a tripod ready to go. Weight doesn't matter at home. And decisive moment shots are way easier on this camera than a large format because you can correct focus instantly. Even with weird swings and tilts.
You really should get the Fuji cable release for critical landscape work like that. That's a big mirror moving up and down so the mirror lock up feature and cable release are important. Both are implemented well on this camera. The cable release even has a little hook to hang it when not in use.
Had the release on order while filming this video.
Hi Kyle; what a timely video! I have been looking at that exact camera for shifting to film. The greatest concern for me is weight as my physical restrictions limit me drastically. I loved the movements and the modularity of the camera. Reminded me of the RZ67, I always loved the large negs. and the rotation of the backs, I never thought twice about the size or the weight. I was well known for shooting studio work hand held with the RZ with the winder, prism, left hand grip, the lot never thought anything about it. I remember the camera as I had played with one, I think it was the 90's, and I was in awe!! I thought what a fantastic camera, it is a little big (which I could care less about) and the weight( I was younger then and had more vinegar) LOL. I to have been pricing out film formats, I have been lusting over 4x5 then I look at the price of it, and the enthusiasm disappears. 35mm is way to small, so medium format is the way to go!! I think a smaller, lighter camera is the order of the day. Thanks for the wake-up on this camera, if I where 5 years younger and in better nic this camera would have been already bought, or maybe a GX617, but sadly...LOL
Keep shooting, have a great week, and thanks again for one of the best video channels on CZcams! I still love my GFX :) Fuji rocks. haha
This is medium format’s best kept secret. Having used the gx680 III for long exposures at night in NYC, it’s one of the very few cameras I regret selling. Even more so than the rz67, p67, m6, and even mamiya 7. The gx680 felt mature. The only prob I had was sourcing out the dedicated shutter release cable. Aside from that, it’s a damn near perfect system.
Fantastic camera. I always get asked questions about it when I am out and about.
I just bought one of these this summer love the camera I have the Mk. III mainly because of the the better battery situation they improved it, I had to solder in two batteries on the older mags but they only took 10 min. the new back is easier to instal the CR2`s which you can buy as rechargeable.
I used to use an RB67 Pro SD years ago, but I swapped over to a 645 Pro TL and haven't gone back for walk around use. I still use the RB67, but nowhere near as much after getting the more compact 645 Pro TL. I also have a Pentax 645Z that's big compared to the Fuji 50R I had prior, but I have a large collection of Pentax 645 lenses from all over the years of production, so it makes more sense.
Even then, my kit I use for work, travelling around doing photojournalism and lifestyle portraiture, currently consists of two MFT bodies (E-M5.III/G9) that when combined with the MFT lenses I love (Olympus 45/75mm f1.8, Sigma 30/56mm f1.4, PanaLeica 42.5mm f1.2, Om-System 20mm f1.4, and Olympus 12-40mm/40-150mm f2.8 zooms). My travel/work partner uses a pair of Pentax KP bodies. I have a D750 that's a fun camera, but between the cost and weight of getting all the same focal lengths (for any full frame option, not so much DSLR with used pricing) I can carry with my MFT system, it's not really worth it for me personally. For the turnaround I need sometimes, film doesn't make sense for me (getting to and covering an event in the afternoon and images due by later that evening).
Fun review. Thanks for the memory lane.
Used that exact setup for commercial and editorial fashion in the late 1990's. The model agencies went wild over the images and said all the ladies wanted to shoot with me because of the giant camera I used... hand held lol.
This chanell is one of the most affirming and compelling chanells I have found in this creative space of image capture and production. Your photographic process and the work you produce is compelling and the video production on this chanell os fantastic, it's truely better than most of what I see on broadcast Cable TV. It's fantastic to watch these videos, and be able to live vicariously through the experience you share with the equipment you shoot. Thank you, very honestly, for sharing this work. As an avid photographer with somewhat limited access to equipment ( the ideal equipment LOL ), so many of your videos I have come accross, have been in searches to answer questions I have about functionality and real utility in practical use of cameras like the Pentax 6x7. I love that I can watch your videos and what you share answers all my questions, because your practical consideration for function and deliverable results thoroughly exhausts all the same thoughts and considerations I have for these tools. I love that you are shooting this camera. It has been the medium format Camera that I compare and evaluate all other tools against for a long time now in my search for that next more capable tool. I recently after years of contemplating went back to shooting 35mm film. I still do, shoot digital, but film is a different exercise for me. I'm shooting 35mm because it is what I have access to right now and really, I'm just trying to familiarize myself with film stocks and develope a better sense of what I like and how to get it from different emulsions. Medium format is most deffinitly my end game and this is the THE Camera I have been eyeballing for a while, for all of the very reasons you describe in this video lens movement specifically, but variable frame size, available viewing options and swivelling back as well. I haven't seen too many of these around in the Toronto market but did find a few sellers in Japan with lots of availability. Pentax is also a Camera I have considered, again for many of the reasons you have pointed out, SLR function primarily. For me it's the image size and resolution that is appealing for large print work. I really enjoy the work you've shared and it's such a huge confirmation to see you using this camera, so many people I've had conversations with, about this camera whine about it's size and the workflow, if they even know what it is. It really was such a great video, too see that you are now shooting this marvelous beast. I should have known your journey would bring you here. I actually found this video searching for best phone apps to supplement my in Camera meters (Still haven't acquired a good spot meter), it was such a fantastic surprise to find this video. Great work! This video made day!
Very kind of you! Glad to hear you enjoyed it, and I appreciate you taking the time to leave this.
@@KyleMcDougall I can be wordy at times, it's a consequence of the overly analytical consideration my mind gives to things of interest, but I am most certain you'e invested much more time in what you share with the community. It is appreciated! Thank you!
I had the version 1 and I loved it. Deep down inside I am still a large format photographer. And yes, it is slow photography, but so rewarding.
nice video, thanks for sharing your experiences with us.
Really liked this camera when it first came out, I remembered seeing it first in the pro shop when we would pop in to hire a biogon for the Hasselblad 500cm.
I was a assistant photographer at a television broadcasting company in Leeds.
I didn't own a medium format camera, only a Nikon fe
Did get to use a 5×4 Wista when I was studying for my diploma though, which was nice.
Loved these cameras with its movements and sleak design.
I did however get a bronica S2a later in life and was searching for those elusive bronica bellows with standard.
Great review and produced video. Liked it a lot!
Now that's one camera that I have never had the desire to take into the field for exactly the reasons you mention, and since there are several options that are much more weight conscious (in particular 6x9 rollfilm backs for 4x5 cameras and 6x9 dedicated cameras). But in a studio, I always felt this camera might be unparalleled.
I believe the lenses are slightly modified LF lenses in modern electronic shutters and clearly, they cover at least 8x8cm since the back is rotatable. How much room do you have before you run out of coverage with the wide angle lens? I bet a lot.
I always wanted one of these. Beautiful camera. Superb lenses too.
Similar in many ways to the RZ67 bodies I primarily used (also Pentax 67 and Sinar P2 4X5). This was a fav for architectural guys. I did lots of lifestyle and portraits and food and the RZ67 just more maneuverable or really less parts that could cause a problem(tilt/shift)... Strangely, back during film days I think if you did work that required tilt/shift you just went with a 4x5. Towards the end of when I was shooting film I was lugging the P2 (4x5) camera with me on jobs overseas. I think I was addicted to the polaroids more than anything else but the film I shot back then still some of my favorites.
2 weeks ago I sold rz67 pro II with lenses and bought gx 680III with two backs, 50, 100 and 180 3.2 lenses. It was great decision. For faster stuff I have blads, rz didn’t have any advantage over hasselblad. Gx ic completely different case- movement is amazing, lenses also. I have older gen. back and last gen. , both are working great without any issues, so far I put 20 rolls through this setup. I shoot mainly portraits, and it suits my workflow (I mainly use it on location, not in the studio).
Looks like a beast! I shoot a couple rolls a week on an RB67, and ironically making it even larger makes it more manageable.
Left-hand grip + prism viewfinder makes everything faster and it's pretty easy handheld. That said, I also use Op-Tech lug adapters and a padded, adjustable rifle sling to carry it around-- tailormade to haul some heavy metal!
Impressive machine that delivers some wonderful frames with lots of character.
You're content is always very informative and entertaining at the same time. Arigato from Japan!
Glad you enjoy it!
Interesting video and camera!!
I remember, not that long back, when looking through the B&H used section, I came across lenses for this system that seemed a reasonable price.
I looked into if people were re-purposing or rehousing or adapting these lenses to be used on other cameras. I saw some work being done on that, but not enough for me to jump in with $$.
I'll be interested in seeing more of your use of this "beast" of a camera.
Enjoy and Merry Turkey to you this week!!
CC
perfect timing for my lunch break :)
just boughtone!!! this is a great overview thanks so much!!
Great video, I'm shooting 645 digital but looking to go to the new LSX67 digital back and the GX680 III looks like the perfect body to go with the larger sensor. The camera looks like such a good step to just be part of the whole photographic process
What a hefty fellow that is haha Love the features though and having the front movement on medium format seems super nice. Great video Kyle 👍
Thank you so much for making this video! I do love a large negative, and have been chasing 6x9 thrills for some time. I've stared hard at the GX680. I'm not afraid of big cameras. I have the biggest photo backpack out there! I like hauling around my Hasselblad H1 with several lenses and square filter kit. If there was a larger format system that would give me 1/3rd shutter stops, that would be the one in my pack. For waterscape photography, I need the shutter options more than anything else. I wish the GX680 had even 1/2 shutter stops. RZ67 does, and I'll love one eventually. Thanks again
6X8!!!! phenomenal!
I wanted one of these so badly back in the day (when they were still current). They were an oddball camera then and still are!
WOW!!! What a super great camera. Love your videos.
Great video ... now I want one. Fits my style of slow and deliberate.
The image circle for most of these lenses is big enough that they can be used straight on for 4x5. But it takes work to transfer them from the automatic shutter to the specific type Seiko #1 shutter that they fit in. Still, there's really nothing like a modern 125mm f/3.2 and 180mm f/3.2 on 4x5.
Awesome camera, I remember hiring one for a job about 20 years ago. The lenses are incredible. Given you have a Horseman 4x5 I was surprised you didn’t opt to try a Horseman roll film camera. Over the years they have produced some amazing cameras, yes, as standard they are 6x9 but 6x7 backs are available. They even have a 6x12 camera. I own a beautiful Horseman 970, with a 6x7 back. I really enjoy using it, and it packs down really small, making it easy to transport.
Great video, I hope the project works out for you.
I was going to say the same thing. I have a 4x5 and just picked up a 67 and 612 back. Added a ground glass with markings for both, plus 69. Seems like an easier way to go
Great Video as usual!
My favorite part was when he GX680’d all over the place. Haven’t seen any good content on this, very glad to see someone showing it some love.
Excellent video, thanks! This has been instructive to me in showing that, as much as I think these are great cameras, for what and how I shoot , the cost of a GX680 kit would be better spent on something else.
In my case, I think that one of the 6x9 backs I could get for my existing 4x5 camera would be a better answer.
Although, the mention of the Horseman 6x9 cameras has led me to seeing that those are, again for me and my photography, an interesting possibility.
So, thank you for saving me some money and time!
Great Video -- feel very inspired !👍
YES!!! I have the GX680iii