Considering moving to a Fuji GX617 Panoramic Camera

[Sanjay Sen]

1) Price.
2) It costs more to do less (no shift, no tilt, no swing).
3) Constrained proprietary lenses.
4) Price.
5) Lack of close focus.
6) Lack of availability for proprietary lenses.
7) Price.
8) Not made any more, so parts difficult to come by.
9) Lack of 72mm lens option (90mm the widest lens)
10) Price.

Thanks, Lachlan. While I am aware of the lack of movements, proprietary lenses, etc., I was more concerned that there might be some inherent manufacturing and/or design flaws from a user perspective that I wasn't aware of.

[Peter De Smidt]

I briefly used one of the GX Fuji's, as I was able to borrow it for a few days. It's build quality is very similar to the newest Fuji rangefinders, such as a GSW670III. I found the GX very pleasant to shoot with. I agree with the other posters, though, as to it's price. The sad part is that the camera I used is sitting unused in a cabinet at a large corporation. They've gone all digital, and I doubt very much that they'll ever use it again.

[rguinter]

I think it's pretty silly to even consider buying one of these knowing you could buy an 8x10" P&S for a few hundred bucks
I guess these do have the advantage of having interchangable lenses @ what 15-2000. each?

Steve:

There are several distinct advantages to owning a dedicated 120/220-rollfilm camera rather than going the 8x10-route and cropping or using a roll-film back.

One is weight. I can hand hold my Fuji G617 and get 4-images as fast as I can wind the shutter and re-shoot.

Another is the sheer number of images I can get on one outing... virtually as many as I can carry roll-films in my pack or pockets.

And one more is film availability and developing. I can get C-41 roll-film developed at my local camera shop downtown in one day. Anything else and now I'm into mailing it out or doing it myself.

Although I find myself using LF more frequently these days, and sometimes with a roll-film back, the above advantages are very significant for a dedicated camera like the Fuji, Technorama, and others.

Bob G.

[Anders_HK]

Any recommendations?

I'm currently looking at getting a "kit" a bit like http://cgi.ebay.com.au/FUJIFILM-FUJI...#ht_922wt_1117 . Is it OK to buy such an expensive item on ebay?

Please help, thanks!

Hi,

Did you see my Fotoman 617 w/90mm Schneider for sale? http://www.largeformatphotography.in...hlight=fotoman

It is cheaper than the Fuji and comes with Made in Germany lens that is sharp. For a 617 the only difference between a sharp f/8 and sharp f/5.6 lens is that the f/8 is less weight . You compose through the viewfinder...

If you research or ask those who compared Fotoman to Gaoersi and DaoYi, the Fotoman is made to much better quality, and much better viewfinder.

My Shen-Hao 4x5 is a keeper but using view camera for 617 is a totally different beast. A dedicated 617 camera is more simple because lens remain parallel to film plane. For most applications there is no need for lens movements on 617.

Also, consider that there is no difference in image quality between a Fotoman to Fuji or Linhof. It depends on lens. The camera is only a box to hold the lens and film .

I can say what mattered to me with this camera was also that it has a 90mm Schendier lens. Not only because I prefer Schneider and Rodenstock but because it combines my two preferred focal lengths, the equivalents on 135 to 20mm horizontal and around 40mm vertical (to be precise 90mm on 617 is 19mm horizontal and 39mm vertical). A 72mm would have been wider and more specialized and a 110mm would not have been suffice wide, albeit that relates to personal preferences.

This review describe the Fotoman very well; http://www.gt-photography.com/articl...7%20Review.pdf


Regards
Anders