Fuji GW690 / GW690II / GW690III
Anyone who's ever tried to give themselves a nickname knows how difficult it is and how badly it can go. Really, bestowed monikers are generally fairly accurate as they reflect how people are seen and not how they see themselves. Such is the case with the Fuji 6x9 Professional. As a fully manual rangefinder that produces brilliant negatives with a 3:2 aspect ratio, the comparison to Leica rangefinders was inevitable and not unwarranted. Given its size and styling, it didn't take long for the Fuji 6x9 to pick up the label the "Texas Leica."
Fuji released the first version of the 6x9 Professional in 1978 and like its older and more diminutive counterpart, the 6x9 Professional was designed as a fully manual rangefinder with parallax correction and a brilliant lens. Unlike its smaller cousin, the Texas-sized version of the rangefinder does not have interchangeable lenses. Having its 90mm f/3.5 Fujinon lens (roughly equivalent to a 36mm focal length lens on a 35mm negative) allows for the other major difference between these cameras, which is that the Fuji has a leaf shutter as opposed to a focal plane shutter. Not only does this difference allow flash synchronization at any shutter speed, but it also makes this Fuji lighter and quieter than it would appear.
The controls on the Fuji 6x9 are about as straight-forward as any camera's controls can get. The shutter speed and aperture rings are mounted on the lens barrel and turn in opposite directions so that turning both of them at the same time results in equal exposures. There are shutter release buttons on the front and top covers of the camera with the top button designed for a mechanical cable release.
As modern as these cameras are, one feature may seem puzzling to modern photographers: there's a film selector switch on the top cover where users can choose between 4 exposures on half-roll 120 film, 8 exposures on a full roll of 120 film, or 16 exposures on 220 film. As neither half roll 120 or 220 film survived long into the 21st century, the 8 exposure choice is the only setting that may currently be used.
Given their build quality, sharp lenses, and the gorgeous negatives they produce, the popularity of the Fuji 6x9 Professional cameras has not waned since they first hit the market. Finding one and seeing the results will leave no doubt of the value of "Texas Negatives."
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