International Camera Museum : Blue Moon Camera and Machine

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Fujica GS645

The Fujica GS645 is a dream-come-true medium format camera for many photographers. Fuji rolled this folding rangefinder out in March of 1983 and nowadays, forty years later, it is still highly sought after.

The GS645 has a couple great things going for it, and the biggest is probably its smallest feature - that compact size. This folding rangefinder tucks into a very compact piece when not in use. Despite being medium format, the GS645 will fit in a coat pocket once it is done performing its origami. Fuji is said to have originally marketed this camera toward the travel photography crowd and we can see why. What traveling photographer wouldn't want a medium format camera capable of fitting in one of the smaller pockets of a backpack?

Size is not everything when the GS645 is involved. This camera also has a stellar lens on it. Those Fujinon optics should never be overlooked. Plus, the camera is more mechanical than electronic. It is just electronic enough to give you an onboard, integrated light meter but, otherwise, the design allows you to do everything else you need to (like make exposures), whether there are batteries in the camera or not.

The Achilles' Heel of the GS645 is in the bellows, which were fragile enough when the camera was new but have proven to age poorly and are almost always found with holes in them, nowadays. Almost all GS645 cameras still functioning today are doing so after the installment of replacement bellows... or the original bellows are covered with gasket sealant from the local auto parts shop.

In order not to end this summary on a low note, we'll conclude by mentioning the camera is one of the rare 6x4.5cm format cameras that naturally shoots in portrait orientation. It also only produces 15 exposures per roll, instead of the standard 16 for this format.

So, the next time you have Milan on the mind and are wondering about the perfect camera to bring, it may be time to add a GS645 to your collection.

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Fuji GS645

In our opinion, Fuji is one of the more underrated names when it comes to medium format cameras. It seems like every one of their cameras gives us multiple reasons to fall in love with it; from the Fuji GW690 (aka the Texas Leica) to the GX617 - a 6x17 panoramic maestro, or the studio kingpin GX680 and rounding out with this GS645. A big part of it is the optics. Fuji medium (and large) format lenses are stellar. You can always count on sharp, contrasty images from Fuji optics... and, the cameras those lenses are mounted onto are also worth your admiration.

⁠The GS645 may be our favorite of the bunch; though, we also might only be saying that because it is the most recent we have held. This camera is a folding rangefinder that gets incredibly compact when its all tucked in. In a way, it is a throw back to Fuji's roots in medium format cameras, it bears a strong resemblance to the earlier Fujica Six 6x6 folding medium format cameras. The GS645 stands out with its a modern lens, Copal shutter, and integrated light meter. It is a slick camera and we are always excited to have them in inventory.

⁠If the Mamiya 7 has proven too costly or tough to track down, give this Fuji some consideration. It is a fraction of the price and you might find it scratches that itch just as well.⁠

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The Fuji GS645

The Fuji GS645. This is a camera we would love to love... but Fuji made that a bit difficult.

The camera is a folding, medium format, rangefinder. It collapses up into something compact enough that you could fit it in a coat pocket. It is also one of the rare 6x4.5cm cameras that is naturally in portrait orientation instead of landscape. The camera has a good lens, manual exposure controls, built-in light meter, and a quiet shutter. There are a lot of good things to say. about this camera.

...and then there are the bellows. The camera's original, factory-installed bellows are atrocious; worse than atrocious, really. Three decades after productions and 9.75 out of 10 of these cameras have bad bellows. The bellows deteriorate and get holes in them, usually at the corners, causing light leaks. Do NOT buy one of these cameras without testing the bellows, unless the camera has had those bellows replaced. That is what was done with this particular camera; when it came through the shop, the bellows were completely shot. Thanks to Advance Camera Repair, we had it outfitted with spiffy new red bellows. It is not a cheap process, but we thought it worth it, and now a good camera is back in working order and looks even fancier than before.

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