Fujifilm GW-690III Reviews

Rating
Reviewed by:

Jytzel
( Professional)

Review Date
July 3, 2004

Overall Rating
1 of 5

Value Rating
2 of 5

Used product for
More than 1 year

Visitors rate this review
4.00 of 5,
4 votes

Review 1 of 16

Price Paid: $0.00

Summary:

I agree with the previous review, the lens contrast is horrible. I do a lot of B&W and I find that such lens destroys the subtle tonality- very critical for my B&W work. I think the reason this lens is haighly rated as razor sharp lens is because of its contrast; this is the anti-Zeiss kind of lens (for Zeiss users to understand what I'm talking about). One more serious drawback is the useless T-mode. Practically you can't go longer than 1 sec. shutterspeed on this lens. I sold it as new for half the price; never going back to any Fuji products (even in Large format) I'm moving to Hasselblad

Strengths:

lightweight.

Weaknesses:

Lens, lens, lack of B-mode.

Similar Products Used:

Pentax 67, Rolleiflex, Mamiya

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Rating
Reviewed by: Tom Kinkel
(Expert)

Review Date
October 15, 2003

Overall Rating
3 of 5

Value Rating
2 of 5

Used product for
More than 1 year

Visitors rate this review
4.20 of 5,
5 votes

Review 2 of 16

Price Paid: $0.00 from Privately

Summary:

I can't come to terms with the minuses of this camera .It seems to me that most fuji products that I own and get to play with have a superficial quality that seems to wear thin eventually.I find the lens contrast and the way it posterises the detail even on neg film,leaves me feeling the camera is technically well designed but lacking any depth of character.I own a lot of gear and feel this is a trademark of this highly succesfull company in general.And for all the people that have asked me why I don't like the camera and have become very indignent at the thought that I may say to them I am not unhappy to recommend the purchase of one.I can only say they are plentifull second hand.

Strengths:

The GSW690 111 with 65mm lens is a good camera,nothing better than that.

Weaknesses:

Lightweight construction with a very poor viewfinder on top of a shutter that feels and sounds very Cheap.

Similar Products Used:

Hasselblad Expan,Leica M3

Customer Service:

The agents are not interested in customers in Australia

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Rating
Reviewed by: Tom
(Intermediate)

Review Date
July 16, 2003

Overall Rating
4 of 5

Value Rating
4 of 5

Used product for
3 Months to 1 year

Review 3 of 16

Price Paid: $1100.00 from Robert White

Summary:

Fun. I have shot some negative film but mostly Provia 100, which produces huge wonderful slides. Good way to get the quality of medium format without investing in a 'system.'

Strengths:

The images.

Weaknesses:

A clunky camera in just about every respect, but that's OK. This camera makes you slow down and think about what you are doing. I ordered mine from the UK as it seems medium format is one of the few photo niches where the UK is cheaper than the US, saved several hundred $$$, but it's still rather expensive for what it does. Just checked B&H and Adorama for a current price. Neither have them listed. Fuji didn't discontinue it, did they?

Similar Products Used:

Nothing quite like this.

Customer Service:

Haven't needed.

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Rating
Reviewed by: Jerome Yeats
(Professional)

Review Date
May 11, 2003

Overall Rating
4 of 5

Value Rating
4 of 5

Used product for
More than 1 year

Visitors rate this review
5.00 of 5,
1 votes

Review 4 of 16

Price Paid: $0.00

Summary:

I have the 690W, the 65mm wide angle version and the previous all metal model. This camera could be great but has some serious flaws which have been repeated in the newer models! I understand these models are being discontinued. I will certainly hang on to mine

Strengths:

Beautiful, sharp 6x9cms transparencies, flash synch at all speeds, all metal (discontinued) body.

Weaknesses:

clanging shutter,dim viewfinder, idiotic T instead of bulb - just guaranteed to ruin a long exposure unless you employ a black cloth to cover the lens first. The really crazy design is the built in lenshood which makes it impossible to use square filters

Similar Products Used:

no medium format rangefinders. I dislike the feel of a Mamiya 7

Customer Service:

Haven't needed it, touch wood

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Rating
Reviewed by: Dave Morrow
(Intermediate)

Review Date
November 2, 2001

Overall Rating
5 of 5

Value Rating
5 of 5

Used product for
More than 1 year

Visitors rate this review
4.20 of 5,
5 votes

Review 5 of 16

Price Paid: $0.00 from 2nd Hand

Summary:

The strengths of this camera far outweigh the weaknesses. I use this for ALL my photo needs now - landscape, portrait and even general snaps (I am considering taking it on a skiing holiday this year). It has most of the conveniences of a manual SLR but with the big advantage of a fantastic lens and negative size.The best camera I have used. The best camera I have played with. Simply the best camera around

Strengths:

Great lens INCREDIBLE image quality Great neg size 90mm lens and neg size are a perfect match Simple film loading Light enough to get razor-sharp handheld shots and carry anywhere

Weaknesses:

Viewfinder partially obscured with Lens hood. Rangefinder focusing takes a while to get used to after SLR Body is a little bit on the plastic side. But this keeps weight down

Similar Products Used:

Yashica MAT 124G Nikon F50

Customer Service:

N/A

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