Fujifilm GA645Zi - First Impressions
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- Опубликовано: 28 июн 2024
- My Skillshare course on Film Photography (with one month free trial) - skl.sh/3p5sk9K
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I've been having way too much fun shooting with the Fujifilm GA645Zi this past couple of months. So about time I shared my first impressions here; hope you like it. Please let me know if you have any questions. As always chapters are below and if you only want to watch one thing before you buy, watch the 'reliability/concerns' section.
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00:00 Intro
01:11 Brighton (Fuji Pro 400H)
02:10 Usability/Features
05:42 Brighton Continued (Fuji Pro 400H + Portra 400)
06:46 Metering
07:48 Portrait Shoot (Ektachrome E100)
08:13 Image Quality
09:01 Spring shoot (Ektachrome E 100 contd.)
09:32 Reliability & Concerns
11:21 Spring Shoot (Ilford HP5+ 400)
12:40 Limitations
14:56 Next Video teaser :)
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Say Hello: / sathyapeacock
I bought a nearly unused GA645Zi abut 18 months ago. My initial use lead me to the same conclusions expressed here. An accident one year ago has forced me to put all photography aside for now, but I look forward to getting back to this camera. in a few months. I bought it because my Pentax 67 system has gotten too heavy for me at 75 to haul around all of the time. Re the flex cable circuit board breakage issue, there is now a Finnish company which will sell you the repair parts for $100, or just do the whole repair for $200. They have a YT video showing the whole job in detail, which is more than enough to put even the most skilled owner off DIY. The lens is slow, but a lens with larger aperture or wider zoom range would be significantly larger, make the camera heavier, and would probably be optically compromised by comparison. My gripe with the camera is the lens shade. It is a very tight fit, a bit tricky to put on and pull off. With that, you can fit only one filter between lens and shade, and you cannot fit a lens cap on the front of the shade. Stylish to look at, but a pain in the ass to use. Solution: drop the official shade in favor of a normal 52mm threaded shade which screws in the lens like a filter, perhaps a rubber one which would collapse back onto the lens when not in use, and it would take a standard snap-in cap.
Thank you Randall for a comprehensive comment on your experience with this camera. You’re certainly right about the lens shade, and the size being a factor in smaller apertures. I do wish you well and hopefully you’ll get back to photography sooner than later. Fantastic news about repairs being available, I’ll check them out. Take care!
Correction Polish company for repairs.
This is such a thoughtful, well-explained, detailed video. This has been so helpful in my consideration weighing whether or not to purchase this camera. Thank you for taking the time to make this!
Hi Shana, thank you so much for letting me know :) I'm glad it was helpful. Have you made a decision?
Nothing but straight quality on the entire video sathya. The images are gorgeous. Nice job exposing the E100 set. The camera looks 👍🏾 nicely done with the review cheers.
Eyyyyy, thank you brother! Yeah I’m happy with the slides especially 👊🏽
This was excellent man! I’ve been looking at this camera and the gw for so long but have never took the plunge. But really liking what I’m seeing from this camera. Thanks for making this
Glad you like it dude; yeah a very capable camera for sure!
Great video! Loved the pics and very well explained
Thanks dude 😊 glad you enjoyed it
Great video, thank you from The Netherlands!
You’re welcome Victor! And thank you for watching :) are you planning on getting this camera?
Yes! Already did, should arrive later this month. Can’t wait to try it myself!
@@vinovidiviccie ah awesome! Have fun :)
Thanks Sathya! You too!
I really like your video. You gave more than a review, Is beautiful.
Hi Santiago, thank you so much! Glad you like it :)
I learned that it’s better to not open the door all the way. I just load it with the door up to my chest to keep it from opening all the way.
As for the flash, it works great. Especially in really low light situations.
Hey Raul! Thanks for watching and for the tips :)
very well done video. compliments. I'm considering buying this machine especially for the automatic focus. i thought about the 670 and 690 but i have had rangefinder cameras before and i find focusing really hard for me. on the other hand the 645 actually above all at the longest focal distance is an f7 and in low light conditions it gives me worries in everyday life.
Thank you Mario! I recommend 800+ ISO for evening shooting. if you want to shoot portraits in lowlight, I highly recommend using flash - fills up nicely, the metering works like a treat and you could shoot handheld. Otherwise, tripod is necessary. It’s better than SLRs to shoot handheld as there’s no mirror slapping away and shaking things, so 1/60th is perfectly fine, 1/30th could possibly get away with but anything lower, note that it’s also a super lightweight camera so unless you’re good at shooting handheld at slower shutter speeds it’s hard to not shake the camera just a bit while pressing the shutter even with three point contact method. At least for me it was. All the best!
@@SathyaPeacock thanks for the informations. I'm looking for one but the prices are really very high. alternatively I could evaluate the Pentax 645n which has interchangeable lenses but I lose portability due to weight and size
@@Stesalti I hear good things about the Pentax, also can't go wrong with any of the mamiya 645 but as you said, portability isn't great. Hope you find something that works for you.
its really encouraging the photos youve taken with this camera. a lot of the examples ive found online have been pretty unimpressive and made me start to second guess my decision to purchase one
Ah I appreciate that, thanks for watching. Good luck with the decision!
Not sure if someone has mentioned it already but you can get the door ribbon replaced by some folks in Poland.
Someone did mention about a Finnish company, thank you for the tip. Do you have a name for the company/folks?
edit: I could’ve just googled before typing the comment haha, they’re called Fototech - www.fotonaprawa.pl/
@@SathyaPeacock It's quite a pricey repair, at around 300 euro. But then again, if that's the difference between a working and a non-working camera...
Ok, damn this thing is expensive:p
Haha it is indeed
Didn't use to be the case.. I bought mine around 10 years ago and it seems values have doubled since then. Covid (and youtubers, let's be honest) did a real number on film gear prices. Imho it's not worth the current asking price. But then again, I have that feeling with all film gear these days.
Stopped watching at 40 seconds when Sathya says "it made my decision to keep the camera or return it..." He's basically using a camera store or Ebay sellers return policy to make videos he profits on. As film cameras become more rare and expensive Sathya is using sellers for his own personal gain, making it harder for sellers to make profit. I realize that being able to return an item is an integral process of the modern shopping experience (maybe, because of large corporations...), but to "borrow" a camera for free and make a video out of it is unethical. I'm not watching the rest of the video and perhaps he keeps the camera, but I'm not interested in the opinions of a person who exhibits this behavior. It is borderline sociopath behavior - i.e. you can use other people to create content without ever having to pay for it, as long as you return it before your return policy is up.
Watch Grainydays video about the cameras he's fallen out of love with, it's part of the game of being a collector/creator/photographer, some things you like and others you don't, but you don't try to profit on another persons back.
Sathya I won't watch your videos if these are your ideals, this is the first I've come across and you strike me as person interested in profit more than the community. Maybe you can support the film photo community honestly or maybe you can keep your buying and returning under your hat.
Hey Ryan, I clearly misspoke. I meant to say resell. I do not buy and return items for creating content for my RUclips channel. I certainly wouldn’t try to ‘use’ returns policy for my benefit especially being an eBay seller myself. In case you aren’t aware, customs isn’t cheap for buying items from Japan (I paid about £200 for this camera) and return shipping isn’t cheap either. It would’ve been a lot more easier for me to rent it here or borrow it from a friend than to go through the hassle of buying, paying customs, returning with insurance.
I am saying all this because I’m trying to not assume the worst of you and I hope that hearing this might help you gain a better perspective on the situation.
As always, thank you for watching, even if was just 40 seconds. Have a good day.