Back in a previous post, I was lamenting that there was so much to do to turn my 6x7-shooting Mamiya RB67 into a 6x8-shooter.
I had gotten the light baffle but couldn't find a proper 6x8 rotating adapter. At that time in 2007, I had already bought the 6x8 film back and just needed the camera parts to complete the transformation.
The light baffle I already had was not the same as the 6x8 baffle I purchased from the MAC Group. It did in fact have a slightly bigger opening.
I put the project on hold for awhile. "Awhile" meaning roughly 3 years.
I finally had the funds to return to the project and found a 6x8 rotating adapter for the RB. I got it from my favorite used camera seller, KEH.com.
The final step was to get the light baffle installed. The folks at the MAC Group suggested I take it to a camera repair shop to get the light baffle replaced, but that was not going to be a cheap proposition. I decided to give it a go myself...I just needed to get a proper set of tiny screwdrivers that could handle the torque of loosening and tightening these tiny eyeglass screws. They were in there pretty good but the replacement process was fairly quick and painless.
With the light baffle replaced, the new (to me) 6x8 rotating adapter replacing my 6x7 adapter, the 6x8 film back popped into place and voilà!! I had an RB68! I'm still putting a roll of film through it but I'm fairly eager to see how everything worked out.
Friday, June 24, 2011
Fuji GX680
This is probably the last camera (for now) that I want for my collection of cameras that I've coveted in my life, as I wrote about 3.5 years ago in a previous blog post.
This is a monster of a camera. It's a medium format camera that shoots 6x8 negatives but has the features of a large format view camera. The GX680 has a front standard that allows you to move it with swings, tilts, and shifts, just like a view camera. What this does is allow you incredible perspective and control over your depth of focus.
Just like my other medium format camera, the Mamiya RB67, it uses bellows focusing.But unlike the RB lenses which uses a leaf shutter, the shutter is actually built into the camera via a focal plane shutter. Both cameras are beasts, weighing at over 6 lbs, and both can shoot 6x8 (I modified my RB67 to shoot 6x8 with a 6x8 light baffle, rotating adapter, and a 6x8 motorized back), and both use bellows focusing, but that's pretty much it for similarities.
The RB67 is all manual and pretty much all metal all the way, which is why it's so heavy. The GX680 is controlled primarily with electronics and is primarily plastic in construction, which is why it doesn't weigh twice as much as it already does.
The reliance on electronics means it requires a battery, and boy does it have one. It's the equivalent of 2 Canon 60D batteries in size, but it only outputs 7.2 volts, and the battery is only available in a NiCd variety. There is a AA battery back available but accessories are difficult to come by for the original GX680. There are 2 other versions, with the GX680 III being the most recent and having significant battery upgrades -- it primarily uses a lithium battery or a AA battery pack that has greater availability.
The bulk of the GX680 means it's primarily a studio camera though there have been people who have taken it around as a street-shooting camera. There was even a neck strap available for the GX680 (there are no strap lugs on the original GX680 as there are in the Mk III), though using a neck strap for such a heavy camera may require some training of your neck and back muscles to compensate for the extra 10 lbs that your neck would have to support.
Like the RB67, the GX680 lacks a light meter and auto exposure unless you buy an AE finder that is only available for waist level use, while the RB67 has an available eye-level, AE finder.
It's going to be interesting to lug the GX680 around for some test shots.
This is a monster of a camera. It's a medium format camera that shoots 6x8 negatives but has the features of a large format view camera. The GX680 has a front standard that allows you to move it with swings, tilts, and shifts, just like a view camera. What this does is allow you incredible perspective and control over your depth of focus.
Just like my other medium format camera, the Mamiya RB67, it uses bellows focusing.
The RB67 is all manual and pretty much all metal all the way, which is why it's so heavy. The GX680 is controlled primarily with electronics and is primarily plastic in construction, which is why it doesn't weigh twice as much as it already does.
The reliance on electronics means it requires a battery, and boy does it have one. It's the equivalent of 2 Canon 60D batteries in size, but it only outputs 7.2 volts, and the battery is only available in a NiCd variety. There is a AA battery back available but accessories are difficult to come by for the original GX680. There are 2 other versions, with the GX680 III being the most recent and having significant battery upgrades -- it primarily uses a lithium battery or a AA battery pack that has greater availability.
The bulk of the GX680 means it's primarily a studio camera though there have been people who have taken it around as a street-shooting camera. There was even a neck strap available for the GX680 (there are no strap lugs on the original GX680 as there are in the Mk III), though using a neck strap for such a heavy camera may require some training of your neck and back muscles to compensate for the extra 10 lbs that your neck would have to support.
Like the RB67, the GX680 lacks a light meter and auto exposure unless you buy an AE finder that is only available for waist level use, while the RB67 has an available eye-level, AE finder.
It's going to be interesting to lug the GX680 around for some test shots.
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