The camera that changed my life
Written: Jun 26 '00
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Product Rating:
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Pros: Everything
Cons: lens cap buzzer
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| trik's Full Review: FUJIFILM GA645Zi Rangefinder Camera |
There is an evil adage in the world of artists that goes “Those who can’t; take pictures”
Well thanks to the Fuji GA645 Zi, I have a new adage: “Those who can’t take pictures, use a FUJI GA645Zi”
I have an “eye” for photographs, and I will be blatantly honest here and admit that that is where my knowledge ends. I don’t understand F-Stops and apertures, I don’t know how to bracket or accurately turn my film into my developer with instructions on how to “Push” it one stop or two. All I know is I love taking pictures and nothing depresses me more than getting back blurry out of focus images.
I love detail.
Focus and detail. I love sharpness. I want to see each eyelash of a model. I want my pictures to reflect the exact color tones in the skin that were instigating the photograph in the first place. I want to see each sequin and its mirrored reflection. I don’t want blur. Sure I may end up blurring the picture in PhotoShop by the time I’m good and done with it, but I want to start out with a good image.
So with my great frustrations with 35mm, I was forced to jump up to medium format. My only problem?: I don’t know how the heck to use any of them. Until the GA645Zi came along.
Yes, the name of the camera does suck. Its reminds me of the tale of Rikitikitempo no sa rem bo cherry berry rucci merry. …blah whatever. The camera is fully automatic, (can be fully or partially manual if you want) which means all I have to do is point and shoot. And the negative is H U G E., which means I get back sharp as a knife images. Oh it is a blessed thing!!! It says right on the package “great for wedding photos and still shots”. I don’t take wedding photos. I mostly do fashion photography, a lot of catwalk stuff, and party scenes. FAST ACTION. Getting a drunken person to pose isn’t easy. So I require a quick reflex to get the shot, and cant afford to ask the model to ‘hold that pose’, or I lose the moment.
The day I got the camera I took five rolls at a spontaneous renegade fashion show. The models rented a school bus and walked into casinos and home depots, galleries and we even crashed a wedding at one hotel. It was pure chaos and a lot of inhebriation. I have to say that out of those five rolls of C-41 film (which is 32 exposures to a roll) I only got back about five blurred pictures.
I am in L O V E with this camera. It’s amazing! And if you are a first time medium format camera user and aren’t used to how to load the film, I am here to tell you it couldn’t be easier. It’s so similar to a point and shoot 35 mm. It automatically advances, has a zoom, built in flash and rewinds itself. The only thing that I had trouble with was the buzzer. This buzzer is supposed to go off if you leave the lens cap on. It didn’t for me, so I lost a few shots in all the excitement.
Medium format does tend to get more expensive when it comes to developing though. The film, if you order from B+H in New York you can get for $5.04 a roll, which is a great price for 32 images per roll.
Developing is usually 3 to 4 dollars at professional labs, which is the only types of places that will develop these sized negatives. But it’s the actual printing that will kick you in the ass.
I had the brilliant idea to get a negative scanner. Which you can read my review on (DuoScan T1200).
It turned out to be a bad idea.
But trust me that didn’t get me down. I’m in love with this camera and recommend it to anyone who wishes to get more from their photographs than what 35mm can provide.
Recommended:
Yes
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Epinions.com ID:
trik
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Member: Niki Crosby
Location: New Orleans Louisiana
Reviews written: 24
Trusted by: 10 members
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