CAMERAS
Learn more about the cameras I use regularly (and some that collect dust).
Fuji GW690iii
The first iteration of this camera, the GW690, was released in 1978 as a professional grade fixed lens medium format offering. The negative produced, as the name implies, is 6cm x 9cm, the largest medium format negative made. Due to that size, only 8 images can be made on a roll of 120 film.
There were two versions to follow, the GW690ii and the GW690iii. Mine is an example of the GW690iii. These cameras are all fully mechanical with no battery and no internal light meter.
There was also other variations in 6×7 and 6×8. The 6×7 proved the most popular due to fitting ten images on a roll.
Fuji GS645S
The newest camera in my collection, the GS645S. I picked this model up for the specific purpose of traveling. While I love the Fuji GW690iii’s huge negatives, the 8 shots per roll and sheer size of the camera limit its ability to be packed and carried on longer trips easily. And similarly in the 6 X 4.5 negative size it is hard to beat the Mamiya 645 Pro TL, but it is a boxy, heavy beast.
The GS645S is not much larger than my Fuji X-T5 digital camera. It shoots 15 shots per roll of 120 film. It is a fixed lens so it fits my current method of single lens photography, and it is very light. A quirk about the GS645S is the viewfinder is vertical/portrait format. The film runs left to right so this makes sense from a technical point of view to fit the negatives on the roll. But from a shooting perspective it is more like using an iPhone. I love this camera and am looking forward to my first big trip with it.
Mamiya 645 Pro TL
The Mamiya 645 line began in the mid-1970’s with the m645 as a mostly metal body with modular parts. New versions continued up to the 645 Pro TL, which was built from 1997-2006. Throughout the history of the 645 line, they remained a modular camera. At the heart was a box, the body, then users chose which viewfinder, lens, winder, and other accessories fit their needs.
My 645 Pro TL is equipped with the prism viewfinder with metering and the auto winder. I use a pair of lenses with it, an 80mm and a 45mm. The removable film back allows photographers to switch between different types of film without disturbing the frame count. With each roll of 120 film holding 15 frames with this camera, extra film holders can be stored with film preloaded for faster swapping when rolls are finished.
Minolta CLE
As the story goes, German camera powerhouse Leica wanted to build a less expensive camera to draw users that found their M-line of cameras too expensive. A technical partnership was created with Minolta in 1972. The two developed a camera together that came out in 1973 called the Leica CL. It was only out a year before Leica pulled the plug, rumors are because it took sales from their more expensive models.
A few years later, Minolta revived the technology behind the Leica CL, designed a new body, and released it as the Minolta CLE (Compact Leica Electronic). Considered a Leica in Japanese clothes, the CLE is a sturdy camera that uses the same M-mount lenses as the expensive Leica bodies.
Mamiya C22 TLR
Mamiya introduced the C220 in the early 1970s. Twin Lens Reflex (TLR) cameras differ from the Single Lens Reflex (SLR) brothers in that you look down into the camera and focus with the top lens while the bottom lens (hence twin lens) sits in front of the film plane. Focusing is done by moving the front of the camera in and out on a bellows using a knob. TLRs were a common camera for journalists.