New Fuji medium format folder

LittleSkink · 10-03-2008, 08:42 AM

hope this isnt a cross posting I couldnt find myself

spotted this in some old Photokina news, and I so want one of these:
Fujifilm releases folding camera details news - Amateur Photographer - news, camera reviews, lens reviews, camera equipment guides, photography courses, competitions, photography forums

this may sound daft (my wife thought so) but before going to Pentax digital earlier this year I was seriously considering getting a classic medium format folder (from certo6 in US) to rejuvinate my love of photography. But all that scanning 6x6 slides - even though we have pro scanner kit here at work - just didnt make complete sense. But it may explain why I would buy manual focus Voigtlander lens for more cash than an AF Pentax

but since when were some decisions about photography, or kit, necessarily sensible

LittleSkink · 10-03-2008, 08:50 AM

forgot to mention it will be a Voigtlander outside Japan as it is a Fuji/Cosina venture , here is an official web page:
Voigtlaender - Bessa III

Hope Cosina still find time to do some more SLII SLR lenses, they seem far too busy doing other stuff for my liking

*séamuis* · 10-03-2008, 09:20 AM

I saw this over on the manual focus lenses forum. I think its really neat that fuji and cosina are making new versions of such a classic design, especially since the more new film cameras on the market the better in my opinion. I wouldn't buy one as I have no need for such a camera, but its really cool none the less.

*geauxpez* · 10-03-2008, 07:20 PM

Oooohhh...nice. I sold a classic folding 6x6 earlier this year (trimmed down to one medium format camera). It will probably sell for a small fortune. If it was under $500, I would consider replacing my seldom used Yashica TLR.

ryan s · 10-04-2008, 01:06 PM

Supposedly it's going to be in the $1000 area, which is extremely unfortunate

lithos · 10-04-2008, 02:49 PM

I hope other film companies get this proactive and start thinking, hey, instead of moving to digital, why don't we create a market for our films?

But on the downside: bellows. Why'd it have to be bellows?

My penultimate fear regarding film - penultimate to film disappearing altogether - is that the only new film cameras people'll make will be "boutique" ones - limited runs of cameras that just don't to much for what they cost, because they've padded the crap out of them by building the chassis out of some rare mineral that was hewn from a meteorite in an African wildlife reserve, or something.

*k100d* · 10-04-2008, 03:22 PM

if people are looking for a cheaper smaller entry to MF, the Fuji GA645s are interesting
i started looking at them after i saw this folder

*k100d* · 10-04-2008, 03:22 PM

Originally Posted by lithos

But on the downside: bellows. Why'd it have to be bellows?

aren't all folders bellows?

Mike Cash · 10-04-2008, 03:34 PM

There is nothing more retro-kewl than popping open the front of a folder. Wouldn't be the same without the bellows.

*geauxpez* · 10-04-2008, 08:13 PM

I agree -- the bellows is really cool looking, but also integral to the folder design. Though Braun did make a non-bellows folder in which the lens popped forward in a metal tube. Get those medium format negs scanned and you're talking MONSTER megapixels. Not to mention that it would just be fun to shoot from tome to time. I'm not willing to cough up $1k for what I would consider a part-time plaything.

I had a 1950's era folder where the process for each shot consisted of: Carefully advance the film to the next frame without over-advancing, frame your photo to decide your depth of field or shutter speed needs, meter with a handheld meter (or additional camera using the same aperture & shutter speed you want), set aperture & shutter speed on the lens/shutter assembly, cock the shutter, re-frame using the rangefinder to determine the exact distance of the subject, dial that distance into the lens, re-frame again & trip the shutter.

This new camera has a coupled rangefinder, an integrated meter and aperture priority! Sweeeeet...but still too expensive for my taste. I'll pick one up on the used market in 50 years if anyone still makes 120 film.

lithos · 10-05-2008, 03:29 AM

Originally Posted by k100d

aren't all folders bellows?

Originally Posted by Mike Cash

There is nothing more retro-kewl than popping open the front of a folder. Wouldn't be the same without the bellows.

Really? Could neeeevvvvveeeeeer have worked that one out on my own.

That's what I meant. I was using the term bellows as a sort of metaphor for a folding camera. Because the bellows bug me. They're ungainly and delicate.

And "retro kewl", FFS? God/Allah/Yahweh/Buddha/Ganesh/Might Thor/Ra/Rainbow Serpent help us, then.

"Hey, this camera we designed - it looks retro-cool! You know what that means, right?"

"What?"

"We can raised the price by two hundred US, and flog it to gullible hipsters!"

**J.Scott** · 10-05-2008, 04:24 AM

Originally Posted by lithos

Really? Could neeeevvvvveeeeeer have worked that one out on my own.

That's what I meant. I was using the term bellows as a sort of metaphor for a folding camera. Because the bellows bug me. They're ungainly and delicate.

And "retro kewl", FFS? God/Allah/Yahweh/Buddha/Ganesh/Might Thor/Ra/Rainbow Serpent help us, then.

"Hey, this camera we designed - it looks retro-cool! You know what that means, right?"

"What?"

"We can raised the price by two hundred US, and flog it to gullible hipsters!"

The great thing about having an opinion is that you can maintain yours without putting another person's down.

Here's a picture of the camera from the Heavy-arts.com website.

I like it, but probably won't buy one; well, not right away, anyways.

Mike Cash · 10-05-2008, 04:29 AM

Well, they're a business so you can hardly blame them for taking advantage of an opportunity to flog a product to gullible hipsters if it will bring in some more bucks.

Bellows are, as you point out, delicate. Yet I have a couple of cameras with their original 50 year old bellows which are still in perfect condition. I suppose in the intervening decades there must have been some innovations in the textiles field which would yield improvements in the durability of bellows. A layer of Kevlar....or rip-stop nylon. There must be something.

I'm curious as to how you would design a folding camera without bellows. I can't imagine anything that folds down and takes up less space in its stored condition. I can put my MF folders in the front pocket of my pants. Can't say the same for my "tiny" Pentax ME.

And, lithos....if it bugs you and you just don't want one....then don't get one.

I'll be over here scratching my head and trying to figure out why you took such personal exception to a simple comment from me that wasn't directed at you to begin with.

lithos · 10-05-2008, 04:52 AM

Not you, Mike, just every who said "You can't have a folder camera without a bellows!"

That's what I meant. Everyone seems to understand that a folder would (with a few rare exceptions) always have a bellows on the front to focus - and that's what they pointed out as soon as I posted it. Yet, despite being armed with the knowledge that one is never without the other, they couldn't undstand it when I used "bellows (camera)" as a synonym for "folder (camera)" just as one might use the term "rangefinder" for a rangefinder camera, or "SLR" for an single-lens reflex camera.

If it weren't already obvious, I'm more excited about the idea of a new medium-format - hell, a new film camera - than the fact that it's a folder (camera).

Bring back the GA645s, I say!

Mike Cash · 10-05-2008, 05:12 AM

The bellows isn't used for focusing. Most folders focus by moving some or all of the lens elements. My Mamiya focuses by moving the film plane. The only purpose of the bellows is to provide internal blackness and give a path for the image to pass between lens and film.

I quite agree with you that the disappearance of quality film cameras from the market is lamentable.