New Film Camera?

[iCe]

Interesting...

FUJIFILM Launches GF670 Professional Medium Format Folding Film Camera
Fujifilm today announced it will launch a high-quality film camera, the GF670 Professional medium format folding camera, at PMA 2010. Ideal for professional photographers interested in film photography, the GF670 Professional is a foldable model that features 6x6 and 6x7 dual-format shooting for use with 120 and 220 roll film. With its Fujinon EBC 80 mm lens, coupled rangefinder, exposure compensator, and aperture-priority automatic and manual exposure modes, the GF670 Professional produces sharp, high- quality images.

[crackhead]

Exact same camera as the Voigtlander Bessa III that came out last summer

[venchka]

Great camera! Fuji originally reserved their version for the Japanese market. They are now bringing their version to North America.

Did I mention that it is a great camera?

[johnastovall]

And no difference than the Bessa CameraQuest has been selling for the last year.

[venchka]

Apparently, the price is falling.

[mmuhlenkamp]

Wow, why are these folding cameras so expensive? Restored older ones are $150 - $500, what makes these cost so much?

[JohnT]

Originally Posted by johnastovall

And no difference than the Bessa CameraQuest has been selling for the last year.

Hey, that's pretty cool.

[venchka]

Originally Posted by mmuhlenkamp

Wow, why are these folding cameras so expensive? Restored older ones are $150 - $500, what makes these cost so much?

New. Electronics. Rarity-only game in town. Dual format: 6x6 & 6x7. Charge what the market will bear.

When the Zeiss and Voigtlander folders were new, they were at or near the top of the heap as well. Priced a new pro DSLR lately? And no lens.

[johnastovall]

Originally Posted by mmuhlenkamp

Wow, why are these folding cameras so expensive? Restored older ones are $150 - $500, what makes these cost so much?

Features you'll not find on the older tech.

Just a few:

• Automatic parallax compensation in viewfinder as lens focused
• Framelines automatically switch between 6x6 and 6x7 with format selection
• Metered Manual or Aperture Priority AE operation
• LED meter readout in viewfinder
• Mechanical film counter -- no red window exposure counter!

[venchka]

Also, Mellisa, a $150-$500 folder may need upwards of $100-$250 worth of restoration. A pristine Bessa II from the 50s with the right lens sells for $1,000 or more. It's all about condition.

It would be interesting to find the original price for a Bessa II and extrapolate a current price including inflation.

[henrysamson]

This camera is nothing like the older folders. I have a couple of the older folders and they have real issues with lens alignment. It is just really difficult to have a camera pop open with the lens locking into the exact same position each time. I have heard that the Fuji has gone to a completely different design with precisely machined parts in order to solve this problem. From the pictures it looks like the folding mechanism is quite massive and stiff. It is also a pretty heavy camera. The Ikonta and Moskva I own have stamped metal parts that form the folding mechanism. Nothing like the Fuji/Bessa.

I wish it was 6x9! But at least it is a new film camera.

Henry

[mmuhlenkamp]

I guess limited market and high quality make sense, it just seems high to me since you can't interchange lenses. They look really cool, I just can't afford them

[johnastovall]

To put the cost in prespective a used Plaubel Makina 67 costs more than one of these. Can't change lenses on them either want a different focal length buy a different body. I do lust over a 670.

[venchka]

You do realize that these things are much better in Myth than Reality? Seriously overhyped, misaligned, no better than many other 6x7 cameras when everything works right. Geeeeeeeeeeze, sorry. I got carried away. Buy a Pentax 645n, a bunch of lenses and wait for the digital 645D version down the line.

[johnastovall]

Originally Posted by venchka

You do realize that these things are much better in Myth than Reality? Seriously overhyped, misaligned, no better than many other 6x7 cameras when everything works right. Geeeeeeeeeeze, sorry. I got carried away. Buy a Pentax 645n, a bunch of lenses and wait for the digital 645D version down the line.

"It (Myth) puts you in touch with a plane of reference that goes past your mind and into your very being, into your very gut. The ultimate mystery of being and nonbeing transcends all categories of knowledge and thought. Yet that which transcends all talk is the very essence of your own being, so you're resting on it and you know it. The function of mythological symbols is to give you a sense of "Aha! Yes. I know what it is, it's myself." This is what it's all about, and then you feel a kind of centering, centering, centering all the time. And whatever you do can be discussed in relationship to this ground of truth. Though to talk about it as truth is a little bit deceptive because when we think of truth we think of something that can be conceptualized. It goes past that." - Joseph Campbell

Maybe this Plaubel

6X9cm Plaubel Peco Jr. camera, 11" monorail, lots of front rise, fall and shift, lots of rear swing and tilt, focusing panel with grid-lined ground glass, folding focusing hood, 2 bubble levels on rear standard, rack and pinion focusing front and rear, positive locks, interchangeable bellows, with regular tapered bellows and with wideangle bag bellows, lensboards and lenses priced separately so that you may choose what you need, two 6X9cm Plaubel 120 rollfilm backs, outfit case, instruction book copy, THE HIGHEST QUALITY, LIGHTEST WEIGHT, MOST COMPACT 6X9 MONORAIL VIEW CAMERA EVER MADE. The back accepts also accepts Plaubel single sheet metal cutfilm holders (available below). This camera may be the perfect candidate for a digital back. $1800.