Last Spring I bought a Fuji GSW690III camera in pristine shape, and, naturally, it fell off of my tripod in August, giving it that been-around-the-block-a-few-times appearance that most of my cameras have. I apparently had not tightened the tripod head jaws properly.  It remains fully functional, and without light leaks, so all is well.  I have since traded in all of the quick disconnect plates for an Arca Swiss type place, so that it does not happen again.  More on this later.

I bought the camera for hiking.  I had been taking the Hasselblad Flexbody, a digital with multiple lenses for both, and a tripod, but the pack was quite heavy.  The Fuji has one fixed 65mm lens, so I am not tempted to load up on lenses.  It also does not accept interchangeable film back, so once again, no temptation.  It lightened up my kit considerably.  I have also taken to leaving the digital behind.  I sometimes take a Polaris light meter, or even no meter at all, using the “Sunny 16 Rule”, which involves making an educated guess about light levels.  The Fuji has no internal metering.

I have had it for almost 8 months, so a review is in order.  Here are a few of the pictures I have taken with it so far:

©2023 Gary L. Quay

For the maiden voyage of my new (old) Fujifilm GSW690III camera, I traveled to Sisters, Oregon with family, and stopped at this Corrked River overlook along the way. I had not been there since the mid 1990’s. It was still just as spectacular, and the rusty, old car was still at the bottom of the ravine. A good time was had by all.

Camera: Fujifilm GSW690III
Lens: 65mm Fujinon
Film: Ilford HP5+ developed in Rodinal.

©2023 Gary L. Quay

This is from a hike in June 2023. The actual trail is fairly short, but it can be extended to the railroad tracks by the freeway, and back up to the viewpoints at the top, at which point it is close to a mile. I wanted to recreate my “Bridal Veil With a Splash of Sun” picture from 1999, but I could not find the exact viewpoint because the trees are vastly different now. This one got pretty good, though.

Camera: Fuji GSW690III
Lens: 65mm Fujinon
Film: Kodak Tmax 100 developed in Ilfotec HC

©2023 Gary L. Quay

This was from my first hike with the new Fuji GSW690III. It’s a rangefinder, so I will have to get used to the parralex. The falls is slightly off center, but I am not sure if that’s a problem.

Camera: Fuji GSW690III
Lens: 65mm Fujinon
Film: Kodak TMax100 developed in Ilfotec HC.

©2023 Gary L. Quay

This monolithic hunk of basalt was once known as Thor’s Heights. Now it is Crown Point. The iconic Vista House is perched at the top. I like the view from the bottom as well.

Camera: Fuji GSW690III
Lens: 65mm Fujinon with a red filter.
Film: Rollei Superpan 200

©2023 Gary L. Quay

I took this picture handheld at 1/125th sec.  Not too bad.  The shutter does not introduce much potential shake to the camera.

Camera: Fuji GSW690III
Lens: 65mm Fujinon
Film: CineStill BW XX developed in 510-Pyro

©2023 Gary L. Quay

It was a nice day in early October. I was at the Hood River waterfront on business (sort of), and took advantage of the weather.

Shrotly before I took this picture, this camera slid off of the tripod.  It was a split second of horror followed by a week of dread.  When I got the slides back, however, there were no light leaks.

Camera: Fuji GSW690III
Lens: 65mm Fujinon
Film: Kodak E100

©2023 Gary L. Quay

This is Latourell Falls in the Columbia Gorge, Oregon. It is one of my go to places in the Fall because the bright leaves frame the waterfall so nicely.

This one is sublime.  The GSW690III excells in this kind of landscape.

Camera: Fuji GSW690III
Lens: 65mm Fujinon
Film: Ilford XP2

©2023 Gary L. Quay

I had the Fuji at Moulton Falls Regional Park in November. Fall was in full swing, so I used a yellow filter to make the leaves pop.

Camera: Fuji GSW690III
Lens: 65mm Fujinon
Film: Ilford XP2

Conclusions

I will not be going into the gory details of the inner workings of this camera, or the ins and outs of usage.  It is the image that matters, so that has been my focus.

There are times when I wish the Fuji GSW690III had a longer focal length lens, and sometimes I wish it has a wider-angle lens, but the 65mm seems to be a happy medium.  It is the equivalent of a 28mm lens for a 35mm camera or full frame digital sensor.  It provides a larger negative without all the fussing around that large format involves.

As a hiking camera, it exceeds my expectations.  It is light, and mostly fuss-free.  I take film, a meter, and a few filters with it in a small backpack.  I have a hiking pole that doubles as a monopod, which works well when I am on a hike that I know will not involve any longer exposures.  If there are waterfalls on the hike, I hook a tripod to the backpack.  All in all, the GSW690III has proven its value through a summer of heavy use, surviving a fall on a paved parking lot on the way.

Thanks!

–Gary L. Quay