I recently bought a Fuji GSW690 II, medium format camera. I couldn't be more excited to use it. These are some of the first rolls i developed. Films that i used are Ilford Delta 400, Kodak Portra 400/800, as well as Lomography 800, and RX 50-200. I also wanted to share with you the outcome and the process of these photos. As well as the things i like, and dislike about the camera.
Ilford Delta 400
I feel that using a tripod is a must for this camera, it's just so big that trying to use it for street photography or just using it freehand is a struggle(although not impossible). This camera was aimed specifically for landscape photography, the lens on this beauty is equivalent to 28mm lens with apertures from 5.6-32. So it's pretty wide. Here are some images from the GSW with a tripod.
Kodak Portra 800
I went on a night photography run in downtown Berkley with my friends, and i was super excited because this was my first time experimenting with night photography as well as shooting with 120 film. This was also the first time i struggled with loading film, i found the process very tedious compared to loading 35mm film.
Kodak Portra 800
For these shots i used a Manfroto compact action tripod, and a shutter release cable to make sure that i didn't get any camera shake. Something that i struggled with,and find myself struggling with is the viewfinder this camera has. The camera operates on a range finder system and i find myself struggling to focus on subjects. I felt that most of the time i was taking a leap of faith when trying to focus on a subject. I was never 100% confident that my shots were going to come out focused, and more often then not found myself second guessing my shots. Over all i think the shots couldn't have come out better, i'm really happy with the way they turned out.
Lomography 800
The shots below will be considered "street photography" photos. I dedicated a day to shooting in the downtown area of Oakland, and Alameda, CA. I did not use a tripod and just lugged the big beauty around on a shoulder strap as i walked around. Here are the outcomes, enjoy.
Kodak Portra 400
Kodak Portra 400
Overall i think the Fuji GSW690 II is a good camera, beautifully designed, it produces amazing photos with really good detail. I believe that i just need to get used to the size of the GSW, i'm not used to shooting with such a big body. I also think i need to shoot landscapes with a camera the was specifically designed for landscape photography. Using it for street photography is not ideal, but it can still get the job done. This concludes the end of the segment. Thank you for taking the time to look at my photos.
