Stay Sharp

Tuesday, April 10, 2007

New Tool Vol.V


When I went on a road trip through the states of Utah, Arizona, Nevada and California last year and brought with me a FujiFilm GA645i (fixed 60mm, f4 Fujinon lens), a camera a friend lent me for the trip. It was more like a test for me to bring this extra piece of equipment including film, to see if this camera I have heard so many talk about was really up the the task of the way I shoot. To be honest, not much of a camera to shoot with, like a toy really. Close to sound free shooting and almost full automatic in most cases, but the quality of the images turned out way over my expectations, with sharp, clear reproductions of the moment with the color balance where it should be and a depth of field that came to be what I was looking for. It took me some time to decide what to go after (was looking at the 6x7 as well) and to chase down a high ranked one in one of Tokyos many superb seconhand camera stores. Secondhand in Japan means many times that the box the camera comes in has got a scratch on it or maybe the camera has been out of it's original box once and then being ranked "used" after that, a true paradise for us on a limited budget and also if you are after a model that isn't being produced anymore, like the GA645i. I know that this camera will be with me on most assignments from now on. Nice to slip back to the roots of photography for awhile as well, to get back some of the "feel" of shooting, i.e be able to trust your abilities without knowing right away what took place like you would on that LCD screen on your digital humdinger. Rise above!

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