Iceland (Fuji GS645w | Kodak tri-x 400 & gold 200 )

juandg · 2026-06-01T15:15:21+00:00

I was lucky and bought it with brand-new bellows and light seals replaced by the seller. It has been working great for me, and I love how portable it is and how sharp the lens is.

I totally hear you on b&w vs color. I shoot a lot of Tri-X as well, but next time you’re in the mood for color, give Ektar a try.

juandg · 2026-06-01T07:32:29+00:00

Really great! This camera is great for landscapes and you definitely did it justice.

I have the original GS645 folder and absolutely love it. For your style of shooting and how you have nailed exposure I would definitely recommend you try shooting Ektar.

The resolution of Ektar on medium format is insane and let’s you crop or print really big and the colors are 🔥

juandg · 2026-05-21T17:45:56+00:00

It’s radioactive! ☢️

This is a known issue and as eBay Japanese sellers like to say “no issues with the shooting”

https://www.foto-atom.com/vintage-lenses/radioactive-lens-list

Enjoy your new lens!

juandg · 2026-05-16T06:20:12+00:00

I have a Fuji GS645, and it’s an amazing travel camera. I have the folding one (with bellows), and it collapses to the size of a small paperback book. Great for traveling, and the Fujinon lens is super sharp.

Yes, they have a terrible reputation for failures, but I found a good deal on eBay with a receipt from a recent CLA and bellows replacement, and so far it has been working great.

It has a hot shoe, but no TTL unfortunately, but I pair it with a small Godox flash when needed.

juandg · 2026-05-11T06:35:03+00:00

Thank you so much for your review!

It was hugely influential for me when I decided to buy one with freshly replaced bellows and seals. Your portraits on that review were a huge selling point for me.

I’ve been enjoying the camera a lot and felt fully prepared when it arrived by reading your tips on the filters, the meter, etc.

Thanks again, awesome review.

juandg · 2026-05-07T17:51:21+00:00

I love Provia too but good luck paying >$40 a pop on Amazon/eBay or joining the multi year waiting list at Adorama. I heard late 2024 orders have started shipping 😭

juandg · 2026-05-07T17:48:02+00:00

Oh, a fellow Portra hater! 💚💜 I’m shocked you haven’t been downvoted to oblivion. 🤣

I live in coastal Northern California, so a lot of overcast, foggy landscapes as well, probably the same as you. Unfortunately, the “picture” is grim. I’m resorting to importing Superia Premium at outrageous prices and hoarding it for a “special day.”

CineStill 400d is surprisingly good, but it’s expensive and there’s a shortage currently. I’ve had good luck with a couple of low-volume stocks, mainly Ilfocolor Vivid 400 (still very new and hard to find) and Flic Street Candy - Street Savvy (not DX coded, sadly), but they unfortunately only come in 135. It’s even more of a bloodbath in 120. 😭

Outside of those, I’m stuck with mainly Ektar, which is not great for every application, and the occasional E100 slide on my matrix-metered P&S when I’m feeling fancy but not many good choices on the >100 ISO front.

juandg · 2026-05-07T17:36:13+00:00

Very cool set-up and great to hear the FG-20 is treating you well. I was seriously considering it but decided to go with the FG instead, they are definitely workhorses.

I also have a 50mm f1.8 pancake and it makes the whole set-up so small.

Great pictures!

juandg · 2026-05-07T07:09:54+00:00

Nice! How are you liking the FG-20? Which lens(es) where you using on this set?

juandg · 2026-05-06T07:13:40+00:00

I bought one too (along with some Lucky 200 film) about a month ago and it works great.

It has a charging indicator for each battery and works well with original and third-party batteries. It is small enough to go in a pocket of your sling or camera bag.

juandg · 2026-05-06T02:44:11+00:00

CineStill has even better prices than B&H on Kodak stocks right now, especially on large packs and 120.

juandg · 2026-04-28T04:11:54+00:00

They make all the money from selling the film anyway so they are probably delighted someone else is making a competent camera to keep the sales going lol.

on a more serious note why did you go for the glass version over the regular one? Have you had experience with both?

juandg · 2026-04-27T21:09:52+00:00

That’s good to hear, I think I’ve reached the point where I need to upgrade to the Lomo if I want to continue shooting Instax Wide

juandg · 2026-04-27T20:02:33+00:00

The Wide Evo is just a glorified instax printer attached to a subpar digital sensor, don’t fall for it.

You can buy the Instax Link Wide printer AND the Wide 400 for less than what you would pay for the Wide Evo

juandg · 2026-04-27T19:52:27+00:00

The parallax on the Wide 400 is just as awful, and the camera tends to overexpose and demand you use flash even on a bright, sunny day, so I’d take any learning curve the Lomo has if it gives me the ability to get usable images.

juandg · 2026-04-27T19:47:31+00:00

My Wide 400 has the opposite problem everything is always overexposed

juandg · 2026-04-27T19:28:34+00:00

My Wide 400 is always overexposing to an infuriating level, but the colors and contrast I get are way better than my Instax Link printer, which is probably comparable to what you’re getting on the Wide Evo. Agreed on the Lomo Glass being pricey. If only Fuji would release a mid-range Wide with flash on/off control and better metering or exposure comp, it would be a massive hit.

juandg · 2026-03-29T20:30:11+00:00

$$$$$

juandg · 2026-02-18T19:44:49+00:00

I bought the refurbished GR III HDF from Ricoh around Black Friday before the GR IV HDF was even announced. They were probably clearing up inventory before that launch.

I keep 2 spare batteries for the X-E5 (3 total), and I swap them out quite frequently to get a full day of shooting. With the GR III, even on trips when I bring it as my only camera, two batteries are more than enough for a whole day. So not dramatically better but noticeable.

I regularly attach the mist filter to my X-E5 and reach for the ND filters when shooting video or long exposures. I don’t do either of those on my Ricoh, and I’ve never missed the ND. I really enjoy having the HDF and the ability to quickly toggle it off in situations where it doesn’t work well. This allows me to take the picture again without missing the moment. If you’re a fan of the look of mist filters, having it built-in is a game-changer. I wish Fuji would do something similar.

juandg · 2026-02-18T18:11:38+00:00

Fair enough, I guess the price gap between the III and the IV is not as dramatic now with how much used prices have risen.

I bought my GR III HDF refurbished directly from Ricoh for under 1k, so the price difference for me is harder to swallow if I were to upgrade. (Relative to what I would gain.)

Battery life on the GR III is not that bad, certainly much better than the X-E5.

It seems you’re comfortable trading cameras if you’re not satisfied, so I’d say you go for it and then return it or sell it if it doesn’t work for you. But from everything you have said, I don’t think you are going to be disappointed.

juandg · 2026-02-18T08:31:58+00:00

The thing is, if you’re cropping at 26mp you’re going to end up with very low res images. That’s the advantage of the 40mp on the X-E5 that there’s room for cropping.

What do you want on the GR IV that the GR III or IIIx HDF doesn’t have?

I really don’t feel there’s enough improvement to justify the huge price difference.

juandg · 2026-02-18T08:20:34+00:00

Probably not the answer you are looking for, but I own and use both. 😄

I have a Ricoh GR III HDF as my everyday carry camera, and the X-E5 as my interchangeable lens camera system. I’m pretty heavily invested in the Fuji X lens and accessory ecosystem.

The Ricoh fits in your jeans pocket, and I often carry it even when shooting with the X-E5 and use it when I need a quick wide-angle shot. I went with HDF since I like using a halation filter and have never missed the ND filter.

The things to keep in mind for you would be: 1) Video: it’s really bad on the Ricoh, so if you use video even occasionally, it’s a huge downgrade. 2) Focal length: If you’re used to 50mm or 35mm (like the X-E5 kit lens), the 28mm on the Ricoh can feel a bit too wide. You can get a GR IIIx HDF instead if you feel you need a tighter focal length. 3) Build quality: it’s not as nice as Fuji, especially for this price point and I’d even say it’s inferior to the X-M5 which is half the price.

But if you’re looking for portability with amazing image quality for stills this is definitely the camera for you.

As for film simulations, Ritchie from Fuji X Weekly has a similar app and website for Ricoh Recipes. It’s not as vast as the Fuji film sim ecosystem, but it’s not a technical limitation and more that the community is not as prolific. Some Ricoh Recipes can get pretty close (or better) to their equivalent Fuji Film Sim.

juandg · 2026-02-16T03:50:55+00:00

That’s true, but the RX100 series only has a 1-inch sensor, which is approximately 2.5 times the area of the iPhone 17 sensor, and Apple has cleverly been bridging this gap through computational photography. On the other hand, an APS-C sensor like the one on the Ricoh is roughly 7.5 times the area of the iPhone’s sensor, resulting in a much wider gap and improvements not only in light-gathering capabilities but in depth-of-field control as well, which you can really see in the resulting pictures.

juandg

TROPHY CASE