Fujifilm Professional GA645i and Velvia 50 in The Hindu Kush

By Ibraar Hussain

Now, amongst the multitudes of cameras I bought, sold then regretted was a very special camera – being the Fujifilm Professional GA645i. You’ve all probably read about this and have seen Youtube videos, or you own one and love it! But I’ll relay my experience with it nonetheless. I bought this camera as I had been a very long time Contax G2 user and from what I read, this seemed to be the closest MF format (6×4.5) camera to that.

I guess I’m a Travel Photographer – if I were to put myself into some sort of category. I don’t photograph much; sometimes a year will go by (or more) without me picking up a camera – as I usually always shoot when on a trek, walk, holiday or visiting someplace for the first time. With nature, mountains, ancient sites and portraiture being my subjects of choice.

The GA645 seemed to be perfect for travel – light, compact, easy to carry and store, with Medium Format sized quality! So I went for it. After enjoying it for some time I sold it; an old habit of mine where I keep a primary camera and then cycle through secondary cameras. I actually regret selling it as the prices have increased now and hence for me it’s no longer affordable (story of my life that!).

For those who don’t know much about it, it’s a large plastic Rangefinder which can be used as a Point and Shoot. It has Autofocus and Auto wind/advance plus a popup flash. It can be used with Aperture Priority exposure, which is what I always shoot with (unless shooting careful B&W) it has a wonderful sharp  and a gorgeously Huge Bright contrasty View Finder which has a slight bluish tint as it’s Polarized!

The VF display has all you need inside, but bear in mind its default position is Vertical – portrait format (like the Olympus Pen F) so to take normal landscape format shots you’ll need to hold it vertically. It’s comfortable to grip and feels great as it’s quite light yet has a decent heft even though it’s plastic. Strap lugs are on the side!! So it’ll hang sideways.

Loading it is easy, though as with all MF 120 Film cameras you need two spools and need to load it as with any other MF camera and wind it on manually until the arrow lines up – then you can close the hatch and shoot.

Using it you just flick the toggle to change Aperture (it has A M and P modes), which can be read in the Viewfinder, you half press for AF, lock focus and shoot. Easy!

There isn’t a separate exposure lock function which is a pain in the arse, locking focus also locks aperture. You’ll have to play with the Manual settings to lock exposure.

The AF is quick and very accurate – just nails focus. It is noisy though and makes a buzzing sound as it focusses and the motor wind noise is quite loud – so you won’t be using it for any stealthy shots! Minimum focus distance in practise was about 3 feet so.

The lens is very special – it’s not the fastest, being an F/4 but its wickedly sharp, contrasty and resolves so so much detail! It is a 60mm Super EBC –  an equivalent 35mm focal length in 35mm, so a snapshot lens.

Bokeh is quite good considering the focal length and slowish aperture.

Portrait of a Mountain Guide – trekking above The Rumbur Valley. Hindu Kush Mountains

What really is fantastic about it is the (centre weighted)  light meter – using Fujichrome Velvia 50 it nailed the exposure every time! Sure, with contrasty light it can only do so much with E6 Film, but with decent light it won’t let you down. The light meter is more accurate for Slide film than the meter in the Contax G2. The meter is not TTL, it meters through the finder!

Any downsides? Not many (apart from the noise and lack of AE lock), max Shutter Speed is only 1/700 so suits slower films and as it’s Through The VF metering, you’ll have to compensate manually if using filters.

Overall, if you’re after an easy to use AF motorised MF camera which’ll have a Konica Hexar AF or Contax G2 like experience then this is the only one I can think of for a close match. The battery life is good – in cold conditions for 3 weeks in the Mountains I didn’t have any issues. Excellent for Travel and travelling light. The downsides could be a deal breaker for some.

Shooting the the Hindu Kush

I took the camera with me as a backup for my Contax G2 to the Hindu Kush mountains. I also took 3 rolls of Fujichrome Velvia 50. Shooting handheld with this slow Film was only an issue when the light was a bit dim or in shade – my rule of thumb is that the shutter speed being equal or greater than the focal length of the lens is safe to hand hold and photograph, of course a slow film offsets this somewhat but generally this works absolutely fine and it did so here, bar a few shots where I had to shoot wide open rather than F8 which I use for general snapshots and group shots.

The Hindu Raj viewed from Chitral Gol National Park
The Hindu Raj at Sunset. Hindu Kush Mountains
The Hindu Raj viewed from Chitral Gol National Park

The Hindu Kush forms the Western part of the watershed between Central Asia and The Indian Sub Continent, it’s the 3rd highest mountain range in the world. It’s King is Tirich Mir – the highest peak in this range which dominates the skyline. It overlooks Chitral Town and The Chitral Gol National Park.

The many passes have been routes into India for Millennia, and the Mountains have an aura of antiquity and mysticism about them. Here you’ll find The Kalash and Kati people (you can visit The Kalash Valley’s via Chitral – an internal flight from Islamabad will take you to Chitral in 45minutes), who are the descendants of the first ever Aryan tribes who migrated here Millennia ago, The Kati were converted to Islam en masse (by force) back in 1896 by the King of Afghanistan, but the Durand Line which divides Pakistan (formerly North West Frontier of India) from Afghanistan ensured the Kalash retained their indigenous and ancient belief and customs.

The Kati and Kalash people both (along with the Kho) follow a Pre-Vedic faith and retain their superstitious custom and belief (much in common with Ancient European/Celtic folk and religion). They believe in Fairies, spirits which inhabit trees, and nature, and which are to be found on the high pastures, in groves in the forests, on Mountaintops and peaks. Certain Mountains are sacred, and locals fear to go beyond the foothills and lower slopes – Tirich Mir for example is referred to as the Castle of Fairies, and Lord of Darkness (of which Tirich Mir is a literal translation). They also believe they’re the descendants of Alexander The Great.

Village of Balanguru, The Rumbur Valley
Hindu Kush Mountains
The Rumbur Valley
Hindu Kush Mountains
Kalash women and baby – Grom Village, Rumbur Valley, Hindu Kush
Kalash Child and Goats. Balanguru Village, Rumbur Valley. Hindu Kush
Grom, Rumbur Valley. Hindu Kush Mountains.
Kalash Elder. Grom, Rumbur Valley. Hindu Kush Mountains.

From The Chitral Gol national park, you have wonderful sweeping views of The Hindu Raj and Mighty Tirich Mir. Here you can trek, camp, watch bird and wildlife (Marmot, Wolves, Snow Leopard and Markhor being some famous inhabitants – The Snow Leopard and Golden Eagles in the original BBC Planet Earth were filmed here).

Watching Wildlife in The Hindu Kush Mountains from The Tushi Game Reserve. Chitral Gol National Park.
The Hindu Kush Mountains from The Tushi Game Reserve. Chitral Gol National Park.
Sacred Cedar and Sacred Mountain. Tirich Mir 7708m/25,289ft
The Hindu Raj at Sunset. Hindu Kush Mountains
View from The Owir Ann Pass Diptych. Hindu Kush Mountains.
The Rumbur Valley
Hindu Kush Mountains
White Tree in The Chitral Gol National Park. Hindu Kush Mountains

I’ve visited 4 out of the 5 highest mountain ranges in the world (4 Being the Himalaya, Karakoram, Hindu Kush, Andes and 5th is the Pamir Range – which I haven’t visited) and I must say, the Hindu Kush (and it’s sub range – The Hindu Raj) is the most beautiful and the least travelled. Tirich Mir is simply majestic and in my opinion the King of Mountains.

Tirich Mir looks over The Chitral Gol National Park
Hindu kush Mountains
The Kalash Valley
The White Mountain is in Afghanistan

The selection of photographs I have shown here are from the 3 rolls which were scanned using an old Epson 4990 flatbed, shot on Fujichrome Velvia 50.

Links:

wikipedia.org/wiki/Hindu_Kush
wikipedia.org/wiki/Terich_Mir
wikipedia.org/wiki/Chitral_District
wikipedia.org/wiki/Kalash_people
camera-wiki.org/wiki/Fujifilm_GA645

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About The Author

By Ibraar Hussain
Casual snapper formerly from London My Flickr https://www.flickr.com/photos/ibraar
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Comments

Eric on Fujifilm Professional GA645i and Velvia 50 in The Hindu Kush

Comment posted: 28/02/2024

Wonderful images. Great article. Very inspiring.
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Ibraar Hussain replied:

Comment posted: 28/02/2024

Thanks Eric!! If you ever get the chance - give this camera a go! You’d enjoy it I think ! Apart from the Bronica 645 RF I doubt there’s anything like this

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Eric replied:

Comment posted: 28/02/2024

Ibraar, You are 100% correct. I have a confession. Partly because of this post of yours, I did purchase a GA645 recently and I love it. Was going for a GA645Zi at my local camera shop but an employee snapped it up before I got to it. When researching other 645 offerings I came across this post and it swayed me to go for the GA645 instead and I could not be happier with it. I have never gone through so many rolls of 120 film so quickly. I have also written so many posts on my blog about this camera. Thank you for these posts. Eric

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Ibraar Hussain replied:

Comment posted: 28/02/2024

Excellent!!!! Haha!! In very happy for you my friend! It’s one of those cameras I regret selling - I remember I did so as I wanted a Rolleiflex (which is another post here ) on hindsight I should’ve kept it. So easy as you said to speed through film - exposure and metering are very good - lovely big polarized VF and a joy to use with wonderful results. Good choice with this instead of the Z version ! I’m going to have a look at your blog!

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Geoff on Fujifilm Professional GA645i and Velvia 50 in The Hindu Kush

Comment posted: 12/05/2023

Hi Ibraar, These are stunning images and show the capabilities of this camera and film combination, in addition to your skill. Interested to know how you managed with film through airports, any problems?
Can’t wait to read your G2 article.
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Ibraar Hussain replied:

Comment posted: 12/05/2023

Hi Geoff Thank you! I’ve been taking film abroad and back again through airports for years Never an issue with X-ray or anything else - whether in cargo or in hand luggage Most of the time film (most often E6) is in my camera bag which I take as hand luggage. Hope that helps ! And working on the G2 article - got to select the right photos ! So going through the archives !!

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Ibraar Hussain on Fujifilm Professional GA645i and Velvia 50 in The Hindu Kush

Comment posted: 06/05/2023

For those interested you can visit the growing Flickr gallery of mine (currently 52 pictures) of the Hindu Kush
https://flickr.com/photos/ibraar/albums/72177720307000936
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Gary on Fujifilm Professional GA645i and Velvia 50 in The Hindu Kush

Comment posted: 06/05/2023

Really brilliant photos from a magical place I'll never get to visit. Thank you.
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Ibraar Hussain replied:

Comment posted: 06/05/2023

Thank you! But never say never !!

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David Hume on Fujifilm Professional GA645i and Velvia 50 in The Hindu Kush

Comment posted: 06/05/2023

Hi Ibraar - Lovely shots and great use of Velvia 50 and the 645 format. It looks like you get on really well with this camera! I had one for a couple of years and it really did NOT suit the way I shoot... for one thing I could NEVER get the horizions level when shooting it in horizontal mode, so I'm especially impressed with yours. I like the film borders - are you digitizing yourself, may I ask? I used to switch on the info printing in the borders between the frames - I thought that was cool. Anyway, as I say it looks like you've found a great tool in this lovely camera; thanks for sharing!
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Ibraar Hussain replied:

Comment posted: 06/05/2023

Thanks David! Really appreciate the comments ! I did really enjoy it and I at times wish I still had it. As I got on with it very well I had the vertical grip with it which was a simple bracket which screwed in - this helped greatly with gripping it for horizontal shot . I think I shot alkost as many horizontal t - examples https://www.flickr.com/photos/ibraar/albums/72177720307383141 I scanned using Epsonscan on an Epson 4990 flatbed - I usually crop off the writing and film stock text except when I think it’ll look quite good - in the case the scans came out so well with such nice colors with minimum tweaking that I decided to leave them to show off the RVP 50 Thanks again.

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Vincent Ollive on Fujifilm Professional GA645i and Velvia 50 in The Hindu Kush

Comment posted: 05/05/2023

What a place ! Great results from this film/camera combo, enhanced by pretty compositions. Keep on sharing !
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Stuart Marcus on Fujifilm Professional GA645i and Velvia 50 in The Hindu Kush

Comment posted: 05/05/2023

Lovely images. More of people, please.
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Ibraar Hussain replied:

Comment posted: 05/05/2023

Thank you! I’m writing up my Contax G2 experience after 15 years of using. The lions share of people portraits and candids were with that and mostly shot on Ektachrome e100vs! Watch this space!!

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commiebiker on Fujifilm Professional GA645i and Velvia 50 in The Hindu Kush

Comment posted: 05/05/2023

"traveling the world through the lenses of others" is what I meant to say
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commiebiker on Fujifilm Professional GA645i and Velvia 50 in The Hindu Kush

Comment posted: 05/05/2023

Super pictures, love traveling the lenses of others
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Dan J Castelli on Fujifilm Professional GA645i and Velvia 50 in The Hindu Kush

Comment posted: 05/05/2023

The area is so beautiful. I know if I turned a corner and saw those snow-capped mountains, I'd be awe-struck and forget to take a photo. Your photos are stunning. Thank you for sharing.
I'm a low volume photographer who rarely exposes an entire roll in one session. The exception is when I travel - the last time we were in London in 2022, I'd shoot two rolls of film per day: a 36 exp. & a 24 exp.
I've pretty much stopped buying cameras. I've found what I'm comfortable with, and only plan to replace if one is stolen or damaged beyond repair. This is partly age related: I'm 71, and part is due to the skyrocketing cost of used equipment. Maybe with age does come wisdom.
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Ibraar Hussain replied:

Comment posted: 05/05/2023

Thank you Sir kindly for your message! I likewise am pretty happy with what I have settled with now - and as you said prices are way beyond me now A Contax RTSII SLR for BW manual work with a Yashica and a few M42 lenses A Minolta Maxxum 7 for slides and AF with some nice Minolta lenses (and the M42 when required!) A Minolta Maxxum 7D DSLR (which I reviewed here back in March) A fun Durst Automatica scale focus beauty And that’s it. Thanks again!

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