FujifilmGA645 Professional

Released into 1996-99, when the spec wars had cooled and manufacturers were quietly perfecting what they already had, the Fujifilm GA645 Professional is a autofocus medium format built around a Super-EBC Fujinon 60mm f/4. For context, a medium-format autofocus point-and-shoot — somebody actually built this.

Format

645

Year

1995

Lens

Super-EBC Fujinon 60mm f/4

Min. focus

0.7 m

Flash

Built-in

Battery

1× CR123A

Don't expect heroics in low light from the Super-EBC Fujinon 60mm f/4; expect a tiny camera that drops into a coat pocket and never argues about it. Medium-format 645 gives noticeably larger negatives than 35mm; the tonal range and detail shift the moment you scan one and compare. A single CR123A lithium cell powers everything including the motor; still cheap and stocked at most camera shops. The built-in flash will fire whenever the meter decides it should, so learn the override before your first night out. Minimum focus is 0.7 m, close enough for a coffee cup or a face but stops short of true macro. A quirk worth flagging up front: frame data is recorded between frames, like a tiny digital camera. Where it shines: anything you want to enlarge. Skin tones, foliage, architecture — the format does the heavy lifting and the scanner shows it.

Medium format on autopilot is a rare combination — the Fujifilm GA645 Professional is worth a look if you want bigger negatives without a Hasselblad-sized kit. One last detail: 16 frames of glorious 6×4.5 per roll of 120.

• §1A medium-format autofocus point-and-shoot — somebody actually built this.
• §2Frame data is recorded between frames, like a tiny digital camera.
• §316 frames of glorious 6×4.5 per roll of 120.