Fujica GS645W and HP5 - A Photowalk Video in Cardiff
Come along with me and my Fujica GS645W to explore some of the neighborhood around Taffs Mead Embankment in Cardiff!
https://youtu.be/h2CBnIkJ2r4
The Fujica GS645W is a medium format camera made by Fujifilm. It has a fixed lens of 45mm F5.6 and the word "WIDE" is even printed onto the camera. It's a wide angle. But I love that. So it's okay that the camera is a bit inflexible in the sense that the lens is locked.
This camera is intended for scapes. Landscapes, cityscapes, people scapes. Anything that has a large field of view. Shots where you want to capture as much as possible to tell the story, capture an emotion, or simply record what you are seeing.
Filming for Youtube
Fresh off a covid honeymoon in Greece, my partner and I went for a walk around the neighborhood. I was carrying the Fujica GS645W and he held the Fujifilm XH-1 with the 16-55mm XC lens on it, accessorized with a Rode mic and dead kitten. I mean, wind shield.
It is much more fun to have someone else film me for a video than me filming myself. "All by myself..." lyrics ring in the distance somewhere across the river.
So we had fun and hope you have a little fun as well with us, or at least gain a sense of the images this camera produces and what it is like to shoot with it.
It's awesome.
The Camera - Fujica GS645W
The camera itself is really light and compact. It's easy to shoot and comes with a built in light meter. The only thing to watch out for is the focus. It's manual and there is no help. No rangefinder patch, nothing to tell you that you've got it right. Thankfully, the minimum aperture is 5.6, which means generally everything will be in focus anyways. Generally...
The Film- Ilford HP5
HP5, made by Ilford Photo, is becoming my go-to black and white film. I've been testing a lot of black and white film over the winter, which led me to this conclusion. I even made a few videos on several! But since the sun and warmth has slowly come back to the UK, color film is more on the mind now. And so have reflections on the black and white film filled winter. My conclusions? HP5 all the way. Fomapan in a budget pinch. But if you can spare the extra pound and a half, I would recommend HP5.
That is, if you like contrast. If you like flatter images, HP5 is not the one. Perhaps Ilford Delta or even Fomapan.
Concluding Remarks - Fujica GS645W and HP5 Photowalk
So to complete the informational package of things that film photographers usually find helpful to know, the film was developed in Atomal 49, Adox Fix, and Adox Photo Flo by me and scanned using my XH-1 with the 16-55mm XC lens and flipped/edited slightly in Lightroom for the iPad. I really need to find a better solution to scanning medium format, but this will do for now.
Well, that's all for today! Would love to hear your thoughts on the topics presented, the Fujica GS645W, or HP5, or Cardiff, or scanning medium format film. :)
Have a beautiful week and remember, life is short so have fun and don't worry too much about what people think or say that hurts you, especially people you don't know online!
-Molly
