Fujica G690

The Fujica G690 was the first of a series of medium-format, interchangable-lens, leaf-shutter rangefinder cameras from Fuji Photo Film.

Fujica G690

The Fujica G690, released in 1968, is a 6×9 interchangable-lens, leaf-shutter rangefinder camera. It looks rather like a large Leica, and anyway is designed to be about as close to a 35mm rangefinder camera as a leaf-shutter medium-format film camera can be. It takes 120 film, 220 roll film, or sheet film: roll or sheet is selected by an "R"/"S" switch (which must be set at "S" for dry-firing). The back simply hinges open (there is no separate film back), and in order to change lens in mid-roll one turns a knob to engage an internal curtain.

The camera is black, with some silver trim around the view- and rangefinder. On the front is a mark that might be a stylized "P" for "professional". It came equipped with a 100mm f/3.5 lens finished in silver. Other lenses available (all in silver trim), were 65mm, 150mm, and 180mm.

Fujica G690BL

The main improvement of the Fujica G690BL, released in October 1969, was a lock to prevent lens removal unless the curtain was closed. Other substantive changes were a redesigned control for opening and closing the curtain, and an improved lock for the back.

The lenses were now finished in black and the silver trim was removed from the body, marked on the front "BL", for "Black and Lock". (Not "Breech Lock", as is sometimes stated: the G690 had just as much of a breech lock as the G690BL.)

Further reading / reference

• Koyasu Yoshinobu (子安栄信). "Fuji Shashin Firumu no kamera no subete" (富士写真フィルムのカメラのすべて All the cameras of Fuji Photo Film). In "Fuji Shashin Firumu no kamera" (富士写真フィルムのカメラ The cameras of Fuji Photo Film), no. 44 of Kamera Rebyū: Kurashikku Kamera no Senka. Tokyo: Asahi Sonorama, 1997. ISBN 4-257-13013-X (In Japanese only.) Koyasu deals with these cameras on pp. 68–9.

External links

• Fuji Fujica G690BL, by Dante Stella)
• Evolutionary History of Fuji 6x7, 6x8 and 6x9 Rangefinders, by Dante Stella)
• Fujica G690 (1968-1978) Online Resource
• Illustrated history of the G690 and successors, by Babar de St Cyr (in French)
• GL690 instructions
• Fujica G690 and its successors at Bob Monaghan's site, with much discussion. (The page at first appears to be about the G690 and its immediate successors, but in fact much of it is about the later, fixed-lens cameras.)
• The Fuji Rangefinder Pages (for these and other medium-format Fuji cameras)
• Fujica G690BL repair (in Japanese)
• Fujica G690(BL) rangefinder repair (in Japanese)