Back in 1982, Fujifilm had a couple of rather large, medium format, rangefinder cameras with fixed lenses.. the Fujica GW690 Professional and its wide-angle sibling, the GSW690 used 120 film and both were sometimes referred to as the “Texas Leicas” – an affectionate reference to their large size, robust construction and excellent glass – and their lineage went back to the G690 of 1968!
Around that time, the engineers decided to take this concept a step further, and scaled up the camera from 6x9 cm to 6x17 and, in 1983, produced the Fujica Panorama G617. (The branding was altered to simply Fuji in 1985.) It was a remarkably ambitious camera for its time with a fixed 105mm (6 elements in 4 groups). It proved there was a professional market for the format. Landscape photographers in particular, could get large negatives or transparencies on 120 or 220 film, without the bulk and weight of a 4x5 camera and its film holders.
However, the G617 had one rather serious drawback. Its fixed lens meant the photographer had just one field of view. This led directly to the GX617, of 1993.
Lenses were now interchangeable, with four being offered. A 90mm f/5.6 Super-Wide, with an 89° field of view; the classic panorama lens: 105mm f 8 with an 80.3° field of view, a 180mm f/6.7 telephoto lens, that offered a 52° view, and a 300mm f/8 telephoto with a 32° field of view.
A 300mm sounds absurdly long until you remember the format. It still produces a very wide horizontal composition, and is useful when you want to isolate a mountain or an architectural detail.
The camera itself was a marvel of engineering, with a sturdy, die-cast frame, but a totally manual camera, without a rangefinder, exposure meter or autofocus. Each lens contained its own Copal leaf shutter. In fact, the only electrical part in it was the shutter release. While the Copal leaf shutters were completely mechanical, the camera had an electromagnetic shutter-release mechanism, so the shutter could be released by a shutter button on the body.
Focusing was fully manual, but for serious close-up work, the GX617 offered a ground-glass focusing accessory – as big improvement from the earlier G617.
For landscape work, photographers either estimated the distance or used the hyperfocal stop for the lens. Let’s be honest, it would be rare to use a huge 6xi17cm frame, to shoot something just a couple of feet away.
The Fujica GX617 Professional's format is huge. Compared to a 6x6 camera (Bronica, Hasselblad, Rollei, etc.) at 3,400mm2, it offers a staggering 9,240mm2 negative which approaches the area of a 4x5 camera (12,900mm2 ) while doing it all on 120 or 220 roll film! The drawback? Just 4 exposures per 120 roll or 8 on a 220 roll.
It was not an inexpensive camera, for in 1993 the body alone sold, new, for $2,663, with the lenses (which each included a dedicated optical finder and lens hood) cost between $2350 and $2800 each.
Fuji also offered a graduated “Central Filter” to help even out the exposure for both the 90 and 105mm lenses. These filters were very similar to the graduated filters used on the Zeiss Hologon lenses. But in 1993 these filters cost an additional $309 each.
Such was the price of perfection in a large format, (almost) hand-holdable camera of professional quality.
A number of prominent photographers, including the UK’s Colin Prior, have made their reputations on the distinctive 6x17 frame size.
The GX617 Professional was discontinued in 2003, along with the rest of Fuji’s roll-film cameras, as digital photography took over. They are still much sought after, and can be found, though prices have risen since the resurgence of interest in film cameras.
Read more of David Young's ongoing series on classic cameras, as well as his book A Brief History of Photography.
You might also like…
Check out the best spy cameras and the best hidden camera detectors
