Fujifilm GA645W – medium format for mountaineering?

All mountaineers interested in photography have compromised at some point on the photographic equipment they are willing to carry. For years, my choices were either a Ricoh GR1 35 mm camera, or a Fujifilm GA645W medium-format camera. While comically different in size, the two cameras are compact for their respective film formats, provide automation with adequate override, and have similar fixed, wide-angle lenses. I elaborate on these three points in reverse order.

The Ricoh GR1 has a 28mm f/2.8 lens. It is the ancestor of the current series of APS-C Ricoh GR digital cameras. I find 28 mm (on 35 mm format) to be a good choice for mountaineering, where I am often close to my climbing partners, but also want to get photos of the scenery. The Fujifilm GA645W has a 45 mm f/4.0 lens. Since the aspect ratio of 645 format is 1:1.35 (the actual image size is 41.5 mm x 56 mm) rather than 1:1.5 (24 mm x 36 mm) how one compares the angular coverage of the two lenses is arbitrary. Most publications use the diagonal of the respective rectangular image areas, but I find that comparing the equivalent angular coverage on the long and short sides separately gives more insight. Thought of this way, the GA645W lens works out to be equivalent in 35 mm format to focal lengths of 28.9 mm and 26.0 mm in the long and short sides, respectively.

One could therefore say that the GA645W is like the Ricoh GR1 with slightly more headroom. Except that the orientation of the image on the GA645W is the opposite, meaning that with the camera held horizontal, the image is vertically elongated. To get “landscape” shots on the Fujifilm, you have to turn the camera 90°. The AF sensors are on the left side of the lens (from the photographer’s perspective). Fujifilm recommends that these be in the upper, potentially less obstructed position for landscape shots. After some practice, shooting with the shutter hand below the vertically oriented camera becomes tolerably comfortable. I joke that although the GA645W was manufactured between 1995 and 1997, at least in the “portrait” orientation being its default, it presaged the advent of the iPhone by a decade.

Fujifilm recognized that a 645 camera with a f/4.0 lens would often be used on a tripod. Rather than providing a second tripod socket on the side of the camera (or an L-bracket), Fujifilm offered a swivel mount that allows the camera to be turned sideways while connected through its bottom tripod socket. This “Vari-Angle GA” itself has a female 1/4″ tripod socket. Like many, I prefer Arca-style mounts, and a small Arca-style plate is permanently attached to the bottom of my Vari-Angle. You still have to screw on the camera, but at least this keeps the optical axis more-or-less centered over the tripod as you turn it vertical, and to switch from portrait to landscape you don’t have to dismount the camera as when using an L-bracket. The Fujifilm GA645W accepts a standard mechanical cable release, and also has a 10-second self-timer.

Now, you’ve composed the shot using its simple viewfinder and its approximate framelines. How does the Fujifilm GA645W focus and expose? The camera uses contrast and IR-aided autofocus, the latter for close distances. The approximate focus distance is indicated in the finder (you can choose units of meters or feet), and the framelines move to compensate for parallax. The autofocus motor is noisy as it moves the entire 7-element 5-group lens and leaf-shutter assembly. There is manual override, but no focusing aid. There is also a focus lock button that operates independently of exposure (a half-press of the shutter release instead locks both exposure and focus). Exposure is either program, aperture-priority automatic, or manual. I use aperture-priority almost exclusively, and override the camera’s chosen exposure (the sensor is inside the viewfinder, and seems to be center-weighted) either by focusing and re-composing, or by using the exposure compensation button. This recessed button is on the upper right of the camera, next to the single control dial that you turn while pressing down the button. Exposure compensation is indicated on the top-plate LCD panel, but not in the viewfinder. The GA645W synchronizes with flash at all speeds (which are Bulb, and 2 sec to 1/700 sec, the latter depending on aperture), and also has a small built-in flash (GN 12, ISO 100, meters). There is a hot-shoe with X-synch, but no PC socket. In manual exposure mode, there is a rudimentary indication of recommended exposure (up or down triangles or both lit up) in the viewfinder.

How do the Ricoh and Fujifilm compare in automation? The Ricoh GR1 has auto-focus and auto-exposure modes (no manual mode) similar to those of the larger camera, but its user interface is better in that aperture and exposure compensation are through their dedicated dials on the top plate (unlike the button-and-dial approach of the Fuji, challenging when wearing gloves), and that the finder indicates when exposure compensation is active. More than once, I have left exposure compensation set to a non-zero value on the GA645W, only later to discover my mistake. One aspect where the GA645W is superior is that it can imprint date, time and exposure information outside the frame. To my knowledge, Ricoh never made a GR1 with this feature (some versions had date imprint, but inside the frame). The GA645W has additional electronic features, including a defeatable end-of-film beep (it achieves 16 and 32 exposures with 120 and 220 film, respectively), and (of particular usefulness if you are buying it used) a shutter actuations counter (turn the mode dial to “ISO” while depressing the exposure compensation button).

So, is the Fujifilm GA645W any good in the mountains? It is probably as compact as possible for a 645 camera to be (the lens retracts when the camera is turned off), and being clad in plastic, relatively light, at 860 grams with its batteries (two CR123A cells, rated for up to 3000 shots, without flash). It is not remotely as light as the Ricoh GR1 (176 grams). While the GR1 can slide into a pocket, the GA645W is not pocketable. To have it accessible but somewhat protected while climbing, I have used either an “M-Rock” brand zippered bag (model unknown) into which the camera fits snugly with just its lens cap, or the L size “camera pod” sold by Hyperlite Mountain Gear, into which the GA645W fits with its dedicated square hood (the hood mounts outside the lens barrel) and square cap with room to spare. The Fujifilm GA645W takes 52 mm filters, and I have not noticed any vignetting with a filter in place. Because metering is through the viewfinder, filter correction factors need to be entered either through exposure compensation or the nominal ISO value.

I find the Fujifilm GA645W to produce highly detailed images with smooth bokeh. The 645 emulsion area is 2.7 times larger than that of 35 mm film, and as you would expect, the tonal gradation is much better. While I used the Ricoh GR1 almost exclusively with Fuji Velvia 50 for its sharpness, the larger format of the GA645W allowed me to use slower color negative film and still get superior results. Indeed, when it was available, my preferred color film for the GA645W was Fuji Pro160C.

Do I recommend the Fujifilm GA645W in 2025? Truth be told, I have only sporadically used this 30-year old camera since the pandemic shut-downs. Contemporary m43 and APS-C digital cameras combine compactness with resolving power that rivals that of 645 format film. In the event of an accident, they are repairable or replaceable. Yet, the allure of medium-format film is undeniable. Mountains often present very high-contrast situations, and the gentle roll-off of highlights on film can be much more pleasing than the abrupt blocking of digital highlights. Furthermore, for my taste, black-and-white photographs on fine-grained silver emulsions are more beautiful than the output of digital sensors. The Fujifilm GA645W remains a valuable tool, and probably one of the easiest, most portable ways to experience medium format film photography.

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