Fuji GA645i Professional
Fuji Photo Film · Fixed lens · 56 × 41.5 mm on 120 or 220, framed in portrait orientation when the camera is held normally; automatic 120/220 switchover. · 1997
Also known as: Fuji GA645i · Fuji GA645i Professional · Fujifilm GA645i · Fujifilm GA645i Professional · Fuji GA645i Pro · Fuji GA645 i · Fuji GA-645i · Fuji GA645i 60mm f/4 · FUJI GA645i Professional 60mm F4 · Fuji GA645i Limited · フジ GA645i · フジ GA645i プロフェッショナル · フジフイルム GA645i · 富士フイルム GA645i Professional
Variants & identification
| Variant | Mount | Years | Serial ranges | Production |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Fuji GA645i Professional | Fuji fixed | 1997 | — | — |
| Fuji GA645i Professional Limited | Fuji fixed | 1998 | — | — |
- Lens data — 6群7枚 Super EBC Fujinon 60mm F4 that retracts with the power switch, 0.7 m, φ52 mm screw-in — and the two CR123A cells are Japanese Wikipedia's entry for this camera; antiquecameras.net repeats 7 elements in 6 groups, 0.7 m and 52 mm.
- Weight: 815 g is Anil Mistry's specification table, the same figure camera-wiki.org gives the GA645; his text says about 800 g. Dimensions are his approximation.
- Shutter, finder, meter and flash figures are the GA645's from camera-wiki.org; Mistry's table repeats 2 s–1/700 with 1/400 from f/4 to f/9, EV 3–19 and ±2 EV. His table also prints 15 or 30 exposures and calls the meter TTL; his text says 16 frames and a commenter confirms 16 with correct loading.
- No list price was found. Mike Eckman's October 1999 advertisement is for the GA645Wi ($1,259 at Focus Camera); Mistry says he bought his at about the price of a Konica Hexar AF.
How to tell them apart
- GA645 body with i after the model name, a second shutter release on the front of the grip and a barcode reader in the film chamber
- Lens retracts into the body when the camera is switched off; Super-EBC Fujinon 60mm 1:4 with a 52 mm filter thread
- Pop-up flash in the centre of the top plate, LCD on top, mode dial on the back beside the eyepiece; no PC socket (camera-wiki.org's table and Dante Stella, who lists the PC connection and the moved flash as GA645Zi changes)
- 16 frames on 120, 32 on 220
- Not a GA645Wi: that camera's lens is a 45mm in a fixed barrel
Fuji GA645i Professional:
- i after GA645 on the body; a second shutter release on the front of the grip for landscape framing
- Barcode reader in the film chamber that sets ISO from the barcode on Fuji 120 and 220 films (Japanese Wikipedia; Dante Stella)
- camera-wiki.org's table gives it two shutter buttons and barcode reading against the GA645's one and none
Fuji GA645i Professional Limited:
- Limited on the body; camera-wiki.org's table lists a 'Limited SE' colour for the i-generation cameras
- Fuji GA645i Professional: The July 1997 revision of the GA645. Dante Stella lists the second release and the barcode reader as its additions and says the Wi is the same changes applied to the W; Anil Mistry adds that it may focus a little quieter or faster.
- Fuji GA645i Professional Limited: Japanese Wikipedia dates フジGA645iプロフェッショナルリミテッド to March 1998 and says nothing else about it; no source read describes the finish, the quantity or any mechanical difference.
Specifications
- Format
- 56 × 41.5 mm on 120 or 220, framed in portrait orientation when the camera is held normally; automatic 120/220 switchover. · 16 on 120, 32 on 220 exposures
- Finder
- Three-element reverse-Galilean bright-frame finder in portrait orientation, with a moving parallax-correction frame, a central AF target cross and readouts of aperture, shutter speed, focus distance and the meter (the GA645 finder) · 0.5× magnification · automatic — the bright frame moves with the focused distance parallax correction · 93% coverage · no rangefinder image
- Shutter
- Electronically controlled #00 leaf shutter in the lens, driven by a stepper motor · 2 s–1/700; 1/400 is the fastest speed from f/4 to f/9.5 and 1/700 only at f/11–f/22; B in manual mode · flash sync All speeds (leaf shutter); hot shoe; no PC socket · self-timer
- Film advance
- Motorised; automatic loading from a film-start sensor; the barcode reader sets film speed for Fuji films as the roll loads
- Back
- Hinged; LCD on the top plate; data imprint of shutter speed, aperture and mode, or date and time, outside the picture area
- Meter
- Centre-weighted silicon photodiode reading through the finder window; EV 3–19 at ISO 100; ISO 25–1600 in 1/3 steps, set automatically from barcoded Fuji film; ±2 EV compensation; Program, Aperture-priority and Manual
- Motor drive
- Not compatible — Advance is built in and motorised
- Weight
- 815 g
- Dimensions
- roughly 160 × 110 × 60 (Anil Mistry's approximation) mm
- Country
- Japan
- Accessories
- GA Strobe and GA Bracket (camera-wiki.org's table has the bracket fitting the i-generation bodies) · 52 mm screw-in filters · Nikon F3 (non-HP) and FA/FE2/FM2 eyepiece diopters fit the finder (Dante Stella)
Where sources disagree
- Exposures
- 16 on 120 — Anil Mistry's text and a commenter; Dante Stella for every model after the first GA645
- 15 or 30 — Mistry's specification table
Better supported: 16 on 120, 32 on 220
- Meter (where it reads)
- Through the finder window — camera-wiki.org and Dante Stella for the GA645, whose meter the i keeps
- TTL — Mistry's specification table
Better supported: Through the finder
What reviewers say
- Anil Mistry (EMULSIVE) (blog) — "This camera is just FUN to use" — "childlike in its simplicity, but professional in its results", with a lens that is "super sharp" and portraits "crisp and full of detail but not overly clinical", a fill flash that does not look harsh, and easy loading. Against it: autofocus that is fast but not modern-fast and audibly mechanical, and 800 g that is "not pocket-sized".
- Dante Stella (dantestella.com) (blog) — Technical notes on the line: the i adds a second release and a barcode reader to the GA645, with the same 900-step hybrid AF, finder-window meter that reads a little under in bright light, "wimpy" flash and "deadly sharp" 60mm; a "painless way to shoot medium-format".
History
The GA645i of July 1997 is the GA645 with two additions and no subtractions. A second shutter release on the front of the grip lets the camera be fired comfortably turned on its side, which with a portrait-orientation finder is how a landscape is framed; and a barcode reader in the film chamber reads the code Fuji printed on its own 120 and 220 films and sets the film speed as the roll loads, which Japanese Wikipedia records as the camera’s distinguishing feature. Everything else is carried over: the Super-EBC Fujinon 60mm f/4 in seven elements and six groups that retracts into the body with the power switch, focusing to 0.7 m with a 52 mm filter thread; the stepper-driven #00 leaf shutter of 2 s to 1/700 with its 1/400 ceiling from f/4 to f/9.5; the 0.5× bright-frame finder; the finder-window meter; the GN 12 pop-up flash; two CR123A cells; 16 frames on 120 and 32 on 220, the count the GA645 had reached before the i appeared. Anil Mistry thinks the i may also focus a little quieter or faster; Dante Stella, who lists the model differences, does not.
A GA645i Professional Limited followed in March 1998, the same month as a Limited GA645Wi and a month before the GA645Zi. Japanese Wikipedia dates it and says nothing more; camera-wiki.org’s table lists a “Limited SE” colour against the i-generation cameras. What the finish was, how many were made and whether anything inside changed were not found. No list price for the i was found either: Mike Eckman’s October 1999 advertisement of $1,259 is for the Wi, and Mistry, buying his about 2016, paid roughly what a Konica Hexar AF cost. Eckman has the whole line discontinued within a few years of 2000.
Mistry’s review is the fullest account of the camera in use, and it is a happy one: a camera that “begs you to pick it up and just get shooting”, “childlike in its simplicity, but professional in its results”, loading as easily as a 35mm compact and making street portraits on Portra 400 and Acros 100 that are “crisp and full of detail but not overly clinical”. He wanted something lighter and less conspicuous than a Mamiya 645 Pro TL and got it, though at about 800 g the GA645i is “not pocket-sized”, and the autofocus, fast for 1997, is audibly mechanical and not for moving subjects; one of his commenters found the camera “so darn big” and sold it. Stella’s figures underwrite the praise for the lens — “deadly sharp”, still pleasant wide open — and temper the rest: a meter that reads a third to half a stop under in bright daylight, and a flash that does not reach past ten feet.
This history is AI-written, from the sources listed at the foot of the page. Where the record is silent it says so rather than filling the gap — but no human wrote these sentences.
Example photos
Sample photo wanted — shot with a Fuji GA645i Professional? We'd love to feature it (with credit).
Live listings
Listings updated 2026-11-02. Links go to the shop or marketplace that carries the item.