Fujifilm GF670 Professional
Fujifilm · Fixed lens · 6×6 cm or 6×7 cm on 120 or 220 film, switchable (camera-wiki; Japanese Wikipedia) · 2009
Also known as: Fujifilm GF670 Professional · Fuji GF670 · GF670 Professional · FUJIFILM GF670 · Fujifilm GF670 6x7 folding rangefinder · Voigtländer Bessa III · Voigtlander Bessa III 667 · Bessa III 667 Heliar · フジフイルム GF670 Professional · フジ GF670 · フォクトレンダー ベッサIII · ベッサIII 667
Variants & identification
| Variant | Mount | Years | Serial ranges | Production |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Fujifilm GF670 Professional, black (2009) | Fuji fixed | 2009 | — | Limited to 5,000 units (Japanese Wikipedia, 限定5,000台生産) |
| Fujifilm GF670 Professional, silver (2010) | Fuji fixed | 2010 | — | — |
| Voigtländer Bessa III 667 (export, 2009) | Fuji fixed | 2009 | — | — |
- Weight: 1,000 g on kakaku.com's specification page, 1,010 g in Kamerastore's Bessa III listing, 1,016 g on Mike Eckman's scale; the differences are within what a battery and strap lugs account for, and the maker's figure is carried.
- Power: one 3 V CR2 lithium cell (Mike Eckman; Steve Kars). The shutter is electronic and the camera does not fire without it, which Steve Kars counts as its main drawback against the Plaubel Makina.
- Release: Japanese Wikipedia and kakaku.com put the Japanese release in April 2009; one report seen in search had it in mid-March 2009. The US market followed in March 2010, which is why Mike Eckman dates the camera 2010.
- Production: the 5,000-unit limit is Japanese Wikipedia's figure for the black GF670; no total for the silver body or the Bessa III has been found. A video description seen in search says the camera was sold until 2014; no maker statement of an end date was found.
How to tell them apart
- A folding 120 camera with a bellows on a self-erecting front standard, the tabbed focusing ring just behind the aperture ring on the lens; camera-wiki likens the front standard to the Voigtländer Bessa II and Vito III of the 1950s
- Top-left knob with shutter speeds, an A position for aperture priority, the ISO dial and a −2 to +2 compensation scale; film-advance knob and counter window at the top right; hot shoe on the top housing (camera-wiki)
- FUJIFILM 6×6/6×7 on the top cover and EBC FUJINON on the lens ring — the Bessa III reads Voigtländer, BESSA III and 667 with a HELIAR lens ring (camera-wiki)
- Production cameras carry side-mounted strap lugs; the PMA 2008 prototypes had them on top, and their speed-dial and compensation markings differ (camera-wiki)
- The lens must be set to infinity before the camera is folded, or it can be damaged (Mike Eckman)
Fujifilm GF670 Professional, black (2009):
- Top cover inscribed FUJIFILM 6×6/6×7; the lens ring reads EBC FUJINON 80mm 1:3.5 (camera-wiki)
- Black leatherette and black top housing
Fujifilm GF670 Professional, silver (2010):
- Silver top housing, otherwise as the black camera; the Voigtländer version was never made in silver (Mike Eckman)
Voigtländer Bessa III 667 (export, 2009):
- Voigtländer logo and BESSA III on the top housing, 667 on the front; the lens ring reads HELIAR 80mm 1:3.5 instead of EBC Fujinon (camera-wiki)
- Black only (Mike Eckman)
- Fujifilm GF670 Professional, black (2009): The launch camera in Japan, April 2009. Japanese Wikipedia gives the run as a limited 5,000 units; no source says whether the later silver body or the export Bessa III count against that figure.
- Fujifilm GF670 Professional, silver (2010): Added in March 2010 (Japanese Wikipedia). Mike Eckman notes the Bessa III was black only, so a silver camera is always a Fujifilm.
- Voigtländer Bessa III 667 (export, 2009): The export twin, sold by Cosina under the Voigtländer name. camera-wiki says the two differ only in markings and lens name; Mike Eckman calls it a name variant of the same camera. Mike Eckman reports a Steve Huff article of June 2010 listing the Voigtländer at about $400 more than the $1,899 Fujifilm. Kamerastore's listing gives 1,010 g and 178 × 109 × 138 mm open, 64 mm deep folded.
Specifications
- Format
- 6×6 cm or 6×7 cm on 120 or 220 film, switchable (camera-wiki; Japanese Wikipedia)
- Finder
- Coupled rangefinder in a bright-frame viewfinder with automatic parallax correction; 6×6 and 6×7 frames (Mike Eckman; Steve Kars) · 0.7× magnification · automatic (Mike Eckman; Steve Kars describes the frames moving smoothly as the lens is focused) parallax correction · 88% coverage
- Shutter
- Electronically controlled leaf shutter in the lens (Mike Eckman; Fujifilm's GF670W notice describes the same shutter) · B, 4 s – 1/500; limited to 1/250 at f/3.5 (Mike Eckman) · flash sync X at all speeds, hot shoe and PC socket at the left end of the top housing; M and FP sync (Mike Eckman; camera-wiki)
- Film advance
- Knob at the top right, with a round frame counter beside it (camera-wiki)
- Meter
- Silicon blue cell, centre-weighted; aperture-priority AE and manual, ISO 25–3200, ±2 EV compensation in 1/3 steps (Mike Eckman; Steve Kars)
- Motor drive
- Not compatible
- Weight
- 1000 g
- Dimensions
- 178 × 109 × 138 open, 64 mm deep folded (Kamerastore's Bessa III listing; the GF670 shares the body) mm
- Country
- Japan
- Original price
- Open price in Japan, expected street price about ¥220,000 including tax (2009, kakaku.com); US list $1,899 (2010, Steve Huff via Mike Eckman) (today $2,730)
- Accessories
- CR2 lithium battery (3 V) · 58 mm filters on the Fujinon or Heliar lens (CameraQuest via the packet; camera-wiki gives 58 mm for the GF670W)
0.7× and 88% field of view are from Mike Eckman's specification block. Steve Kars describes a bright finder whose frames float in the centre with a lot of space around them in 6×6. camera-wiki places the meter cell beside the rangefinder window on the front of the top housing. No base length has been published for the GF670; Fujifilm's notice for the GF670W gives 37.2 mm and an effective 19.3 mm for that camera's finder.
Where sources disagree
- Weight (grams)
- 1,000 g — kakaku.com specification page
- 1,010 g — Kamerastore, Voigtländer Bessa III
- 1,016 g — Mike Eckman, weighed
Better supported: 1,000 g
The maker's figure is carried; the heavier readings are probably with battery.
- First
- April 2009 — Japanese Wikipedia; kakaku.com (late April)
- mid-March 2009 — one report seen in search
- March 2010 — Mike Eckman, for the US market
Better supported: April 2009
What reviewers say
- Steve Kars (35mmc) (blog) — Chosen over the Plaubel Makina for its folding size; optics "Phenomenal", controls "well thought out and easy to use", a quiet leaf shutter he hand-holds at 1/8 s — against total dependence on the CR2 battery, uncertain repairability and used prices up about 40% in four years.
- Mike Eckman (mikeeckman.com) (blog) — A "modern classic" that comes close to perfect as a general-purpose 6×6/6×7 camera, yet not one he recommends buying at today's used prices; the bellows on his young example crackled when opened, and the lens must be at infinity before folding.
- Matt Osborne (Mr Leica) (blog) — Eleven reasons to buy, from a Leica user who calls the Fuji 6×7 rangefinder "like a high power Leica" and found the best supply on eBay from Japanese sellers.
History
The GF670 is a folding 6×7 rangefinder designed in the late 2000s. Fujifilm and Cosina developed it together: Fujifilm designed it and Cosina, which owns the Voigtländer name, built it. Two prototypes, one silver and one black, appeared at PMA in Las Vegas at the end of January 2008 with the name GF670 circulating but unconfirmed and the top housing reading only “FUJIFILM 6×7”; by Photokina that September the split was announced, Fujifilm GF670 Professional for Japan and Voigtländer Bessa III for export, the latter marked 667 on the front and carrying a lens ring that reads Heliar rather than EBC Fujinon. camera-wiki finds no other difference between them. The Japanese camera went on sale in April 2009 as a black body limited to 5,000 units, a silver body followed in March 2010, and the US market received the Fujifilm version that same month at $1,899.
The specification is a modern one in an old shape. The bellows pull out on a self-erecting front standard that camera-wiki compares to the Bessa II and Vito III of the 1950s, but the shutter behind the 80mm f/3.5 is electronically timed from 4 s to 1/500 (1/250 at full aperture) and the camera does not fire without its CR2 cell. A silicon cell on the front of the top housing meters centre-weighted for aperture-priority automation, with manual speeds, ISO 25–3200 and ±2 EV of compensation on the top-left knob. The coupled rangefinder sits in a 0.7× finder with parallax-corrected frames for 6×6 and 6×7, the format being switchable on the same roll of 120 or 220. A hot shoe and a PC socket give X sync at every speed. The camera weighs about a kilogram and folds to 64 mm deep.
Reviewers like it and worry about the same two things. Steve Kars picked it over a Plaubel Makina for the folding body and calls the optics phenomenal and the controls well thought out, but his main drawback is the battery: no cell, no pictures, where the Makina needs power only for its meter. Mike Eckman rates it a modern classic close to perfect for a general-purpose 6×6/6×7 camera, yet declines to recommend buying one at current used prices; his young example’s bellows crackled when opened, and he passes on the warning that the lens must be focused to infinity before folding. Kars put the used price up about 40% in the four years before his 2021 article.
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 Fujifilm GF670 Professional? We'd love to feature it (with credit).
Live listings
- Fujifilm GF670 6x6 6x7 Medium Format Rangefinder Film Camera
- 希少 メンテナンス済 FUJIFILM 富士フィルム GF670 PROFESSIONAL フィルムカメラ 中判カメラ
Buying from Yahoo! Auctions outside Japan. It is a domestic marketplace: sellers ship within Japan, and most will not register an overseas buyer. A proxy service bids on your behalf, receives the item and forwards it, for a fee and a wait. Buyee, Jauce and ZenMarket each accept a Yahoo auction number directly. Listed alphabetically for information — none is recommended over another, and none of these is an affiliate link.
Listings updated 2026-11-02. Links go to the shop or marketplace that carries the item.