Glass Bodies a variant-level encyclopedia of vintage lenses and cameras by iwillpat

Fuji GSW690III Professional

Fuji Photo Film · Fixed lens · 6×9cm on half-length 120, 120 or 220 roll film, 'same as GW690III' in the shared manual; the film selector sets the counter for 4, 8 or 16 exposures. · 1992

Known as “Texas Leica”

Also known as: Fuji GSW690III · Fuji GSW690 III · Fuji GSW690III Professional · Fuji GSW690 III Professional · Fujifilm GSW690III · GSW690III 6x9 · Fuji GSW690III 65mm F5.6 · Fuji GSW690 Mark III · Fuji GSW690 3 · フジ GSW690III · フジ GSW690 III · フジGSW690IIIプロフェッショナル · Texas Leica

Variants & identification

Variant Mount Years Serial ranges Production
Fuji GSW690III Professional Fuji fixed 1992–2003 — Not published
  1. Finder, shutter, lens, dimensions and weight are the GSW690III column of the shared GW690III/GSW690III/GW670III owner's manual (Butkus scan), specifications p.7, read from the page image.
  2. Weight 1,510 g (manual) is 35 g above the first GSW690's 1,475 g; camera-wiki's deltas (II 5 g, III 30 g heavier) give the same figure.
  3. Lens: EBC Fujinon SW 65mm F5.6, 4 components, 6 elements, 1 m nearest focus, F32, screw-in filter 67mm (0.75mm pitch, 70mm outer), 76° covering power equivalent to a 28mm on 35mm, built-in retractable hood (manual). Camera-wiki's Biogon-type description and its note that the lens is widely thought identical to the G690-series 65mm are on the lens page.
  4. No blog or video review written around the GSW690III was reached: a Photojottings review is linked from forums but the URL found returned 404, and the forum threads are owner opinions (one calling the 65mm 'absolutely superb', one saying it out-resolves all but the best large-format lenses at moderate enlargement) rather than reviews.
How to tell them apart (expand)
  • The curved, rubber-covered 6×9 Fuji with the wide lens: EBC Fujinon SW 65mm 1:5.6 on the front ring, a spirit level in front of the wind lever, push-button spool release, front release with L lock, hot shoe, no meter
  • Deeper lens barrel than the GW690III (132mm against 129mm) and a finder with a visibly lower magnification
  • Odometer-style counter on the base plate reading in tens of exposures
  • Squared metal body with ribbed or chequered grips and no level: a GSW690 or GSW690II. '6×8' in the front legend: the GSW680III on the same body
  • Listing trap: dealers list the GSW690III as a 'GW690III' with a 65mm lens; the SW in the lens name settles it

Fuji GSW690III Professional:

  • The III-generation curved rubberised body with the spirit level and push-button spool release, carrying the EBC Fujinon SW 65mm f/5.6 (camera-wiki; manual)
  • 3mm deeper than the GW690III at 132mm and 50 g heavier at 1,510 g, the lens barrel accounting for both (manual)
  • Finder with a 26.6mm effective base, which with the shared 59mm base line is 0.45×, against the GW690III's 44.3mm and 0.75× (manual; camera-wiki)
  • 'FUJI 6×9 Professional' on the front; the lens ring reads EBC Fujinon SW 65mm 1:5.6

Serial-range notes

No published scheme
No source records serial blocks or a serial-to-year table for any GW/GSW body.

Specifications

Format
6×9cm on half-length 120, 120 or 220 roll film, 'same as GW690III' in the shared manual; the film selector sets the counter for 4, 8 or 16 exposures. · 8 on 120, 16 on 220, 4 on half-length 120 exposures
Finder
double-image coupled rangefinder/viewfinder with a bright-line frame for the 65mm, parallax-corrected · 0.45× magnification · 65mm framelines · one frame, fixed · automatic; the bright-line frame moves as the lens is focused (manual, p.10) parallax correction · 90% coverage
Base length
59 mm
Effective baselength
26.6 mm
Shutter
#0 interlens leaf shutter, self-cocking with the advance, double-exposure prevention, shutter-release lock (manual) · T, 1s–1/500, X sync (manual). No B: in T the shutter closes only when the speed ring is turned back toward 1 or the film is wound · flash sync X at all speeds; hot shoe and a sync socket with cover (manual). The manual warns that a flash must be powerful and wide enough to cover the 65mm's field · no self-timer
Film advance
Lever on the top plate, two strokes, the second depending on the roll diameter; self-cocking; double-exposure prevention (manual)
Back
Hinged, with a camera-back lock and a reversible pressure plate for 120 or 220; film-reminder slot on the back (manual)
Meter
None
Motor drive
Not compatible
Weight
1510 g
Dimensions
119 × 201 × 132 (H × W × D, manual) mm
Country
Japan
Original price
¥197,000 (February 1992; camera-wiki's table), ¥18,000 more than the GW690III (today ¥227,000)
Accessories
Shoulder strap, soft case, lens cap and a −1 diopter eyepiece listed in the manual · 67mm screw-in filters behind the built-in hood (0.75mm pitch) · Hot-shoe flash or a flash on the sync socket, wide enough for 76°; cable release in the front release

Manual figures for the GSW690III column: 93% field of view at 1 m, 90% at infinity, 59mm base line, 26.6mm effective base line. The magnification printed there is 0.75×, the GW690III's; 59 × 0.45 = 26.6, and camera-wiki gives 0.45×, so 0.45× is entered and the printed figure treated as a misprint (see disputed). The lower magnification is what fits the 76° field of the 65mm into the finder.

Where sources disagree

Magnification
  • 0.75× — printed in the GSW690III column of the owner's manual, beside a 26.6mm effective base line
  • 0.45× — camera-wiki; and 59mm × 0.45 = 26.6mm, the manual's own effective base

Better supported: 0.45×: the manual's effective base line only works at 0.45×, and 0.75× is the GW690III's figure repeated

Weight (grams)
  • 1,510 g — owner's manual, GSW690III column
  • 1,510 g given for the GW690III by Japan Camera Hunter and 35mmc — the same number attached to the wrong body

Better supported: manual

What reviewers say

No reviews aggregated yet — this family is still in the research queue. Written one? We'd love to index it.

History

The Fuji GSW690III Professional of February 1992 is the GW690III with the EBC Fujinon SW 65mm f/5.6 in place of the 90mm, released in the same month and ¥18,000 dearer at ¥197,000. The shared owner’s manual marks every row of its column ‘same as GW690III’ except the lens, the finder and the size: six elements in four groups, a 76° field equivalent to a 28mm on 35mm film, 1 m nearest focus, f/32 and a 67mm filter thread behind a built-in retractable hood; a body 3mm deeper at 132mm and 50 g heavier at 1,510 g; and a finder showing 93% of the picture at 1 m and 90% at infinity on a 26.6mm effective base. The manual prints 0.75× for that finder, which is the GW690III’s figure; 59mm × 0.45 gives its 26.6mm effective base exactly, camera-wiki gives 0.45×, and 0.45× is what it takes to fit a 76° field into the same window, so the lower figure is used here. Camera-wiki’s III-generation finder numbers, 0.45× and 93%/90%, are in fact this camera’s.

Everything else is the III body: the die-cast aluminium frame under rubberised ABS panels, the spirit level in front of the wind lever, push-button spool release, two shutter releases with an L lock on the front one, a hot shoe and a covered sync socket, a #0 leaf shutter with T and 1 second to 1/500 and no B, and 4, 8 or 16 frames by the film selector. The manual adds one caution specific to the wide lens, that a flash must be powerful and wide enough to cover 76°. Camera-wiki describes the lens as a Biogon type that reaches six elements, where Biogons usually need eight, by using high-index glass and thicker, more strongly curved elements, and says it is widely thought to be the same glass as the 65mm f/5.6 of the interchangeable G690 series, though it lists that lens with a different element count.

No review written around this body was reached: a Photojottings review is linked from forums but its address returned nothing, and the rest is owner opinion on Photrio, where the 65mm is called superb and said to out-resolve all but the best large-format lenses at moderate enlargement, with one owner needing a tripod for full sharpness at f/8 to f/11 on slow slide film. The GSW690II page carries a review of the same lens on the previous body. The GSW680III of November 1992 is this camera with a 6×8 gate.

What remains open: whether the 65mm shares its formula with the G690-series lens; the picture size in millimetres, clipped in the manual scan; a serial scheme; and a production figure. The 2003 end date is the Japanese list’s for the line.

Expand Collapse

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 GSW690III Professional? We'd love to feature it (with credit).

Live listings

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.

Related: Fujica GW690 Professional · Fujica GSW690 Professional · Fuji GW690II Professional · Fuji GSW690II Professional · Fuji GW670II Professional · Fuji GW690III Professional · Fuji GW670III Professional · Fuji GW680III Professional · Fuji GSW680III Professional

Lenses for this body: EBC Fujinon SW 65mm f/5.6 (GSW690)

Sources (5)

Every page here is assembled from public sources, and the gaps are real ones. If you own this camera, know a serial number I'm missing, or can see where I have it wrong, tell me — corrections, serials and sample photos are all worth having.