Fuji GX680III Professional
Fuji Photo Film · Fuji GX680 mount · 56 × 76 mm nominal 6×8 on 120 or 220 film, in one Film Holder III (III N) with interchangeable 120 and 220 cassettes; masks for 6×4.5, 6×6 and 6×7 are fitted before the holder goes on and cannot be changed mid-roll (English Wikipedia; camera-wiki) · 1997
Also known as: Fuji GX680III · Fuji GX680 III · Fujifilm GX680III · Fujifilm GX680 III · GX680III Professional · GX680 III Professional · GX680III Pro · GX680 Ⅲ · Fuji GX680-III · フジ GX680III · フジ GX680 III · フジフイルム GX680III · 富士 GX680III · GX680III プロフェッショナル
Variants & identification
| Variant | Mount | Years | Serial ranges | Production |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Fuji GX680III Professional (1997–2010) | Fuji GX680 | 1997–2010 | — | Not published. |
- Weights from English Wikipedia: 4,070 g with the 135mm lens and a holder, 2,690 g body alone, both without batteries, so not directly comparable with the 4,146 g and 4,256 g quoted for the GX680 and II, which include the NiCd pack.
- End date: camera-wiki says the system was officially discontinued in April 2010; English Wikipedia's production table ends the III in 2007. The Fujifilm DBP digital back for it was sold in Japan from 2004 to the end of 2006 (camera-wiki).
How to tell them apart
- Same body architecture as 1986 — bellows, rails, rotating back — but with an LCD panel, lithium cells in the base, strap lugs and the name on the right side above the speed dial
- Film Holder III N with its own LCD and two CR2 cells; a holder with a soldered half-AA cell is an earlier one
- GX M lenses (counter chip, name marked GX M) were introduced with this body; plain GX lenses fit and work without the per-lens count
- A III with no movement knobs on the front standard is a IIIS
- Listing trap: sellers often omit the III and write 'GX680' alone — the LCD and CR123A compartment identify the III family
Fuji GX680III Professional (1997–2010):
- Name marked on the right side of the body above the shutter-speed dial; an LCD panel in place of the LED readouts of the GX680 and II (English Wikipedia)
- Three CR123A lithium cells in a compartment in the base, with a battery-holder interface on the left side for the optional 6×AA Battery Holder III; no NiCd pack (English Wikipedia; camera-wiki)
- Strap lugs built into the body — the first two generations had none (English Wikipedia; camera-wiki)
- Front standard with rise/fall, shift and tilt knobs and a swing lever; the IIIS of the same year has none (camera-wiki)
- Film Holder III N with two CR2 cells and an LCD, which prints exposure data on the film edge (camera-wiki)
- Fuji GX680III Professional (1997–2010): The final full-movement body. Lighter than the II — 4,070 g with the 135mm lens and a holder, 2,690 g bare, both without batteries (English Wikipedia) — with LCD displays, a communications connector, an exposure counter for the lens as well as the body and holder, and ISO 25–3200 on the new holder. The GX M lenses introduced with it carry a counter chip whose figure the III displays; older GX lenses work without it. The AE Finder III, an eye-level finder with adjustable dioptre, was added for this body.
Specifications
- Format
- 56 × 76 mm nominal 6×8 on 120 or 220 film, in one Film Holder III (III N) with interchangeable 120 and 220 cassettes; masks for 6×4.5, 6×6 and 6×7 are fitted before the holder goes on and cannot be changed mid-roll (English Wikipedia; camera-wiki)
- Finder (waist-level finder (standard))
- folding hood with a pop-up 2.5× magnifier and a matte screen with microprism centre; the finder mask follows the rotation of the back · 2.5× magnification · 100% coverage
- Finder (AE Finder III)
- eye-level finder with adjustable dioptre and a centre-weighted meter that includes flash, giving aperture-priority autoexposure
- Shutter
- electronic leaf shutter made by Seiko in every lens, timed and cocked by the body (English Wikipedia; camera-wiki) · 8s–1/400, B · flash sync all speeds; PC socket on the body, hot shoe on the front standard; no TTL flash metering
- Film advance
- motorised, in the film holder: about 1 frame per second, automatic loading, single, continuous and multiple-exposure modes; the Holder III N can also wind off the body (camera-wiki)
- Back
- rotating back taking the Film Holder III N with interchangeable 120 and 220 cassettes, 6×4.5/6×6/6×7 masks, two CR2 cells and edge data imprinting; earlier holders fit, and the III N works on earlier bodies without imprinting (camera-wiki; English Wikipedia)
- Meter
- off-the-film silicon diode reading a central 25 mm circle after exposure, LW 5–19 at ISO 100, on the LCD; aperture-priority TTL AE with the AE Finder FL or III (English Wikipedia)
- Weight
- 4070 g
- Dimensions
- 188 × 274 × 213 (English Wikipedia) mm
- Country
- Japan
- Accessories
- AE Finder III (eye-level) and AE Finder FL, Magnifying Hood, Angle Finder II, magnifiers, focusing screens including 6×4.5/6×6/6×7 (camera-wiki; English Wikipedia) · Film Holder III N with 120 and 220 cassettes and 6×4.5/6×6/6×7 masks; Polaroid Instant Holder II with masks; Fujifilm DBP digital back (Japan, 2004–2006, 7648 × 5408 on 52 × 37 mm); third-party adapters for Hasselblad, Contax 645 and Mamiya 645 backs and for digital backs (camera-wiki; English Wikipedia) · Battery Holder III (6×AA), remote release for the III, Neck Strap III, 40 mm and 80 mm extension rails, standard, bag and long bellows, bellows lens shades, support rail for the 500mm and 100–200mm (camera-wiki; English Wikipedia)
Screens for 6×4.5, 6×6 and 6×7 framing are listed beside the microprism, split-image and grid screens (camera-wiki). The Magnifying Hood (4× loupe), Angle Finder and AE Finder FL carry over.
English Wikipedia says it was introduced with the III; the 500mm f/8 that English Wikipedia dates to 1999 is the other addition of the III era, and no source found gives the finder's own month.
Where sources disagree
- Last
- 2010 (camera-wiki: system officially discontinued April 2010)
- 2007 (English Wikipedia production table)
Better supported: 2010: camera-wiki gives a month, and English Wikipedia marks itself as resting on a single source
What reviewers say
- Danny Burk, The Luminous Landscape (blog) — Written in July 2002 after landscape use: "I love the Fuji GX680III", which he calls "truly an ideal compromise" between medium and large format. The movements cover about 98% of his shots, the lenses are "stellar", batteries last, and he wishes the holders took the body's cells and had Contax-style swivel inserts rather than separate 120 and 220 inserts. Just under 10 lb with the 135mm.
History
The GX680III Professional, on sale in December 1997, is the last and most developed of Fuji’s 6×8 studio reflexes. The architecture of 1986 is intact, a front standard on rails with rise, fall, shift, tilt and swing, bellows to the body, Seiko leaf shutters on electronic lens boards, a rotating back with motorised holders, but almost everything electrical was redone. LED readouts became an LCD, the nickel-cadmium pack gave way to three CR123A cells in the base with a 6×AA holder as an option, strap lugs were built in, a communications connector was added, and the off-the-film exposure check was extended to LW 5–19. The body also became lighter: English Wikipedia gives 2,690 g bare and 4,070 g with the 135mm lens and a holder, against 4,256 g for the II with its battery.
The holder is the other half of the story. Film Holder III N takes interchangeable 120 and 220 cassettes instead of needing a holder for each, accepts masks for 6×4.5, 6×6 and 6×7 in addition to the native 56 × 76 mm, runs ISO 25–3200, prints exposure data on the film edge, winds without being on the body, and is powered by two CR2 cells rather than a soldered half-AA. It fits the earlier bodies, which cannot use its imprinting; earlier holders fit the III. With the III Fuji also introduced the GX M lenses, outwardly the same optics with a counter chip whose exposure total the III can display per lens, and in 1999 the 500mm f/8 and the eye-level AE Finder III. Fujifilm’s own DBP digital back, with a 7648 × 5408 Super CCD on 52 × 37 mm, was sold for it in Japan from 2004 until the end of 2006, and third-party plates adapt Hasselblad, Contax 645 and Mamiya 645 backs.
Danny Burk’s account of 2002, written after carrying a III for landscapes, is the fullest review found. He calls it an ideal compromise between medium and large format, says the movements, though less than a view camera’s, serve about 98% of his pictures, and rates the lenses as stellar, with the 500mm razor sharp on its support rail in high wind. His complaints are practical: just under ten pounds with the 135mm, a separate battery type for body and holders, and 120 and 220 inserts that must be swapped rather than Contax-style swivel inserts. Kyle McDougall, whose GX680II gave him frame-spacing faults and light leaks, moved to a later body to be rid of them.
camera-wiki dates the end of the system to April 2010, English Wikipedia’s table to 2007; either way the III was in the catalogue for over a decade and is the body most worth seeking now, since it runs on cells still sold in any shop. Its twin the GX680IIIS is the same camera without the movement knobs, 340 g lighter, and takes the same lenses and holders.
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.
Live listings
- 富士フイルム FUJIFILM GX680 III S professional 135mm F5.6 #162Y09OC
- 富士フィルム FUJIFILM GX680III GX680 III Professional ボディ 中判フィルムカメラ 2892
- 2609KT●写真工業 588/1998.4●特集：魅力ある単焦点レンズの描写/コンタックスアリア/フジフィルムGX680Ⅲプロフェッショナル
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