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

EBC Fujinon SW 65mm f/5.6 (GSW690)

Fuji Photo Film · Fuji fixed · 1980 · Biogon type (camera-wiki), six elements in four groups

Also known as: EBC Fujinon SW 65mm f/5.6 · EBC Fujinon SW 65mm F5.6 · Fujinon SW 65mm f/5.6 GSW690 · Fuji GSW690 65mm · Fuji GSW690III 65mm f/5.6 · Fuji GSW690II 65mm F5.6 · Fuji GSW680 65mm F5.6 · EBC FUJINON SW 1:5.6 f=65mm · フジノン SW 65mm F5.6 · EBCフジノンSW 65mm F5.6 · フジ GSW690 65mm

Variants & identification

Variant Mount Years Serial ranges Production
EBC Fujinon SW 65mm f/5.6 on the Fujica GSW690 (1980) Fuji fixed 1980–1985 — —
EBC Fujinon SW 65mm f/5.6 on the GSW690II (1985) Fuji fixed 1985–1992 — —
EBC Fujinon SW 65mm f/5.6 on the GSW690III and GSW680III (1992) Fuji fixed 1992–2003 — —
  1. Element and group count: 6 in 4 from the Japanese Wikipedia product list (4群6枚), camera-wiki and the GSW690III manual ('4 components, 6 elements'). Nearest focus 1 m, f/32, the 67mm × 0.75mm thread and the 76° field are the manual's; the 70mm figure it gives beside the thread is the hood's outer diameter.
  2. Relation to the G690-series 65mm f/5.6: camera-wiki says the GSW690's lens is widely thought to be optically identical to it, and on the same page lists the G-mount lens with a different element count. Nothing read resolves this; see the G690-series lens page for that lens's own figures.
  3. The same lens across three body generations: no source records any change to the lens between 1980 and 2003, and the six-in-four count is the same in every source for every generation. Camera-wiki's Biogon-type description is attached to the III bodies on its page but describes the same six-element count. The sameness is inferred from silence, not stated by Fuji.
  4. Aperture blades and a weight for the lens alone are not published; the lens is weighed only with its body (GSW690 1,475 g, camera-wiki; GSW690III 1,510 g, manual).
  5. Finder magnification on the III body: the manual prints 0.75× for the GSW690III, but its 26.6mm effective base on a 59mm base line is 0.45×, which is also camera-wiki's figure; the body page records the dispute. The lower magnification is what fits the 76° field into the finder.
  6. Flash: the manual warns that a flash on the GSW must be powerful and wide enough to cover the 65mm's field.
How to tell them apart (expand)
  • A fixed lens: it never comes off, so it is identified by its body. 'EBC Fujinon SW' and '1:5.6 f=65mm' on the front ring behind a built-in retractable hood; aperture ring f/5.6–32 and speed ring T, 1–500 side by side on the barrel
  • 67mm filter thread with 0.75mm pitch inside the hood (manual)
  • A deeper barrel than the 90mm's: the GSW690III is 132mm deep against the GW690III's 129mm, and 50 g heavier (manual)
  • Not the Fujinon 65mm f/5.6 or SWS 65mm f/8 of the G690/GL690, which are removable breech-lock lenses, and not the GX680's 65mm for the studio SLR
  • Three body generations: 'Fujica' with a cold shoe (1980), 'Fuji' with a hot shoe (1985), curved rubberised body with a spirit level (1992)

EBC Fujinon SW 65mm f/5.6 on the Fujica GSW690 (1980):

  • Fixed to the squared metal first-generation body with the 'Fujica' nameplate, cold accessory shoe and ribbed grips
  • Adds 45 g to the GW690 body: 1,475 g against 1,430 g (camera-wiki)

EBC Fujinon SW 65mm f/5.6 on the GSW690II (1985):

  • Fixed to the second-generation body: 'Fuji' nameplate, hot shoe, release lock, chequered grip, a strap lug at each end
  • Controls behind the retractable shade; two releases, the front one with a lock (Camera West)

EBC Fujinon SW 65mm f/5.6 on the GSW690III and GSW680III (1992):

  • Fixed to the curved rubberised third-generation body; the lens barrel makes the camera 3mm deeper (132mm) and 50 g heavier (1,510 g) than the GW690III (manual)
  • Specified in the GSW690III manual: 4 components, 6 elements, 1 m nearest focus, F32, screw-in filter 70mm outer / 67mm inner / 0.75mm pitch, 76° covering power equivalent to a 28mm on 35mm, built-in retractable hood

Serial-range notes

No published scheme
The lens is fixed and the body's serial is the only number; no source ties either to a year. Generation is read from the body.

Specifications

Formula
Biogon type (camera-wiki), six elements in four groups
Construction
6 elements / 4 groups
Aperture range
f/5.6–f/32
Shutter
#0 interlens leaf shutter, T, 1s–1/500, X sync at all speeds; no B (GSW690III manual, 'same as GW690III')
Min. focus
1 m
Filter
67 mm (0.75 mm pitch)
Years manufactured
1980–2003
Country
Japan
Coating
EBC (Electron Beam Coating) multicoating, Fuji's name on the front ring

What reviewers say

History

The EBC Fujinon SW 65mm f/5.6 is the wide-angle lens of the GSW bodies: the Fujica GSW690 of March 1980, the GSW690II of 1985 and the GSW690III and GSW680III of 1992, in production until the line ended in 2003. It is a six-element, four-group design, EBC multicoated, fixed into the same #0 leaf shutter as the 90mm (T, 1 second to 1/500, X sync at every speed, no B) behind a built-in retractable hood with a 67mm thread. The GSW690III manual gives it a 1 m nearest focus, f/32 and a 76° field on 6×9, about a 28mm on 35mm film, and shows what the wider lens costs in metal: the GSW690III is 3mm deeper and 50 g heavier than the GW690III, as the first GSW690 was 45 g heavier than the GW690.

Camera-wiki describes it as a Biogon type in which Fuji reached six elements, where the usual Biogon layout needs eight, by using high-index glass and thicker, more strongly curved elements; the same page says the lens is widely thought to be the same glass as the 65mm f/5.6 of the interchangeable G690 series while listing that lens with a different element count, and nothing read here resolves the conflict; the G690-series lens page gives that lens’s figures. A flash on the GSW, the manual warns, must be powerful and wide enough to cover the field. On the III body the finder drops to 0.45× to take in the 76° field, which the manual’s own 26.6mm effective base confirms against the 0.75× it misprints in that column.

The one review found is Carlo Velasquez’s on the GSW690II, who calls the lens sharp with good detail and vintage character, easy to use in daylight, and short of shallow depth of field at f/5.6 for environmental portraits. Forum owners on Photrio are warmer, one calling it superb and another saying it out-resolves all but the best large-format lenses at moderate enlargement, with a tripod needed for full sharpness at f/8 to f/11 on slow slide film; those are opinions rather than tests. The three variants here are the three body generations that carried the lens; no source records any change to the glass between them.

What remains open: the relation to the G690-series 65mm; the aperture blade count; a weight for the lens alone; and any confirmation from Fuji that the formula was unchanged across the generations.

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 EBC Fujinon SW 65mm f/5.6 (GSW690)? 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: EBC Fujinon 90mm f/3.5 (GW690) · Fujinon 65mm f/5.6 (G690)

Sources (5)

Every page here is assembled from public sources, and the gaps are real ones. If you own this lens, 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.