The Fuji is the sharpest lens I own. It's seriously amazing: I've never seen
anything that even hints of softness at any f stop. The Tessar sharpens up
nicely by f/11 or so, but really isn't in the same class. (I've had problems
with soft corners with my 'Flex Tessar.)

The problem with the Fuji is that it's not a rugged camera and doesn't fold.
So for backpacking, you really ought to have it in a hard case/box, and
that's getting quite bulky compared to the folders.

David J. Littleboy
Tokyo, Japan

A couple of "issues" with the Ikonta 521. First it's a front cell focusing
lens which means it's optimized for mid range distances, not infinity.
Second it is only -realy- good at f11 and smaller. If it's a rangefinder
model, it's not a particularly light camera while the scale focusing ones
are compact/rugged and light. I take one with me cycling where weight is a
major concern.

The fuji will have superb optics, a so-so rangefinder (very small
rangefinder square) and as you said is a wider lenses more useful for
landscapes. It's not particularly rugged and is much more bulky than the
Ikonta.

Guess it boils down to, do you want to enjoy backpacking and take a good
camera along or do you want to enjoy photography and need to backpack to do
it?

I just recently got myself one of those Fujis, and have been looking at the
results of the first couple of rolls I put through to test it.  So far, I'm
really impressed.  The lens is extremely sharp, and the focal length is nice
for a lot of what I do - that alone would tend to make me favour it over the
more 'normal' AoV of the Ikonta.

It is a lot bigger than an Ikonta, but amazingly light and with excellent
ergonomics.  Easy to hand hold, and fast to operate.  The rangefinder was a
lot better than I expected, after hearing everyone bad-mouthing it: I find
it is fine in any but very low light, when I wouldn't (personally) be using
this camera anyway.

I didn't think I'd like 645 much, and got the GS645S as an experiment,
thinking it would be a poor substitute to use only when I didn't have any
'real' MF gear with me.  But so far I think it is a lot better than that.
I'll say again, I'm  _very_  impressed with the lens.

(Promptly went and got myself a G690, partly on the basis of how much I
liked its 'baby brother'.)

Peter

While they're not 6x4.5 you may want to go to Ebay and do a search on Russian
folding camera. They are the best kept secret in photography!!