I got the Gaoersi 617GF camera direct from the manufacturer and have been using it with a Schneider 90mm f8 lens.

Because of the width of the format, 6 ½ inches, it is necessary to use a center graduated ND filter to correct for the fall off. I got the Schneider filter to be sure it was correctly graduated.

This filter steps the 67mm front thread up to 86mm so I had to get an 86mm Polarizer, Skylight filter and WA lens shade.

Once I got through all that I shot the first 15 rolls of film. 4 shots per roll.

And… All good!

The camera is tight, well made and at slightly over 1000.00 delivered it is 9000.00 less then certain overpriced German boxes.

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I added a polarizer to the viewfinder to allow me to set the polarization angle on the taking lens. I did it with adhesive putty so far but will ultimately glue on a stepping ring because I usually use a polarizer.

The Center ND is worth 1.6 stops as is the polarizer so that makes the shutter speed a little low with 160 film. Some people say you have to shoot at 22 or greater for good coverage. I have yet to test that wives tale but will soon…

I got the hyperfocal distance chart direct from Schneider and it seems correct.

At 10' focus I get 4.5' to infinity at f32 at 15' focus I get 15' to infinity at f22.

You do have to focus by the numbers as this is a rangefinder camera. Focusing is via a helicoid movement in the lens cone. I calibrated and made a scale for mine as you really need to know the focus distance.

This is a camera for skilled operators. All metal, all mechanical, all manual.

It takes a little setup for your lens but I had no problems getting the infinity focus set properly. I got the Fotoman focus document and it was informative.

If you do large format or pro film photography you will get this camera instantly.

At this point I am totally happy with the Gaoersi 617 and will shortly have some pics coming up in my galleries from the negatives.

I will add the links to the pictures to this post sometime soon...

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