Fujica (Fuji) GS645 Repairs and Information

Fuji GS645 Downloads

Fuji GS645 camera test report - Modern Photography, June 1984 (pdf, 600dpi)
Fuji GS645 brochure 1 (pdf)
Fuji GS645 brochure 2 (pdf)
Fuji GS645 service manual (pdf, A4 paper size, 600dpi)
Fuji GS645 owners manual (pdf)

Fuji GS645 Bellows Replacement Tutorial

This guide will help you replace you GS645 bellows and potentially fix a sticky shutter. It is not easy, it takes several hours, and you risk damaging or destroying your camera so be warned:

ANYTHING YOU DO TO YOUR CAMERA IS AT YOUR OWN RISK. I AM NOT RESPONSIBLE FOR DAMAGES OR INJURIES AS A RESULT OF FOLLOWING THIS TUTORIAL. ALWAYS FOLLOW THE MANUFACTURER'S INSTRUCTIONS AND PRECAUTIONS WHEN USING ANY TOOL OR CHEMICAL.

Please read this entire tutorial before proceeding. If you do not feel confident, please take your camera to a qualified repair technician.

List of tools and supplies you'll need:

Tiny screwdrivers, ideally real JIS screwdrivers (check eBay or Amazon) -- I used this Craftsman set for $15 but after using it, I'd try to find better-quality screwdrivers that are real JIS (and not US) if I could. The smallest screwdriver was not as sharp as it should have been.)
Older models: a wide blade screwdriver -- can be made by sharpening a regular slotted screwdriver with a file or sandpaper until you have a very thin, but wide blade) -- this only applies to older GS645 models with slotted screws on the two small support struts that you can see with the lens halfway out -- newer models have Philips screws here.
A tool for the pin-face screws on the support struts -- ideally you have metric pin-faced screwdrivers on hand (sarcasm) but if you don't, you can use a pair of Channellock #927 pliers (also sold as Gearwrench #3151, I got mine at Ace Hardware). With the smallest set of 90-degree tips installed, and they work perfectly for the pin-face screws, and only cost $20. You can also use a lens spanner with the tips slightly blunted, such as this one, but note that the tips are very sharp and can scratch the paint more easily.
A pair of thin, tiny tweezers to grab onto dropped screws and springs -- ideally several pairs of tweezers in different sizes.
Ziploc bags or other sealed containers --to store parts and pieces in, and a marker and tape to label the containers/bags
Acetone -- for loosening up screws and cleaning
Sewing needle or pin -- to clean gunk out of the screw heads before you unscrew them.
Q-tips and toothpicks -- to apply acetone and/or grease and/or graphite lubricant
Optional: Lightweight, non-melting, plastic-safe grease -- for the door hinges, if you're going to do that
Optional: Lock Ease -- or a similar graphited lubricant (wet or dry) if you're going to lubricate the shutter sliders (do NOT use grease)
Optional: Blue loctite -- or similar light-strength threadlocking compound (for reassembly, mainly on those two pin-face screws)

You will also need a flat workspace with bright light, an old towel to put down underneath you (keeps screws from bouncing away) and a lot of patience -- this job can take several hours of your time depending on what happens.

Step 1 - Remove four screws on the back of the lens (not countersunk)

With the front of the camera closed, remove these four screws. Make sure to get the screwdriver aligned, make sure it's a good fit, and make sure to push down firmly to prevent stripping the screw heads. These screws are steel and thread into aluminum. They are flat (not countersunk).

Step 2 - Remove the pin-face screws

These pin-face screws have threadlocker on them, so I recommend applying multiple doses rubbing alcohol (or acetone) to the edge of the screw and letting it soak in for a while. Be careful as these solvents can soften the paint, although my camera was OK afterward.

THIS STEP IS IMPORTANT because you can find reports on old internet forum posts from people who didn't do this and who broke these screws off! If you break them off you will have to drill out the old screw, cut new threads, and then find a suitable replacement flat screw--this would be a very difficult task and would require a drill press and tiny thread cutters.

After soaking for a five minutes or so, get your pin-face removal tool (I'm using Gearwrench #3151 pliers here) and loosen the screws. Once they are a bit loose, you can back them out with your hands, or a small rubber ball on the top of the screw.

Step 3 - Remove the secondary strut screws

If you close the door part way, you'll see these secondary strut screws.

On older models, these will be a slotted screw, and you will need a thin-bladed screwdriver. You may have to file a regular screwdriver of the appropriate width until it is nice and sharp and can fit in the slot. On newer models, it is a Philips screw.

When loosening these, you should put your hand underneath the lens and support it. This is so you can push down firmly on the screw without bending the struts.

Here is a picture of the bottom side with both screws removed. As you can see, there is some metal-on metal wear under the pin-face screw. When you put these back together, I recommend using a very light amount of grease on this flat surface, but make sure it doesn't get into the threads.

Step 4 - Move lens out of the way

Lift the top strut slightly and push the lens back with your thumb, popping it out from under the strut.

Wiggle the bottom of the lens free from the lower strut.

Pull the lens forward, off of the old bellows, and set it down. Pay attention to the wire on the back of the lens.

Step 5 - Remove the wire retainer from the back of the lens

Remove the wire retainer so you have more room to work. The wire clamp may also come off (the clamp design is different on early and later models) so watch out for that.

Note that the correct routing of the wire is shown with the red line -- it goes under the little clamp on the side of the piece of spring steel. if you don't put it back there when you put the camera back together, the focus wheel will bind as it pulls the wire through the hole when focusing.

Step 6 - Remove front bellows ring

Peel back the old bellows from the metal front bellows ring, marked on the dashed red line. Fingernails work best for this, but it's glued down so it'll be a pain. You have to remove it before you can access the screws that hold in the back bellows ring. This step is maybe one of the most frustrating parts of this job so take your time and peel it off carefully.

Once it's free you can set it aside and spread out the old bellows so you have room to get in there with a screwdriver.

Step 7 - Remove rear bellows screws (countersunk)

There are four screws in the four corners. They are hard to see, so you'll need a bright light. Like the first four screws, they are easy to strip, so push down firmly, use the correct screwdriver, and be careful with the alignment. They are steel screws threaded into the steel frame of the camera.

Once the old bellows is loose, you can pull it out and blow out any debris that's on the inside of the camera.

Note the battery wiring (top) and the channels in the light seals that allow air to move into the bellows when you open the camera. Pretty clever!

Step 8 - (Optional) - Lubricate door and shutter sliders

If your camera is working absolutely fine, you may want to just skip this step. Otherwise read on:

USING A LIGHTWEIGHT GREASE, lightly lubricate the moving parts on the door (marked in GREEN). Mainly, you want a tiny bit of grease on each thing that pivots when you open and close the door (four vertical green arrows).

DO NOT GREASE the vertically sliding spring assembly that is controlled by the winding lever (marked in RED).

You can also put a tiny bit of grease on the rangefinder lever sliders (two slots in the metal, top horizontal arrow) and on the door safety check (bottom horizontal arrow, grease the convex (right) side of the curved metal piece that rubs on the metal prong -- only use a tiny amount of grease here).

Next, use rubbing alcohol (or acetone) on a Q-Tip to clean the two sliding mechanisms (bracketed in red in these two images). Just clean the metal posts, then let the solvent dry.

Use a spray graphite lubricant, such as Lock Ease, and spray a little of the lubricant in a plastic bag. DO NOT spray it in the camera! Get some of the lubricant on a Q-Tip and wipe down the two metal slider rods. You don't need a lot, just get a good coating on them. You could also use plain old powdered graphite lubricant on a Q-Tip, instead of the spray kind.

A note on the sliding rod in the door: To move the mechanism down and expose the rod, cock the shutter with the film winding lever. DON'T pull it down by hand, or that thin cable can come off the pulley at the bottom—or worse, it can come off the pulleys in the top, which means you'll need to take the top cover off to fix it. For the bottom part of the rod, you can dab lubricant on the spring and it will get onto the rod.

A note on the sliding rod on the shutter mechanism: Pulling it down cocks the shutter. There is a tiny metal switch on the side of the sliding piece that fires the shutter. Using this, you can test your shutter. It should work normally and not stick once you lubricate it. If it still sticks, it may need the whole shutter replaced or the return spring replaced.

Step 9 - Remove rear bellows ring and clean up both rings

Like the front ring, you'll need to peel off all the old bellows and scrape off the glue. Thankfully, the side we're scraping is going to get covered in the new bellows and/or tape and/or glue. The other side is painted flat black and will be on the inside of the camera, so be careful not to scratch the good side.

Step 10 - Install new bellows on rear ring

Unfortunately, the Chinese bellows I got for this camera on eBay are a little too small! They lacked the last fold that the original bellows had to fully wrap around. So instead of using glue as I originally planned, I had to use gaffers tape to make that last fold. Basically, it goes down into the "V" of the bellows all the way, then folds over onto the metal.

I cut the tape to be a little longer than the exposed metal area so that it will fully stop any stray light. I also had to cut out notches for the screws. A very annoying process but it will probably work just fine. Make sure to use high-quality gaffers tape for this, or a similar durable, sticky, light-blocking tape.

You'll want to repeat this process for the front bellows ring, but set the tape pieces aside for now — you can't install the front ring until the back one is screwed onto the camera.

Step 11 - Screw rear ring back into the camera

Install the new bellows into the camera, with the seam on the bellows facing the door.

Open the camera back and screw in the new bellows from the front, running the screw through the hole in the rear trim ring. Make sure you are using the countersunk screws, and not the flat ones from the front trim ring. Don't overtighten!

Step 12 - Install front bellows ring

As with the rear ring, the bellows didn't have enough fabric! I guess they didn't quite copy the original bellows.

With the rear bellows ring now attached, it's safe to install the front ring. This tape job isn't the best--I ended up redoing it a couple times until I got a clean result.

Step 13 - Reinstall lens onto struts

Remember to install the wire hold-down and tuck it under the spring steel (red line).

Make sure to test your lens and focus it through the range! If it can't focus down to 1m, you need to pull a little more wire loose on the back so it has enough wire to pull through.

Set the lens to infinity before you install it.

Now, cock the shutter on the lens and on the camera, so they're aligned. Next, install the lens in its notches as shown.

If the clear plastic piece falls off, don't worry, it's just sitting on there so put it back on. Clip in the bottom first, then clip in the top just how you took it off.

Put it in at an angle as shown, and when the top and bottom are snapped in, swivel it into position. It should make a "click" when it's seated.

Install the pin-face screws on the main lens supports. Make sure to follow the reverse of the instructions above, supporting the lens from the bottom when you push down on top and vice versa. Don't overtighten!

For the secondary supports, you may need to tilt the camera until they flop out, and catch them with a small screwdriver and slip them onto their holes. Don't overtighten!

Step 14 - Screw front bellows ring to back of lens

Reinstall the four screws for the front bellows ring. These are steel screws threading into aluminum so don't overtighten them! They are easy to install by looking from the front of the camera as you put the screw through with the screwdriver, similar to how the rear bellows ring was installed.

Step 15 - Compress the new bellows

Make sure the shutter is cocked and the lens is at infinity, then close the front door. You may find that the door doesn't close all the way, but it will eventually (if you did everything right).

You can either hold onto the camera and press it down yourself (good pectorals workout), or you can set a bunch of books on the almost-closed camera overnight. This is what I did and by the next day my camera door snapped closed easily.

Hooray, you're done! Good job!

Complete and ready to go, tested with a bright light and no holes. The shutter also works now too, thanks to that graphite lubrication.

Nothing like a few heavy books and gravity to compress those new bellows down.

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