Some camera's you see and they just catch your eye. The same friend as the k1 and the CLE also had a GL690 and every time I came over I played around with that giant camera, so much so that after much "I don't need this" I ended up getting one for myself.
I dabbled in medium-format before on a Bronica 645 system; but whilst a great camera I could never get any shot i really liked. It was as if all the photos taken on that camera were just some kind of bland.
The GL690 is the exact opposite. I quickly realised that whilst my keep-rate ain't the highest (this thing ain't the easiest to focus) the shots I keep are some of my favourites. That lens is something special, the way it renders tones is just so good and the big-ass negatives makes live easy too, especially at higher ISO's or funkier films.
And what's interesting, is that whilst the camera is huge the way it hangs around my neck makes it feel way smaller than it is, making even the k-1 feel like a big camera in comparaison. I have shot street photography on it (helped by the near-silent shutter), but this is mostly for my big events. Or if i need to shoot with gloves on, why aren't all camera's like this.
