Fujifilm Announces Mirrorless Medium Format Digital Camera and Six New Lenses

Fujifilm Announces Mirrorless Medium Format Digital Camera and Six New Lenses

"The world does not fit conveniently into the format of a 35mm camera." Fujifilm quoted W. Eugene Smith as they unveiled their first digital medium format camera system. Featuring a custom-designed sensor and a complement of six new lens, Fuji is dead serious about turning the medium format market on its head.

GFX 50S Mirrorless Medium Format Camera

  • GFX format: 43.8 x 32.9 mm CMOS sensor (1.7x bigger than 35mm format)
  • Multiple aspect ratio capture options: 3:2 (45.4 MP), 16:9 (38.3 MP), 65:24 (25.2 MP), 5:4 (48 MP), 7:6 (44.8 MP), 1:1 (38.3 MP)
  • Brand new 51.4 MP (8,256 x 6,192) sensor
  • Focal plane shutter with 1/4,000 s maximum speed
  • Better high frequency response for increased resolution 
  • G mount engineered to be "light, stiff, and powerful"
  • Mirrorless to eliminate mirror shock and increase resolution, as well as offer greater portability
  • Weight: 800 g
  • Detachable viewfinder with ability to rotate vertically for top-down shooting
  • Two dials (shutter speed and ISO)
  • Eight-way focus joystick
  • Top LCD
  • No set price, but a target price of "way under" $10,000 with 63mm lens
  • Availability: early 2017

Lenses

  • 23mm f/4 R LM WR (mid 2017)
  • 32-64mm f/4 R LM WR (early 2017)
  • 45mm f/2.8 R WR (late 2017)
  • 63mm f/2.8 R WR (early 2017)
  • 110mm f/2 R LM WR (mid 2017)
  • 120mm f/4 Macro (early 2017)

Fujifilm also made a point of emphasizing that the lenses can easily resolve over 100 MP, so perhaps we'll see a second body in 2017? Only time will tell!

You can watch the full presentation below. 

Update

Fujifilm X Society has some pictures from the Fujifilm booth.

What are you thoughts? Is Fuji's combination of price, portability, and that Fuji look (if it's anything like their X Series) enough to make you switch? Let us know in the comments!

    Alex Cooke's picture

    Alex Cooke is a Cleveland-based portrait, events, and landscape photographer. He holds an M.S. in Applied Mathematics and a doctorate in Music Composition. He is also an avid equestrian.

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    40 Comments

    This is awsome news. I'm excited for this. As long as the price is reasonable I think Fuji has a big hit on their hands here. Image quality is already a big draw from Fuji so I think this camera is going to be a killer image maker. Stoked to sell my car to buy this haha!

    Lack of leaf shutter is a big disappointment.

    Perhaps their future camera bodies will use an electronic shutter and they didn't want to invest in expensive leaf shutter lenses. I'm wondering what the flash sync speed for this one will be though.

    Let's hope so. For those wondering it looks like the sync speed is 1/125th as evident in this video at 0:18. I believe that is the same as the Pentax MF offering. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h4wvnA4iO6s

    .... and the updated photos above.

    I think cost was probably the biggest factor in not including that. I'm assuming they didn't want to have this be a camera thats too expensive for most photographers like other MF.

    I second this. Leaf shutters are one of the biggest selling points of MF in the first place. That's the reason I never really got on the Pentax bandwagon.

    I heard a rumour today that Profoto and Fuji are having contact.. HSS solution probably.. If its true that is.. Fingers crossed!

    Yeah I think FR had a post that they should have an Air Remote for Fuji in 2017. Seeing as they just announced one for Sony I think the signs are good.

    I'm highly excited for this, even though 40-some MP seems a bit low for medium format. Maybe with those lenses they'll get something that can capture in the 80-90 range. Loving the look too. That thing is a BEAST with the battery grip attached.

    It's 51.4 MP...

    I'm wondering if their mount will allow for a full frame 645 sensor to be used in future bodies. Just like the X1D, it sounds interesting on paper, but I'm looking forward to seeing how it performs in real world conditions – especially the AF.

    Anyone have an idea of the crop factor to 35mm of that 23mm?

    Equivalent to 18mm.

    that was fast! that math would have taken me all day!

    Thank you, that 32 - 64 is looking interesting. Curious what the price point of this bad boy will be. Hassy is already at $9k so maybe $6k?

    It's been rumoured around the price of the Hassy, body only.

    So body+1 lens for a bit under 10k$.

    I don't see your statement following their statement of, "target price of "way under" $10,000 with 63mm lens"

    "well under" is marketing speak.

    You're suggestiong a price (6k) closer to 50% than 75%-80% of the hassy.

    My bet is that while it may not be 9k, it will not be 6k$. Otherwise the marketing monkeys would have said "almost half of the hassy" which would hype it better...

    Very nice

    I read this has tethering capabilities and continue to wonder why Fuji hasn't done more of that with XT1 XT2. *Cough Capture One Cough*

    There is a pain in the ass workaround to get X-T1 & 2 to tether into Capture one. Just tether into Lightroom and set the hot folder in Capture One as the Capture folder lightroom is using. It's a pain in the ass but it works.

    Is it even possible to shoot tethered into lightroom using the XT2?

    Mamiya Leaf aside, no digital medium format raw files are supported by Capture One. I wonder if the ones produced by that Fuji will be supported. I highly doubt it, but who knows…

    Doubt that they will and it's a shame, says much about their PhaseOne system if C1 is the only differentiating feature.

    You can still get other medium format files into C1 by slightly changing camera metadata and using a generic profile. But it's the dedicated camera profile that can make a big difference in image quality.

    i dont need it... i dont need it.... i dont need it....

    Yes you do. Yes you do. Yes you do.

    LEAF SHUTTER, FOR THE LOVE OF . . . WHY??? It was so close, but no leaf shutter . . .

    Fujifilm engineer: Does it need a leaf shutter? Former Canon engineer now working at Fugifilm: Nah, they'll wait, trust me.

    It's mirrorless. Only a matter of time before someone makes an adapter that will use old leaf lenses ala RB/RZ. Fingers crossed.

    First, that would be one crazy adapter to be able to focus a lens (RZ is full electronic timing and aperture control, RB is fully mechanical) with no focus ring. Remember, it's a bellow focus system. I'd like to see a Mamiya 645AF or older manual 645 adapter. I have tons of L/S lenes from both those systems still.

    Doh, you can tell how long it's been since I regularly used my RB. Totally forgot about bellows focusing!

    No leaf shutter? I wonder why. Maybe that will allow these lenses to be used in X mount bodies with a simple and thin adapter. I would be all over a 110/2 and maybe the 120 macro.

    That viewfinder is sweet! But the more I think about it, the more I'm just not a huge fan of that chunky body. Looks like it'll feel a lot more like the Pentax 645Z than the Hasselblad X1D.

    Last time I've checked my medium format negatives, they were 56mmx56mm.. But hey! Slightly-larger-than-fullframe sensor with significantly slower lenses! S.ut up and take my money! :)

    66.8% more sensor area is a lot more than "slightly" in my book. And by definition, anything bigger than 35mm and smaller than large format is medium format.

    You're right, Alex, it's technically medium format. Funny how everything below fullframe has its own name (aps-c, m4/3, 1", 2/3", etc..) and you can't simply call them crop sensors, while if something is bigger than FF, it's immediately medium format. However, it'll be hard to achieve that "medium format look", with shallow depth of field. Their fastest will be the 110mm F2. It's equivalent of a 90mm 1,6 lens on a FF sensor. You can get the Canon 5dsr with a 85mm 1.2 lens for 5600$ and have shallower dof, or use lower ISO, etcetc.. And that is well under 10k! And F2 is the fastest, the others will be 1-2 stops slower, while you can easily get the 1.8/1.4 equivalents in the 35mm world.. But you'll have to stop down anyway, if you'll use flashes outdoors, because of the 1/125 sync speed :)

    Where did that weight spec come from? It is not listed in any of the other press releases, and 800g seems impossibly light for a medium format camera, even a mirrorless one.

    It was part of the announcement in the video above.

    The Hasselblad X1D is 725g including battery.