Fujifilm Has Had Its Eyes on Full Frame the Whole Time

With its innovative APS-C and medium format cameras, many have long wondered why Fujifilm has steadfastly refused to enter the full frame market. It turns out they have had their eyes on the full frame market the whole time. 

For a long time, the professional market has mostly been populated by APS-C and full frame bodies, flanked on either side by micro four thirds and medium format. Arguably, full frame has been the most competitive, as it is generally the format of choice for many professionals and where most manufacturers concentrate their most advanced tech.

Medium format digital cameras have traditionally occupied an ultra-premium niche in the photography world. The combination of tremendously large sensors and finely crafted lenses could produce images with a level of detail and purity beyond smaller formats. But extremes in cost, complexity, cumbersome operation, and a lack of certain features relegated medium format to the realm of rental only for most photographers.

Fujifilm's GFX system has aimed to make medium format more accessible and capable without sacrificing image quality. The latest 102-megapixel GFX 100 II camera and expanding selection of GF lenses bring medium format solidly into competition with elite full frame setups, both in terms of price and capabilities. For many photographic applications, the GFX platform can now match or exceed full frame performance while delivering superior resolution, sharpness, and dynamic range.

GFX 100 II Camera Advances

At the core of the GFX 100 II is a large 102MP BSI CMOS sensor measuring 43.8 x 32.9mm. This provides 1.7 times the surface area of a 35mm full frame sensor. The result is ultra-detailed and artifact-free image captures. However, the quality of a modern medium format sensor has never been in question. 

The things that traditionally hold back medium format are autofocus, burst speed, lens selection, in-body image stabilization, video, and perhaps most importantly, cost. This relegates them to a select few purposes (mostly all in studio) and to the hands of the few who can afford them (or rent them).

Autofocus and Burst Speed

If you have ever used an early medium format camera, you know that the autofocus systems leave a lot to be desired. They typically consist of only a few points and react very slowly. For those working in a studio, that was rarely a problem, but if you want medium format to be more versatile, you have to do better. Full frame cameras have become small miracles in the autofocus department, and Fujifilm has brought many of those advancements to the medium format platform, the latest such feature being AI subject detection with deep learning technology. 

The story is similar with burst speed. Early medium format cameras could manage 2-3 fps if you were lucky, not enough for any sort of remotely demanding action. Modern full frame cameras easily churn out 10-15 fps, with top options pushing to 30 fps and beyond. The GFX100 II doesn't quite touch those blazing speeds, but at 8 fps, it is certainly capable for genres like wedding photography or, dare I say it, certain sports and wildlife. Did you ever think you would be able to say that about medium format? 

Lens Selection

This is another area where medium format has always lagged behind smaller formats. By virtue of the smaller range of applications and customers, more niche options simply weren't justified, meaning extreme focal lengths and specialist lenses were often left out. 

Fujifilm has pushed these boundaries, both in quantity and variety. With 19 lenses released or scheduled for release between 2016 and 2025, the GF mount is well filled out by medium format standards. And that is both in terms of quantity and variety. The company has shown they intend to move beyond traditional medium format applications like portraiture and to make it appealing for a wider range of applications. Two tilt-shift lenses, a surprising five zoom lenses, an upcoming power zoom for video work, and very long telephoto lenses show that the company is thinking about way more applications, such as architecture, filmmaking, and even wildlife and sports photography.

In-Body Image Stabilization

This is another area that shows the company wants medium format to be less a fickle and temperamental instrument permanently glued to a tripod in a studio to ensure good results, and more a creative tool meant to thrive in any situation you can conjure. The eight stop of image stabilization in the new GFX 100 II offers, on paper, some of the highest levels of compensation in any camera and helps to ensure that you can get the most out of those 102 megapixels. 

Video

Just look at those new video specs: Apple ProRes 4:2:2, 10-bit video at 4K/60p and 8K/30p and support for Apple ProRes 422 HQ, Apple ProRes 422 and Apple ProRes 422 LT support. If you just read those, you would think I was talking about an advanced full frame, APS-C, or micro four thirds camera. Video used to be an afterthought in medium format.

Cost

This is perhaps the most important part. Fujifilm has priced the GFX system aggressively from the start. Here are the prices of all their current bodies:

• GFX 50S II: $3,199

• GFX 100S $5,199

• GFX 100 II: $7,499

The GFX 50S II and 100S are easily priced to be direct alternatives to full frame options, while the GFX 100 II is just above the highest levels of full frame prices, making it a reasonable alternative. In the early days of digital medium format, bodies easily cost $30,000 or more, and while they generally had larger sensors than those found in GFX cameras, the cost still made them prohibitive to all but the deepest of bank accounts. Cameras like the Pentax 645Z brought prices below $10,000 (not by much), but none sat smack dab in the middle of full frame prices like the GFX 50S II does, and certainly, none integrated as many contemporary features. 

Has This Been Fujifilm's Play All Along? 

While medium format lags behind the speed of top full frame cameras, the GFX platform has become fast and responsive enough for portraiture, events, and even some action photography. The burst rate can capture fleeting moments at weddings and parties. The autofocus locks onto faces quickly for group shots. And the stabilization allows use in far many more cases. 

To be clear, there are areas where medium format still lags smaller sensors. As advanced as the new autofocus system is, it likely still lags the most advanced full frame options. Burst speeds still lag the blistering output of the faster full frame cameras. Medium format lenses rarely go wider than f/2. And when you factor in all the costs, it will generally be more expensive than roughly equivalent full frame setups. Rather, the point is that while these gaps all still exist, Fujifilm has shrunk them to the point that medium format is now a viable alternative for many users.

Fujifilm has long said they would not enter the full frame market, simply because it was too crowded and competitive. That would make one think they were content to offer their popular X Series and keep the GFX Series as a niche alternative. However, it seems that that wasn't the case. Rather, Fujifilm seems to want to compete with full frame by offering something no other full frame manufacturer can: most of the features and capabilities of full frame with all the benefits of a medium format sensor, all at a highly competitive cost. Their goal was not to compete with full frame by outrunning it; rather, they wanted to redefine the entire race, and it seems like that goal is going well.