Fujifilm GFX 50R Announcement

FUJIFILM ANNOUNCES NOT ONE BUT TWO NEW MEDIUM FORMAT CAMERAS

When Fujifilm made the decision to skip full-frame and instead develop a medium format camera, it seemed an odd choice to many but as a result, Fujifilm has largely had the medium format market to itself. Cementing its position in this market, the company has announced details of two new models in the pipeline.

The first of these, the GFX-50R follows the GFX-50S launched two years ago. It boasts a 51.4Mp sensor and is 25mm thinner and 145g lighter than the GFX-50S, making it around 775 grams (without lens). Although that makes it heavier than Sony’s A7R III, you have to remember this is a medium format camera. 

Making sure it can take whatever you throw at it, the magnesium body is weather sealed and dust resistant. It also comes with a new electronic viewfinder with 0.77x magnification and an OLED screen that sports 3.69 million dots. However, this is now fixed, rather than the detachable version we saw on the GFX-50S. With a 3fps burst mode it’s fairly slow and is far from ideal for videographers because it offers only 1080p video at 30fps.

One new feature you’re certain to appreciate though, is Bluetooth connectivity. This means you can pair it to your smartphone or tablet when you need a fast transfer rate in the studio or out in the field. Like its predecessor, it comes with dual UHS-II card slots, a 2,360K tilting touchscreen and ISO range from 100-12,800 (50-102,400 extended). The battery is predicted to last 400 shots 

Due to launch in November, the GFX-50R will set you back £3,999. This makes it the cheapest medium format camera money can buy (at the moment) and with a resolution that compares favourably with the competition. 

A WORLD FIRST

While the GFX-50R might sound impressive enough that’s only the warm up. The second medium format camera on show from Fujifilm blows all the others out the water thanks to a 102Mp sensor. Yes, you read that right, it’s not a typo. This makes it the world’s first medium format mirrorless camera with such a spec. Incorporating in-body image stabilization, phase detection autofocus across the entire sensor and 4K(30P) video, this is the company’s top-of-the-range model. Not due until 2019, details are scant at the moment. Interested? A price tag of $10,000 (excluding taxes) has been mooted so you’d better start saving now.