Fuji GFX Medium Format - Why I am so disappointed

[dirk]

I attended the press conference of Fujifilm on Monday at the Photokina. Everybody was excited because rumors told us already months ago that there is something in the pipeline of Fuji regarding Medium Format.

I personally am a big fan of the Fuji X-system with its APS-C sized sensor. I do think that this is a great system, both in terms of performance and regarding its design. The Fuji X-system is looking just "sexy" for me. X-T1/2, X-Pro1/2, X-E1/2, X-100/s/T and so on. All are well designed and looking really nice (I cannot say this from any modern DSLR-System unfortunately...)

So my expectations on a Fuji Medium Format system have been very high. I hoped for a MF System with a design and usability the same way as my X-System.

Since Hasselblad showed already a few months ago with the X1D 50c, how sexy Medium Format can look and feel like, I thought Fuji will go the same route.

But then the Fujfilm GFX 50s was announced and my vision/hopes busted like air bubbles in seconds.

What a disappointment!

Fuji, what have you done here?

Where is the Fuji DNA in that GFX 50s body? Where is the well designed, aesthetic body?

This looks more like „just another MF body“, a hybrid of Pentax MF and Hasselblad H4 MF. But even worse, it looks like Fuji attached later on parts like the tilting screen etc. It just looks a little bit like they put parts together as in a Lego kit.

This design has nothing in common with the beautiful X-T2, which has the same kind of tilting screen as the GFX 50s and is beautiful integrated into the X-T2 body.

The GFX 50s is also very thick. Is this really necessary? If Hasselblad is able to do this with its X1D significantly thinner with the same sensor, why Fuji is not able to apply its Fuji DNA from the X-System also into the GFX system?

The Hasselblad X1D design is sexy, very much like an “oversized Leica M6 body”. It is small and very thin, a pleasure to carry around the whole day, weights (725g) not more than the Fuji GFX 50s (n/a, but at least 800g) and the X1D still feels solid as a rock.

The Fuji GFX 50s looks more like a studio camera or a camera you need a car for. For me, this is a contradiction to the DNA of the Fuji XT/XPro/XE cameras.

I just do not get it why Fuji made it this way with the GFX 50s. It is a discontinuity in the Fuji DNA.

So I am disappointed by the „look” of hat GFX 50s. I am not talking yet about technical specifications. Although I do think that the Hasselblad X1D has some advantages here too.

I do think if you pay 10.000 Euro for a camera, you have to feel comfortable also with the look. Image quality is nowadays so good with so many cameras, that other areas like design, handling and usability are playing bigger roles than a few years ago. This is why Fuji was so successfull with the X-System (APS-C sensor). You can see this now with the Hasselblad X1D 50c for Medium Format.

Kudos to Hasselblad. The design-cup for 2016 just went from Fujifilm to Hasselblad.

Concentration on the basic essentials required for photography.

Call me aesthetic...

This is what you want to carry around...

Call me thin...

Feel free to post your views in this thread…

 

[dirk]

Just another note regarding technical specifications. The Fuji GFX 50s has some advantages for those, who need absolutely specific features. Like a tilting screen or detachable viewfinder. Fuji has it, Hasselblad with the X1D 50c not. But of course you could buy also other Hasselblad Medium Format bodies to get these options (i.e. Hasselblad H6)

But there are downsides too. The Fuji GFX 50s has only a flash sync of 1/125. For some users this is a "no-go" for medium format cameras. The X1D 50c has flash sync up to 1/2000 because of its leaf shutter. Fuji GFX does not have a leaf shutter, but goes up to 1/4000s, in case this important to you. But I doubt you will do action shots with the GFX

The X1D 50c has a Nikon hot shoe. I find this really smart. You just have tons of options thanks to this from the beginning, without beeing forced to pay a fortune for propriatory flashes. With The Fuji GFX, you are dependent on Fuji for flashes.

If for someone it is important to have a reliable professional service around the world, then the Hasselblad X1D is the only option anyway.

For me the X1D 50c wins hands down just because of the design factor. I love my Fuji X-Pro1 and might upgtrade to a X-Pro2, but I would not be interested to carry a beast like the GFX 50s around.

The Hasselblad X1D 50c could be a competitor to my Fuji X-Pro1 when deciding which one to take with me for a walk. That says a lot I think....

 

[ianfarrell]

Am I missing something? In photography I would think that the appearance of one's photographs is more important than the appearance of the camera that you shoot with. I think to write-off a new system based on how it looks is perhaps missing the point. Let's wait and see how the Fuji performs and (importantly) what price point it comes in at.

 

[Fdotbone]

Well Dirk regarding your first post.I believe your dissapointment was due to the expectations of a piece of male jewelerry that would finally make you stand out from the crowd? "this is what you want to carry around" should read "This is what I want to be seen carrying around" So while you are considering the pro and cons of male jewelery and adjusting your tie and looking in the mirror , I like many other photographers will be busy making Images. Yes of course we all like a good looking machine but I would rather want the best tool for the job. Most top end cameras are designed by design houses , I believe Nikon collaborated with an Italian designer but at the end of the day I don't really care.If the best camera for me looks like the back end of a bus then so be it.
Your second post on the other hand was much more informative, shutter sync etc, thats what sells a camera at the end of the day.No one buys a Phase one camera for it looks they buy it for the images it produces and photography is about making Images.End of.Nothing personal by the way I have a full length mirror at home
Tally ho!

 

[Fdotbone]

Am I missing something? In photography I would think that the appearance of one's photographs is more important than the appearance of the camera that you shoot with. I think to write-off a new system based on how it looks is perhaps missing the point. Let's wait and see how the Fuji performs and (importantly) what price point it comes in at.

Exactly!

 

[dirk]

Hi Ian & Fotobone,

you missed the point. I think we can expect that both cameras will have superb image quality. The Hasselblad X1D has the exact same sensor as in the H6 which is already out. So I do not expect surprises here. And I trust Fuji, that they do not screw up the same sensor in their GFX

Fuji will be for sure cheaper. They have to be. Why should a professional risk a totally new system instead of a well established proven track record over decades for professional service if the pricve would be the same?

In the Fuji press conference, they said that price is not yet determined but the Fuji kit will cost below 10.000 USD/Euro. I guess without taxes.

But let's be honest. The two biggest drivers of Fuji's succes with its X-system was the retro design and compact size. We can not neglect that. And as a Fuji user, I expect the same also for Medium Format. This is for me the Fuji DNA (The GFX will NOT have an X-Trans sensor).

I simply do not see these two factors in the GFX.

Best wishes

P.S.: This has nothing to do with jewelery. If that would be important to me, I would buy only Leica

 

[Fdotbone]

Those of you following this thread may find this interesting.
type Technosexual into wikipedia

 

[dirk]

Those of you following this thread may find this interesting.
type Technosexual into wikipedia

Come on Fdotbone, what is your problem if others like also to use cameras that look good and handle well?

I am not the typical Medium Format shooter, who uses alsways a tripod and wait for 2 hours for the correct light. I have a family and not that much time. So I shoot different things, which do not need a tripod and 15 minutes preperation.

If I like a camera and how it looks and handles, I will take it more often with me. Simple as that. This is very common among photographers and I do not see anything bad with this. Fuji knoss this. This is why they designed the X-system the way it is.

For 10.000 Euro, every camera should better look good (besides the mandatory image quality)

 

[biggles3]

While I am happy to concede that the 'Blad has the edge on ergonomics and design, I have no issue with the appearance of the Fuji - it's a work tool and looks as if (perhaps excepting the flash sync speed) it would fulfil all my needs. As someone who uses a Fuji GX680III and Hasselblad digital gear, I have a foot in both camps. I also use the X-T1 and have loved Fujinon glass - which also applies to my Hasselblad H-series lenses - for decades, almost as much as my beloved Zeiss for the Contax 645 and 35mm systems. If the Fuji performs correctly both in a studio environment as well as outdoors, I can live without the elegance of the X1D. I am just delighted to see Fuji continuing its illustrious history in medium format. Now if only it would keep offering its FP100C...

 

[DeusExMamiya]

Dirk, I find your reaction to the Fuji to be reallly...bizarre.

First, how it looks is irrelevant. Medium format cameras have never been particularly pretty. They have always been designed with function in mind. Performance, features and user handling are what matter to those who actually use them.

Second, you contradict yourself when you say that "The two biggest drivers of Fuji's succes with its X-system was the retro design and compact size. We can not neglect that. And as a Fuji user, I expect the same also for Medium Format". The new Fuji has a FAR more retro design than the swanky new Hasselblad X1D. You cannot simultaneously hold opposing views that you want something even more retro than the Fuji - and yet prefer the utterly non-retro new Hasselblad!

Third, you are wrong to dismiss the combination of features on the new Fuji: "The Fuji GFX 50s has some advantages for those, who need absolutely specific features. Like a tilting screen or detachable viewfinder. Fuji has it, Hasselblad with the X1D 50c not. But of course you could buy also other Hasselblad Medium Format bodies to get these options (i.e. Hasselblad H6)". The H6 does NOT have a tilting screen. Nor is it anywhere near as compact and light.

There is no Hasselblad which has all of this wishlist: (1) compact (2) articulating, detachable viewfinder (3) tilting screen

Now add: (4) focal plane shutter & minimal flange distance, enabling ALL lenses to be adapted on it. The Hasselblad X1 is stillborn for most people, because it will only work with Hasselblad's own leaf-shutter lenses.

Mark my words, there is now going to be a whole new direction in photography where people take their Nikon etc. lenses and mount them on the Fuji to stretch the field of view (many of these lenses have the image circle to spare for this purpose), get a different aspect ratio, and get image quality beyond what they can get with the same lenses on their FFDSLRs.

The Fuji is a game changer in a way that the Hasselblad X1D can never be.

Then add: (5) Traditional dedicated dial-driven user interface. I really dislike systems like the Hasselblad X1D which are screen menu-driven.

I think the new Fuji is a fantastic achievement. It's everything I would have hoped for. I'd slap my M645 glass on it in a heartbeat, if I could afford one!