Today we might have found the answer to the 2nd most voted of our 7 crucial Medium Format questions:
According to a source, who was right in the past (thanks), Fujifilm is right now putting lots of R&D into creating a complete new interchangeable lenses Medium Format camera system (so no fixed lens MF).
Of course, take the grain of salt. This is still Not really the Medium Format Rumor Breakthrough we are waiting for, since, until now, no trusted source confirmed that Fuji is really working on it!
And while I’m dazzled by this rumor, I know that a humble enthusiast photographer like me is probably not the target of such a camera, and it would be out of my budget anyway (not even tax deduction for teachers buying cameras 🙁 ).
But I believe that an interchangeable lenses Medium Format Fuji could find its niche amongst PRO’s and turn out to be a profitable business for Fujifilm.
Now, I have no idea how much this camera would cost, but if it was priced somewhere between the Pentax 645D and the Pentax 645Z digital MF cameras, then the MF-Fuji might even become Fujifilm’s new golden egg laying goose (this, and the Hello Kitty Instax, of course 🙂 ).
It’s hard to get on MF rumors, really hard… but it’s not a Mission Impossible. So stay tuned on FR via Facebook, RSS-feed and Twitter,
I’ll try to get a confirmation by trusted sources ASAP… since then, take the grain of salt, and then start dreaming 🙂
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54 Responses
I do believe Fuji should roll out a 135 system, which is more versatile than 120s and could perform better than apsc at reasonable price range. Fuji is going to has an edge in terms of color rendering.
Naah, that marketplace segment is too crowded and it would be hard for them to differentiate. A pro-focused “medium-format” (i.e. larger than 36x24mm “nostalgia format”) line could sell for higher prices and consequently could be profitable at lower sales volumes.
How to stand out in that segment? Fuji already knows the answer. The Hasselblad, Leica, and Pentax MF designs are designed for hand-holding, which is fine for high-end fashion/lifestyle shooters but a compromise for others. Fuji could come in with a studio-centric camera targeted at high-volume product and catalog shooting. Key differentiating feature: full front movements, which are important for food, tabletop, and product photography.
In other words: a scaled-down GX680 concept, optimized for digital.
I agree, your not going to replace Nikon or Canon anytime soon in the 135 segment. They should concentrate on a medium format, with quick operation, I haven’t tried the new PhaseOne camera but the older 645DF+ and the Hasselblad H5D are slow and clunky. Make it as fast as a the X-T1 but with a bigger sensor then 35mm and they’ll have a winner.
I don’t disagree with you because because I’m not privy to marketing numbers but as an outsider the first thing I think of is how Instagram has made a thing out of food photography. I worry for any company that puts all its eggs in an ever changing landscape. We’ve seen the complete destruction of print media in less than a decade. Now if the numbers flesh out, then of course it’s a no brainier. So when can a novice like me see the numbers that would drive a decision like this?
I think that market economics have to be considered here.
Would such a camera sell well with the product-photo crowd?
Are product photographers earning enough money to invest in medium-format?
Would Fuji turn a profit?
I think the answer is no to all of these questions.
No, I don’t think the answer is no. With Hasselblad effectively leaving the industry, and the only real players being Phase One, Pentax 645, and the Leica S, I think Fuji could do well in this space if they made their system mirrorless, and offered some truly unique feature sets.
Too specialized. Much better to do a mirrorless medium format system that can slightly undercut Pentax’s 645 price-wise.
Yes, WE all want a cheaper MF system, but I don’t think Fuji is set up to win with a race-to-the-bottom pricing strategy. They’ve done rather well being a “cult brand” with a comparatively small base of highly passionate users, and I think they’d need to stick to that positioning.
Actually the last thing I need is a MF system I can just afford. I’d prefer it to remain out of grasp.
Staying away from the most popular market to differentiate itself?
Exactly. They’d need a huge promotional effort to establish themselves, and the most they could expect in return would be a thin slice of market share.
I can never foreseen leica becoming as popular as canon
the question is, will it be xtrans?
j/k everyone knows it’ll be EXR. i mean super CCD.
actually i think it’ll be xtrans with EXR-diagonal orientation
Makes sense, they already said they won’t do FF, but MF is just a completely different market .. in which they have some experience already, and now the confidence to invest in reviving it.
Yeah cool, but what if it could look like the GF670? That would be cool too.
It would be cool but it’s supposed to have interchangeable lenses. 🙂
Surely should be more classy than the 6×9 Pro above though. The X-Pro1, X-T1 and X-T10 all show some inspiration from the past, but they stand on their own .. they did very well imho.
The one on top is a GF670W – the wide-angle version of a GF670, which is actually a modern folding camera originally. ^.^
yeah you’re right
Asking “The next System Fuji should offer is…” sounds a little like it’s replacing something, but of course a success in two markets instead of one benefits both.
Unless you vote FF, that only makes things confusing and they would get in the way of each other. They would have to hold back on apsc to keep their new ff system interesting enough, and they know it. That is why we have lenses like the 16mm F1.4 now, while other systems don’t.
I think that those wishing for cheap medium format cameras from Fuji are dreaming. Look at the current APS-C prices of Fuji vs Canon, Nikon, Sony and tell me is Fuji selling their cameras at the discount compared to the competition? I just don’t see it.
Well it certainly won’t be cheap as in cheap. But Canon, Nikon and Sony sell huge numbers of APS-C cameras, which is why they can offer them for such ridiculous prices. In MF territory nobody has high sales numbers so I believe Fuji could offer similar prices as Pentax. Due to Fuji’s wonderful camera design, terrific lenses and great colours I think they could be onto something there.
Anyway, I’m pretty sure there’s something going on that we don’t know of. If we look at the roadmap for lenses the number of releases has slowed significantly. What are all those lens designers working on?
Any one know why all of Fuji’s lenses are 7 blades? I believe only the macro is 9 so maybe I’m missing something here. I don’t get the thinking behind this.
the zooms, 16 and 60 should be 9 blades.
But does it really matter? Personally I say the look of the oof highlights is mostly important when shooting wide open (or close to it). And there blade count doesn’t matter at all
It does to me. I’m very picky about my bokeh. There is a coarseness to the photo with many 7 bladed lenses. It doesn’t take stopping down much to see this. In large prints or viewed on a large screen it’s very noticeable. I assume Fuji knows something I don’t and that’s what I’m trying to figure out. I guess I’ll have to run the comparison myself and see what the difference is.
The new 35 F2 has 9
I just checked it out. I don’t know how I missed that one. Now that’s a lens that can get me to move over. 400 bucks too- nice. I hope more are coming.
Don’t get your hopes up on a “prosumer” medium format Fuji camera. That isn’t going to happen.
I’m hoping it’s a giant x-pro and not just another cube shaped 645z/hasselblad H- style camera. MF needs mirrorless even more than APS and 35mm markets do. If it was mirrorless, weathersealed and even slightly cheaper than a 645z i wouldn’t hesitate to get one.
OK, I’d buy it if it comes before the long-rumored Sony/Mamiya medium format camera arrives. I shot for years with Mamiya 7/7II cameras, and I still hate the thief that stole them.
The question is more about when… even xpro2 and xt2 are basically still rumors. waaaay too long, Fuji.
X-Pro 2 is no rumor.
What will the price be? I can see it being a smaller format then the others. It’s a trend I see FUJI FILM continuing with as what it will look like a X Pro 2 I think.
I have this camera (GF670), one of my favs. If they make this camera digital, oh gee, there could be a waiting list forever. Don’t tease us Fuji 🙂
I look for a relatively thin body somewhat larger than an X-T1 to accommodate a medium format sensor, with similar size electronic viewfinder, proprietary new lens mount. They have the tech available. They just need a basic lens set. With no mirror box, etc., I envision the camera at around 2 lbs. max, compared to twice that of Pentax and Hassie. With medium format, there won’t be any f/1.4 lenses, but longer focal length for relative field of view will help bokeh. Call me crazy, but I can see Fuji coming out with such a camera in direct competition with Nikon D800 and their ilk, with a body priced somewhere in the low $3k range, with lenses coming in the $1k to $3k range, including a basic fixed focal length set, a couple of zooms and a macro. Image stabilization in the camera body would help with size and weight of lenses. Ahh, to dream. This could be a beautiful thing, coming in at less than $10k for a body and 3-lens kit!
I thought I heard just recently that a MF sensor would cost about 4000 USD alone….
The Pentax 645D is less than $4k. If the $4k includes sensor R&D, then Fuji could amortize the R&D over a larger amount of sensors thus bringing the individual cost lower.
Assuming that they can sell a camera between $3k and $4k without losing money, I think they could move a very reasonable amount of units, probably not as many as they’ve been selling X’s, but certainly better than other MF manufacturers.
That is a price point that shouldn’t be too bad for non-professionals, and it might even draw some professionals who don’t have the money for a Hasselblad / Phase One.
I agree on the shape though, it’s gotta be a very large X-Pro / digital GW/GF, not the traditional huge H5D/P1/645 type cameras.
I guess a MF line would make more sense than a FF line, given the existing APS-C family. I mean it’s all relative, but a FF line would be perceived as a new and improved Fuji X, while a MF would cause a big stir while still differentiated from the existing Fuji X APS-C family.
Exactly. Plus there are so many players in the full frame arena now, it just wouldn’t make sense. Also, the top APS-C sensors offer exceptional performance these days (the second best dynamic range performance in the industry actually comes from an APS-C sensor), making a jump to “full frame” not noticeable enough, IQ-wise. Those who truly need to see a huge jump in IQ would probably elect to go medium format anyway.
Meanwhile, how many medium format mirrorless cameras do we have to choose from?
If Fuji can offer something truly innovative in this space, it could be a winner.
Totally agreed.
“there are so many players in the full frame arena now”
AFAIK, Digital medium format is something like 10k cameras per year. Thats between 3-4 systems, or who is still selling these..? I would think each of full-frame systems sells much more than that individually.
So, fuji could try take a bite out of that 10k MF-pie, or bake a fresh FF-one all for them selves. What would you do..?
In case you hadn’t noticed, Fuji doesn’t do what other camera companies do.
oh, you mean like an mirrorless “half-frame” system..? gotcha! 😛
Pentax has greatly increased interest and volume in the MF market with their 645z. Another entry will increase interest further if attractively priced. Many will say it is too expensive but then they used to stay that about FF.
Out of curiousity, do you have a source for that 10k number? If it’s true (and it doesn’t seem outrageous to me), and they get 30% of the market, selling them for ~5k/camera then the gross would only be about $16 million per year. I’d love to see it but it sounds like a dicey business proposition.
One thing to remember though – who makes the only MF CMOS sensor? Sony – nothing would prevent them from making MF camera if they see that Fuji sells well.
I agree. And the margins they could command would certainly help offset the smaller volume of sales. The interesting thing is how many people “found” the money to go FF when so many said it was unaffordable. Pentax found a lot of users when they introduced the 645Z despite the alleged thinness of the market.
http://image-sensors-world.blogspot.com/2015/11/image-sensors-at-isscc-2016.html
image sensor news look panasonic 3 impressive headline,and fujifilms can access too.
i hope so.
If it’s THE organic sensor from the Fuji-Pana-collaboration, then the organic film is from Fuji anyway…
I’ve decided to hold out for the new dilithium sensor. Either that or the competing badassium sensor.
Why do Fuji need a MF-camera ? They already have a Wide one (Instax).
Lets not foget that the latest digital mf named fuji was a twin of hasselblad h1. They will probably not go into competition with their iwn partnership so either a body/back for the h-system or something fundamentally different.
Can’t wait to read the complaints about its size and price. 🙂
If they can sell it for a reasonable price, it would likely be a success, particularly for professionals. many would love to have a digital Mamiya 7. Sadly, despite the high prices, digital medium format sensors are just crops compared to medium format film, so the look is different and the quality isn’t as great asit could be if the sensors were 6×6 or larger.
personally, i am just hoping the X-Pro 2 will have a considerable boost in image quality to justify an upgrade from my X-Pro 1.
“personally, i am just hoping the X-Pro 2 will have a considerable boost in image quality to justify an upgrade from my X-Pro 1.”
The X-Pro2 will have a 24 MP Sony sensor.
Define reasonable price.