I bet you didn’t see coming this: Fuji partnering with Sony to create a digital medium format mirrorless and fixed lens camera!
The Fuji branded and Sony sensor powered camera will be launched this Summer (likely in August). It could look close to the current to the Fuji GF670 film camera. It could also uses Fuji X-PRO 1 hybrid viewfinder tech. Quite a big news! Wondering if there is a market for such a camera…
via Fujirumors.
21 Responses
Well I don´t think this will happen, most probably a fake rumour.
However if Fuji really intorduces a fixed-lens mirrorless medium format camera, it will follow the fate of Sony RX1: an attention grabber that noone will buy. A MF mirrorless would cost 5000+ EUR and no professional would be willing to pay that much and be limited by a single focal length. Just like no pro shoots with RX1, the same will be with MF CSC.
And what about mirror less MF camera with changeable lenses? Think along side the ones like Mamiya6/7 systems, those were used heavily in studios alongside larger beasts attached to tripods – system 7 is still in production and sells.
This could be interesting. A compact 20 MP camera with outstanding DR for $3000 with a zoom lens. Medium format for everybody.
So wrong. I know a few reputable pros who shoot an RX1, including someone on the White House staff and another who regularly shoots for Nat Geo and Time. I’m hoping this camera will be real, and I know myself and a few others will put down the money for it. A lot of documentary and fine art photographers only need one focal length. I’ve shot major projects on Rolleiflexes and fuji MF rangefinders all with a fixed normal lens. It’s never really a problem. Some people only need one lens and let their feet do the rest of the work. Interchangeable lenses would be nice, sure, but if the lens it comes with is nice enough, I’ll never be wanting for another piece of glass. I’ll leave that kind of work to something else that is made for that kind of situation.
I would take out a second mortgage to own a digital version of the GA645. If Fuji is planning this, they are smarter than I thought.
Depends on the price. If they can keep it within the $3000-$5000 range, they will get a lot of buyers. Anything over $5000 and it will not sell so well.
how many digital MF cameras are there in $3000-5000 range? let’s be realistic 😉
This one will have NO af, no exchangeable lens and will probably re-use some of the existing parts/tooling. So there is a chance.
How do you know all that? Or just assumptions?
If that is truthiam starting to save up for it. Sounds great if it has viewfinder built in. Something like x100 but bigger and iam in.
Hm… And what about a fixed lens with a wide and a short tele conversion, like the x100s. For medium format jobs enough for a lot of pros…
Well, this sounds interesting. The camera shown is 6x7cm so the 55mm lens gives you roughly about 28mm field of view (compared to 35mm full frame reference) and costs some $2200. It is fixed lens, manual focus with optical RF. Now the sensor will probably not be larger than the one in 645D which is somewhere midway between 35mm and 6×4.5 If Fuji would stick a digital sensor in this camera the price could be anywhere in $3000+ range (realistically I would guess $4000+). I personally would hope for sensor that is at least full 645 size – otherwise the difference to FX is not going to be that noticeable. Keep in mind – this camera will not get lens faster then f/2.8 (size, price, rangefinder precision). If the sensor were full size 645 format (like some medium format backs that cost way more than $10k), than that would give you about 1 stop DOF gain compared to 35mm.
However they can not just re-use that rangefinder – I would doubt it will have enough precision for a high resolution sensor (film emulsions is thicker than sensitive area of CMOS) so some update on that front would be necessary too – as the lens speed of f/4.5 would not really be acceptable to most buyers either.
I actually think that there is a market for this sort of camera – there are quite a few enthusiasts that used (or still do) shoot a lot of film in medium format cameras and would be interested in quasi-pocketable digital version.
So – am I curios about it? You but, but I am not overly too optimistic about what will come out of it.
It would make more sense to make it as not fixed lens but changeable lens camera and lenses with leaf shutters. Sensor of this resolution will show every vibration. When photographing with my Hassy + Leaf back, it’s always with mirror up. The same on film, where Mamiya 6 I use easily hand held at 1/15s.
“will show every vibration” is nonsense. if people consider shooting 50mm FOV on 24 mp camera acceptable, the very same vibration will be acceptable for shooting 33mm FOV on 54 mp camera, too.
? don’t understand what you’re saying. i can see effects of vibration at 1/50s on using 33mp digital back – anything below 2x focal length is with mirror up.
Probably price is going to be stratospheric. I think the Sigma DP Quattro with viewfinder is a more smart choice for less than a third of the money.
if this camera has a high resolving, contrasty leaf shutter lens and a “normal” field of view I cant see why this camera would not sell like crazy. looking forward to seeing the technology!
I want this. NOW!
This is why I learned and decided a long time ago not to invest in Sony gear due to their required OEM commitments such as to Nikon and now Fuji.
One example is Sony required one to use their proprietary flash units as a means of giving space to Nikon in the marketplace.
I am not saying I would not want the Fuji because it has a Sony sensor.
If I brought a 50MP camera home my PC would blow-up.
Fixed Lens is just a non starter, especially on something that costs more than $2.5K.
I just throw my hands up in the air when a new format/lens mount is released and they do not even offer the basics in lens coverage ie. 28, 35, 50/55 (in 35mm equiv.). Ideally a 24 and 100 too would make it much more complete.
We have had a mirrorless medium format for some time – the Alpa Tc etc, interchangeable highest quality lens, optional optical viewfinder and used particularly by landscape photographers. Digital or film back up to 200mb on four shot, or 80mb single, or even 320 mb on the XY version otherwise and quality to make a Nikon 800e look like a point and shoot and weight to make your Nikon4s feel like an elephant round your neck. Silvestri, Sinar Handy and others all do mirrorless optical viewfinder versions and have done for some years, so whilst a fixed lens small mf sensor camera is new it is hardly groundbreaking!