As Phil Brownstone puts it Fujifilm has put a 102-megapixel Medium format camera, inside of a body slightly smaller and lighter than the Panasonic Lumix S1R Full Frame camera, at the same price as a Leica SL2, at a price comparable to a number of flagship full-frame cameras. When you compare the size to the original two 50-megapixel GFX cameras it is still smaller, even after adding stabilization and the EVF.
When you compare the GFX 100s to other full frame mirrorless cameras, it is a similar in size, the Nikon and Sony cameras being the smallest in this group.
Price-wise it appears to be in keeping with a full-frame camera when looking at flagship DSLRs and mirrorless cameras. If you look only at the mirrorless cameras then it is one of the more expensive options. Keep in mind the medium format sensors listed here are smaller than other medium format sensors, but they are 70% fuller than a full-frame sensor. Medium format has different characteristics from full-frame, there are different light gather properties and the depth of field is also different. So depending on your subject matter and the results you are looking for, whether it be APSC, FF or MF, you need to consider which one works for your type of photography as these same properties vary with sensor size.
It does look like Fujifilm’s strategy is to focus on producing state-of-the-art APSC and medium format cameras. Leaving Canon, Nikon and Sony to focus on the full-frame market. The illustration below shows both APSC and medium format size differences in the Fuji cameras using the 50r, 100s, x-t4 and the x-s10.
The following are the key specifications but more detailed specifications can be found on the DPreview site.
GFX 100s Specifications
- 102MP medium format
- 5 axis with up to a 6 stop image-stabilized rating
- Synchronizes with stabilized lenses
- BSI-CMOS sensor.
- Hybrid autofocus system with nearly 100% coverage
- Multi-shot mode for capturing 400MP images of still subjects
- DCI or UHD 4K video
- Weather-sealed
- OLED info displays on the top
- 3.69M-dot OLED viewfinder
- Dual-hinged 3.2″ LCD can tilt for both landscape and portrait
- Two SD card slots
- Ports for a mic, headphones and remote control.
- 5 frames per second
- Wifi and Bluetooth
- 900 grams
- 150 x 104 x 87mm
Latest Camera Releases Comparison
The cameras that are of interest to me are mirrorless cameras and those that have sensors APSC or larger. That is not to say other kinds of cameras are problematic or do not take great images, most cameras these days are excellent even the one you find in your iPhone. I find mirrorless cameras smaller and lighter which makes for an easier kit to field. In terms of the size, I find the image quality from APSC cameras a minimum for me, in most cases.
So looking at this reduced set of cameras what would I consider the top camera. Lets look at three categories APSC, full frame and medium format.
In the APSC category, I find the Fujifilm cameras particularly interesting primarily because of their retro design, lens quality and X-tran sensors. So in the APSC category, I would suggest the X-T4 flagship is one of the best APSC cameras at this point in time. If this is too expensive one might want to consider the X-S10 which has the same image quality but is not feature-rich.
In the full frame market the top camera manufacture is Sony, as a sensor manufacturer their cameras always feature the most advanced sensors usually a year before they are released to other camera companies. In addition to this their cameras are not only some of the smallest but also very reasonably priced, here there are two that lead the pack the A7R IV and the new A1.
In the medium format range which now provides cameras that range in price from $5600 to $40,000, I think I will limit myself to those below the $10,000. This really reduces it to two cameras the Hasselblad X1D II the smallest medium format camera on the market and the GFX100s. The GFX100s of course has double the resolution and is much more advanced. So in this category, the GFX is in the lead.
Price Comparison
In this price comparison other flagship cameras and none mirrorless cameras to provide some sense of how the pricing of the GFX100s in relation to the larger market.
| Price | Megapixels | ||
| Canon EOS 1Dx Mark III | FF | $8999.00 | 20 |
| Sony A1 | FF | $8499.99 | 50 |
| Nikon D6 | FF | $8499.00 | 21 |
| GFX 100S | MF | $7800.00 | 102 |
| Hasselblad X1D II | MF | $7599.00 | 50 |
| Fujifilm 50R | MF | $5699.99 | 50 |
| Canon R5 | FF | $5399.00 | 45 |
| Lumix S1R | FF | $5199.99 | 47.3 |
| Sony A7R IV | FF | $4499.00 | 61 |
| Nikon Z7 II | FF | $3999.00 | 45.7 |
| Fujifilm X-T4 | APSC | $2299.00 | 26 |
| Fujifilm X-S10 | APSC | $1349.00 | 26 |
References
- FUJIFILM GFX 100S: 102MP Medium Format Camera in a Full Frame Body: Three Men and An Elephant Review
- Camera size comparisons.
- DPreview’s GFX 100s review
- Camera Labs Review Gordon Laing