GFX 100RF

In March 2025, Fujifilm released the smallest medium-format camera ever made. The camera features a high resolution and a retro rangefinder-style design. Like most Fujifilm cameras, it has dials for speed, f-stop, and aperture adjustments on the lens. The camera is also made in Japan, and the silver version is stunning. The camera comes with two additional controls: a dial and a switch. One controls the field of view, and the other controls the aspect ratio. These kinds of external controls are new to Fujifilm and most cameras.

Holding the camera, it feels like a work of art; it is indeed stunning in appearance and amazing for its compact size as a medium format camera. In my mind, this is a perfect street camera. The black version in particular seemed even more luxurious, perhaps nicer to hold than a Leica Q. It also comes with a gorgeous square hood.

One of the major complaints about this camera is the lack of in-camera image stabilization (IBIS). This kind of stabilization allows you to handhold the camera in low-light situations, eliminating the need for a tripod. However, this only works if nothing is moving in the frame, and with street photography, this is rarely the case. The higher f-stop on the lens provides for a very compact camera, as we know from the Q3 a faster lens is considerably larger, even more so on a medium format camera. So I can see the slower lens is a perfect compromise to make the camera truly discreet.

Is It That Compact

This new camera joins a few compact cameras, some of which have fixed lenses. In the image below, the fixed-lens cameras are the Fujifilm GFX 100rf (MF), Leica Q3 (FF), Fujifilm X100 VI (APSC), and Sony RX1 R II (FF). The last camera is Sony’s interchangeable full-frame model, used for size comparison. What can be said is that the 100rf with a medium format sensor is stunningly compact.

Diagram Courtesy of Rob Will

Aspect Ratio Dial

The aspect ratio dial allows you to crop into the RAW files to produce a JPG with various aspect ratios while preserving the original RAW file. The resulting JPGS will, in most cases, not be 102mp resolution, and a chart calculating the resulting resolutions might help you understand the JPG results of this dial. This might be a new compositional aid; you can play with several cropping possibilities as you rotate the dial. This will likely mean a deeper exploration of how to frame the image and perhaps where to stand. This is likely something more experienced photographers might be able to do in their heads. Still, it might be a great asset to an inexperienced photographer and likely accelerate their learning process.

The images below show the various aspect ratios available and how applying different crops to them impacts the image’s resolution.

The Field of View Adjustor

The camera lets you choose a field of view to produce JPG images while retaining the information in your RAW file. As the field of view narrows, the JPG resolution also reduces. The following chart shows the resolution of the JPG as the camera mimics different fields of view. Interestingly, the 45mm view results in the exact resolution as the Sony RXIr ll at 35mm or the Leica Q3 at 28mm. This gives the camera a distinct advantage over the other two fixed-lens cameras.

A Closer Comparison: Leica vs. Fujifilm

The Leica Q3 is likely to be the closest competition to the 100rf, so the illustration from Leica Rumours below shows how, even though the GFX is slightly taller, it appears much smaller because its lens is much smaller. It is also cheaper than the Q3 and has a much higher resolution.

The other thing to remember is that the Leica lens is f-1.7 and the Fujifilm lens is equivalent to about f-3.1, so the Leica gives you roughly a little over one-stop advantage. Given this minimal difference compared to the increased resolution, colour gathering strength, and increased dynamic range. The Leica becomes less attractive for street use.

Comparisons to the Q3 and Q3 43

Leica makes two fixed-lens cameras with a 60mp resolution and optical image stabilization, one featuring a 28mm lens and the other a 43mm lens. Hugh Brownstone, of Three Blind Men and an Elephant, has suggested that despite the GFX100RF having no IBIS and a slower lens, for some, it might be a “twofir.” In other words, at 28mm it is producing a 100mp image and at 45mm it is producing a 55mp image, so in some ways it means instead of carrying his two Leicas, he has both in one body for less money than one of his cameras and size-wise considerably smaller. Not only that better resolution, dynamic range and colour.

What I recommend for the Next Version

Fujifilm should make a companion camera with a 50mm f/2 lens, like the current pancake lens GF lens. Give it an IBIS and an optical viewfinder, and I suspect that camera will not get much bigger than the X100RF.

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