dirk
CI-Founder
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…
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…