For most of digital photography’s life, a medium format camera was a thing you rented for a studio day. It sat in another price universe from the full-frame bodies most professionals carried, and clients paid for it only when they wanted the ceiling of image quality.
That gap has closed. Fstoppers, writing about the Fujifilm GFX 100S, said the camera cut both the size and the price of Fujifilm’s flagship medium format body by almost half, with very little sacrificed. Several manufacturers now price medium format in direct competition with full frame, the site observed. That opens a new system choice for photographers who chase the finest image and care little for very fast burst shooting or 8K video.
A 100-megapixel body at full-frame money
TechRadar made the point harder when it looked at the GFX100S II. At launch, it called that camera Fujifilm’s cheapest medium format body with a 100-megapixel sensor, priced aggressively at $4,999, £4,999 or AU$8,699 for the body alone. The sensor is a reworked take on the earlier 102MP chip, and the camera has Fujifilm’s latest processor.
The reviewer was frank about what this does to the buying decision. At the cheap end, TechRadar said, medium format now sits level with professional full-frame models, so the right choice may come down to handling and needs rather than budget or sensor size. Its own comparison was with the Sony A7R V and the Leica Q3, both class leaders at a similar price. The larger sensor, it argued, resolves detail those cameras cannot match.
Speed is where the full-frame side still has an argument. Photographers who shoot action as well as fine detail, TechRadar suggested, might lean towards something like the Sony A7R V.
The older model gets cheaper
The GFX100S II also runs a lot faster than the discontinued model it replaces. That predecessor, the GFX100S, had spent months at record-low sale prices when TechRadar wrote, with offers of $4,399 (B&H Photo), £3,499 (WEX) and AU$5,899 (Diamonds Camera).
Fstoppers, summing up a video essay by Matt Irwin Photography, put the upshot plainly: photographers have never had this many options at sensible prices.
Sources
- Medium Format at Full Frame Prices (Fstoppers)
- Forget full-frame, the new Fujifilm GFX100S II (TechRadar)
