Fujifilm GFX 100s

If I’m going to transition into a medium format camera, this is the one I’m likely to wind up buying.  This or it’s younger sibling (with an older sensor), the GFX 50s.  Same body and pretty much everything else, but with a few minor differences due to the older sensor.

Face it, I’ve never regretted choosing Fujifilm over Nikon, or Canon, or any of the other camera manufacturers at the time I transitioned into digital imagery.  My Fujis always feel good in the hand, with their manual aperture rings, as well as manual shutter speed and ISO dials (at least for my cameras).  Most importantly, they’ve had excellent optics and superb sensor technology.  They’ve been wonderful working tools.

I really wouldn’t have to look anywhere else, because the GFX line offers pretty much the same.

Fujifilm entered the affordable medium format market early and have made huge advances that no other company has come close to matching in medium format.  Certainly not at their price point.  The optics are excellent and the cameras are not much larger than a full-frame DSLR . . . on the outside at least.

Inside, the sensor is significantly larger.  Plus, being a Fujifilm camera, I’m familiar with all of the various options and menu items (in particular, the ones I would totally ignore).  I already know what four functions I would program into the function buttons, and pretty much would never have to dive into the system menu.

Sure, I wish they would make a 100 mp model that had full manual controls instead of a PASM dial and scroll-wheel shutter speed controls.  And it would be great if they could incorporate the ability to shoot at 1/2 or 1/3 of the available megapixels like the new Leica M11.  But that’s nitpicking.  This is a camera I could use right out of the box with next to no learning curve required.  They’ve even improved the ergonomics and the build quality.

Heck, by the time I could afford one of these, they just might have a newer model that incorporates all of my desired improvements!