The world’s first 100-megapixel mirrorless camera, the Fujifilm GFX100, was first spotted in concept form at Photokina 2018, but now the finished version is official – and it’s a real landmark camera with a price tag to match.
What’s interesting about the GFX100 isn’t that it’s a Medium Format camera, which means it has a sensor that’s 1.7x larger than full-frame cameras, making it perfect for professional landscape and documentary photographers.
Like the Fujifilm GFX 50R, the unique sell of this camera is that it combines good, old-fashioned sensor size with the latest mirrorless tech. This means the GFX100 can claim a number of world firsts: it’s the first medium format camera with embedded phase detect autofocus, 5-axis image stabilisation and the ability to shoot 4K video with no cropping.
Thanks to its back-illuminated 102-megapixel sensor, it can shoot photos that are 11648×8736 pixels in size, with a phase detection autofocus system that’s been adopted from little nephews like the Fujifilm X-T3.
That five-axis image stabilisation promises to give you 5.5 stops of leeway, which should be ideal for preserving image quality when shooting handheld, and the GFX100 also has Face and Eye Detection, another unusually modern feature for a medium format camera.
Other impressive design features include a 5.76-million dot OLED electronic viewfinder, a weather-resistant design, a two-way tilting touchscreen and support for two batteries, which gives it a battery life of around 800 shots.
Naturally, this isn’t exactly a small camera, although it’s reasonably compact by medium format standards. It’s over 10cm thick and weighs in at 1.36kg, which is around 200g lighter than a Canon 1D X Mark II.
It’s also not really designed for action or sports, although it can shoot at 5fps in continuous autofocus while tracking a subject. But for landscape shooting, portraits and documentary photographers, the Fujifilm GFX100 is shaping up to be an incredible new alternative to the likes of Hasselblad.
That is, if they have a few thousand pounds lying around – the Fujifilm GFX100 is going to be available to buy from the end of June 2019 for (gulp) £9,999. Time to put the family hatchback up for sale, then.
Editorial independence
Editorial independence means being able to give an unbiased verdict about a product or company, with the avoidance of conflicts of interest. To ensure this is possible, every member of the editorial staff follows a clear code of conduct.
Professional conduct
We also expect our journalists to follow clear ethical standards in their work. Our staff members must strive for honesty and accuracy in everything they do. We follow the IPSO Editors’ code of practice to underpin these standards.
Editorial independence
Editorial independence means being able to give an unbiased verdict about a product or company, with the avoidance of conflicts of interest. To ensure this is possible, every member of the editorial staff follows a clear code of conduct.
Professional conduct
We also expect our journalists to follow clear ethical standards in their work. Our staff members must strive for honesty and accuracy in everything they do. We follow the IPSO Editors’ code of practice to underpin these standards.
