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Fujifilm Tells DPReview That a Medium Format Digital Rangefinder Camera is Possible

Chris Gampat
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01/26/2017
2 Mins read
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The Fujifilm GFx 50S Next to the Fujifilm GW690 III.

DPReview recently spoke with Fujifilm reps at a recent event, who told the publication that there is totally a chance that a medium format digital rangefinder style camera is very possible. Why would this even be considered? Sure, Fujifilm has had the X Pro 2, but if you’ve been shooting photos for a while then you’re probably aware of the company’s very solid rangefinder cameras during the film days.

Fujifilm produced medium format rangefinder cameras a while back, which are all discontinued. They’re all very well built and a strong argument can be made to say that a lot of people wanted this style vs the DSLR style that the Fujifilm GFX currently is.

Quotes of interest:

  • Could these same benefits be applied to medium format, we asked. ‘Of course it could be an idea for medium format,’ says Oishi: ‘it depends on demand and the market. The GFX 50S is one style: the ‘S’ means ‘SLR-style.’ Another way to do it would be a rangefinder style camera. Maybe an ‘R’ could be a rangefinder: we’re always considering other options and possibilities.’‘If mirrorless interchangeable lens camera is too big as a rangefinder style, a fixed lens camera could be smaller, like the GF670.’
  • The release of three SLR-style cameras in a row (X-T2, X-T20 and GFX 50S) doesn’t mean the company is abandoning the rangefinder style, though. ‘XE is an important series for us,’ Oishi says: ‘There are so many XE1, 2 and 2S users in the world. We are always thinking about the next model, whether that’s XT, XE or X-Pro. Obviously we can’t confirm anything at this point but we are aware there are many requests for this type of camera.’

At Photokina, I had a chance to talk with the designer of the Fujifilm GFX 50s camera and asked the specific question of why the company didn’t go rangefinder style. In fact, the company had many concepts and a number of them were rangefinder style indeed. But at the moment, this is what made the most sense for the company.

Personally speaking, I have to agree here. The X-T2 style of camera body tends to make people more excited than the Fujifilm X Pro 2. Though I tend to favor the latter, a DSLR style form factor is much more in use with their intended target market.

So for pure safety, it just makes more sense.

For more from the interview, check out DPReview’s post.

camera dpreview dslr fujifilm Fujifilm GFX 50S fujifilm medium format digital rangefinder interview rangefinder style
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Chris Gampat is the Editor in Chief, Founder, and Publisher of the Phoblographer. He provides oversight to all of the daily tasks, including editorial, administrative, and advertising work. Chris's editorial work includes not only editing and scheduling articles but also writing them himself. He's the author of various product guides, educational pieces, product reviews, and interviews with photographers. He's fascinated by how photographers create, considering the fact that he's legally blind./ HIGHLIGHTS: Chris used to work in Men's lifestyle and tech. He's a veteran technology writer, editor, and reviewer with more than 15 years experience. He's also a Photographer that has had his share of bylines and viral projects like "Secret Order of the Slice." PAST BYLINES: Gear Patrol, PC Mag, Geek.com, Digital Photo Pro, Resource Magazine, Yahoo! News, Yahoo! Finance, IGN, PDN, and others. EXPERIENCE: Chris Gampat began working in tech and art journalism both in 2008. He started at PCMag, Magnum Photos, and Geek.com. He founded the Phoblographer in 2009 after working at places like PDN and Photography Bay. He left his day job as the Social Media Content Developer at B&H Photo in the early 2010s. Since then, he's evolved as a publisher using AI ethically, coming up with ethical ways to bring in affiliate income, and preaching the word of diversity in the photo industry. His background and work has spread to non-profits like American Photographic Arts where he's done work to get photographers various benefits. His skills are in SEO, app development, content planning, ethics management, photography, Wordpress, and other things. EDUCATION: Chris graduated Magna Cum Laude from Adelphi University with a degree in Communications in Journalism in 2009. Since then, he's learned and adapted to various things in the fields of social media, SEO, app development, e-commerce development, HTML, etc. FAVORITE SUBJECT TO PHOTOGRAPH: Chris enjoys creating conceptual work that makes people stare at his photos. But he doesn't get to do much of this because of the high demand of photography content. / BEST PHOTOGRAPHY TIP: Don't do it in post-production when you can do it in-camera.
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