Fujifilm's $4,500 GFX 50R hits a new low price for medium format
The company's eagerly awaited "affordable" version of its GFX 50S trims features you probably won't miss -- and a couple you might.
Lori Grunin
Senior Editor / Reviews
I've been writing about and reviewing consumer technology since before the turn of the century. I'm also a photographer and cat herder, frequently at the same time.
Shop for Fujifilm GFX 50R (body only)
See all pricesFujifilm moved the dials to the right to make room for the built-in viewfinder and shaved down the grip, possibly too much.
Fujifilm stripped a little from its $5,900 GFX 50S to rejigger a $4,500 version in the GFX 50R, but it looks like there are a couple potential drawbacks. The design is completely different, more reminiscent of the X-Pro2, and friendlier for walkaround photography similar to the Hasselblad X1D. It's slated to ship in November.
While the price might seem high, it's the cheapest medium format to date. Next up is $5,500 for the Pentax 645Z DSLR. Until now its big brother was the least expensive mirrorless medium format.
The GFX 50R incorporates the same 51.4-megapixel 43.8x32.9 millimeter sensor and X-Processor Pro as the 50S, with all the still and video quality and capabilities that go with it, as well as a similarly sturdy dust- and weather-resistant magnesium alloy body.
From the front it resembles the XPro2.
How is it different? Let me count the ways:
- There's no status LCD on the top
- It's got a built-in OLED viewfinder -- the 50S' slips into the hot shoe and supports an accessory to tilt it -- that's lower magnification (.77x vs. .85x)
- The LCD only tilts in two directions instead of three
- It switches to a USB-C connection
- There's no headphone jack and the mic connection is now 2.5mm, not 3.5mm
- It adds Bluetooth support for improved wireless capabilities as well as a new simultaneous delete for when you've got raw and JPEG files saving to separate cards
- Physically, it's lighter, wider and taller, but not as deep
- Fujifilm dropped the navigation buttons, relying instead on its Focus Lever for selecting AF points
All those sacrifices (though some are perks) won't impact most people's user experience. Unfortunately, it also has a much shallower grip and it looks like there's no option for a battery grip. The shallow grip may not be an issue if you stick with the short primes, but with some of the 2-pound lenses it can set you off balance. And without a battery grip, you also lose the ability to extend the battery life -- you're stuck with the meh-for-the-money 400-shot rating.
No more navigation buttons and the LCD only tilts up and down, not out.
But those drawbacks might be worth the trade-off for the almost $1,500 you save.
The company also laid out its lens road map, though without time frames. The next lenses due out are a 100-300mm f5.6, a 50mm f3.5 which seems to target this particular camera, and a 45-100mm f4.
