Fujifilm’s Biggest Mistake (Northrup): Medium Format Distraction and Lack of Fast APS-C Zooms to Compete with Full Frame
Tony and Chelsea Norhtrup posted a video about the biggest error the various camera manufacturers do.
- they don’t offer full frame. You have to jump to medium format
- they need better autofocus
- Fujiiflm saw youtube channels comparing their APS-C cameras against FF cameras
- as a consequence, Fujifilm became too obsessed about sensor size and launched a medium format system
- but Fujifilm launched their MF system in a time when the whole camera market was going down due to the rise of smartphones
- by launching a new mount, they split all their R&D and marketing
- their mounts are not compatible
- they should have just stick with APS-C at this point and focus all their R&D for their APS-C system, giving us more X mount cameras and lenses
- Fuji wanted to become a big contender, but they ended up being a niche (a niche the Northrup’s appreciate)
- but to get work done, they pick a full frame Sony, Canon or Nikon
- he’d shoot Fuji if they’d offer an XF50-100mmF1.8, as he’d get similar results to a full frame 70-200mmF2.8
- he wants focusing speed of Sony and Canon, background blur, low light capability
- all that does not need a bigger sensor, just bigger and faster lenses
- Fujifilm misunderstood reviewers, and gave us medium format sensor instead of faster APS-C lenses
- instead of making huge lenses for medium format they should have made huge lenses for APS-C
My own two cents?
GFX – a Distraction?
Offering medium format was a brilliant long term move and I have elaborated why here.
But yeah, I can’t see the future. Nobody can. So Tony’s opinion is just as valid as mine. The future will tell.
Two System, Less Cameras and Lenses for APS-C due to limited R&D
Maybe I am not so much into other brands, but I don’t feel like Fujifilm is releasing less gear than other brands.
The real issue was more that so far not many third party brands released AF lenses for Fujifilm, but that has been solved in the meantime.
But in some way it is true. No GFX system could potentially mean more resources for X mount. But I think this is also why Fujifilm waited so long before offering a second sensor option. They did want to wait that their APS-C lineup is rich in lenses and once well covered, they can free up resources for other projects.
Lack of Fast Lenses
First off, let me say that there are many fast Fujinon XF lenses such as the XF200mmF2, XF8-16mmF2.8, XF50mmF1.0 as well as all the nice f/1.2 and f/1.4 primes.
But what about the f/1.8 zooms he’d wish for the X system? Well, that brings us to the next point.
High ISO
In the past, pushing your digital cameras to high ISO was something we absolutely wanted to avoid, as the performance was so bad. To avoid to go too high with ISO, we did indeed need fast glass for low light photography.
But that was the past. Today, ISO performance on digital cameras is vastly improved, which means you don’t need to try to desperately avoid high ISO with super fast and expensive glass. Nope, you can also push ISO up much higher than you ever could in the past.
What this means is that you can put smaller, lighter and more affordable lenses on your camera, as you can compensate the slower aperture with a higher ISO value.
Down below I will share a video of an extreme low light recovery I made of my wife overlooking the hills of Ronda in Andalusia, Spain (we made our honeymoon there). She basically went from almost invisible black to nicely visible in clean colors (thank you X-Trans for that high color fidelity) and in my eyes also very contained levels of noise, which make the image pleasing and usable.
But what about Bokeh? Let’s talk about it.
Bokeh
Not enough background blur? Well, this one is easy to answer. I’ll just share an image down below. And it’s not even the fastest lens Fujifilm has to offer (you can get even more radical with this one).
Autofocus (and Computational Photography)
True, Sony and Canon have better autofocus. But the point with autofocus is, that once it is near perfect, there is not much to improve anymore. Fujifilm just needs to catch up with Sony and Canon, and then the “autofocus war” will be basically over, since there will be little room for further enhancements.
Where there is much more room for improvement, is computational photography. And this is an area where smaller sensors simply are superior to bigger sensors. In fact, if done wisely, it could be even lead to a Renaissance of the M43 system (as the Panasonic GH6 shows with its terrific high res handheld mode). And certainly APS-C has a potential advantage here over full frame or medium format.
- Fujifilm X-H2 Coming 2022 with Huge Computational Photography Boost?
- 7 advantages of APS-C over Full frame
- Fujifilm manager: “If sensor and processor are very fast, then you can do lots of things with computational photography”
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