[wed7]

Way to go Fuji. From cameras to lenses. They are really impressive as a company to bring all those as quickly as possible. Pentax/Ricoh can learn from them.

[Alizarine]

I wonder how Ricoh will respond to this. Fuji's suddenly upped the ante with this new format in their system.
And will also give current Fuji users something to "upgrade" too - creating even more loyalty to the brand.

suddenly, the 645z looks long in the tooth... let's wait for more news though. But I gotta admit, this is exciting!

[monochrome]

suddenly, the 645z looks long in the tooth... let's wait for more news though. But I gotta admit, this is exciting!

Every breakthrough camera gets 12 months. Then the Next Big Thing happens.

Pentax is coming.

[surfar]

also give current Fuji users something to "upgrade" too

The pentax upgrade is easier, APS-c to FF....$1500 Fuji upgrade $8500

[Wheatridger]

I love Fuji cameras. They will do a fine job with this, I'm sure. But the only Fuji that matters to me is the X-Pro1, which is my "other camera." I can't abide EVFs, end of story, unless you're talking about some compact superzoom that can't be made any other way. This will be an interesting camera, but at a price that's most uninteresting to me. Anyhow, I'm still lifting my jaw up off the floor from witnessing the overwhelming excellence of my K-1 images. What would make this camera worth four K-1s?

[surfar]

four K-1s

= 2 Canon 5d(iv)= 1 MF Fuji


I'll just have the K1 and all the 2.8 zooms and pocket the change Thanks!

[ruggiex]

I guess Ricoh can respond by going bigger sensor if they can be made at reasonable prices, I doubt Fuji's lenses will cover full size MF... lol

[Rondec]

I really don't know how big a splash this going to really make in the medium format market. It feels like folks that are invested in a particular brand tend to stick with it due to cost -- same as what folks who have a full Canon/Nikon lens line up tend to stick with them. A new camera with a little different form factor and an EVF isn't going to sway them, at least to start with. The other thing is that it feels like full frame has cut into medium format sales. Clearly medium format is better, but when you compare the cost with, say, a K-1 and a couple of f2.8 zooms, it isn't close to cover the same range.

I think Pentax has shifted their attention to full frame and will lower their 645z prices to match Fuji and let it go at that. They may lose a little market share, but it is a small market and not likely to hurt them as a whole and by the time Fuji gets their six lenses out, there will probably be a follow up camera to the 645z ready to launch.

[LFLee]

I really don't know how big a splash this going to really make in the medium format market. It feels like folks that are invested in a particular brand tend to stick with it due to cost -- same as what folks who have a full Canon/Nikon lens line up tend to stick with them. A new camera with a little different form factor and an EVF isn't going to sway them, at least to start with. The other thing is that it feels like full frame has cut into medium format sales. Clearly medium format is better, but when you compare the cost with, say, a K-1 and a couple of f2.8 zooms, it isn't close to cover the same range.

I think Pentax has shifted their attention to full frame and will lower their 645z prices to match Fuji and let it go at that. They may lose a little market share, but it is a small market and not likely to hurt them as a whole and by the time Fuji gets their six lenses out, there will probably be a follow up camera to the 645z ready to launch.

oh well.

This is Fuji is 'big' because 1. price (1 lens combo start at <10k), 2. mirrorless - all MF lenses can potentially be adapt to use on it.

Plus if you think of high end CaNikon camera that is 5k - 6k range, this thing is "reasonably priced".

Pentax 645D and 645Z didn't get that much buzz like the GFX, because it is mirror and if you want to switch, you need to get Pentax glass as well.

with Fuji and Hassy using the same 'cropped 645' sensor like the 645z, it is only getting better for consumer like us.

[btnapa]

Will this be a 645 killer?

We knew 645Z's success was gonna attract competition. I just did not think it was going to come so quickly. Now Pentax has to up the ante. Perhaps by a mirrorless medium format body of its own or even better yet, by a full-frame mirrorless of 100MP or above.

We know Fuji is solid in its image quality and makes superb lenses. Who knows what Sony and the rest of the bunch are up to. I hope Pentax is paying attention. 645Z came out of nowhere and brought much needed press and credibility to Pentax. I hope Pentax does not drop the ball.

[cali92rs]

I don't see the 645Z as being a problem, or something that needs to be updated anytime soon.

The problem is that Fuji is releasing 3 lenses at launch then another 3 lenses by the end of next year.
That is 6 very high quality, modern, autofocus, WR lenses.

I, for the life of me, cannot understand why people are not impressed with that, especially when you consider how quickly they also built up their X-mount lens portfolio. Also when you consider that none of these are 3rd party rebrands.

[Rondec]

oh well.

This is Fuji is 'big' because 1. price (1 lens combo start at <10k), 2. mirrorless - all MF lenses can potentially be adapt to use on it.

Plus if you think of high end CaNikon camera that is 5k - 6k range, this thing is "reasonably priced".

Pentax 645D and 645Z didn't get that much buzz like the GFX, because it is mirror and if you want to switch, you need to get Pentax glass as well.

with Fuji and Hassy using the same 'cropped 645' sensor like the 645z, it is only getting better for consumer like us.

A 645z with a DFA 55mm f2.8 would be 8000, while the 645D body is still available for 4000 dollars new.

Anyway, I guess I just really meant that this might be a splash, but it is a splash in a tiny pond and I really doubt that it will steal many sales from full frame cameras. Yes, the top end sports full frame cameras are in the 7000 dollar range, but this camera is hardly competition for them, as they feature super-high frame rates and have available really long telephotos. I would guess its main competition would be cameras like the Canon 5Ds, D810 and K-1 -- all of which retail in the 1700 to 3000 dollar price range for body only.

I didn't mean to put down the digital medium format market, it is just a bit rich for me. Even the "low priced" options like the discontinued 645D are 4000 dollars and cheap lenses run in the 800 dollar range. A K-1 with 24-70 f2.8 seems to fit my purposes better and was a fraction of the cost of even this Fuji camera.

[Winder]

A 645z with a DFA 55mm f2.8 would be 8000, while the 645D body is still available for 4000 dollars new.

Anyway, I guess I just really meant that this might be a splash, but it is a splash in a tiny pond and I really doubt that it will steal many sales from full frame cameras. Yes, the top end sports full frame cameras are in the 7000 dollar range, but this camera is hardly competition for them, as they feature super-high frame rates and have available really long telephotos. I would guess its main competition would be cameras like the Canon 5Ds, D810 and K-1 -- all of which retail in the 1700 to 3000 dollar price range for body only.

I didn't mean to put down the digital medium format market, it is just a bit rich for me. Even the "low priced" options like the discontinued 645D are 4000 dollars and cheap lenses run in the 800 dollar range. A K-1 with 24-70 f2.8 seems to fit my purposes better and was a fraction of the cost of even this Fuji camera.

The Fuji manager made the statement that it would be a lot less than $10,000. This is s reference to the cost of the new Hassey. It wouldn't surprise me if the body only is $6000 which puts it in the same price as the 645z.

I would expect that guys like David Hobby over at Strobist and Zack Aries at DEDPXL · More Signal. Less Noise.will be blogging and showing it off everywhere. The 23mm lens on a sensor this size is going to make this a very strong landscape camera. The 110mm F/2 is going to fit the wedding and portrait needs. The 43mm (35mm equiv.) and the 63mm (50mm equiv) are going to be a great all around lenses. Wedding and Portrait is the largest single segment of professional photography. Those 4 lenses are all the lenses that group needs. Really the 43mm, 63mm, & 110mm are all that group really needs. Fuji has proven to be very good at marketing. Much better than Ricoh. Fuji is going to steel a lot of buyers from Hassy, Phase One, and Ricoh.

[photoptimist]

Although the short register distance would seem to permit adaptors for other MF lenses, the new Fuji mount is 100% electronic for aperture reading, aperture stop-down, lens EXIF data, leaf shutter, autofocus, etc.

Will Fuji share/license its lens interface, will an adapter maker bother to try to reverse engineer the signals from the 12 electronic contacts in the mount, and will the Fuji camera even work if a non-compliant, non-electronic lens is mounted to the camera? (For example, I would doubt that the camera would even open the shutter to provide a live view if the camera thinks there is no lens on the camera -- there's far too much risk of accidental damage to the sensor and shutter.)

If Fuji uses the business model of selling the body at cost (or below cost) to spur adoption and then making up the difference in lens sales, they are not going to make it easy for third parties to hack on an adapted lens. Even if they don't intentionally try to prevent 3rd party adaptors, the engineering of the mount and electronics will naturally assume a compliant lens is mounted and have no guarantees of correct operation for non-compliant lenses.

Fuji's camera and lenses will no doubt sell well as a reasonably-priced, compact MF system. But I doubt it will eviscerate the rest of the MF market for bottom-line-focused pros who have glass and investments in other systems. And it won't interest those MF photographers that prefer an OVF or the larger film-based MF formats.

[LFLee]

A 645z with a DFA 55mm f2.8 would be 8000, while the 645D body is still available for 4000 dollars new.

Anyway, I guess I just really meant that this might be a splash, but it is a splash in a tiny pond and I really doubt that it will steal many sales from full frame cameras. Yes, the top end sports full frame cameras are in the 7000 dollar range, but this camera is hardly competition for them, as they feature super-high frame rates and have available really long telephotos. I would guess its main competition would be cameras like the Canon 5Ds, D810 and K-1 -- all of which retail in the 1700 to 3000 dollar price range for body only.

I didn't mean to put down the digital medium format market, it is just a bit rich for me. Even the "low priced" options like the discontinued 645D are 4000 dollars and cheap lenses run in the 800 dollar range. A K-1 with 24-70 f2.8 seems to fit my purposes better and was a fraction of the cost of even this Fuji camera.

The Fuji manager made the statement that it would be a lot less than $10,000. This is s reference to the cost of the new Hassey. It wouldn't surprise me if the body only is $6000 which puts it in the same price as the 645z.

I would expect that guys like David Hobby over at Strobist and Zack Aries at DEDPXL · More Signal. Less Noise.will be blogging and showing it off everywhere. The 23mm lens on a sensor this size is going to make this a very strong landscape camera. The 110mm F/2 is going to fit the wedding and portrait needs. The 43mm (35mm equiv.) and the 63mm (50mm equiv) are going to be a great all around lenses. Wedding and Portrait is the largest single segment of professional photography. Those 4 lenses are all the lenses that group needs. Really the 43mm, 63mm, & 110mm are all that group really needs. Fuji has proven to be very good at marketing. Much better than Ricoh. Fuji is going to steel a lot of buyers from Hassy, Phase One, and Ricoh.

Yes, as Rondec mentioned, this Fuji is 'huge' - price wise, they said "way under 10k" for a combo that include that pretty neat EVF. Being mirrorless, many see their non Fuji MF lenses now have a place to mount on to. It is, also about the lenses they put out, not only WR, they already have that 110mm f2 lens, which likely to have wedding photographer rush to get it.... you know the price of getting Hassy 110mm f2 lens adapted to Pentax 645 by bokeh factory? it's crazy money. With Pentax 645Z, the somewhat 'native' fast lens is the 67 105mm f2.4 lens.

This Fuji is huge.