The Fujifilm GFX 50R is the biggest and the meanest

I just had my first hands-on experience with Fujifilm's new medium-format mirrorless camera, the GFX 50R, which is inside a big studio camera but looks like a little game portable shooting. My first impression is that it's both. According to the expanded standards of medium format cameras, the 50R can be described as slim and compact – it's an inch less than its GFX 50S brother – and yet it stays in a separate category of cameras adopting the telemeter style, such as Fujifilm's own X-E3 or X-Pro2. So it's both huge for a range finder and tiny for a medium-sized shooter. Fujifilm says it designed the 50R for more mobile purposes, namely street, wedding and documentary photography – and while it's still a large camera, the 50R may be up to the task.

The best analogy I can offer for the 50R is that it's similar to Fujifilm's X-Pro2. The body and controls of the camera immediately reminded me of the Pro2, but on a larger scale and with greater weight. And yet – that's the constant contradiction of the 50R – she feels lighter than her size would suggest. So I guess the pictures do justice to its weight more than its volume.

Compared to the 50S, the 50R loses the generous but huge electronic viewfinder in the center of the camera and replaces it with a smaller, more integrated viewfinder on the left of the body. It's a waste, there's no way around it, but the EVF of the new camera is still very good, and it allows Fujifilm to significantly reduce the depth of the camera. The 50R can certainly be packed in bags and fit into spaces that the 50S has never been able to find before. Again, the 50S handle offers a more comfortable and comfortable grip, as well as a nice LCD monitor on the top that gives you an overview of your shooting settings. Much of me is still partial in the design of the previous camera, which seems better suited to the larger dimensions of a medium format camera.

Given the major breakthrough that the 50S already represented in terms of making the medium format more accessible and portable, the 50R could not go a lot further, but Fujifilm has made things even better without sacrificing too much. Choosing between the two, if you are lucky enough to be in such a position, will eventually return to what you set as a priority. If it's the best viewfinder and the best ergonomics, go for the 50S. And if you prefer to take the camera (almost) everywhere with you, the 50R is your choice.

The fact that we are even talking about a telemetry-type camera is a proof of the transformative power of mirrorless designs. Yes, the GFX 50R beat the recently launched X-T3 by Fujifilm, which is the Fujifilm model most photographers will buy or save, but it carries a huge 51.4 megapixel sensor, which makes it much more deadly. the reach of humans. With a touch-sensitive tilt-on display – which lets you pinch to zoom like a smartphone – and Fujifilm's familiar range of dials and touch controls, the 50R is one of the least intimidating medium-sized cameras. The Hasselblad X1D is smoother and minimalist, but it also costs a few thousand dollars more.

At $ 4,500, the 50R significantly reduces its mid-size competitors, including Fujifilm's own 50S. So, this new camera is smaller, lighter and cheaper than most medium format shooting games, even though it's bigger, heavier and more expensive than most cameras.

Photographs by Vlad Savov / The Verge