Fujifilm’s medium-format GFX100 camera received rave reviews when it launched last year. It’s just a shame that it costs $10,000.
Anyone who has splurged on the device — or is perhaps planning to do so this holiday season — will be interested to know that a firmware update released by Fujifilm on Wednesday means the GFX100 is now capable of 400-megapixel images — a significant bump up from the 102-megapixel images that the device had been producing.
So, how on earth does a simple firmware update allow this megapixel magic to occur?
The process involves the GFX100 taking a series of RAW images while using its in-body stabilization and pixel-shift multishot technology that moves the image sensor ever so slightly between shots. The resulting 16 images are then combined using Fujifilm’s new Pixel Shift Combiner software to create a 400-megapixel Digital Negative (DNG) RAW file that can then be manipulated using professional editing apps such as Capture One.
Of course, for most photographers, 102 megapixels is more than enough (way more!), so who would be interested in working with images containing almost four times that?
According to Fujifilm, its pixel-shift multishot function reproduces such fine detail and color accuracy that it makes the feature “the perfect choice for digital archiving and preserving works of art, cultural assets, and any other applications that require immense color fidelity and the reproduction of fine details.”
Fujifilm offers more information on its website about the technology behind the new feature, as well as some examples showing the kind of detail it can achieve.
Digital Trends’ hands-on review of the GFX100 found that the device captured incredible images “while offering a friendly user experience uncommon to medium format,” adding that it was “a dream camera.” In other words, it’s just the price that’s a bit of a nightmare.
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