> Purchased for a reportedly svelte $125 million, Ricoh has de-invested from medium format at a time when Fuji, Phase, and Hasselblad have successfully expanded the market.
Interestingly, their most profitable products in recent years don't appear to be from their professional or pro-sumer camera lines, but rather their relatively low-tech Instax cameras [1].
[1] https://www.fujirumors.com/latest-fujifilm-financial-results...
Nevermind that they have a successful line of digital APS-C cameras plus the aforementioned medium format cameras and are a pioneer of professional-quality mirrorless cameras. They're also still growing.
I’ve been thinking about one of the sony alphas for a while now
All of their cameras take great photos regardless and their glass is great. Just read some reviews.
Fuji’s medium-format line is called GFX; I don’t know too much about it except that it’s well regarded and inexpensive by medium-format standards. I would look into it if you are interested in landscape photography or high-resolution studio work and you are willing to spend serious money to make that happen.
Fuji’s APS-C line is focused on producing something which is pleasant to physically handle and use. It’s historically been smaller and handier than full-frame competitors and focused on physical controls for a lot of core settings. The different models within the APS-C range are distinguished as much by their form factors and controls as by their technical capabilities. Some of these advantages have been eroded over the years as they have competed with bigger cameras, particularly in video. But they have just released the X-H2 and X-H2S, targeted at action and event photographers, which should free the classic X-T and X-Pro series to return to their roots.
Concrete APS-C models to check out: X-T4 if you want an SLR-style mirrorless with more physical controls; X-Pro3 if you love old rangefinders; X-H2 and X-H2S if you want a PASM dial or heavy video. Fuji is expected to announce the X-T5 on November 2, and the rumors have it looking good, so I’d keep an eye out for reviews.
If I had to buy a digital camera today I'd go for an x100v or an xe-4 with a film era lens