Soon Fujifilm will launch the Fujifilm GFX Eterna (as well as this new GF lens).
Right in time for the biggest video-centric photography fair, the IBC2025 in Amsterdam.
To put it down in the kindest way possible, the reaction of most of the FujiRumors community about this camera was… well… let’s say not really enthusiastic.
“What a waste of resources.”
“Fujifilm is taking the wrong path.”
“Who cares about medium format cinema cameras…”
I guess this could sum up the general feeling about it.
But today I’d like to tell you that even if you hate the concept of a dedicated medium format video camera, we all might profit from it.
You see, with the GFX Eterna, Fujifilm isn’t just dipping a toe into video — they are making a statement. A medium format cinema camera is not a half-hearted side project; it’s a commitment to filmmakers, and that commitment will force them to push video autofocus further than they ever have before.
In other words: the GFX Eterna could force Fujifilm to make their biggest autofocus leap since they launched subject detection on the Fujifilm X-H2S in 2022 – well, actually… if we really want to be precise… Fujifilm first offered subject/animal detection on this 2010 Fujifilm camera, as we told you here.
Because video autofocus is one of the most difficult challenges for any camera manufacturer to master. It’s a constantly moving target — literally — requiring lightning-fast processing, precise subject tracking, and intelligent prediction algorithms.
And you know what that means?
It means that when Fujifilm invests heavily in AF technology for video, those improvements inevitably trickle down into stills. The algorithms, refined processing, and subject recognition improvements they might develop for GFX Eterna could also make their way into X and GFX still cameras.
So even if you never plan to shoot a single frame of video in your life, this “waste of resources” could end up being one of the best things Fujifilm has done for autofocus in years.
Is this wishful thinking?
Maybe. But big leaps often come when a company steps outside its comfort zone, as Fujifilm is now doing with the GFX Eterna.
In any case, the Fujifilm GFX Eterna represents a big chance for Fujifilm, not only in regards to the camera itself, but to the necessary firmware refinements it will require.
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