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Who would have thought...
The overall size of the Fujifilm medium format sensor, such as the GFX 50 and GFX 100 series is 44x33mm in size. But apparently is made out of 4 smaller sensors stiched together. Think of 4x Micro Four Thirds sensors á 25 MP turning into a larger, 100 MP 44x33mm sensor.
Makes sense, doesn't it ?
4 smaller sensors stiched together
However, awesome Jim Kasson who appears to be aguy with deep photo "spectroscopic" knowledge, analysing just about every aspect behind digital cameras and lenses - in really deep, and highly technical analytic ways. I have never seen elsewhere - wanted to test the rumor / discussions about the claim that the Sony 44x33mm medium format sensors used in Fujifilm GFX cameras, are in fact made of 4 stiched smaler sensors.
He confirmed that it is the case. But added, that as long you are not an astronomer who is doing astro photography for stacking, it has no significance for all other photography.
Here is the link -> Jim Kasson "https://blog.kasson.com/gfx-100s/gfx-100s-sensor-is-a-4-shot-stitch/"
Fuji GFX 100s
Fuji GFX 50R
Additional Strange pattern (100 MP sensor)
Notice also, that there is a strange horizontal pattern in the Fuji GFX 100s sensor (while GFX 50r looks smooth). I have seen these fine stripes also in real images - which baffled me. That's one of the reasons i dislike the 100 MP sensor a lot.
However, I am not a GFX 100s user, and my opinion is totally amateur based without any real knowledge - so keep that in mind.
Maybe that pattern comes out when you push the shadows (lifting them, making them brighter). It may also have something to do with that the 100 MP sensor contains PDAF sites (in order to provide better AF), which the 50 MP sensor does not.
Regardless, in high ISO images from the Fujifilm 100s, i was put off by what i saw, containing this banding behavior - so, I guess that's why i never got impressed by the Fujifilm GFX 100s when it came out. In essence, the noise behavior looked pretty noisy (at 100%) kind of like a Micro Four Third cameras from Panasonic with their (back then) new 25 MP sensor.
Made Sony took that "Panasonic" sensor, but 4 pieces together, into what would end up as a 100 MP sensor in the Fuji GFX 100s camera ? Or something like that.
Wouldn't surprise me...
Leica M9 also was made out of 2 sensors
Occationally i got a rare glitch in images made with the fullframe, 24x36mm sensor camera, and realized, that the Leica M9 actually was using two smaller sensors stiched together. Occationally it is visible, but happens very rarely (thanks god).
Cheaper to make ? I am sure
I would speculate that real true medium format sensors, would be still exorbantly expensive and difficukt (?) to manufactor. Unless, it is all jsut a cynical, economical calculation on behalf of both sensor makers and camera companies, that it is simply far cheaper, to use 4 small sensors by putting them togetherinto a larger one.
The production of sensors on a larger plate, often contains faulty ones. SO, if you have to throw away a large 33x44mm sensor is more costly, than if you throw away a smaller faulty one, lets' say 22x17mm sensor (isn't that size a Micro Four Third type of size ?) It is after all, just sensor for the normal geek population, not scientists or something like that.
Funny, the concepts behind a lot of thinking and executing. And now we know why they finally offered larger, albeit not that much larger, medium format sensors for the super geeks. IT was then Fuji who made those sensor based cameras more affordable to a larger audience since 2017.
We see these stiched 4-part sensors as Sony variants, in the size of 44x33mm, used in Pentax 645z, Hasselblad X1D, X2D series, and Fujifilm GFX 50 and 100 series.
Oh well.
Still - a good job was done ?
Nevertheless, they did a good job putting 4 smaller sensors together in a way that it normally isn't visible when you use them on those medium format sensors... Imagine if that idea had failed, and you would constantly get images with show 4 slightly different results in the photo, due to4 sensors actually being used. That would be a pain in the ass to correct, if even correctable at all. |
