It’s Time for a Panoramic Fujifilm X100: It Would Be a Large Hit

For the previous yr, I’ve been focusing primarily on panoramic images. It began with the Hasselblad XPan, which led me to buy the Fujifilm TX-1, and even made me go additional into the 3D printed 120 format world with Sasquatch, CCB, and Exposing Engineering. But that’s all analog, and digital photographers deserve an possibility, too.

It is definitely flabbergasting to me that, regardless of how beloved the Hasselblad XPan is, there has by no means been a devoted digital panoramic digicam. We have sensors of all sizes and in a number of shapes, but no firm has determined to create a device that mimics the XPan expertise since manufacturing of the system was discontinued in 2006.

The closest most photographers will come to a digital panoramic is what’s created on the iPhone, and that’s simply the worst. The distortion and perspective of that sort of panoramic simply doesn’t look nice. Photographers deserve higher than that.

Part of me understands that almost all corporations wouldn’t have any curiosity in pursuing a panoramic digital digicam as a result of it could be seen as too area of interest. But Fujifilm has no excuse: it’s the king of area of interest. The Instax Mini Evo Cinema, the X half, the X100 collection, your entire GFX line (together with the GFX100RF), the FinePix collection (significantly the DSLRs), the listing goes on. Fujifilm makes cameras that encourage pleasure, and that usually means specializing in merchandise to attraction to small teams of customers.

“We’re trying to keep this photography world interesting, I would say,” Yuji Igarashi, General Manager of Professional Imaging Group, Imaging Solutions Division, Fujifilm Corporation, instructed PetaPixel at CP+ 2026. “So more than experimenting, we just want to deliver the possibility for users to have fun.”

What I suggest isn’t even an experiment, however a confirmed success. It would additionally most positively qualify as enjoyable. With that spirit in thoughts, I’m making an official plea: give us a panoramic digital digicam within the spirit of the TX-1 and put it within the X100 line. I’ll even provide the identify at no cost: the X100P.

The TX-1 and Fujifilm’s Legacy of Panoramic

For these unfamiliar, the TX-1 and the extraordinarily restricted successor, the TX-2, had been Japan-only variations of the Hasselblad XPan. As a part of its collaborative manufacturing settlement with Hasselblad to provide the XPan, Fujifilm requested that or not it’s allowed to promote a model of the digicam with its personal branding on it solely in Japan, whereas the remainder of the world would comprehend it beneath Hasselblad branding.

I argue that what Fujifilm made for itself is among the many most stunning cameras ever made. The TX-1 is an absolute stunner. Rather than the all-black that the XPan options, the TX-1 is a mixture of titanium (or champagne, in case you should) and wooden that proved to be timeless. But this digicam doesn’t simply look good, it presents an entirely totally different photographic expertise.

“They say the camera you use doesn’t matter, and the photographer is the most important thing for a photo. I agree to a large extent, but also, enjoying your camera is a huge part of feeling inspired enough to actually go out and shoot,” David Imel wrote on Fujilove back in 2020.

“I think the Fujifilm TX-1 is the most beautiful camera created, and by god does it inspire me to go out and shoot… While I’ve collected a few different film cameras over the last year, almost strictly because of fascination with their designs, I still use my Fujifilm TX-1 the most. It’s the most enjoyable camera I’ve ever used, and I can attribute my love of film photography to it directly. Because of this, I can say Fujifilm kicked off both my love of photography in general and more specifically, film photography in the last year. And for that I’m forever grateful.”

David unfold that love for the TX-1 to me, and simply final month, it unfold additional to PetaPixel‘s Sarah Teng. The three of us all agree: this camera is special. We also agree that it is a tragedy that more photographers don’t get an opportunity to expertise it.

Fujifilm has each functionality to proper this injustice.

The Case for an X100P

I’ve made this argument earlier than, and I’ve even posed it to Fujifilm’s executives and designers immediately. Take the identical physique fashion of the XPan and TX-1 and put two Fujifilm 40-megapixel APS-C sensors aspect by aspect in it.

This would permit for the creation of 80-megapixel panoramic photographs captured by means of a single outsized lens, identical to Fujifilm needed to do with the TX-1, the place these lenses have, successfully (a minimum of horizontally), medium format protection. However, it didn’t end in a lens mount that’s anyplace close to the dimensions of 120 format lenses, in all probability due to a sensible software of flange distance. It wouldn’t be fairly the identical on this case because it’s not two 35mm frames aspect by aspect, however a lot smaller APS-C frames, however there can be the expectation of an outsized lens.

I imagine {that a} trendy, digital panoramic digicam might be made within the spirit of the X100 collection to simplify manufacturing. While sure, I’d completely love an interchangeable lens system just like the TX-1, I acknowledge that’s very costly. This digicam would require specialised optics, and people would solely work with this digicam, so it actually doesn’t make sense to do it in 2026.

So, a fixed-lens system is the way in which to go.

“But Jaron, you can just crop any photo to be panoramic, why do you need a dedicated camera?”

I take difficulty with this stance as a result of it simply feels mistaken to me to throw away pixels like that and say “it’s panoramic.” Sure, you possibly can completely shoot panoramic-style photographs with the Fujifilm GFX100RF, nevertheless it’s not the identical, and it actually doesn’t really feel the identical. It doesn’t make you, as a photographer, shoot in a different way or suppose in a different way.

Beyond that, it’s inarguably totally different. We did the mathematics:

Placing two 40-megapixel Fujifilm X-Trans CMOS 5 picture sensors aspect by aspect would measure 47 x 15.6mm, which is a 3:1 side ratio with a complete imaging space of 733mm².

One 102-megapixel GFX picture sensor measures 43.8 x 32mm, which is a 4:3 side ratio with a complete imaging space of 1,401mm², nonetheless we’re assuming a panoramic dialogue so we’ll have to crop that. Cropped to roughly the identical side ratio utilizing the built-in 65:24 panoramic crop (2.7:1 side ratio), that’s roughly 43.8 x 16mm with a complete imaging space of 700mm².

Two APS-C sensors side-by-side would give a photograph measuring 15,456 x 5,152, or 79.6 megapixels. The cropped GFX sensor produces 11648 x 4304 photographs, which is a mere 50.1 megapixels.

Clearly, this devoted panoramic digital digicam can be worlds higher on the process it could be greatest fitted to than the present GFX100RF. It’s no contest.

We additionally estimate that the picture circle of this proposed panoramic sensor can be 49mm, which any GF lens may cowl. I counsel utilizing a model of the GF45mm f/2.8 on this X100P, which might be equal to 39.3mm f/2.45 on a full-frame sensor. Obviously, that conversion is a bit more sophisticated after we take a look at this distinctive panoramic format, however we’re simply going with it for now for the sake of simplicity.

I’ll even make the engineering of this lens simpler: we don’t want it to be that quick. Just just like the XPan and the TX-1 lenses all begin at f/4, I argue that no matter lens Fujifilm creates for this technique can do the identical. The 40-megapixel sensor has wonderful dynamic vary and ISO efficiency, so being a bit slower to begin wouldn’t trouble me one bit.

This panoramic digicam wouldn’t simply be a panoramic digicam, both. I’d count on it to work identical to the XPan and the TX-1, and permit photographers to toggle a change that may permit them to take an ordinary 3:2 side ratio body, ought to they need. That would flip this proposed X100P again right into a 40-megapixel digicam with an equal 67.5mm lens. Once once more, that provides this digicam a singular characteristic, as a result of what fixed-lens system offers photographers the power to shoot with a beautiful mid-telephoto portrait size like that?

This digicam wouldn’t want IBIS, and I think about eradicating it could unlock a ton of house within the physique, which might make designing this a lot simpler. It would profit from Fujifilm’s wonderful hybrid OVF/EVF, so we’d wish to hold that (despite the fact that making it a real rangefinder can be superior, it doesn’t make loads of sense financially, and autofocus is extremely valued, so we’ll cede this and permit modernity to step in). Seeing a widescreen, panoramic rear LCD can be tremendous cool, too. A movie simulation dial can be very a lot at residence on this digicam, as would the opposite guide dials that Fujifilm cameras are identified for. If you actually needed to strike on the coronary heart of analog lovers, Fujifilm may stick the ISO dial on the entrance of the digicam to imitate the one on the TX-1. It does look very cool.

Look, I’m versatile on the dials and button structure for this proposed X100P. To me, get the sensor and the lens proper, and the remaining falls proper into line. There isn’t a ton of have to re-engineer the horse right here — Fujifilm’s TX-1 is already a incredible place to begin.

A Panoramic X100 Just Makes Sense

As talked about, I did float this concept to a lead Fujifilm designer, and the response was curiosity, however he additionally expressed trepidation that constructing such a digicam would find yourself being too costly. Two sensors successfully double the value of one of the vital costly elements of the digicam.

I don’t care.

We have already got specialised, extremely costly cameras in the marketplace — simply take a look at the Sony a1 II that prices over $6,000 now. I can gesture wildly on the whole enterprise mannequin of Leica as one other instance of expense not mattering. I perceive that this isn’t going to be an reasonably priced digicam, however neither is a used TX-1. Doubling the price of an X100 VI appears very affordable to me for the type of expertise this digicam would give photographers.

If enjoyable, distinctive cameras are as essential to Fujifilm because it says they’re, then there isn’t any purpose not to do that. Photographing in panoramic is among the most rewarding experiences as an artist I’ve ever had, and I desperately need extra photographers to have the prospect to strive it.

Image credit: Photos of the Fujifilm TX-1 by David Imel. Mockups constituted of official Fujifilm product photographs. All others, except in any other case famous, by Jaron Schneider and captured on the Fujifilm TX-1 or Hasselblad XPan.