FUJIFILM GFX ETERNA 55
“The camera is built around the GFX100 II sensor but in a chassis and workflow cinema crews expect”
The large format cinema camera with a sensor shape that changes how you shoot FRAME-CHANGER FUJIFILM
WORDS ADAM DUCKWORTH
F ujifilm has made mirrorless cameras for years that shoot amazing video, but the GFX Eterna 55 is something else entirely. This is its first purpose-built digital cinema camera and as with its mirrorless range, the Eterna doesn’t just chase the same full-frame checklist as everyone else. Instead, it leans hard into what Fujifilm can uniquely bring to cinema, which is large format imaging, great colour science and a distinctly tall sensor that genuinely affects composition, lens behaviour and therefore the look of the images. Our own test of the Eterna wasn’t in a full-on cinema-style shoot with finely controlled lighting, but a typical run-and-gun commercial filmmaking scenario. Yet it still delivered unique footage, thanks to its large sensor needing lenses with correspondingly longer focal lengths to give the same viewpoint as full-frame. Just like the big boys use in Hollywood. The real question is whether that difference, as well as the cinema- centric ergonomics, is enough to
justify its high-end positioning for indie filmmakers. Because, at £13,998/$16,500 body only, it might not be in Arri Alexa territory but certainly faces tough competition from the likes of Red’s V-Raptor or the Sony Burano. So to see if it’s right for you, let’s take a look at seven key issues as we answer the Eterna question. What going large means The camera is built around the GFX100 II sensor and processor, but in a chassis and workflow that cinema crews expect. That’s robust I/O, timecode and genlock, serious monitoring, internal electronic ND and a more production-friendly body. This is far from a hybrid that happens to shoot video very well – like the GFX100 II. It’s Fujifilm’s first official step into modern digital filmmaking. Of course, the headline feature is the tallest ‘large format’ sensor you can buy. The 43.8x32.9mm 8K sensor is roughly 75% larger than full-frame, with a native 4:3 aspect ratio. Fujifilm frames this as ‘large format’ in
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