Photo news: Fuji's new category, Canon's teaser and a fan

Contents

You're trying to write a column that sheds some light on the photography industry beyond the technology, and then your colleague Peter Nonhoff-Arps comes along and simply takes your work away from you. Because he has already categorized the GFX100RF from Fujifilm, and very well at that, as it deserves to be categorized. Namely as a representative of the category "noble compact camera", only with a medium format sensor. And also with a view to the X100 series, which Fuji has been keeping in such short supply for years that the hype just won't die down. Incidentally, he has already held it in his hand and sniffed the air with it. His initial assessment: lighter and more compact than expected, easy to use, some fun, not absolutely necessary features and definitely a competitor to Leica. So no disparagement here, rather: Chapeau, Peter!

The always-on medium format

So let's think about what we can do with it. The Fuji is not really discreet, an inconspicuous street photo needs at least a little practice. As it fits into a large jacket – now in spring rather stupidly – or small bag, the GFX100RF could probably open up new fields as an always-on camera. For example, landscape or macro photography, where you can use the high resolution of 100 megapixels with crops. A panorama as a single shot? Why not.

From a market point of view, Fujifilm also shows with this camera where the smaller manufacturers can make their mark behind the heavyweights Canon, Nikon and Sony. Those who do not have to develop the expensive flagships on a regular basis and cover all price points can make themselves comfortable in niches. It is safe to say that without the success of the X100, there would have been no GFX100RF.

Canon's double V from next week

But even the really big companies have to react faster and faster to trends and, if possible, make what the competition does well even better. Sony surprised us years ago with compact cameras for web video, which has long since become more than just "vlogging". Everyone followed suit, and now Canon is apparently planning the big push. Via social media such as X, the company has announced the launch of two cameras on March 26, 2025. The graphic for this contains a large "V", which obviously stands for "video".

Such teasers are deliberately designed to keep people guessing, so the camera on the left is clearly recognizable as the Powershot V1 announced a few weeks ago at the CP+ trade fair. The device in the right half of the picture is darkened to make it difficult to recognize. It just looks like a viewfinder-less compact camera with a comparatively larger lens. Or if the rumor mills are to be believed: Like the Canon EOS R50 V, an update of the well-known APS-C model, only with a focus on video. At this point, it's not worth speculating any more, because we'll be smarter next week.

Camera cooler with Peltier element

Why should a small fan for system cameras cost almost 70 euros? Because it's not just a fan, but a thermoelectric cooling system. Yes, we had to look twice at the new product from Smallrig - according to the manufacturer, it really does contain a Peltier element. If you want to understand the physics behind it, you can follow the previous link, for everyone else it's simplified: a Peltier is heated by electricity on one side and cooled on the other. In this case, the fan cools the heat sink, which in turn cools the Peltier, not the camera directly.

The heat from the camera is dissipated at the back under the opened display, with a silicone heat conducting pad providing contact. It all sounds like a wild construction, but it is quite common in the PC sector – except for the Peltier. Thermal pads are used all the time in graphics cards for voltage regulators and memory chips, for example. Peltiers, however, are not. They have been tried again and again for PCs, but have not been successful. These concepts, also known as "thermoelectric coolers" (TEC), are particularly questionable due to their low energy efficiency; often more energy has to be put into cooling the Peltier than a processor itself consumes. There are much more efficient options.

Filming for longer with cooling

After this excursion into cooling technology, back to cameras: Smallrig's cooler is designed to fit Canon's R5 II and R5, two of the most popular top-of-the-range cameras. Without a snap-in adapter, i.e. only clamped, the device should also be suitable for some Sonys such as the A7CR and the ZV series. It should ensure longer filming without switching off due to overheating. And also extend battery life, which – briefly back to PC technology – makes perfect sense: Cooler semiconductors, in this case the sensor, require less power to function. Just how long this will last is questionable: Smallrig claims up to twice the battery life, depending on the video format.

This would have to be tested thoroughly, as the technical data states that the Peltier element supplied via USB-C can only absorb 12 watts of power and can therefore dissipate less heat in purely mathematical terms. It is worth checking how cool the camera housing really gets. After all, the condensation that is usually feared with Peltiers is probably ruled out with these values. Nevertheless, a large battery should be planned for hours of filming, and that's just for the cooler. And Smallrig doesn't even want to reveal how the noise of the sensor changes, which depends on many factors. The same applies to the volume that develops at a switchable 4500 or 7000 rpm.

Why are we explaining this here? Because it's a refreshing concept that could perhaps work quite well. And Canon's original accessory, which only blows fresh air into the camera without Peltier, costs a whole 570 euros. This is the"CF-R20EP fan handle". Because camera manufacturers are charging such fantastic prices, suppliers such as Smallrig are always coming around the corner with more technically sophisticated designs at a lower price.

Sigma's charismatic CEO

One such third-party manufacturer that has repositioned itself over the last ten years or so is Sigma. In our recommendation as a long read for the weekend, Petapixel focuses on its CEO Kazuto Yamaki, who only took over the leadership of the Japanese company in 2012. With a strictly market-oriented product range based around the Art, Contemporary and Sport series, Sigma has reinvented itself, and this is also due to a new style. It is rare to hear from a Western CEO that, as Yamaki says, he also wants to ensure "that everyone in the company is happy."

(nie)