DPReview has an interview of Fujifilm executives about the GFX 100RF.
Part of the reasoning is that the GFX100RF is a much more expensive camera than the X100VI, which means it needs to feel more premium. “At the beginning, when we discussed how we should design the camera, we already knew about the price point. So this camera should be more luxurious to match the price point,” said Oishi.
There is one way to avoid the supply problems: make it unaffordable. This sounds tongue in cheek, but the X100VI is still unobtainium, so is the X-M5…, the latter being one of the least expensive models.
A major factor in its luxury design is the top plate, which is milled out of a single block of aluminum—it’s the first time Fujifilm has used this type of manufacturing process.
Later, during the Fujikina event, Yoneda told us that turning an aluminum ingot into a GFX100RF top plate takes around five hours.
For so much I love well built devices, made out of metal, this looks like overkill to make it cost CA$7,000. This doesn’t make it a bad camera, but the law of diminishing returns clearly applies here.
To me, the unique feature of this camera, that also applies with the other GFX 100, is the possibility to shoot in 65:24 (or any other) aspect ratio and still have a large amount of pixels. And the GFX 100RF offers it in a smaller package. Fujifilm could offer the crops in the viewfinder for X-series and I’m sure it would work for many people with about half of the 40 Megapixels that the X100VI do offer.