The GFX Effect?

I have been keeping a close eye on used prices of medium format digital gear for many years, mostly for Phase One/Mamiya cameras and to a lesser degree for Rollei and Hasselblad camera systems.

When Fujifilm delivered the GFX 50s there was a definite effect on the price of used Phase One gear. This downward trend accellerated even further and faster with the release of the GFX 100 which, lets face it, is very comparable competition to the highest quality Phase One backs available today at a fraction of the price.

This blog post is not going to attempt to weigh up the pros and cons of a Fujilfilm GFX 100 against a Phase One XF IQ4, I have not handled or shot either camera and I am not going to guess. All I want to really discuss here is the obvious effect on second hand gear by the presence of the Fujifilm GFX line and also the latest 35mm mirrorless high resolution cameras released recently such as the 60.2MP Sony A7R IV.

Prices of used Phase One gear are dropping so far and so fast that for me, as an owner of a fair amount of this gear, it is quickly getting to the stage where there is little point in actually selling it, the gear is worth more to me than I could get for cash in the used market.

I have supplied here some screenshots from a certain very famous auction website. These are showing items on sale currently in the UK.

I distinctly remember when the 150mm AF f/2.8 IF lens came out, it was more money than I could afford, something like £1,700 and we are going back quite a few years. I had to make do with its older and cheaper cousin, the 150mm f/3.5. Now look, £699 or best offer and no-one wants it!

And what about a Schneider Kreuznach 80mm AF leaf shutter lens? There’s one on sale right now for £300 and free shipping and no-one wants it either.

A Phase One DF camera body anyone? This one shown here is in very good condition. Starting bid is £200 and no-one has bid yet.

But, what’s the point in buying a DF anyway when all you can do with it is fit a digital back to it and no-one wants a used Phase One digital back either! For what I mean, take a look at this next screenshot. The item was in France, but there is no VAT or customs duty for buying it here in the UK. Admittedly it had a high shot count but there are no moving parts so shot count does not mean much for digital backs.

Yes. You saw it right. A fully working and good condition (but high shot count) Phase One P65+ selling in auction for under £1,800. Unbelievable if it wasn’t true. Shipping was about £30.

To be honest right now, a Mamiya or Phase One 645AF camera body or a Mamiya 645 AFD fetches a higher price on the used market than a Phase One DF or DF+. The simple reason is that those older camera models can be used with a film back whereas the DF cameras can’t. People are still interested in shooting film, in fact more so today than five years ago, so the used value of film cameras is actually on the rise.

I needed to buy a new film magazine for my Mamiya AFD recently and had to resort to sourcing one from Japan and I paid almost £250 for it. £250 for a film back! Crazy!

Perhaps in the years to come we will see a resurgence in people’s desire for old-school CCD sensor medium format cameras again, CCD sensors bigger than the 33x44mm CMOS sensors found in Fujifilm and Hasselblad mirrorless medium format cameras currently. But for now, prices are rock bottom and may even go down further.

So if you’re interested, you can pick up a Phase One DF plus Schneider leaf shutter lens for around £500, and then just wait for another P65+ to come along for the bargain of the century.