Industry News
“We don’t negotiate with hobbyists” is just one laugh-out-loud line among many in a new Fujifilm GFX 100S video—part of the company’s ad launch of its very compact and affordable new medium-format camera. The commercial, posted by Fujifilm to its Instagram account, pokes fun at the GFX 100S rumors leaking tech specs and the price weeks and months before the camera was officially announced by the company yesterday. The video also delves into “the truth” about the leaks, and by the end we discover that yes, some rumors are indeed true.
In the commercial, a masked trio gets their hands on the company’s “precious GFX 100S” after a Fujifilm engineer leaves it behind at a breakfast buffet while on vacation in Oahu (if that reference makes you think of that iPhone prototype left by an Apple software engineer at a bar in California years ago, it seems like it is supposed to). The thieves threaten to delete sensitive company campaign photos and product sizzle footage unless their demands are met.
[Read: Fujifilm’s GFX Medium-Format Roadmap Adds 3 New Lenses]
Turns out the masked bandits just want the camera to retail at $5,999, much to the disbelief and relief of the camera executive and her colleagues listening to the demands. “Wait, seriously, I mean, that is the price, down to the dollar,” says the exec. Suddenly the people making the demands are the ones surprised as they can’t believe that the camera has “all of the power of the GFX100” in a compact size at a fraction of the price. “You know what, just leak it,” says the executive. “Our treat.” A teasing voiceover confirms it: “Fujifilm GFX 100S. Some rumors are true.”
The ad, just one day old, already has over 40,000 views on Instagram and almost 200 comments. One poster wrote, “LOOOOOOOOL, I can’t breathe,” while another said, “I can’t even describe how much I loved this. Genius.” Another summed it up perfectly: “Fujifilm leaking Fujifilm 👁️👄👁️.” And the folks behind Fuji Rumors, where the announcement of the GFX 100 was supposedly first leaked, are just tickled pink.
“Here on FujiRumors, we leaked the GFX 100S already months ago, and we shared the price of $5,999, plus several other specs in the past few weeks and months,” says a statement on its site. “But how is FujiRumors able to leak all that stuff? Well, the latest Fujifilm video about the brand new (and let’s be honest, very amazing) Fujifilm GFX 100S tells the true story behind the leaks. Well, looks like our leaks inspired a Fujifilm ad…and it’s just great to see Fujifilm has such a great sense of humor.”
My advice is to grab a coffee, have a seat and take a few minutes out of your day to watch the ad if you haven’t seen it already. I promise you will get a kick out of it. And who knows, maybe you’ll even want to get your hands on the camera too. I know I do.