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Comment by sudosysgen | Hacker News Reader

Maybe! A fixed lens médium format caméra would be very... Interesting to the very least.

It was not unheard-of back in the film days. The cameras, like the Fuji GW690, were not exactly small, but you could carry them around on a neck-strap and use them without a tripod.

1. http://camera-wiki.org/wiki/Fujica_GW690

True, but the inherent costs of a medium format sensor (not even taking into account the likely extra costs of a curved sensor) mean that the bare minimum you could sell this fixed-lens camera for would be several thousand dollars. I just don't see a lot of photographers being willing to drop that much money on a camera that they can never expand the capabilities of.

The Leica Q2 sells for $5000 dollars - I'm guessing it's (or was until Covid hit) selling decently. There would be many who'd prefer a light medium format with fixed lens instead of the Q2 if it's under 7K or 8K. It'll blow the Q2 out of the water.

Leica Q is one of the best selling camera for Leica, infact they raised the price 3/4 years ago. Also the Q2 had a 200€ price increase in EU (https://www.macfilos.com/2019/08/01/leica-q2-price-rises-in-...).

Leica has already a medium format camera (S) with interchangeable lenses, its super expansive but a medium format Leica with fixed lens for (example) 9000$ I think would sell really a lot.

Also a Sony medium format for 7/8000€ would sell a lot (more than Leica surely). We’ll see...

Quite a lot of medium format cameras were fixed lens. Pretty much all the TLR’s (except some Mamiya’s). All the folders (to a first approximation), the Brownies, and even today all those Holgas.

A GS645w isn’t much larger than a modern 35mm digital, and is certainly lighter.

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