Fujifilm GFX100 Teardown
By Phillip Andrew Iglesias
At Kolari, we managed to get our hands on the highly-acclaimed beast of a camera Fujifilm GFX100. This is just one of Fujifilm’s medium format cameras, accompanied by the GFX100S, GFX50S, GFX50S II, and GFX50R. Aside from medium format, Fujifilm has a plethora of APS-C cameras that are compatible with our Fujifilm magnetic clip-in filters.
Consumers highly anticipated the Fujifilm GFX100 before its official release in 2019. It boasts an incredible 102MP medium format sensor, 5-axis in-body image stabilization (IBIS), a hybrid autofocus system, and both DCI and UHD 4K video with 10-bit 4:2:2 output. Its other features include weather sealing, removable EVF, dual-battery setup, two SD card slots, and ports for a remote control, microphone, and headphones.
With that out of the way, let’s get into this camera teardown!
Before the main disassembly, we detached the peripherals from the camera body, namely the OLED viewfinder and the battery tray. The GFX100 features a detachable viewfinder for other attachments.
Typically when disassembling cameras, many hidden screws keep the camera together. One of the first ones we spotted was under the LCD monitor, which required us to gently peel off the adhesive cap and remove the screw.
The main screws holding the camera body from the outside are usually underneath the rubber grips. We popped off the dust cap on the port side and removed a screw between the HDMI and 15V DC jack. Peeling back the rubber grip revealed five silver screws.
We peeled back the rubber grip on the camera’s right side to remove four silver screws. We found another hidden below SD card slot #1 when we opened the card door. Below and above the card door, we removed four more screws.
The baseplate was only held down with four screws, which made for easy removal. There were another four screws below the baseplate.
Of course, we had to peel off more of the rubber grip to find more screws. In this case, removing it revealed four more screws. Overall, there were a total of twelve screws on the bottom of the camera.
We peeled back the rubber grip on the back panel and removed a screw under the rear command dial. Two spline screws were removed as well.
With all screws removed, we were able to lift the back panel. Before disconnecting, however, we needed to disconnect the LCD and rear button ribbon cables from the circuit board.
Before we could continue removing the circuit board, we needed to take off the top panel. There were hidden screws under the hot shoe, below the autofocus illuminator, and above the function button.
We found three ribbons connecting the top panel to the main circuit board. After removal, we can see that the sensor uses shims to keep it on an even plane.
Here, we disconnected the remaining ribbons from the circuit board.
We found two screws on the 15V DC board and six screws that held down the motherboard.
With the screws removed from the board, we could remove the card reader door and port cover.
After removing the card reader door and port cover, we slightly lifted the motherboard, giving us access to peel the anti-static tape off the wires. The last static tape was actually underneath the board.
With the anti-static tape off, there was enough slack to flip the board and rest it on the battery grip housing.
The bracket was the last layer that kept us from reaching the sensor. Four screws held down the bracket.
The bracket wiggled a little bit, yet it wouldn’t come off. This was because the sensor ribbons were taped onto the bracket. We had to be careful in peeling off the anti-static tape, but we were able to remove the bracket entirely once the anti-static tape was off.
After removing the bracket, we were able to reach the sensor. Three screws held the sensor. We found that Fuji uses blue thread lock glue — this prevents the screws from moving and stripping the socket.
For scale reference, here is the GFX sensor assembly next to the Kolari Pocket.
The Fujifilm GFX100 was relatively easy for us to disassemble. While it was easy to take apart, the camera had many screws to keep track of, according to our camera technician Jared.
Thanks for reading. If you’re interested in more camera teardowns, we feature a new one every month. Be sure to sign up for our newsletter so you don’t miss them!
