Anamorphic shooting has long been the domain of cinematographers wrestling with bulky lenses and specialist rigs. GXAce wants to hand that ultra-wide aesthetic to still photographers instead, and it’s doing so with the GX-P1 — a dedicated, fixed-lens digital camera designed from the ground up around the anamorphic frame.
The pitch is refreshingly narrow. Rather than positioning the GX-P1 as a jack-of-all-trades hybrid, GXAce is calling it a camera “built specifically for photography.” That focus shows in its core design philosophy: the whole thing is built around the experience of shooting 65:24 frames — an aggressively cinematic, letterbox-style aspect ratio that most cameras only reach through cropping or trickery.
What makes the concept genuinely interesting is the form factor. GXAce says the GX-P1 is small enough to slip into a photographer’s pocket, which is not something you can say about a traditional anamorphic setup. If it delivers, that combination — proper anamorphic optics in a body you can actually carry every day — could open the look up to a much wider audience of shooters who love the vibe but have never wanted to lug the gear.
There’s also a transparency angle here that’s worth flagging. GXAce isn’t hiding the GX-P1 behind a polished marketing veil; the company is openly sharing the development journey, from the design rationale down to the reasoning behind that unusual aspect ratio. For a niche product like this, that kind of build-in-public approach tends to matter — it lets the enthusiast community weigh in before the hardware is locked down.
Here’s the honest caveat: this is still an early-stage project. The GX-P1 is at the prototype phase, and GXAce hasn’t published a full spec sheet or a price. The company’s stated goal is to launch the camera through crowdfunding by the end of 2026, which means the finer details — sensor size, resolution, the exact optical formula behind that 65:24 frame — are still to come.
Crowdfunded cameras always carry a degree of risk, and a single-purpose anamorphic stills camera is about as niche as it gets. But that’s also precisely why it’s exciting. Nobody else is really building this. If GXAce can turn a distinctive idea into shipping hardware, the GX-P1 could carve out a small but devoted following among photographers chasing a look the mainstream has largely reserved for movie sets.
For now, it’s a promising prototype with a clear vision and an open development process. We’ll be watching closely as the crowdfunding campaign approaches to see whether the specs — and the price — live up to the ambition.
