Fujifilm GFX Review: “Unreal Dynamic Range. It Feels like You’re Cheating… The Lamborghini of Medium Format?”

Fujifilm GFX: USA BHphoto, Adorama, AmazonUS EU: AmazonDE, AmazonUK, WexUK, ParkCamerasUK, PCHstore AUS: CameraPro

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by Allan Higa – website. This article has been posted orignally at allanhiga.com and shared at petapixel. Allan Higa is also a very active member of our Fujifilm GFX facebook community, and many of the images you can see in this article have also been shared at the group. He also wrote an interesting guest post for Fujirumors called “How I Capture Genuine Moments With Complete Strangers“. This article is shared here on FujiRumors with permission of the original author, Allan Higa (thanks :) )

Fujifilm GFX Review

Quick history lesson. The original Lamborghini motor vehicle wasn’t the supercar you know today. They were tractors. Yes, tractors. Full fledged farm going vehicular tools. Ferruccio Lamborghini always loved cars and owned Ferraris, but hated the quality of them. Frustrated, he approached Enzo Ferrari and gave him a piece of his mind and told him how to improve his cars. Enzo’s response went something like, “Leave the car making to me, you stick to making tractors.” Batman now drives a Lamborghini Aventador.

Fast forward and cross universes to cameras. The giants such as Hasselblad and Phase One have been untouchable and left alone to rule the medium format world for sometime. Sure, there’s Pentax and Leica, but it’s more like buying a Mazda Miata or a 4-door Porsche, it’s not what you think of when sports car or medium format camera comes to mind. But here we are with Fujifilm, originally a film company, pulling a move like Ferruccio Lamborghini; they’re opening the doors to somewhere that’s otherwise been locked for what feels like all of eternity.

Phase One makes amazing medium formats that few ever touch but all hope and dream of. Hasselblad is quite similar but have introduced something that seemed ground breaking, a mirrorless medium format in the Hasselblad X1D. Now, just like Ferruccio answered to Enzo Ferrari, Fujifilm has brought out the Fujifilm GFX. Will this be a classic like the Lamborghini Diablo? Or is this a Mazda Miata in disguise? Well, I’ve got the keys and this is what I’ve learned.

First off, like anyone else with a new toy in their hands I played with the lifeless camera as the completely dead batteries charged painfully slow. Here are the first impressions.

Body Design and Ergonomic

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Fujifilm GFX: Dynamic Range Tests, Long Exposures, Sharpness… and Having FUN with Third Party Lenses!

Robert F.: shared here – First long exposure shot (40 sec.) at lake starnberg / bavaria. Love the dynamic range :-).

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HOLY MOLY!!! I just realized that I didn’t post a dedicated GFX article in the last 7 blog posts… so high time for a dedicated GFX roundup. :)

As usual, all of it comes from our 9,600+ strong Fujifilm GFX facebook group. It’s simply a great resource for all things GFX. And what I post here is just a small fraction of what has been shared in the group the last few days. So in today’s roundup we will see:

  • A series of perfect long exposure shots
  • Some more images
  • Dynamic Range Tests
  • Sharpness Demonstration
  • Having Fun with Third Party Lenses

I’d like to add a few words to the last point, the fun with third party lenses.

There are really a lot of photographers at our GFX group, who enjoy to combine all kind of lenses on their GFX. To me, this is without a doubt one of the most fun aspects of this camera. The GFX really breaths new life into old glass, which btw, I hear has in some cases doubled its price on ebay, since the GFX launch.

So, focussing on sharpness and dynamic range is all well and good. But what I perceive in the group, is that the Fujifilm GFX has also a huge fun-factor, that results especially from his flexibility and adaptability to all kind of glass (also FF lenses, as you will see below).

There are already many adapters available on the market, for example from Fotodiox to Kipon, and more are in development, such as the smart adapter for Contax 645 lenses by Fringer.

This huge third-party lenses fun-factor would be basically non-existant, if Fujifilm would have opted for a “focal plane shutter-less” camera, since the camera would then work only with leaf shutter lenses.

And a final note about the endless leaf shutter Vs. focal plane shutter discussion: as photographlife pointed out in a review I’ve shared here:

“Considering that leaf shutter lenses cannot have very large apertures (and as of now, all three Hasselblad lenses are limited to f/3.2-f/3.5 maximum aperture), I struggle to find the real appeal of the leaf shutter lenses aside from the flash sync speed. If you are after beautiful bokeh, the focal plane shutter is the way to go.“

Fujifilm GFX: USA BHphoto, Adorama, AmazonUS

LONG EXPOSURES

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Even North Korean Soldiers shoot Fujifilm :: GFX Roundup :: X100F Reviews :: Fujifilm Meets Pixelstick :: The Legendary X100 Series (mini miXed zone)

Holger Glaab‎: Berlin, Potsdamer Platz. Fuji X-T1, XF10-24 F4R OIS @30 sec, F13, ISO 200 + ND-Filter and some PS-Editing – shared here the the Fujirumors facebook photo album

Cover Stories

  • Even North Korean Soldiers shoot Fujifilm. See more at washingtonpost. Besides the camera, the real story is that a North Korean soldier got inches from Secretary of State Rex Tillerson.
  • Fujifilm Meets Pixelstick at varis
  • The legendary X100 series at johncaz

Fujifilm GFX
USA BHphoto, Adorama, AmazonUS

GFX extended gallery at imaging-resource (focus on Portraits)

  • Fujifilm GFX: The Game Changer – Gary Heery at betterphotography
  • What is the dynamic range of the Fujifilm GFX 50s? We look at how to set up and use a Sekonic 748dr light meter with the GFX. The set up can be used for all makes of cameras at Lewis Von John youtube
  • GFX review (and the 3 GF lenses) at the French Magazine chassimages (translation) – NOTE: it’s a magazine, you have to purchase it (or the online version)

Fujifilm X100F + X70
USA BHphoto, Adorama, AmazonUS

RNI All Films 4.0.4 Adds GFX/X Support + Lens Turbo Ver.2 Available + Australian GFX Rental Service + A6500 Vs. X-T2 Vs. D750 :: X-T20 Reviews (miXed zone)

Fujifilm GFX
USA BHphoto, Adorama, AmazonUS

Good news! RNI All Films 4.0.4 for Lightroom and Photoshop ACR is finally up for grabs here:

What’s new in this version:

• You asked us to turn the film grain off by default. So we have turned it off. You can easily turn it back on by using RNI Toolkit for Lightroom and setting the desired level of film grain (ISO 100 – ISO 1600).

• The Fuji Pro 400H base preset has been updated for better tonal accuracy.

Also added support and customised profiles for the following new cameras:
• Fujifilm GFX 50S
• Fujifilm X A3
• Fujifilm X A10
• Fujifilm X T20
• Fujifilm X100F

RNI All Films 4.0.4 comes as a free update to all the existing RNI All Films 4 – Pro and Lite customers.

Fujifilm X100F
USA BHphoto, Adorama, AmazonUS

Fujifilm X-T20
USA BHphoto, Adorama, AmazonUS

  • FUJIFILM X-T20 Review – Real World Video Samples and First Impressions at cinema5d
  • X-T20 My First Impression at joengphotography

Fujifilm XF50mm
USA BHphoto, Adorama, AmazonUS

  • First Shots with the Fuji XF 50mm F2 by Kevin Mullins at f16.click

Fujifilm X-T2 (vs. D750 Vs. A6500)
USA: BHphoto / AmazonUS / Adorama

Sony a6500 vs Fujifilm X-T2 – 4K Comparison

Fujifilm X-T2 vs. Nikon D750 | Compare image quality at lowest ISO for landscape photography at Ming Cai youtube

Fujifilm X-Pro2

What should you get. Fuji X-Pro2 or X-T2? – in 4k at Zed ProMedia youtube

X100/S/T + X70

Lenses / Converters
Lens Turbo Ver. 2

  • Lens Turbo Version II N / G-FX Focal Reducer Adapter Available. More at stkb
  • Fujinon’s new MK 18-55mm lens on test at redsharknews

X-Trans / Raw Converters

Travel X / Switch (or not) to the X / X Weddings

a bit of everything

  • Fujifilm Mirrorless at jlbwedding
  • Ask the staff: electronic or optical viewfinder? at dpreview

Fujifilm X100F DPReview GOLD AWARD: “Sensational JPEG Color. Be Challenged by Shooting with a Fixed Lens”

DPReview just published their full X100F review. It’s Gold Award… but hey, don’t trust DPReview. Better check out also what X100F shooters are creating with their X100F’s all around the world at our closed X100F facebook group… it’s just amazing!

Here are the Pros and Cons

Pros

  • Excellent image quality in Raw and JPEG
  • Sensational JPEG color
  • Ergonomics that match the classic looks
  • Hybrid viewfinder is delightful
  • Improved speed of focus and operation
  • In-camera Raw conversion and Wi-Fi
  • Bigger battery with percentage display
  • USB charging is convenient

Cons

  • Output of X-Trans sensor not to everyone’s taste
  • AF speed not up to contemporary standards
  • Face detection limited and unreliable
  • 1080p video seems outdated
  • ISO dial prettier than it is practical

Check out the Full review at DPReview

Fujifilm X100F: USA BHphoto, Adorama, AmazonUS EU: AmazonDE, AmazonUK, WexUK, ParkCamerasUK, PCHstore AUS: CameraPro