As you read here, Zack Arias is considering to sell all his X-gear to get the GFX.
In his recent GPP talk, he introduces the GFX in an interesting one hour video. Here some excerpts:
He will start telling you why he chose Medium Format and his first steps in with Medium Market.
He goes through his personal issues that, amongst the others, also influenced his work…. and shares his way out of that.
At minute 31:00 he starts sharing his recent work with the GFX
32:25: He shares pictures that his 18 years old son took with the GFX.
35:00: “I’ve shot every format, but Medium Format has this look. It’s how the highlights and shadows are retained, the soft transitions between those two, how the focus falls off. I can’t describe steroscopic bokeh at all, but I can see it. […] I want that different look.”
39:00. Pixel Peeping Time… and you will hear the people just say “WOW!!” when they see the amazing sharpness and details.
42:30: The MF Phase One is amazing. Has 1 AF point, though. He goes at 1,600 ISO at max with his Phase One now.
43:55: Zack shows an image taken at ISO 12,800 (JPEG)… and again another WOW goes through the audience.
48:00: A Fuji Representative says that Capture One will support the GFX
Check out the video at Fujifilm Middle East facebook here. For more GFX videos at the GPP by Fujifilm Middle East click here.
Dale Sood & Gary Goldberg from Vistek had 24 hours with the Fujifilm GFX. Not much time, but they tested it as long as they could, even deep in the night out in the streets at -10 degrees. It appears to me that they are trying to give their honest feedback, showing samples and crops, and also pointing out some Cons.
Here are some excerpts… and please pardon me, but the GFX is such a new and exciting piece of gear to the photography industry, that I will cover it properly here on FR.
You can be sure: good or bad feedback, I will share it all.
AF in studio: AF was perfect for Gary when shooting with the model. He focusses on the model’s eye, and the camera did a great job with nailing it.
AF in Low Light Night Street: Dale used it in low light on the street, and his experience was, as expected, different. In low light it struggled certainly more, but he says it’s always harder for every camera to focus in low light. (NOTE: remember it’s an early beta firmware)
Focus peaking: Dale switched to Focus Peaking. But he complains that there is a lot of spinning on the lens to get the focus. (NOTE: also here consider it’s an early beta firmware)
Sharpness: Just watch the video, guys :)
ISO Performance (min 6:42): The reviewer has experience with other leading Medium Format brands, and he says he rarely pushed ISO over 3,200, because he wasn’t happy with the results. He assumed it would be the same with GFX. He shot on the street at night, and had to push at ISO at 3,200 and for one shot even at 12,800. On the back of the camera 12,800 looked great. But he thought “there is no way this going to look good on the computer“. So he brought the file into the computer and said “I should have shot at ISO 12,800 more often. How clean it is at 12,800 is remarkable” :) . At 6400 the images are very usable right out of the box, without having to apply any grain reduction in post.
Battery Live: at -10 degrees, he shot the entire night, without even draining one battery.
Conclusions: It can keep up to the hype. It’s going to be a game changer
A Video, where you can hear the shutter sound of the GFX as well as a quicky & dirty 2 shots AF test has been shared on the 5,000 members strong Fujifilm GFX Facebook Group here and can be seen also on youtube here.
The Fujifilm GFX is now in the hands of selected photographers, who are testing it and giving their feedback to Fujiiflm. And every now and then, Fujifilm shares little tidbits at their youtube channel.
One of the happy beta testers is Philippe Marinig. Here are some of his comments taken from this youtube video: “I like reality, I like using natural light. […] I was very impressed by the GFX quality. […] The GFX seems to have no much limitation in terms of ISO as well. It’s freedom, no limitation. […] New Generation, exciting“.
And the lucky photographers, who can already use the GFX, share some tidbits now and then also at the Fujifilm GFX facebook group… so don’t miss to check it out.
With that said, let’s come to today’s rumor, which should be taken with a grain of salt, because it comes from a new source, and especially because Fujifilm can change the estimanted pricing anytime. I mean, the X-T2 price has been decided just shorty before its announcement, and in case of the X70, Fujifilm even changed the price 2 days after the announcement, when it was still in pre-order status.
All I can give you are estimated price tags at the moment, and, according to a new source, Fujifilm has currently set the price for the GFX at around $8000 (with lens).
The 3,500 members of the Fujifilm GFX facebook group are very active. Some had the opportunity to test the GFX and shared their feedback for example here, some other guys are fighting hard to get their hands on as first on the GFX, like E. Bouvet and J. Apruzzese here, and more feedback and images can be checked out also here.
So you see… the group is very active and sharing stuff that fast, that I simply can’t keep up with it on FujiRumors. So, if you are interested in the Fujifilm GFX, then I recommend you to join the Fujifilm GFX facebook group.
Now, there are still many questions open regarding the Fujifilm GFX, and one of the hottest is for sure about its price. I’ve reported in the past, how an official Vietnamese store and Fujifilm showroom listed the GFX (+ lens) for sale for $8500 (€7,700).
Another hint has just been spotted by GFX facebook member Boerckel here. He noticed the flier of a German Store, where the Fujifilm GFX 50s price is said to be “about €8000“. It’s not clear if they mean body only or with GF63mm lens. The image shows the camera with lens, whereas the product description does not mention the lens.
Our sources told us already last year that the Ricoh GR IV would come in 2025. Well, technically we told you it would come earlier in 2025, and in fact the Ricoh GRIV was disclosed a couple months ago already. But it was only a development announcement. The full announcement just happened yesterday. So yes, I still regard this as a wrong rumor (development announcement is not a full announcement), but at the same time I trust the source.
Well, at this point we remind you that according to the same source, Ricoh is also planing to launch the Ricoh GR IV monochrome. It was originally planed for 2025, but I would not be surprised if there would be a delay due to the huge pre-orders the GRIV is getting right now.
Fujifilm – Wake Up
Yes, the Ricoh GR IV is now here and it enjoys absolutely stellar pre-orders.
At this time Fujifilm has not really a camera to compete with the Ricoh GR IV, because the Fujifilm X100VI might share the fixed lens concept with it, but for the rest I think it appeals to other people: those who appreciate a viewfinder, tactile controls, vintage aesthetic, whereas the Ricoh GR IV is all about being as portable as possible.
The true competitor would be the Fujifilm X80, but Fujifilm has so far never bothered to give the Fujifilm X70 a second chance (the Fujifilm XF10 is not the X70 successor). And in my view that’s an error. The Ricoh GRIV proves that pocketable and powerful fixed lens cameras are enjoying a revival, and Fujifilm is missing out on it.
So, dear Fujifilm, come out with the Fujifilm X80 as quickly as you can!
And while it’s true that the Ricoh GRIV pre-orders are great, I dare to predict that the Ricoh GRIV M (Monochrome) will match or even exceed those pre-orders.
Look, initially I was skeptical about a Monochrome Fujifilm. But after I have seen how even the Pentax K-3 III monochrome DLSR sold like hot cakes (so much so that they had to suspend pre-orders as we reported here), I concluded that the market for monochrome cameras is far from being saturated.
GF100-200mmF5.6 – 7% discount ($1,999 instead of $2,149 – $1,999 pre-tariffs) – SOLD OUT, Only Available at Full Price
If you find more gear discounted, feel free to let us know in the comments.
The Curious Case
Interestingly, I have filtered the Amazon results to show me only “new” items (to get rid of all refurbished gear in the results), and some gear pops up as “FUJIFILM X Replacement Lens” at a great price, even lower than the pre-tariff price.
Some are marked as shipped and sold by Amazon, others by Amazon Japan or Germany. They are all marked as coming with free shipping.
Maybe Amazon is simply taking stock they have all over the world and re-directing it Amazon US?
In any case, make sure to check if you have to pay import taxes on it.
XF33mmF1.4 – $769 (currently $899 – $799 pre-tariff) shipped and sold by Amazon with free 30 days return policy
XF70-300mm – $758 (currently $899 – was $799 pre-tariff) shipped and sold by Amazon Japan
XF16mm F2.8 silver – $347 (currently $449 – $399 pre-tariff) shipped and sold by Amazon Germany
We still recommend to stick with gear shipped and sold by Amazon US to avoid surprises. But I wanted you to be aware why some gear is listed even cheaper: it’s because it’s coming from other Amazon branches.
Earlier today we reported how Fujifilm said to some news outlets that prices for certain Fujifilm gear will go up on August 30.
Well, I think we can now share the full list of price increases that will come into effect August 30.
Not all X cameras and lenses will get a price increase. What’s not in the list below is safe.
On the GFX front, pretty much everything will get a price bump.
The biggest price jump (+30%) will go to all sorts of Fujifilm accessories, which I guess are still all made in China.
Of course that’s for now just a rumor. All I can say is that last time we were spot on with the list of price increases. It does not mean that we will be also this time, but it might explain why I am confident enough to share it.
Venus Optics will launch the Laowa AF 200mm f/2.0 soon. It will initially come for EF/E/Z mount, but the Fujifilm X and GFX version should follow, according to reports shared at the Chinese social media account 独立摄影师联合会 here, via mirrorlessrumors.
If accurate, this would be the first third party autofocus lens for the Fujifilm GFX system.
Laowa 200mm f/2.0 specs:
Full Frame autofocus lens
Less than 1,6kg
Sony E, Nikon Z, Canon EF and future Fuji X and GFX mount versions coming
