The Upcoming $500 (kit price) GF Zoom Lens is Going to Fix the True Anomaly in the GFX system

There is No Life in Perfection, or the Missing GF Glass

I once read a sentence of a buddhist monk, who said: “the too pure water does not contain any fish“.

Obviously the monk was referring to life, which can’t be lived fully if we pretend to live it in perfection and purity. If lived fully, then life is going to get “dirty” or “not perfect” sometimes.

So what has this to do with photography?

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Well, let’s apply this wisdom to a much more profane subject: camera gear. And let’s say “the too perfect system does not contain customers.” And “customers” are what keeps a system alive.

And now to the point of this article.

In the ZP productions video we recently shared, ZP says that when Fujifilm launched the GFX system a few years ago, it had sheer perfect lenses. But he noticed that with the latest lens releases (GF80mmF1.7), Fujifilm traded in a bit of that perfection to release less perfect, smaller and more affordable lens.

He compares the GF110mmF2 to the GF80mmF1.7, the first one being expressions of Fuji’s perfection, the second one, while still being excellent and he actually totally loves to shoot with it, just not being just as perfect as the GF110mmF2.

Now, I get the point that ZP makes, but I can’t share his worry that Fujifilm is giving up on perfection.

In fact, I believe that so far the real anomaly in the GF lens lineup was that Fujifilm focused solely on perfection!

But if the GFX systems wants to survive, then it needs to offer a bit of everything, the absolutely perfect lenses, but also smaller, lighter and more affordable lenses. It’s this balance that will guarantee the success to Fujifilm and what will bring more and more new customers to the GFX system.

$500 GF Zoom – BRILLIANT MOVE

I am totally convinced that the upcoming $500 GF zoom lens (kit price) is a brilliant move!

Small, light, slower, affordable, but perfect for casual shooting and travel photography, while probably retaining the 102+MP resolving power.

The $500 GF zoom coupled with new affordable GF bodies has the potential to bring so many new customers to the system, that the GFX system as a whole will immensely profit from it, and Fujifilm will have more resources to develop more of those “prefect” lenses and high end bodies.

This is why I totally support Fujifilm’s move, and quite frankly I am tempted to buy the new zoom too. If I can have a versatile and small lens for my hiking tours in the Dolomites or to bring with on my travels, then that’s perfect for my needs.

In good light, the new GF zoom will be an excellent performer. And if you are like me, meaning once the sun settles down you put your camera on a tripod anyway to take your landscape shots at base ISO, little it matters if it is a slow lens. I rarely take handheld landscape images in low light anyway.

If Fujifilm wants more fish to swim in the GFX waters, then they have to give up on the proud goal of building up an optically 100% perfect and pure system with astronomical specs, and give us less perfect lenses, too.

Less perfect means also affordable, portable and compact, and that’s what the GFX system needs.

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The Fastest Growing Fujifilm Group

Fujifilm Managers Optimism: Potential GFX Customers Number Overwhelmingly Increasing, X-S10 Attracting Young New Customers, 5G and More

The Japanese website phileweb published an interview with Fujifilm managers.

They talk about the momentum the Fujifilm GFX series is experiencing, about the harsh COVID-19 situation, the introduction of the Fujifilm X-S10, the possibilities 5G might offer and more.

Overall, they seem very confident and positive about the future of their imaging division.

Worth to note is the part of the interview, where Fujifilm explains they find it a pity that people just store their images on their phones, and that they try to find ways to motivate people to print.

Once again, statements like these denote the huge photographic culture Fujifilm carries in their DNA, which among the others translates also into a wide variety of ergonomically different cameras that are crafted to be fun to use for different types of photographers.

I feel that for Fujifilm, photography is more than just getting hyperbolic specs on paper. It’s also, and mainly, about cultivating and incentivize our passion and fun for photography.

Down below you’ll find everything summed up, including some parts that I leave exactly like google translated it.

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Fujifilm GFX Evolution: Leaving Perfection for…

ZP productions tested the GFX100S and GF80mmF1.7. He loves both, and owns both.

But there is one note he makes.

He says that when Fujifilm launched the GFX system a few years ago, it had sheer perfect lenses. But he noticed that with the latest lens releases, Fujifilm traded in a bit of that perfection to release less perfect, smaller and more affordable lenses.

In this context, he compares the GF110mmF2 to the GF80mmF1.7, the first one being expressions of Fuji’s perfection, the second one, while still being excellent and he actually totally loves to shoot with it, just not being just as perfect as the GF110mmF2.

I’ll make a summary down below of his 17 minutes long video below and would love to hear what you guys think about it.

Video Summary

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Fujifilm Product Timeline 2021/2022: About X-H2, GFX50SII, XF150-600 and More (And What Will NOT Come)

FUJIFILM 2021/2022
RUMORED PRODUCT RELEASE TIMELINE

Time to update our previous X and GFX gear timeline, which was not only limited to 2021, but lacked of some gear we rumored in the following months.

Also, I’ll include a list of products that will not come as the fake rumors keep spreading and I notice a tendency in forums to believe just everything that is written or talked about somewhere, may it be a monochrome camera, and X-T40 with IBIS coming very soon, the X-H2 coming 2021 and totally random stuff like that.

But luckily there is a 100% efficient anti-fake-rumors-vaccine called FujiRumors, so check out the list down below to know what Fujifilm really plans and when it will come.

And it won’t end here.

In fact, I have a skype call scheduled with the Japanese source in very near future. After the last call a few weeks ago, we dropped a couple of rumor-bombs (X-H2 details, the end of X-Trans IV, no more X cameras in 2021, the new GF zoom to come second half 2021 and more stuff I am not allowed to share just yet).

I expect that also our next call will be very interesting.

In case you’d like to know what it shared with us, feel free to follow FujiRumors and get updates via Facebook, RSS-feed and Twitter.

But until then, here is the most updated list of gear to come (and gear that won’t come).

X Series Gear
2021/2022

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Fujifilm GFX50S MKII will NOT be Announced on August 27

Image shows FCC registration of GFX100S
Image shows FCC registration of GFX100S

Just a little clarification.

The fantastic folks over at Nokishita recently spotted the FCC registration for the FF210001 camera. The info we got from that was:

  • there is an FF210001 camera registered
  • it has almost the size of the GFX100S
  • marketing material release is on August 27

Prior to this, FujiRumors told you:

  • there will be a GFX50SMKII
  • same sensor of original GFX50S

So, what Nokishita tells you is 100% accurate. I mean, that’s really what the FCC registration says and as usual Nokishita makes a hell of job when it comes to spotting registrations.

But here is the thing.

While Nokishita reports accurately that the marketing material is currently scheduled for August 27 release at the FCC, it is also true that this is not the date for the Fujifilm GFX50SMKII annoucement.

So guys, on August 27 you can:

  • get badly drunk with friends for an end-of-pandemic party
  • bring out your better half to an elegant dinner (and in that occasion explain her/him why you really need that new lens)
  • do whatever makes you happy

You won’t miss any Fujifilm annoucement on August 27.

The date for the Fujifilm GFX50S announcement will be a different one (if Fuji keeps the date fixed this time, as it keeps changing). Once it’s final, I’ll let you know.

For the rest of the specs, some of them might come surprising to you (at least they were for me), all you need to do is to follow FujiRumors.

In Stock Check

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Yes, Fujifilm GFX50S MKII is Going to 100% Use the 50MP Sensor of Original Fujifilm GFX50S

This image shows the Fujifilm GFX100S at the FCC registration
This image shows the Fujifilm GFX100S at the FCC registration

So, what did Nokishita tell us so far?

  • Fujifilm registered an FF210001 camera
  • the FF210001 camera has almost same size of GFX100S
  • the FF210001 marketing material is scheduled for release on August 27

That’s it, and being so vague, I can totally understand your confusion. Nokishita does not tell us the name of the camera, nor any specs beside the similar size to the GFX100S.

Well, I have noticed so much random and misleading guesses after nokishita’s leak, that it’s time to underline some hardcore facts I already told you 2 months ago, and that I 110% confirm now:

Also, the images Nokishita showed us (as the one above), are of the GFX100S registration, not of the GFX50S as some websites reported

Don’t worry, I’ll let you know more soon. You’ll be surprised ;).

In Stock Check

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Fringer EF-GFX Pro Coming 2021: Supports IBIS, Phase Detection, Built-in Aperture Ring – PROTOTYPE VIDEO DEMO

Fringer will launch the Fringer EF-GFX smart autofocus adapter in the second half of 2021. They posted a video demonstrating a prototype of the adapter used on the Fujifilm GFX100S.

Key features:

  • Fringer EF-GFX Pro
  • adapting EF lenses on GFX cameras and keeping AF/AE/EXIF
  • Built-in electronic aperture ring
  • support phase detection AF*
  • Support in body image stabilization*
  • lateral chromatic aberration correction**
    *on GFX100 and GFX100S only
    **for optimized lenses only
  • hit the market second half 2021

List of Smart Adapters (Available or Announced)

IN CROP WE TRUST: The Lens I Chose to Start my GFX System Adventure and Talking 102 Megapixel Crops & Prints

My First GF Lens

So guys, the decision has been made.

In the last second, I took advantage of the €500 rebate on selected Fujinon GF lenses and I bought the Fujinon GF32-64mmF4, which was your most recommended G mount lens for landscape photography. Thanks for helping me out with the decision :).

I still don’t own it, as like everywhere on the world, Fujinon G mount lenses are a rare good.

In fact, when I went to my local store, the store owner told me that since Fujifilm launched the GFX100S, sales for GFX gear went through the roof.  He also told me that for many of his customers, the Fujifilm GFX100S is their first GFX camera and this also pushes sales for G mount lenses. That’s why they run out of stock constantly.

So I had to put myself in line, and now I wait for a lens that is harvesting 5 star reviews all over the web:

In Crop we Trust

Now, if you have read my GF lens help article, you’ll know that over the last few years, I somehow shifted from privileging dramatic wide angle shots to focusing more on compressed landscape shots.

This is why I was hesitant between getting the GF32-64mmF4 or the GF45-100mmF4 to start with.

But here is the thing: I can’t get into my frame parts of a landscape scenery that are too wide for my lens (unless I stich). On the other hand, thanks to the power of the Fujifilm GFX100S and its 102 megapixel, I can crop the heck out of my images and still get usable and printable results.

Therefore, afraid to miss out on something beautiful on the wide end, I decided to go with the wider zoom, trusting the crop-power of my GFX100S to get a more compressed look.

In fact, I am now thinking that as a second lens, I’ll probably go for the Fujinon GF100-200mmF5.6, which I got my hands on in store, and it actually surprised me how light it is for its size. “Definitely portable” I thought. It will fit well and be easy to carry in my Photohiker trekking backpack.

But of course one step after another.

In early 2021, I already supported Fujifilm by buying the XF27mmF2.8 R WR (which you can see here), the XF80mm Macro, the Fujifilm GFX100S and the GF32-64mmF4. One more 2K lens right now would mean deciding between gear and marriage. ;)

But in not too distant future, I imagine my GF lens arsenal to look like this:

Yep, no fast lenses in the lineup for now, but I have a couple of f/1.2 and f/1.4 primes on the X system, so I’ll get plenty of bokeh out of that system when I need it.

So, the Fujifilm GFX100S and the GF32-64mmF4 will mark my first steps into the G mount system. Now all I need is to get those nice packages shipped, and I hope that maybe this summer I can already hike on the Dolomites with it.

Crop & Print

I love to print. From photobooks to single images.

And sometimes I print rather big.

But even my biggest print at my home (90x60cm / 35×23 inches) looks absolutely fantastic when taken with 24 MP.

So why the heck do I need a Fujifilm GFX100S, if my APS-C gear does a great job already?

The answer is: crop!

In fact, I assume that not only for me, but also for many of you, cropping is a very fast and effective post production step we sometimes take to improve our images.

So you get it: I don’t need to print bigger. But what the GFX system allows me to do better than any other system out there, is to still print big even images that are significantly cropped.

For example, this image I took at the Gardena mountain pass with my X-T4 and XF10-24mmF4 looks great on the web. But truth is that I had to crop quite a bit to get it how I wanted, hence mostly focused on the Sasslong. And while on Instagram it still looks great, I doubt I could print it as big as I sometimes like to print.

But if my starting point would have been 102 Megapixel instead of 50MP or 26MP, then I’d know I’d still retain so much information in my cropped image, that I could still make a huge epic print out of it.

With that said, every system has its Pros and Cons. The balance Fuji’s APS-C system offers remains unmatched to me compared to full frame of medium format. But the GFX shines in an area where I love to take pictures and to print: landscape photography.

This is why I bought the Fujifilm GFX system, and I look forward to finally capture the lovely Dolomites with it ;).

Fujifilm GFX100S

Fujinon GF80mmF1.7

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All GF Lenses

FUJIFILM Releases New Digital Camera Control Software Development Kit for X and GFX Series Cameras

FUJIFILM Releases New Digital Camera Control Software Development Kit

TOKYO, April 22, 2021 – FUJIFILM Corporation (President: Kenji Sukeno) is pleased to announce the release of the FUJIFILM X Series and GFX System Digital Camera Control Software Development Kit (SDK), which will help software developers integrate the functionality of FUJIFILM X Series and GFX System cameras into any applications that are currently being developed. Available on April 22, 2021 the SDK will allow developers to initiate the automatic transfer of images, from a supported Fujifilm camera, to a computer using a Windows*1 or macOS*2 operating system. Remote access to the basic controls of any supported Fujifilm camera is also supported. Information regarding the conversion of the RAW image data contained in Fujifilm’s proprietary RAF file is not provided with this SDK.
*1 Windows is a registered trademark of U.S. Microsoft Corporation in the United States and other countries.
*2 Mac is a trademark of Apple Inc. registered in the United States and other countries.

Models supported by the FUJIFILM X Series and GFX System Digital Camera Control Software Development Kit (SDK)

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