Fujifilm GFX100RF and X-M5 Win Prestigious TIPA Award

What an absolutely breathtaking achievement by Fujifilm!

The notoriously ruthless and unforgiving TIPA jury has brutally selected only the very best gear ever for their awards.

Among the elite few deemed worthy of this prestigious honor: the Fujifilm GFX100RF and the Fujifilm X-M5.

Truly awe-inspiring. Especially when you consider the sheer ferocity of TIPA’s evaluation process.

Take last year for instance. TIPA introduced the fiercely competitive and totally not arbitrary category of “Best Polaroid Camera.” The winner? Drumroll please… the Polaroid I-2.

Polaroid heroically triumphed over zero competition to win a TIPA award in a category made just for Polaroid.

Do you want to know the truth? Then read this story.

Ger Yours – Before Tariffs Kick In

via Tipa

First Batch of Fujifilm GFX100RF Slips Past US Tariffs, But Trouble May Follow

A FR-reader reached out to Adorama and asked about his Fujifilm GFX100RF pre-order, which he placed just minutes after announcement.

The reply he got is the following:

The cameras are in stock, and the order has cleared verification. At this time, I don’t see any issues. We’ll begin processing orders on April 21st, following the Passover holiday. You’ll receive a shipping confirmation email with tracking information as soon as your order ships.

So, it sounds like some Fujifilm GFX100RF have made it into US soil ahead of the US tariffs and shipping of the first pre-orders will proceed smoothly.

But I also confirm that Fujifilm plans to suspend orders for Fujifilm GFX100RF, along with suspension for X-M5 black and X100VI orders.

If you were interested in the Fujifilm GFX100RF, then maybe it could be good idea to pre-order it now, hoping that one of the stores has more stock than pre-orders, hence you’ll get it at the regular price now.

Same goes for the Fujifilm X-M5 black, which can also be still pre-ordered at BHphoto as well as at Adorama here and will ship end of April, too.

Fujifilm X-M5 Black Available for Pre-Order at BHphoto – Order Suspension Coming Soon also for GFX100RF and X100VI

X-M5

Soon Fujifilm will suspend orders for the black Fujifilm X-M5.

But as of now, you can still pre-order it.

In fact, for the first time ever since its announcement last year, BHphoto is taking preorders on the black Fujifilm X-M5.

As of now, you can order the black X-M5 with XC15-45 kit lens, whereas the black X-M5 body only is not yet available for order.

Adorama is taking pre-orders on the black X-M5 body here and black X-M5 with kit lens here.

At Amazon, the silver X-M5 kit is currently the best selling mirrorless camera new release (and 3rd in the overall mirrorless camera ranking) and the silver X-M5 body only is ranked 5th in the same ranking. But the black X-M5 is not available for order.

GFX100RF and X100VI

Also the Fujifilm GFX100RF and X100VI are subject to order suspension.

But at BHphoto you can still pre-order the Fujifilm GFX100RF, whereas you can no longer place orders on the X100VI.

Also Adorama still takes orders on the GFX100RF here and X100VI here, whereas Amazon is not taking anymore orders since shortly after launch and Moment has closed pre-orders for GFX100RF already.

Order Suspension Coming and Price Increase

We told you that Fujifilm is about to suspend all orders for Fujifilm X-M5 black, GFX100RF and X100VI. You can read the article here.

Given the enormous tariffs, also a price increase is likely, but I have no details on that.

I don’t know if GFX100RF and black X-M5 units have already reached US soil before the tariffs. If they did, then it is very likely the only batch of cameras US residents will be able to get at regular launch price.

It might not be a bad idea to order now at regular price and hope to get it shipped by April 24, which is when the GFX100RF and X-M5 black should start shipping.

Second Hand Prices

The only good thing of all this mess, is that very likely second hand prices will go up quite a bit. So if you were planing to sell some gear, soon you should be able to sell it at a higher price.

But that’s a very meager consolation, considering that for many camera stores, especially the smaller ones, these tariffs might represent an existential threat.

Fujifilm to Suspend Orders for GFX100RF, X100VI and X-M5 (Black Only)

I have received this message from an anonymous source (THANKS), telling me that on Friday April 11, Fujifilm contacted retailers about the suspension of orders for the following cameras: Fujifilm GFX100RF, X100VI and Fujifilm X-M5.

We have investigated this information and we can tell you this:

So that’s the most accurate information available for now. Of course it affects USA only.

This is very bad for the Fujifilm X100VI backorders, as they are made in China and probably will remain blocked in China until the tariffs are removed, since with tariffs at 145% or something like that, it is basically impossible to import to USA.

The Fujifilm X-M5 in silver is shipping already since months, so there might be some stock still in USA at regular price. Once that stock runs dry, I guess also the sales for the silver version will get paused. The X-M5 is made in China, too.

I have no idea what it going to happen with the Fujifilm GFX100RF. It was supposed to ship on April 24. I don’t know if some units have already arrived to USA before the tariffs kicked in or not. If not, I guess they’ll be put on hold too. Although the GFX100RF is made in Japan, so it “only” has 10% tariffs.

Fujifilm GFX100RF Owners Manual Available

The Fujifilm GFX100RF is shipping already since a few days in some countries, as we reported here.

Well, you can now also download the Fujifilm GFX100RF owners manual in PDF here or access it in html here.

Fujifilm Managers Explain GFX100RF Lack of Hybrid Viewfinder, WCL and TCL for GFX100RF, Content Credentials and More

Fujifilm managers talked to DPReview. You can read a summary below and the full interview here.

  • GFX100RF is for street and documentary photography because it is so small and lightweight
  • when they started to design the GFX100RF, they knew the price point already
  • to match that price point it had to be more luxurious than the X100Vi for example
  • so the main plate is milled out of a single block of aluminum, which is top end of manufacturing
  • it allows for more unique design and complex shapes
  • it takes about 5 hours to turn the aluminum block into the top plate
  • Redesigned lens hood with a new adapter ring that only fits one way
  • Rectangular hood attaches easily and aligns perfectly every time
  • rear element of lens is very close to the sensor
  • Fujifilm considered several lenses, but 28mm was best for compactness and image quality
  • allows for handheld shooting with low shutter speeds
  • Fujifilm is currently not thinking at add-on optical lenses like for X100VI
  • depends on customer feedback if wide and teleconverter will be launched
  • aspect ratio dial is a connection between digital and film cameras
  • Fujifilm tries to reach new customers with GFX100RF, and this concept is aimed to that
  • Fujifilm also wanted to offer a tool to change aspect ratio in camera rather than in post
  • a dial was the easiest way to implement aspect ratio control
  • Hybrid Viewfinder?
  • “The hybrid viewfinder’s structure is a little bit complicated, which means the magnification would be much smaller for such a high-resolution camera“
  • “Another reason is the digital teleconverter. If it comes with an OVF, we’d have to cover 20mm of range when using the teleconverter, which would make the guide-lines much smaller. So, from a practical point of view, we decided to install the EVF“
  • Content Credentials Support
  • Fujifilm is still developing and investigating how to implement the CAI and the C2PA
  • it’s unclear if GFX100RF will get this support. Fujifilm says: “If we have to pay to implement it, or if users have to pay… not so many will want it. Then it’ll only be for professional agencies or something“
  • the industry has to come up with a standard

Get Yours

Fujifilm GFX100RF Starts Shipping: Customer Feedback and Slowest Shutter Speed for Sharp Photos

The Fujifilm GFX100RF has started shipping in some countries. In the images you can see above, you can see the brand new Fujifilm GFX100RF shipped to FR-reader Mark in Germany.

His first feedback about the camera:

First impressions: It is beautifully light for a medium format camera. Doesn’t look as bulky in real-life as in some photos. EVF is nice and big for a rangefinder-style. Dials are a bit stiff for my taste, but better than accidentally changing them I guess.

Speaking of feedback, down below I will link two videos from Italian YouTube channels (Marco Fazio and Riflessioni Fotografiche).

They tested the Fujifilm GFX100RF for 2 days at an event of Fujifilm in Venice and Burano and they both, independently, came to the same conclusion: you can shoot at as low as 1/20th and still get sharp pictures.

This is in line with what Vistek, Luca Petralia, Docma and many other said: at about 1/30th or even 1/20th you still get sharp images.

I guess it depends on your style of shooting, but out of curiosity I checked the shutter speeds of hundreds of my last images as I reported here, and I found only one at 1/33th, a few at 1/50th to 1/80th, but the almost totality of my images is well above that.

So for me 1/20th is a mark that I basically do not reach for handheld shooting anyway hence I could live very well without IBIS on the GFX100RF with its 28mm equivalent lens and leaf shutter for minimal vibrations created by the camera.

Anyway, Fujifilm has published its own chart showing at which point IBIS would be beneficial for the Fujifilm GFX100RF. In that chart, Fujifilm seems to play on the safer side, giving about 1/40th as the minimal mark for sharp images. In real life, though, people seem to be able to shoot at 1/30th or 1/20th.

As said, the 1/20th and even 1/40th mark is very hard to hit for me. But check your images and see if you regularly shoot below 1/20th.

Video Reviews

** CLICK HERE to Read the Rest of the Article **

Fujifilm GFX100RF Fujifilm Manager Interviews and Additional Reviews

The Fujifilm GFX100RF is collecting general praise all over the internet for just how incredibly small and light it is for a medium format camera, and also for its excellent build quality.

But of course they also address the fact that it does not have IBIS.

Now, you can read more about it below, but in general it seems the consensus is that at 1/30th you can still get away with sharp images, but below that it starts to get tricky. That’s according to Luca Petralia (review below) and docma (article in German below) and also to the Vistek video we shared in our live blog. Of course I have not tested it myself (I am just a mere mortal like you and I don’t get anything from Fujifilm unless I pay full price for it), so for now I will just report what reviewers have to say about it.

Out of curiosity I checked the shutter speeds of my last few hundred images, and I found one at 1/33th, one at 1/50th a few at 1/60th and 1/80th but mostly I am well over that. So if the statements of reviewers so far holds true, if I were to use the GFX100RF with my style of shooting I could live very well without IBIS. Of course I have shots at even slower shutter speeds, but for those I used a tripod anyway, as I was working either in blue hour landscape/cityscape or with filters and I needed exposures of multiple seconds.

With that said, here are the reviews I mentioned above as well as a few more, including interviews with Fujifilm managers that while nice to listen at, do not really disclose anything new, hence I did not dedicate them a specific article but I decided to include them in this roundup.

Fujifilm GFX100RF Reviews
& Manager Interviews

** CLICK HERE to Read the Rest of the Article **

Size Comparison: Fujifilm GFX100RF vs GFX50R vs X100VI vs Leica Q3 vs Sony RX1rII vs Hasselblad X2D

Camerasize has added the Fujifilm GFX100RF to their database. Now you can compare its size to any other camera.

In our case we are going to compare the Fujifilm GFX10RF vs GFX50R vs X100VI vs Leica Q3 vs Sony RX1rII vs Hasselblad X2D.

Overall the Fujifilm GFX100RF is indeed very compact for sporting a sensor that is about 70% fuller than full frame.

I know some wish it would have a hybrid viewfinder, IBIS and a faster f/2 lens. But then, besides the much higher price, they’d probably hate the Fujifilm GFX100RF because it is too big to carry around for everyday shooting, which would be the biggest tradeoff of all.

A hybrid viewfinder would have been nice, but I am also fine with a huge and crisp top notch EVF (the GFX100RF has it) instead of a hybrid viewfinder.

And as Fujifilm explained here, the wide lens (plus almost vibration-free leaf shutter) actually allow to shoot at about 1/40th with sharp results. Not to talk of the terrific ISO performance of the GFX system, which also helps to keep shutter speeds higher. But for final judgment here I’ll wait some technical reviews about it. All I have seen demonstrating low shutter speed tests, is a launch video of Vistek (shared in our live blog), in which he showed samples at 1/30th and he was happy with the sharpness. I guess below that it will become harder to get very sharp results handheld.

But if that holds true, then it is indeed a tricky dilemma for Fujifilm: if images are still sharp at 1/30-1/40th of a second, is it still worth to trade off compactness and price for IBIS?

Out of curiosity I checked the shutter speed in my images of my last summer holiday (travels, landscape and city trips with family). When I shot handheld, I have found one image at 1/80th of a second (a picture of my son at sunset in Pienza, Tuscany). Then there are images I shot on tripod anyway because shutter speeds are so low that IBIS can’t help.

So I guess for my use case, IBIS would be nice to have, but the lack of it won’t have a terrible impact on my photography. In most of my images there are people in the frame (my kids, etc), so I can’t go too low with shutter speeds anyway.

Check out the size comparisons below.

Size Comparison

** CLICK HERE to Read the Rest of the Article **