Outside of technical stuff like image quality and autofocus, there are some cameras that just make you happy when you hold them. To celebrate great ergonomics, Chris Niccolls runs down his top five handling digital cameras of all time.
Fujifilm X100V
Many people love the analogue control experience of the X-T line. Chris prefers the ergonomics of the Fujifilm X-S10 and Fujifilm GFX100S. But at the end Chris picks the Fujifilm X100V because it is a refined and pocketable camera. Hybrid Viewfinder is nice to use. Flip out LCD is so thin that it does not make the camera bulkier. Compact 23mmF2 lens. Fits in pocket and very nice to use.
Contrary to what we were used so far, this time they also included non Fujifilm X Photographers to the talk, meaning photographers that are not part of the official X photographers program, but who simply started using X or GFX gear, even though they have no relationship with Fujifilm Corporation.
The first not official X/GFX photographer to be part of the Fujifilm Nordic Webinar series is called Soren Solkaer.
Soren Solkaer went digital since 2002
he instantly started shooting with Full Frame digital (but in his analog times he shot medium format)
about 1 year ago, his prost production guy told him “Sir, we have to talk, there is a new camera in town“
Soren was very skeptical. He didn’t want to change his camera as he was so used to his full frame gear
his post production partner told him there are files now, that are way better than his full frame files
in some of his exhibitions he prints 2×3 meters big, and squeezing that our of full frame can be done, but having a bigger file is a huge advantage
his post production partner told him the files of GFX are bigger and the quality is just amazing
despite being very reluctant, he tried out the GFX system and he saw that his post production partner was right
he did not start with the 50MP GFX but he started right with the 100MP GFX100S
on top of the resolution, there were many other things that hugely impress him of the Fujifilm GFX100S
he needed to get used to the menu, the buttons, etc
in the last 25 years he mainly took portraits of celebrities
the interviewer asks about the speed of the GFX100S, and he says that he shoots full manual control (except for autofocus), and after a bit of time of getting used, he now gets 100 out of 100 perfectly exposed and focused images
in some other of his project the file size itself is not necessary at all, and in those cases he still uses his full frame gear
lately for a projects he photographs bird formations flying in the sky at fairly low light. He shoots at 1/500 of a second and wide aperture, so he only has the ISO left to adjust. And the higher he goes with ISO, what is gained in resolution with the GFX100S, is lost in noise at high ISO.
another issue: GFX100S shoots at 5fps continuous AF. For birds, the more fps you get the higher the chance to nail the right moment
And here comes Soren’s question: Will there be any improvements down the line in terms of sensitivity and also buffer? Here is what Fujifilm Nordic answers:
there are some secrets Fujifilm Nordic can not reveal, but what they can say is that in May there will be an X summit with an announcement, where we will see new sensor and also new processor technology
there will be definitely a speed improvement on the APS-C X system, so why shouldn’t those improvements drop down also to the GFX system?
Actually the whole GFX system started this way: first 5 years with X system, then Fuji started with the GFX system and pulled the technical stuff of the GFX system into the X system
without telling every secret, but GFX system will get faster and faster with the new hardware
speed will increase on the GFX system
Fujifilm Nordic can’t tell when, but they are confident that it will go into that direction [of more speed]
one day Soren will get a medium format camera that can burst quite a lot more than the current GFX cameras
“we are working on it, definitely“
I guess it is safe to assume that Fujifilm Nordic is referring to the stacked APS-C sensor to be announced in May 2022 (as Fujifilm officially teased here) and hence hint to the possibility that the stacked technology could find its way also into future GFX cameras.
Just to be clear, so far in terms of rumors I have no hints about any stacked sensor GFX camera coming. Of course this doesn’t mean it won’t come, I just say that at the time of this article I have no information about it.
The summary above is just an extract of Soren’s part of the talk with Fujifilm Nordic. But actually the whole 2 hours talk also with the official Fujifilm X Photographers is well worth a listen. So make sure to check it out down below.
One of the most read articles back in 2020 here on FujiRumors was the guest post titled “The X-Pan Rebirth of Fujifilm X-Pro1“, where a reader modified his X-Pro1 into an X-Pan digital camera.
And every now and then the wish of a digital Fujifilm X-Pan camera surfaces again in the Fujifilm community such as here, here and here.
Well, today we have another request for a Fujifilm X-Pan camera coming from Pavel and shared over at his youtube channel SuperSuperka (video below).
He so severely wants a digital XPan Fujifilm camera, that he made a very nice rendering on how he imagines it to be.
He called his rendered X-Pan camera the Fujifilm TX-3, of course inspired by what Jonas Rask called “the most beautiful camera ever created“, the Fujifilm TX-1. He wrote me:
Some notes about the concept. It has GFX sensor cut in half, which gives just perfect match to Xpan proportions
Logarithmic response pixels are not commonly used, but are used in technical tasks. What they can do is to not mimic film but to have native film-like look.
Arca-swiss is the bottom of the body. No additional plates needed. OVF with phase-detect autofocus.
I used 28mm which with this sensor is a bit wider FOV then original 45mm on Xpan. Like, say, 40mm on Xpan.
Quite frankly, at this point, if Fujifilm was to adventure itself in a crafting a unique niche digital camera, then I’d personally find a digital X-Pan much more appealing over let’s say a monochrome Fujifilm X camera.
What about you? Feel free to vote the survey down below.
You can read all the details and get the download links in this article.
And here comes my curiosity: I recently started using the Camera Remote App to update my cameras, and I find it so comfortable, that I was wondering if anyone else is using it. Hence, down below is a little survey where you can tell us if you use the App or go old-style via SD-card.
Fujifilm published its financial results for Q3 of fiscal year 2021 (April 1, 2021 – March 31, 2022).
Great sales for the Instax products and a special mention also to the strong performance of digital cameras, especially the Fujifilm GFX100S. Down below all the details.
Less than 48 hours after the launch of deals, I found myself at my local photography store, my credit card flying over the sales counter and in my bag a box containing the Fujinon GF50mmF3.5.
And don’t worry, my wife approved this purchase… now all I need is her to approve also my other two Fuji-dreams gear 2022, meaning this camera and this lens ;).
I am Happy I Failed :)
Here is why I bought it, and I am so excited about this lens.
My main application for this wonderful combo is landscape photography.
So how is that working out?
Well, my go-to bag for hiking is my Camslinger Outdoor. I love the practicality of it to a point, that I won’t buy gear (for landscape photography) that does not fit in there. And despite having a sensor about 70% larger than full frame, the GFX100S with GF32-64mmF4 still fits!
So, for me, this combo is compact enough, and I can easily make my usual 4 to 6 hours hike with the GFX100S and GF32-64 on my hips.
Why do I say this?
Because I want to make clear that I don’t perceive the GFX100S with GF32-64 as too big for the purpose of landscape photography, especially considering what it is: a 100 megapixel medium format system that I can carry around all day on my hips. It’s frankly amazing.
But while it is a surprisingly compact combo for the purpose of landscape photography, the GFX100S combined with the GF32-64mmF4 is not small enough for my taste to bring it with me for more casual shooting, may it be for my street photography or to document my family life.
By getting the Fujinon GF50mmF3.5, though, the whole combo gets substantially smaller and lighter, making it much more portable and easier to pick also for casual photography.
But owning the GF50mmF3.5 simply gives me more options and opportunities to pick up my GFX100S more often if I want to.
I am very happy with my purchase and I can’t wait to use use it comprehensively starting with this weekend.
We (my family and me) are probably going to the town of Sirmione this Saturday. I have never been there and can’t wait to test my new lens in such a wonderful little lake town.
FUJIFILM Corporation has identified a firmware incompatibility between specific X and GFX series cameras listed below. This incompatibility can result in macOS users being unable to directly access files if they were initially saved to SDXC memory cards in-camera.
To address this anomaly, Fujifilm is creating a firmware patch, which is expected to be available for free download by X Series and GFX System users soon.
In the interim, please review the following information carefully for further information and recommended next steps.