ON TRIAL FujiFilm GFX 100
Thekeypointtobemadehere
is thattheGFX 100 isn’ttreating
JPEGshooterslikesecond-hand
citizens.Fujifilm’sout-of-camera
JPEGsarewithoutpeerwhichis
particularlygoodnewsif you’re
a highvolumeshooterona short
deadline(orsimplydon’tlikethe
ideaofhourssittingbehinda
computerprocessingRAWfiles).
AttheheartoftheJPEG
processingarethebrilliantly
engineered‘FilmSimulation’
profileswhicharecomplemented
bya growingnumberofadjustable
effectswhichallowforprecise
fine-tuningofhowthefinalimage
willlook.StayinG FocuSed
Another big deal with the GFX
100’s sensor is the provision of
phase-difference detection auto-
focus pixels, 3.67 million of them
to be precise, which give very
close to full-frame coverage via
425 measuring points. Conse-
quently, the GFX 100 is the first
digital medium format camera with
a hybrid phase/contrast detection
AF system and the first with this
number of measuring points so,
not surprisingly, its AF perfor-
mance is something new in this
category too, even compared to
Fujifilm’s own 50 MP models.
The 425 points are arranged in
a 25x17 pattern, but this can be
reduced to 117 (in a 13x9 pattern)
for more efficient selection, but
obviously with a bigger measuring
area as a result. Low light
sensitivity is extended down to
-3.0 EV (at ISO 100). The AF area
modes comprise Single-Point
(adjustable to one of five sizes),
Zone (in 7x7, 5x5 or 3x3 point
clusters selected from 117 points)
and Wide. There’s also an ‘All’
setting which allows you to cycle
through these three modes via the
rear input wheel. With continuous
AF operation, the area modes are
Single-Point, Zone and Tracking
which also works with Face/Eye
Detection.The eye detection can be set to
left or priority. As on the higher-
end X mount cameras, there’s
an ‘AF-C Custom’ menu which
provides five scenarios for fine-
tuning focus tracking via three
parameters –Tracking Sensitivity,
Speed Tracking Sensitivity and
Zone Area Switching. The five
options are called Multi Purpose,
Ignore Obstacles & Continue To
Track Subject, For Accelerating/
Decelerating Subject, For Suddenly
Appearing Subject and, take a
deep breath, For Erratically Moving
& Accel/Decel Subject. Additionally,
a custom setting allows you to
manually adjust these three control
parameters to create your own
focus tracking regime.
The GFX 100 retains an
external switch for selecting either
continuous or single-shot AF
operation, or manual focusing, but
it’s on the back panel for better
accessibility. The assists for manual
focusing comprise a magnified
image, a focus peaking display
(with a choice of colours and levels)
and Fujifilm’s ‘Digital Split Image’
panel (in either colour or B&W)
plus the ‘Digital Microprism’ which
was introduced with the X-T3.
The ‘Digital Split Image’ display
replicates the old split-image
rangefinder that was standard on
35mm SLRs for a long time.The ‘Digital Microprism’ creates
an interleaved grid pattern which is
designed to work like the traditional
collar on a fresnel focusing screen.
In a nutshell, this is all pretty much
what you’d expect to find in any
smaller format higher-end mirrorless
camera – specifically, it’s essentially
the same as the X-T3’s AF system.
There’s no AI-based wizardry, but
the GFX 100 is still streets ahead of
anything else in the medium format
camera world when it comes to its
AF capabilities and performance.
Exposure control is based
on 256-segment metering with
a choice of multi-zone, centre-
weighted average, fully averaged or
spot measurements. Additionally,
the spot metering can be linked to
the active focusing point or zone.
The overrides for the auto
control modes comprise an AE lock,
up to +/-5.0 EV of compensation
and, of course, auto bracketing
which can be set over sequences
of two, three, five, seven or nine
frames with up to +/-2.0 EV
adjustment per frame. There’s no
built-in flash, and external units
sync via a hotshoe or PC terminal,
but the Auto TTL flash control is
supported by Profoto’s AirTTL RF
remote system so high-speed
sync is available. Otherwise, the
maximum flash sync speed is
1/125 second.The GFX 100 is
undoubTedly
The FirsT 100 MP
caMera ThaT you
can realisTically
conTeMPlaTe
shooTinG wiTh
hand-held. really.
Interestingly, Fujifilm is as keen
to target videographers with the
GFX 100 as still photographers,
and in this market the value
proposition is again hard to ignore.
This sensor size is still relatively
new territory for video-makers
(where it’s being confusingly called
“large format”), but full-35mm
pro-level cameras such as the
RED Monstro and Sony Venice
are already popular (but both
significantly more expensive,
by the way) so Fujifilm is aiming
to offer something more... that
and a massive 102 megapixels
resolution, of course.Bigger sensors are appealing
to video-makers because of the
pictorial qualities, including a
shallower depth-of-field and better
low-light performance.
The GFX 100 is also attractive
because of its in-body image sta-
bilisation and its faster continuous
autofocusing via phase-detection
pixels with close to full-frame
coverage. Being able to detach the
EVF is also advantageous in some
video rig situations, especially if
you’re using an external monitor.
The GFX 100 records 4K video
using the full sensor width with
10-bit 4:2:0 colour recording in
either the DCI or UHD resolutions
at 30, 25 or 24 fps; and 10-bit 4:2:2
colour to an external recorder
via the HDMI port. This is using
the more efficient HEVC H.265
compression codec, but H.264
compression is available too,
along with switching betweenthe All-Intra (intraframe) and
Long GOP (interframe) processing
regimes. The highest bit rate is
400 Mbps, and you also have
the 17:9 and 16:9 aspect ratios
for both 4K and 2K FHD. Better
still, there are no restrictive limits
on clip durations which are 60
minutes for 4K and 80 minutes
for 2K.
Importantly too, F-Log and HLG
gamma profiles are available to
enable easier contrast control and
colour grading in post-production.
Of course, the Eterna/Cinema
‘Film Simulation’ profile is also
available for a flatter colour
rendering which optimises the
dynamic range.
All the other ‘Film Simulation’
profiles are available too, along
with the adjustable picture
parameters (including the warm-
to-cool ‘B&W Adjustment’), noise
reduction (including interframeNR for 4K recording), dynamic
range expansion processing and
correction for lens vignetting.
Other video features include
zebra patterns (with adjustable
thresholds), time-coding, focus
peaking displays for MF assist
and movie silent control via the
touchscreen.
On the audio side, the GFX 100
has built-in stereo microphones
with auto/manual level control, a
wind-cut filter, a low-cut filter and
an attenuator. Both a stereo audio
input and output are provided, and
are the standard 3.5 mm minijack
connections.
While hybrid cameras
are very different animals to
dedicated video camcorders for
cinematographers, the GFX 100
is like nothing anybody has seen
before, and it’s going to be too
hard to ignore... for both video-
makers and photographers alike.