44 http://www.amateurphotographer.co.uk
Testbench IN THE FIELD
body,soIhavetobeextra
carefulwithselectingan
appropriatelyfastenoughshutter
speed.Thenatureofmuchofmy
currentpersonalpracticeseesme
travelling(beforelockdown)
aroundtheworld,soIdon’talways
wanttohavetocarryatripod.
Also,I’moftenworkingina
‘documentarytradition’and
prefertobeasinconspicuousas
possible.However,theextremely
goodISOperformancehelpsme
dealwiththis.
Oneofmybiggestconcernswas
switchingfromathroughthelens
viewfinderofaconventionalDSLR
toanEVF.Ineedn’thaveworried.
I’vebarelygivenitasecond
thought,andtobehonestwhen
I’musingmyFujifilmX100Fwhich
hashybridoptical/EVFoptions,
unliketheGFXwhichonlyhasEVF
Irarelyusetheopticaloption.
Greatglass
Foreconomicreasons,Iinitially
onlyhadfundsfortheGFX50R
camerabodyandonelens.I
plumpedfortheFujifilmGF
63mmF2.8RWR.PerhapsIwas
aspiringtomyintroductionto
photographyintheearly’80s
whenIbought,aswaspretty
normalinthosedays,abodywith
a‘standard’lens(bycoincidencea
FujicaSTX-1N35mmwithFujifilm
X-Fujinon50mmF1.9).The
FujifilmGF63mmF2.8RWRis
35mmequivalenttoa50mm,
whichinturnistheclosestfocal
lengthtothefieldofviewwehave
withoureyes.Inmanyways,only
havingonelenswasliberating.
OneofthethingsIoftenbangon
aboutinphotographyworkshopsI
runforLightandLandandthe
RoyalPhotographicSocietyisthat
usingonefocallengthfora
prolongedperiodoftimewill,
withoutdoubt,makeyouabetter
photographer.Ifoundthistobe
truerthanI’vepreached,andin
manyways,therestrictionwas
creativelyliberating.However,I
makemylivingthrough
photographyinoneformor
anotherandrealisticallyonefocal
lengthwasn’tgoingtocutthe
mustard.TheGFsystemcomesintoitsonewiththeimpressive
line-upFujinonGFoptics.My
lineupisstillprettysimple,Iadded
theFujinonGF110mmF2RLM
WRandtheFujinonGF45mm
F2.8RWRgivingmeakitbag
withthe35mmequivalentofa
35mm,50mmand85mm.This
prettymuchcoversmostbasesfor
me.IfIaddanythingelseI’llmost
likelywaitfortheFujinonGF
30mmF3.5(24mm)whichis
onthe roadmap for release later
this year.
The build quality of the Fujinon
GF 110mm F2 R LM WR is
excellent, as it is with all the GF
lenses. It’s the largest and heaviest
lens in my Fujifilm kit bag and I
definitely use this lens ‘by
appointment’, usually for portrait-
based work. I don’t tend to carry it
around in my kit back. There is no
built-in optical image stabilisation,
so choosing a suitably fast shutter
speed or mounting on a tripod is
essential. The Fujinon GF 45mm
f/2.8 R WR is probably my go-to
lens. I’m blown away by the quality
of it time and time again.After Lee
Friedlander,
North Wales
Fujifilm GFX 50R, Fujinon
GF 45mm F2.8 R WR,
1/200sec at f/5.6, ISO 100‘Using one focal length for a prolonged period of time will,
without doubt, make you a better photographer’