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Remote app. You can copy
files across to your phone
for sharing, control the camera
remotely from your phone, or
geotag your images using its GPS
while you’re out shooting.
To complement the GFX50S II,
Fujifilm has also launched a new
kit zoom, the GF 35-70mm
F4.5-5.6 WR, which equates to a
28-56mm equivalent range. It
features a retracting design to
take up less space in your bag,
while also being the first GF lens
without an aperture ring. But like
the rest of the system, it features
weather-resistant construction.
Build and handling
Physically, the GFX50S II looks
identical to the GFX100S, aside
from the subtle name badge on
the its side. To users of Fujifilm’s
older GFX models, or most of its
APS-C X-system mirrorless
cameras, the design philosophy
might come as a surprise, as
instead of using the company’s
signature analogue dials, it
behaves more like a conventional
DSLR. So there are twin
electronic dials under your finger
and thumb, an exposure mode
dial on top, and a joystick for
positioning the focus point. This
isn’t necessarily a bad thing,
though; just different.
Overall, the body is about the
same size and shape as a
high-end full-frame DSLR, and is
built for pro use, with magnesium
alloy construction and extensive
weather-sealing. A large, deep
handgrip makes it very
comfortable and secure to hold,
even with the larger lenses in the
GF line-up. With lightweight
lenses such as the 35-70mm kit
zoom, it’s entirely possible to
shoot one-handed, which isn’t
something you’d normally
associate with medium format.
On the whole, the controls are
large and well-spaced, making
them easy to use while you’re
wearing gloves, while a large
status panel on top shows all
your settings at a glance.
Unusually, both electronic dials
can be clicked inwards like
buttons. With the front dial, this
switches between controlling
aperture and ISO, which comes
into its own when using the
35-70mm lens. By default,
clicking the rear dial engages live
view magnification, but I think
there’sa better way to use it. This
is because Fujifilm has persisted
with the same tiny exposurecompensation button as the
GFX100S. But by changing a
couple of menu settings, you can
set the camera up so that
clicking the rear dial switches
between shutter speed and
exposure compensation instead,
which makes more sense.
Compared to a lot of other
high-end cameras, the back plate
is relatively clean. There’s a
joystick for positioning the AF
area and navigating menus, a
dedicated button for changing the
drive mode, and a small switch
beside the viewfinder for the
focus mode. Most other settings
are accessed via Fujifilm’s
enviably clear Q menu. A couple
of unmarked buttons on top of
the camera can be customised to
suit your preferences, as can one
on the front, while swipe gestures
across the touchscreen can also
be used like custom buttons.
Meanwhile the exposure mode
dial has no fewer than six custom
positions for saving camera
set-ups for specific purposes.
One of the few criticisms of the
design is that the touchscreen is
underemployed. You can use it to
set the focus point, operate the Q
Menu, swipe though images in
playback, and double-tap on themEffective in-body
stabilisation makes it
easy to get sharp
images handheld
Fujifilm GFX 50 S II, 35-70mm at 70mm,
0.3sec at f/5.6, ISO 800The matched GF 35-70mm
F4.5-5.6 WR is capable of
excellent results
Fujifilm GFX 50 S II, 35-70mm at 70mm,
1/ 120 sec at f/ 11 , ISO 200to zoom in to inspect focus. But
there’s still no option to operate
the menus by touch.Viewfinder and screen
The GFX50S II inherits the same
large, high-resolution electronic
viewfinder as the GXF100S. At
3.69 million dots and 0.77x