46 17 August 2019I http://www.amateurphotographer.co.ukI subscribe 0330 333 1113
Testbench CAMERA TEST
Thein-bodystabilisation
facilitateshandheld
shootingin lowlight
GF32-64mmf/4at32mm,
1/10sec at f/4, ISO 800Autofocus
Untilnow,medium-format
camerashavealwaysbeenknown
forsluggishautofocus.Butthe
GFX100is different,because
it’sthefirsttoemployon-sensor
phasedetection,using3.76-
millionPDAFpixelsthatare
spreadacrosstheentireimage
area.Theimprovementthisbrings
overits50MPsiblingsthatuse
contrastdetectionis huge,with
radicallyfasterAFalongwith
enhancedfaceandeyedetection.
Whileit wouldbeanexaggeration
toclaimthattheGFX100can
matchtheverybestAFsystems
around,it’scertainlyquickenough
tokeepupwiththecamera’slikely
uses.Onewordof warningfor
existingFujifilmGFXusers,
though:allGFlensesrequirea
firmwareupdatetoworkwith
PDAF,andit increasestheir
speedsignificantly.
ForstaticsubjectstheGFX100
behaveslikea modernmirrorless
camera,focusingnear-instantly,
quietlyandunerringlyaccurately,
nomatterwherethesubject
is placedwithintheframe.
Withmovingsubjectsit works
surprisinglywelltoo,thanksto
theuseof trackingalgorithms
borrowedfromthefirm’stop-end
X-systemcameras.Again,thisisn’t
a sportscamera,butit’sperfectly
capable of keeping focus on
modelswalkingtowardsyou,
forexample.
Faceandeyedetectionworks
prettywelltoo,andI gotgood
resultsusingit at a vintageportrait
shootwithTimeLineEvents.But
it’sfartooeasytoturnoffby
accident,asthebuttonsthat
activateit areveryexposed on the
cornersof thecamera.Performance
Aftera coupleof weekswith
theGFX100,what’simpressed
memostis howlittleit feels
likea medium-formatcamera.
Obviouslyit’snotasblisteringly
quickasCanonandNikon’s
similarlysizedpromodels,butit’s
morethanfastenoughforthe
subjectsit’slikelytobeusedfor.
It’salsounexpectedlyeasy
touse.Previously,I’vegotused
towritingabouthowyouneed
impeccablephotographic
techniquetomakethebestuseof
high-resolutioncameras.Butwith
itsPDAF,IBISandvibration-free
shutter,theGFX100makesit
implausiblysimpletogetsharp,
blur-freeimagestimeaftertime
whileshootinghandheld.This
bringsfarmorefluidityand
mobilitytoyourphotography,
whichcanbeinvaluablewhenyou
havea fleetingwindowof light.
Ofcourse,a high-resolution
sensor is nothing without a decentlensin frontof it, andspecial
mentionhastobemadeof
Fujifilm’ssupremeoptics.I used
theGF110mmF2R LMWR
portraitlens,theGF120mmF4
R LMOISWRMacrowhichoffers
halflife-sizemagnification,and
theGF32-64mmF4R LMWR
WRwideanglezoom,whichare
allpracticallyflawless.Indeedthe
lattermightjustbethefinestzoom
I’veeverused,andcapableof
renderingfinedetailsrightintothe
cornersof theframe,evenwhen
viewingfilesclose-uponscreen.
Meteringis generallyvery
accurate,andit’seasytoseein
theviewfinderwhenyou’rein
dangerof eitherclippinghighlights
orunderexposing,andadjust
accordingly.Asidefromthe
sensor’sstaggeringlevelsof detail,
it alsorecordsvastdynamicrange,
givingyouscopetoexposefor
thehighlightsevenin extremely
high-contrastsituations,then
simplybringuptheshadowsin raw
processing.AtlowISOsettings
theGFX100givesresultsthat
comfortablysurpasseventhebest
full-framecameras,aswellasits
current50MPGFXsiblings.
Thesensoris noslouchat high
ISOseither,anda clearadvance
ontheolder50MPcameras;I’d
havenohesitationin selectingits
higheststandardISO12,800
setting when necessary. Thein-bodyIS alsoworksverywell,
andmeansyoudon’thaveto
worryaboutkeepingshutter
speedshighsimplytoavoid
camerashake.Howeverif you’re
doinga lotof low-lightshootinga
full-framesystemwouldprobably
makemoresense,owingto
thewidespreadavailabilityof
high-qualityfastprimes.
Fujifilm’sin-cameracolour
processingis peerless,witha
wholesuiteof attractivefilm-
simulationmodestochoosefrom.
I tendtopreferAstiaforcolouror
ProNegSforportraits,whileAcros
deliverswonderfulblack& white
images.UnfortunatelyAdobe
softwaredoesn’tyetreplicate
theseprofiles,butit’ssureto
soonerratherthanlater.Auto
whitebalanceis prettymuch
perfect,andI rarelyfelttheneed
todivergefarfromthecamera’s
judgementin rawprocessing.
Portraitphotographersshould
certainlyappreciatetheSmooth
SkinEffectsetting,whichin effect
lowersthecontrastof moderately
finedetailtogivea moreflattering
complexion(ratherlikesettingthe
newTexturesliderin Lightroomto
a negativevalue).Justbeaware
thatthisaffectseverytonein the
image,notjustskin,solandscape
photographers(forexample)
mayprefertoturnit off
to maximise detail.