Amateur Photographer - UK (2019-06-08)

subscribe 0330 333 1113I http://www.amateurphotographer.co.ukI 8 June 2019 9

First impressions

TheGF50mmF3.

on the GFX 50R

Medium orlarge?

FUJIFILMis keenonemphasisingthesensor-size

advantageof itsGFXcamerasoverfull-frame

models,totheextentof inventingdifferentnamesforits

44 x 33mmformatandtryingtomakethemstick.Last

September,at Photokina2018,thefirmrathercheekily

suggestedsuper-full-frame,whichhasa certaincharm.

Howeverat theGFX100’slauncheventin Tokyo,it

movedontodeclaringthecameratobe‘largeformat’

• a termthatit’salsousedonitswebsite.Theproblemis
  thatfilm-savvyphotographersconsiderthistomean
  somethingcompletelydifferent,whichpotentiallyrisks
  confusion.Hopefully,though,anyphotographerwillingto
  spend £10,000 on a camera body will understand this.

More details revealed

of upcoming lenses

FUJIFILMhasalso

givenusa further

glimpseat itsupcomingGF

lenses.TheGF50mmF3.

R LMWRis a compact

primethatwill,in concert

withtherangefinder-style

GFX50R,formtheworld’s

lightestmedium-format

digitalcameraset-up.With

a fieldof viewequivalent

toa 40mmlensonfull

frame,it shouldprovidea

verynaturalperspectiveto

images,andbeidealfor

subjectssuchasstreet

photography.Fujifilmis

promisinghighimage

quality,withresolution to

matchthe

GF X10 0 ’s

sensor,along

withhigh-

speedAF

thankstoan

innerfocusing

mechanism.

Liketherest

of theGFX

system,the

lenswillbe

both weather-

In termsof corephotographic
specifications,thesensitivityrange
coversISO100-12,800(expandable
toISO50-102,400),whilecontinuous
shootingis availableat 5 framesper
second.Fujifilmclaimsthatthenew
back-illuminatedsensorcanrecordup
to 14 stopsof dynamicrange,witha
16-bitrawoptionavailabletomake
themostof this.Meanwhileautofocus
employs3.76millionphase-detection
pixelsspreadacrosstheentiresensor
area,andpromisesenhancedface-
andeye-detectionAF.
Withsucha high-resolutionsensor,
eventheslightesthandshakeor
operationalvibrationrisksblurringfine
detail.Tocombatthis,Fujifilmhas
included5-axisin-bodyimage
stabilisationthat’sclaimedtodeliverup
to5.5stopsof shakereduction.The
sensor,IS unitandlensmountarealso
isolatedfromtheshutterandtherestof
thebodytominimisethetransmission
of anyexternalshocks,whilea vibration-
freeelectronicfirst-curtainshutteris
usedbydefault,witha mechanicalfirst
curtainemployedat fastshutterspeeds.
LiketheGFX50S,thecamera
employs a removable electronic

viewfinder,witha huge5.76-million-dot

resolutionand0.86xmagnification.It’s

simplystunning,providinga vastand

detailedpreviewimage.Ontheback,

there’sa 2.36-million-dot,3.2intilting

touchscreenthatenableswaist-level

shootingin bothportraitandlandscape

formats.AdditionalLCDdisplaysare

foundonthetop-plateandlowerback.

Thebodyof thecamerahasan

integratedverticalgrip,witha duplicate

setof controlsforportrait-format

shooting.Measuring156.2x 163.6x

102.9mmandweighing1,400g

(includingbothbatteries),it’sverysimilar

in sizetothefull-frameNikonD5or

CanonEOS-1DX MarkII. Thismakes

it mucheasiertohandlethanany

medium-formatDSLR.

In operationalterms,theGFX

strikinglydoesawaywiththeanalogue

dialsthatarea hallmarkof Fujifilm’s

othercameras.Insteadit employs

pairsof electronicdialsoneachgripto

controlshutterspeed,ISOandexposure

compensation,withtheapertureset

usinga ringonthelens.A largedialon

thetop-plateswitchesbetweenstillsand

videomodes,allowingoptimised settings

to be retained for each.

Havingspenta dayshootingwiththeGFX100,whatimpressedmethemostis how
littleit feelslikea medium-formatcamera.It’seasytoshoothandheld,whilethe
autofocusis strikinglyquickerthanthecurrentGFX50Rand50Smodels.
Fujifilmhas,however,madesomeuncharacteristicerrorswithregardtothe
handling.Thecontroldials,buttonsandjoysticksarealltiny,andI suspectwillbe
verydifficulttooperatewithgloves.Themaingripis nicelysculptedwitha thick
rubbercoating,buttheverticalgripis justa slimslabof baremetal,makingit
distinctlyuncomfortabletohold.Andif youwanttoshootwiththeLCDtilted
upwardsasa waist-levelfinder,you’llfirstneedtoremovetheEVF,asit overhangs
thebackof thecamerasofarthatit blocksmuchof thescreen.
Theseflawsareforgotten,though,whenyoulookat theoutput.Thankstothe
high-ressensorandsuperbGFlenses,theimagequalityis trulyextraordinary,with
a phenomenalamountof detailresolvedfromcornertocorner.IndeedFujifilmwas
showingincrediblydetailedprintsa coupleof metreswide.Thisis a nichecamera for
sure, but even at fi rst glance, it’s clearly capable of remarkable results.

resistantandfreeze-proof

to-10°C.It’sscheduledto

goonsalelaterthisyear.

Alsoonitswayis the

GF45-100mmF4R

LMOISWR,animage-

stabilisedstandard

zoomwitha 36-79mm

equivalentrange.It’ll

complementtheexisting

GF32-64mmF4R LMWR

andGF100-200mmF5.

R LMOISWRlensesto

providea three-zoom

set-upcovering25mm

wideangleto160mm

telephoto.It promises

muchthesamefeatures

asthe50mm,withinternal

focusingforfastAF,

andweather-

sealing.Expect

thisoneto

appearin early

2020.Pricing

forbothlenses

is stilltobe

determined.

APtechnicaleditor

AndyWestlake

shootingwiththe

GFX100 in Japan

The45-100mmf/

includesoptical

image stabilisation

© GORDON L AING