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FujiFilm GFX 50S ON TRIAL
detection and auto tracking are
available, the latter using nine-point
zones to detect subject movement.
Eye-detection can be set to either
left or right eye priority. As on the
X Mount cameras, an external
selector is used to set either
the single-shot or continuous
AF modes, or switch to manual
focusing where there’s the choice
of a magnified image or a focus
peaking display for assistance.
Exposure control is based on
a 256-segment TTL meter (again
using the sensor) with the choice
of multi-zone, centre-weighted
average, fully averaged or spot
measurements. The spot meter
can be linked to the active focusing
point (or points cluster). There’s
the choice of program, shutter- or
aperture-priority auto, and manual
exposure modes which are set
in the same way that they are on
the X-Pro2 and X-T2... so there’s
no main mode dial and instead
the shutter speed dial and/or the
aperture collar have an ‘A’ (for auto)
position. Incidentally, the aperture
collars on the GF lenses also
have a ‘C’ position which enables
apertures to be set from the
camera body. The auto modes are
backed by an AE lock, up to +/-5.0
EV of compensation and bracketing
which can be set to sequences
of two, three, five, seven or nine
frames with an adjustment of
up to +/-3.0 EV. Again like the X
Mount models, Fujifilm packages
up a total of five auto bracketingfunctions in their own sub-menu
and which, in addition to exposure,
include ISO, dynamic range, the
‘Film Simulation’ presets and white
balance. The latter four operate
over sequences of three frames.
In addition to auto bracketing,
the white balance control
options comprise auto correction
supplement by seven presets and
three custom settings. Fine-tuning
(amber-to-blue and/or green-to-
magenta) is available for all the
presets, or a colour temperature
can be set manually over a range
of 2500 to 10,000 degrees Kelvin.in The hand
The GFX 50S drives very much
like a smaller format camera so
anybody stepping up from there
will have very little difficulty ac-
climatising... even less so if you’ve
been weaned on the X-T1 or X-T2.
The control layout, menus and the
‘Quick Menu’ control screen are all
pure X Series which makes sense
given Fujifilm wants to attract
advanced enthusiasts to its digital
medium format system as well as
professionals. You’ll also be right
at home if you’re stepping up from
a high-end full-35mm or ‘APS-C’Replay screens include an overlay of brightness and RGB histograms.Live view screen can be highly customised. The illustration at left shows the 9x9 point AF zone (lower left).
At right is the dual-axis level indicator. Swiping the monitor screen vertically quickly switches between this
display and real-time histograms (RGB and brightness).D-SLR. That said, there are some
additional considerations related
to shooting at 50 megapixels
resolution. It’s not quite as chal-
lenging as when using the 50 MP
Canon full-35mm D-SLRs, because
the bigger sensor means bigger
pixels – 5.3 microns versus 4.14
microns – so the packing density
is less, but there’s still a need to
eliminate any source of vibrations,
internal or external, to optimise
sharpness. The sensor-based
shutter deals with the former and
using a faster shutter speed when
shooting hand-held will help with
the latter. The old ‘1/focal length’
rule for the minimum useable shut-
ter speed doesn’t really work so
well here, but you can shoot with
the GFX 50S hand-held provided
you stick with reasonably fast
speeds of around 1/250 second
or shorter. And we found that
using a monopod really helped at
lower speeds so you don’t have to
compromise mobility which, after
all, is partly what mirrorless digital
medium format is all about (and at
least there isn’t a whacking great
mirror flapping around). Neverthe-
less, if you’re shooting in low light
conditions and you want maximumdepth-of-field then a tripod is going
to be essential.
Thanks to its good-sized grip
with extends backwards to include
a thumbrest, the GFX 50S feels
very comfortable in the hand and
it’s particularly well balanced with
the both the 63mm standard lens
and the 32-64mm zoom which, we
suspect, will be the first lens of
choice for most non-professional
buyers. Both the main dials are
big and beefy components with
the option of locked-off settings,
but unlike the X Mount cameras,
there’s a monochrome info read-
out panel – with backlighting – and
it’s here, for example, that you set
exposure compensation. As there’s
plenty of space on the GFX 50S’s
top deck, it’s a pretty big panel
and displays all exposure-related
settings including the control
mode, plus the ‘Film Simulation’
preset, white balance, AF and
AE locks, and the selected image
quality. The battery power level and
remaining memory card capacity
are displayed when the camera
is switched off. Furthermore, this
panel can be switched between
still image and video displays, and
the layout can be customised....the idea of
a mirrorless
digital medium
format kit being
more portable
is realistic, even
with a bunch of
lenses in the bag.
CamMayJune17_036-045 Fujifilm.indd 42 13/04/2017 9:59 AM