Fujifilm gfx100rf evaluate: a sensor, 9 rooms

When Apple launched iPhone 15 Professional, Greg Joswiak, the primary vice -president of the world advertising and marketing firm, mentioned that the three rear cameras of the system will present shoppers “the equal of seven chamber lenses of their pocket”.

We might spend extra podcasts debating the technical validity of this assertion, however what Joswiak was attempting to contain was that the iPhone now had sensors with a decision that was giant and excessive sufficient to reap to imitate varied focal lengths.

Now Fujifilm is attempting the identical.

With a 35 mm lens connected to a surprising physique much like the super-popular X100VI, it might be straightforward to imagine that Fuji’s new GFX100RF is the corporate’s try and take a successful technique and prolong it into medium format.

However whereas most fastened lenses, resembling X100VI, create intentional limitations and encourage you to drag greater than you assume, GFX100RF refers to flexibility and intentionality. Utilizing its 102sqm excessive decision sensor, a very new report body and 4 completely different digital “zoom” modes, Fujifilm goals to switch 9 rooms and 4 lenses with a comparatively compact physique.

GFX100RF from Fujifilm is essentially the most compact medium format within the firm. By internet hosting the identical sensor as its flagship GFX100II, the $ four,900 digital camera is extraordinarily succesful, providing the identical pleasant bodily controls and wealthy colours for which the model is thought. There’s a purpose why individuals like to shoot with Fujifilm rooms and, in case you are in search of extra experiences, the GFX100RF is not going to disappoint you.

The brand new twist of this room provides to the system is its name name. This bodily quadrant, mounted behind the digital camera, lets you select from one of many 9 completely different codecs to suit your picture. As somebody who nonetheless shoots quite a lot of previous film cameras, made me go huge. Specifically, as a result of the side relations provided by the digital camera are primarily based on the true Fujifilm cameras manufactured a long time in the past. It is a very enjoyable throw. You possibly can select between four: three, three: 2, 16: 9, 17: 6, three: four, 1: 1, 7: 6, 5: four and, my favourite, 65: 24-un-tribute to the legendary of the panoramic chamber TX-1 of Fujifilm.

As a result of Fujifilm didn’t embrace the hybrid optical viewfinder, as you will note within the X100VI and X-PRO3, it included three completely different views for composing these side relations. You possibly can see the complete scene with body strains, a 50% opacity mode that lets you see what’s outdoors your body or a whole cease mode that exhibits solely the tradition you photograph.

After testing this room for a couple of month, I began to surprise why every room doesn’t have a dial like this. Carrying the room round Utah, there was quite a lot of enjoyable to leap round completely different relationships whereas composing a photograph, and in a number of circumstances, a picture that I thought-about “good” in mode four: three was fully modernized at “Nice”, as soon as I discovered the correct tradition for it.

Now, clearly, once you harvest a big a part of an image, harvest an honest quantity of decision. However even when utilizing essentially the most cropped 65×24 ratio, stick with a big 50MP file. And in the event you photograph RAW along with JPG and edit in Adobe Lightroom, RAW information can be ingested with the choice to enlarge to the complete picture four: three. I like that.

Nonetheless, the super-ridiled decision of the sensor has one other profit. GFX100RF affords 4 digital focal distances, that are grown within the middle of the sensor to offer a distinct visible discipline. The digital camera affords 35mm, 45mm, 63mm and 80mm choices, which is equal to about 28mm, 35mm, 50mm and 63mm in phrases with full body. Nonetheless, these “zoom” modes will even price you the decision, with a full focal distance of 80 mm harvested to 65×24 spitting a picture of 9MP.

To make the easy zoom, Fujifilm added a small swap to the entrance of the digital camera much like what you’d see on an previous video digital camera. And simply above this, you can find a surrounded dial, which, surprisingly, has not been broken by the field on my unit.

It feels that Fujifilm has constructed this room to do all the pieces and, in a number of methods, defies expectations about what’s constructed with fastened lenses. However sadly, GFX100RF can be restricted in two key methods: a comparatively sluggish f/four diaphragm and an absence of optical picture stabilization.

A F/four opening on the common Fujifilm sensor is equal to roughly F/three.16 on a whole body digital camera, and whereas this isn’t horrible in any case, it felt restricted throughout my time. A slower opening means much less gentle on the sensor, and fewer gentle means pushing ISO or pulling the shutter pace. On a digital camera like Fujifilm X100VI with optical picture stabilization, I might comfortably throw the shutter pace as much as a full-handed hand. However on the GFX100RF, the slowest I might pull comfortably, with out getting an earthquake was 1/30 – perhaps 15 if I have been very fixed.

Whereas somebody who wears a tripod nearly each time I’m going to take footage, this was not an enormous enterprise for me. However Fujifillm positions this digital camera as the perfect on a regular basis room in the marketplace and, with no quicker lens or optical picture stabilization, you might have issues with pictures with this digital camera as soon as the sunshine can be low, until you employ uncomfortable ISO values. After I needed to shoot in a decrease gentle, I typically went to the wonderful simulation of Fuji Acros white -black, which is made to look fairly granular.

It’s comprehensible why it’s doable that Fujifilm has not added the optical picture stabilization to this digital camera. 100RF is simply marginally bigger than Fujifilm X100VI, so it’s doable to haven’t but developed a sufficiently compact stabilization system. And at $ four,899, which remains to be fairly costly, this room is cheaper than another Fujifilm GFX physique is presently promoting. As well as, it features a objective.

However what perplexes me essentially the most concerning the digital camera is the choice to make use of a f/four opening. Taken alone, the objective is shockingly small – smaller than each devoted GF lens that Fujifilm sells by means of a protracted blow. However Fuji additionally features a lens hood and a hoop adaptation ring within the field and, added collectively, these equipment with the overall fingerprint of the lens to the purpose the place it’s as excessive because the lens on the Leica Q3. And at that second, why not simply make an even bigger and quicker objective?

There isn’t any doubt that the GFX100RF can be continually in comparison with Leica’s full Q3-first of all, as a result of, till lately, if you’d like a set lenses room proper from a protracted distance, Q3 was nearly your solely possibility. And whereas Fujifilm beat Leica along with his new versatile ultra-high decision and determination ratio, Leica trades these options for a a lot quicker f/1.7 lens and optical picture stabilization. What options matter to you’ll in all probability rely upon what sort of photographer you’re. And, at the least, I am glad there may be lastly an alternative choice accessible in the marketplace.

I actually appreciated the time with this room. Composing nearly each side of your closing picture within the room is an actual pleasure and I’ve a comfortable place in my coronary heart for bodily quadrants. However for a room that aspires to do all the pieces with a single objective, it’s going to want a tripod to make this a actuality.

Picture by David imel