Today I took my Fujifilm GFX50S to Morikomi Gardens to see how it handled a variety of shooting conditions and it did not fail to impress. I haven’t had time to fully explore the system yet, but I want to say that after shooting the GFX myself I feel a lot of the information out there is incorrect. I highly encourage you to get hands on with a GFX if you have any doubts in your mind about this system being right for you.
For starters, the amount of detail and information the files retain is astounding. I haven’t been this impressed with a camera since shooting a Leica S, which I almost purchased. The Leica S opened my eyes to what medium format had to offer, but the Fujifilm GFX made it hard for me to ever look back again. I really hope they continue to grow and improve the system like they have their X line-up.
Autofocus speed is perfectly acceptable under good lighting conditions. All 3 of the launch lenses focus quickly and accurately when shooting outdoors. I would compare the focusing speed to the Fujifilm X-T1, which was very good. However, this does change around dusk.
Shortly after sunset I did notice a significant change in autofocus performance with the GFX. The Fujinon GF 120mm f/4 Macro R LM OIS WR did not want to focus on my black SUV or the side walk, but the GF 63mm f/2.8 R WR and GF 32-64mm f/4 R LM WR were both able to successfully focus acceptably, but not quickly. Under low light the Fujifilm GFX 50S begins to perform more like the original Fujifilm X-Pro1 with a Fujinon XF 35mm f/1.4 XF R attached, but the 32-64mm has a slight advantage.
Of course Fujifilm will continue to improve the performance of the GFX with firmware updates, but I have to say that, so far, it is exceeding my expectations. It’s hard to relay the detail captured by the GFX via the web, so make sure you check out my 500px album for more samples and join the Fujifilm GFX Owners Group.
