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Over the past few weeks, we have all listened to a lot of hype from bloggers jockeying for access to Fujifilm while trying to sell cameras. Now that the GFX100 is in photographers hands I am pretty sure the coverage is going to change some. I want to start by saying that the GFX100 is an upgrade over the GFX50S in almost every single way and there are some amazing aspects of the camera, but no one has done the camera justice when it comes to describing its capabilities and that is probably because of the amazing image quality. I will try to relay what others have gotten wrong below, but this is all based on my first impressions over 24hrs.
Ergonomics
- The GFX100 portrait grip has some texture to it and is not smooth plastic, but the grip could be better and the shutter button on the portrait grip feels a little better than the standard shutter button.
- The texture of the camera is very unique and I like how it feels in my hands, but I think it will hold a lot of particles over time.
- The new controls are not enjoyable and I miss the buttons of the GFX50S quite a bit. Fujifilm should have stuck with their winning design because this is what Fujifilm photographers will likely hate the most about the new GFX100
- I would almost go as far as to say the camera feels more Sony-like than Fujifilm like and I constantly want to throw my Sony when it is not doing what I want
- The camera is very heavy if you have been shooting mirrorless for years, but I think I will get used to the feel
- The camera really isn’t that big which you can see below
- I really wish they kept the Hasselblad quick-release connector for the neck strap because I do not want to use any other kind of clip design that could open by accident
Build quality
- Shockingly build quality is mixed and nowhere near as good as the GFX50S
- I understand why they did a kind of breakaway cover for the ports on the GFX100, but the way the covers are attached to the camera feels cheap and like they will lose there grip and stop functioning as an effective cover
- The camera feels very solid/dense like a Leica camera, but not a single port cover feels like it will last for years to come
AF Speed
- AF speed is improved over GFX50S, but it really isn’t that big of improvement for what I shoot.
- If I had to pick a camera to compare its average AF performance to I would pick the Fujifilm X-T2 with an early firmware revision.
- Out of my 3 lenses, the GF23mm feels the most “modern” when it comes to AF speed and it might even be comparable to a later firmware X-T2
Image Quality
- Image quality really is out of this world
- If you’re shooting with even light than ISO really doesn’t have a usable limit if you nail the exposure
- JPEG’s do an amazing job of controlling noise in high ISO
- I will push the camera more in the coming days, but image quality doesn’t disappoint and the camera will resolve things that the human eye can no see at a similar distance
IBIS
- Fujifilm is starting to make some of the best IBIS cameras around if you’re a fan
- I was able to hand hold shots up to 1 second with one hand while sitting in a relaxed position with horrible form
Battery Life
- Battery life won’t be an issue with this camera
- I wish the external charger held both batteries because charging them took a long time
Video
- Haven’t really tried it yet, but this camera has a crazy amount of options for shooting 4k video
One More Thing
- It’s unlikely anyone considering the GFX100 will need a new computer to edit the files because my Mac Pro from 2013 handles them just fine.
I think that GFX100 is a difficult camera to review simply because there is nothing quite like it on the market today. If you compare it to old film medium format cameras than it is light years ahead, but if you compare it to a range of available cameras that you are familiar with than the camera quickly comes back down to earth and its flaws are exposed. Being a GFX50S owner since launch has greatly influenced the way I view cameras and the GFX50S set a very high bar that the GFX100 can’t exceed in every way due to some poor choices by Fujifilm.
You can reach me if you have any further questions below or directly. I will also be answering questions in our Fujifilm GFX Owners Group.
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