Excellent efficiency at a diminished value

Fujifilm’s authentic GFX100S was a well-liked different to the GFX100, because it provided the identical image high quality in a slimmer physique at a a lot cheaper price. It did have some flaws, although, most notably its autofocus that didn’t at all times sustain with the topic. In the same vein, the corporate lately launched the $5,000 GFX100S II as a smaller and cheaper different to the $7,500 flagship GFX100 II. It appears to be like a lot the identical as earlier than, however has an up to date sensor, processor, autofocus and extra.

Each cameras are clearly aimed toward professionals, however is the GFX100 II price the additional $2,500, or is the S mannequin superb for many?

Physique

At 1.9 kilos, the GFX100S II weighs an oz lower than its predecessor and its physique’s design and controls are almost the identical. As earlier than, it comes with a mode dial and focus selector swap, twin management dials, drive choose buttons and a fast menu. On high is a small, always-on show that exhibits settings, simulated mode dials and a histogram. That method, you may see all of your key settings when capturing at hip stage.

It feels much more like a mirrorless than a basic medium format digicam. It handles effectively, however after spending time with each fashions, I desire the GFX100 II’s bigger physique and further controls, regardless that it is 5 ounces heavier.

The rear 3.2-inch, 2.36-million-dot-display is unchanged, tilting up, down and to the precise, however it does not flip out. Nonetheless, Fujifilm boosted the viewfinder’s decision to five.76 million dots, so it’s noticeably sharper than the final mannequin’s 3.69-million-dot EVF.

The GFX100S II consists of twin SD UHS-II card slots however lacks a high-speed CFexpress port just like the GFX100 II. Although it makes use of the identical battery as earlier than, it might now shoot 540 pictures on a cost, up from 530. Different options embody USB-C, mic and headphone ports, together with a micro HDMI connection. A brand new characteristic is USB-SSD connectivity that enables for sooner burst capturing and ProRes video seize.

Efficiency

The GFX100S II does shoot sooner than its predecessor at as much as 7 fps in comparison with 5 fps in mechanical shutter mode. And not using a quick CFexpress card, although, you may solely seize about 30 compressed RAW frames earlier than the buffer fills. There’s additionally a slight picture high quality penalty because the digicam downshifts from 16- to 14-bit RAW photographs when capturing bursts. Fortuitously, many of the frames are more likely to be sharp because of some massive autofocus enhancements. Even with the sooner burst speeds, I seen a big increase within the proportion of sharp pictures when capturing fast transferring topics.

The AF enhancements don’t finish there. AI face and eye monitoring is smarter and extra correct, which means your topic’s eye and never their eyelash is extra more likely to be in focus — one thing that’s essential with 100 megapixels of decision. Fujifilm additionally launched new topic monitoring modes for animals, birds, vehicles, bikes, bicycles, airplanes and trains.

In-body stabilization additionally will get an improve, with eight stops in shake discount in comparison with six earlier than. That means that you can seize dimly lit scenes or blur motion at shutter speeds as little as a half second, with out the necessity for a tripod. As with the earlier mannequin, rolling shutter distortion is an actual downside with this digicam in digital mode, so neither you nor your topic can transfer a lot when utilizing it. In any other case, you’ll get some nasty skewing that may destroy your picture.

Picture high quality

For professional photographers who can afford it, the GFX100S II affords unmatched picture high quality. The 100-megapixel sensor delivers pin-sharp pictures and 16-bit RAW pixel depth that delivers 14 stops of dynamic vary, beating most different mirrorless cameras. Which means you may shoot in very darkish, vivid or contrasty circumstances and retain element in all components of the picture.

Fujifilm’s coloration science is right for portrait work, with correct and pleasing pores and skin tones. The extent of element means prints could be blown as much as very massive sizes, almost 40 x 30 inches at 300 pixels per inch (PPI). The decision and precision coloration rendering additionally makes it preferrred for panorama images, artwork archival work and extra.

The excellent RAW high quality lets photographers carry out detailed post-production work with out hurting picture high quality, even on photographs not uncovered appropriately. In low-light, you’ll begin to see a good quantity of noise above ISO 8000 or so. Nonetheless, numerous that grain disappears once you shrink these 100-megapixel photographs all the way down to a extra cheap dimension.

On the identical time, JPEG photographs are excellent straight out of the digicam. Like different Fuji fashions, the GFX100S II comes with an array of movie simulations, from the brand new Reala Ace to Velvia, Acros and others. Most professional photographers wish to tweak their photographs, however many could shoot each RAW and JPEG with movie simulations to allow them to present their purchasers one thing instantly and make detailed changes in a while.

Video

In contrast to the dearer GFX100 II, video is a weak level with this digicam. Decision is restricted to 4K 10-bit, and whereas there’s no cropping, there’s appreciable pixel binning that reduces sharpness. You may seize 10-bit 4:2:2 ProRes video at as much as 30fps, although that entails hooking up an SSD drive. There aren’t actually any slo-mo modes, as each 4K and 1080p recording are restricted to 60fps.

Whereas video lacks the sharpness seen on different mirrorless cameras just like the Sony A1, coloration rendering is superb. It’s also possible to enhance dynamic vary by capturing in Fujifilm’s FLog or FLog2 modes and making use of a LUT in a while in publish.

Rolling shutter in video mode is diminished in comparison with pictures due to the pixel binning, however you continue to must be cautious to not transfer the digicam an excessive amount of to keep away from extreme wobble and skewing. The in-body stabilization is just efficient for handheld capturing with out a lot motion. For those who attempt to stroll whereas vlogging, you’ll see some extreme jolts. All informed, I’d say the Fujifilm GFX100S II is usually a photograph digicam, with video out there for emergency use solely.

Wrap-up

The $5,000 Fujifilm GFX100S II provides professionals excellent image high quality at a considerably diminished value over the $7,500 flagship GFX100 II. It even goes past what consumers would possibly anticipate by providing pretty fast burst capturing with autofocus that’s rather more dependable than on the unique GFX100S. Video isn’t a powerful level, however that gained’t be vital for its goal market.

The GFX100S II can be the most affordable digicam within the mainstream medium format house, with its major competitors being both the GFX100 II or Hasselblad’s $8,200 X2D100C. I’d extremely suggest it for portraits and different sorts of capturing the place element is essential. Nonetheless, burst speeds and autofocus nonetheless aren’t fairly ok in fast-paced situations.

Those that want extra velocity and reliability for issues like weddings or dwell occasions could be higher off with high-resolution full-frame fashions just like the $3,700 Nikon Z8, $6,500 Sony A1 or Canon’s new $4,300 EOS R5 II.