There is no better camera reviewer than Gordon Laing! Clear, memorable and compelling. Concise without any more or less than what's needed to help a potential purchaser. Bravo Gordon!
Thank you Gordon for yet another informative and helpful review! Always love your honest reviews, especially Fujifilm cameras and lenses. I’m currently using X-T4 and X-T2, but am diligently saving up for this GFX100S and the 80mm F1.7. It will take at least a year but it is an aspiration. I’ve always had a soft spot for Fujifilm. Thanks for your reviews and look forward to seeing more! Cheers! 😊
this is exactly what i wanted to see in the gfx 100s review - how it compares to full frame. despite being different - i couldn’t decide between the A1 and 100s, before settling on the 100S this year and the sony in a year or so. Really looking forward to the second part.
@@cameralabs I much prefer the handling on the 100s. Fits easier in the hands and less bulky. I miss the d-pad a bit though. Image quality is excellent.
I think the Fujifilm X-T4 is already *currently* the best APS-C offer out there. While the Panasonic G9 is, in my opinion, the best bang for your bucks.
It looks like Fuji really knocked it out of the park with this camera! I look forward to seeing how the lens line gets fleshed out. For my needs, I would prefer a zoom that goes wider than the 32-64 does, and I would love to see Fuji release some more niche lenses like tilt-shifts. I know you can adapt Canon TS-E lenses, but native would be preferred.
This looks like a gorgeous camera. Great review Gordon! It does seem like Fuji is taking a page out of the printer manufacturers' handbook. Drop the price of the camera (although $6K isn't cheap by any stretch), and make the money on expensive glass.
Maybe one day i'll be able to afford one of these cameras, but the image quality is just amazing! So much detail and so sharp. Great review as always, oh and I bought your book for my dad a few months ago, and he loves it! :)
Perfect compliment for a Micro 4/3 user. Makes so-called Full Frame systems obsolete. images for publication -- news/sports M43 advertising - studio GFX Very large prints/landscapes GFX portraits - studio GFX wildlife/nature M43 weddings M43 all else M43 Puts Sony out on a limb with their very expensive Alpha 1 miniature camera, doesn't it? Add to that the collapse of used prices the older GFX 50s and 50r cameras at under US$3000!
I agree with you regarding Gordon's review. Wonderful as always. I'm in the same boat. I have an XT-1 and XT-2, and would love to have the funds to purchase the 100s. But alas, on my low wages. No. I will continue to capture what I see with my lovely little fuji crop sensor cameras. J :-)
I like seeing the route Fujifilm is going with this G100s. I'm too entrenched with the Sony system (including waiting for the A1) to go back to Fujifilm (was on the X series system). At this point I would really love to see Fuji release a GFX styled like the X100v.
Amazing job, Gordon. The GFX 100s clearly trumps the A1 in the image quality department with static subjects. If I could spend that amount on a camera and a handful of lenses, the GFX100s would be it. Coupled with the 45-100 mm and probably the 23 mm to begin with.
Fuji made a good choice here, even though I will never buy one. Why join the full frame wars when you can jump right passed them with something this small? Great job Fuji, you are killing it these days! 😎
The equivalently priced nikon/sony/canon have huge advantages for shooting quickly, no viewfinder blackout, full time eye af, 20-30fps RAW, fully silent shooting.
65:24, 4x5, and 6x7 aspect ratios native to the camera is something that should be widespread. I know you can crop in post, but a displayed aspect ratio makes composition so much better.
Excellent review! Keep up the great work. Hoping to see many of these features in the X-H2 next year! Especially since I have a fairly large investment in X glass. But this camera is so very tempting...
The price of some other cameras looks very expensive in comparison! Sorry I should have added, excellent thorough review, looking forward to the second part! cheers.
No question about it - the GFX100S is whooping the A1 at the 13:58min mark in the video. The difference between the two in terms of visible JPEG noise is staggering at 6400ISO.
Spot-on content and delivery Gordon. I will look forward to the A1 comparisons. The command dials and the joystick are a big improvement on the dreadful 100s controls. I have grappled with the latter through two winters of numb fingers. What is difficult to understand is the failure to give us the choice of a tilting evf. It need not have made the body more expensive. In the 50S we had to pay a silly sum for the adapter. Many of us have become hooked on it. The high res model on the 100 is greatly enhanced by the tilt adapter and is terrific to use handheld in bright light and at awkward angles. My crude comparison with a borrowed XT4 plus 16-55mm lens is that the 100s plus 32-64 zoom is about 0.3kg heavier. Thus has the gap narrowed in bulk and weight between the best of Fuji's smaller sensor models and its current flagship.
Thanks Gordon, we met at Photocina2018 and now I'll get a 100s, after a few shots in a store here in NZ. I was hooked bei the grip, the cam is 98% of the size of a Panasonic S1, but the S1 feels wrong in my hands, whereas the Panasonic G9 is still one of my favorite bodies. However I'm struggling to make the right decision which lens to get for a start, maybe the 50mm. Later I'm planning to get some Leica R or older Nikon lenses and adapt them. LG and thanks for the video
the gfx 100s passed the sony a i mean also in the x16 pixel shift, the details look actually more probaly zooming in would tell something more (the very tiny lines left to 36) - the sony might has more contrast but that is a contrast question
crazy the just released May 2024, GFX100S II is even cheaper at $5000, and the older gfX100S can be found used for about $3200, about half what it costs just 3 years ago. In another 3 years price will probably fall by half again. the number of cheap adapted lenses that can be used makes this the most affordable medium format system ever
@@rafai1281 that is an EXCELLENT point. I actually filmed that scene on the A1 in 4k and 8k and wondered about using the 8k version in this review, especially as there's a wobble in my 4k clip annoyingly. But I thought comparing 4k vs 4k would be interesting too. I WILL however include the 8k clip - maybe even concentrate on it - on the video part of my next comparison.
If other cameras are to be called Full Frame (35mm equivalent) cameras then this camera must then be called a Fuller Frame camera. As Olympus MFT suffered comparisons to full frame cameras then it seems right that those full frame cameras should be measured by comparisons to this Fuji GFX 100S Fuller Frame camera. Where will it all stop? Great review as usual!
I’ve only been shooting for a year, but if I have a career that looks like it’s about tot take off, I’m picking this up, or whatever version they’ll have by then
These are now under $3000. With $400 35-70 or 50mm 3.5 “cupcake” It’s a no brainer. I adapt my Canon 135mm f/2 and it can easily be cropped to 300mm when necessary - gobs of resolution to do it.
@@cameralabs you’re welcome, yes for a medium format camera with ibis is pretty good, but if it had 4K 60fps or 120fps then it would be a dream camera, but for what it delivers for that price is still an awesome camera
Wondering given that the GFX 100 (used) and the 100s (new) can be had for similar pricing (exact) would you pick the GFX 100 over the 100s for a main camera? Size and weight not an issue.
I notice no one is talking about the rolling shutter of this camera. But, you don’t have to. When you simply did a slow pan from one bottle to the next during your focus test I noticed it …
Great review. One point not covered (I think) is that the file sizes need a a powerful computer for editing and storage. Would be interested in what computer configuration could handle this.
Yes and no, I use my 3 year old 13in laptop with fairly normal specs, to edit all my work, and it opened a bunch of the 100mp files at the same time for side by side comparisons.
@@user-jf9vj4ym3m For portraits, landscape, product photography the quality of the camera is incredible. That's why I think the best thing you can do is to rent one and try it out. But you don't just buy a camera also you buy a system. The lenses are also excellent and for portraits the 110mm is also exceptional. Despite having a very good focusing system for a medium format camera, it is not comparable to the high end models from Sony or Canon. That's why the FUJI GFX 100s is not suitable for shooting sports or wildlife. For all other genres it is fantastic.
Great review Gordon! The evening long exposure shot of the pier is stunning (credit to you as well as the camera) Is it just me or does the bokeh out of some of the Fujifilm MF lenses seem not that great for such a large sensor and expensive glass? Eg the dog on the pebbles of Brighton beach @18:15 ? Just looks busy and not smooth. Even on your website (where one can see it larger and without YT compression) it doesn't look that great IMO. Are other lenses better than the 80mm in this respect?
Why is it that every time I see a review for this camera I become more convinced that it is the best choice for me?!? Yet I continue to research the Canon R5 and a set of lenses!
Theyre completely different it depends if you go out to shoot something specific to the highest quality its GFX, if you do a lot of travel, sports, wildlife or weddings its probably the Canon. Having both GFX and FF kits solves it of course
I actually don't care so much for the 100 megapixels but the 16 bit files would be great to edit. I would love to see them bring out a fast ultra wide could be very nice for astro.
Great video Gordon - even included steve seagull :) for landscape shooters or ones wanting the most resolution and IQ then these bodies are probably a good idea. definitely a niche though. Great to see how accessible MF bodies are compared to the days of Phase one and HB backs
I use micro 4/3 but I do feel like in a few years if I have a bit of money (big if!) I might try to leapfrog to medium format. Maybe a second hand one of these at a lower price
The medium format image quality is just better than „full frame“ , to medium format full frame is just what apsc is to full frame, good but not as good.
I paused at the jpeg comparison to the Sony A1, color wise the look really similar don't they ? (I suppose they are unedited, with standard profile?) It will be interesting to see the next video. Silly side note, the 50mm GFX lens looks a bit "cheap" with such a small front element, technically it don't need a bigger one, but I would want it anyway 😊
This is a very good review. My question as always is, why does anyone really need 100 mp in real life? Why if 24 mp was more than sufficient a few years ago, we need to up the count by 4? Has nature increased its frequency of fine detail? Have fashion models skins developed more features that need to be captured in such ' detail '? On top of all that, to use all the gizmos that these cameras have to offer, one has to forget about photography. My bet is that 90% of the time the camera will be operated in A or M mode. So why have so many features when there is very little chance of use? The camera is a tech marvel, but IMHO it has little to do with photography. This is what I think about all the new offerings from Canon, Sony, Nikon and the rest. In the final analysis, it is the content that makes a photograph and not how much ' detail ' the content has.
Maybe its for pros like me who are considering selling their Hasselblad H6D100c which I have had for a few years now - and no my clients were never going to accept 25 mpx - product photography really does need hi end - I switched from 5x4 to H6 and it was a step down but good enough - so this is a step in the right direction to getting 35mm style shooting at a high end level into the hands of pros and ams alike - which is a good thing
I read similar sentiments regarding needs. I have several systems but I tell yah, if I brought this just for my 11 month old son, it’s worth every penny. My philosophy (again only me) no price is out of reach for the very best possible image I can get of my loved ones. Probably have this by June, along side my SL2 which I highly recommend.
No doubt the GFX100S is better than A1 in terms of image quality.Sony's price must drop to a more reasonable amount of money to justify it's presence.If you don't need the speed of Sony this MF camera is the way to go.
Lens options (aperture) , burst mode speed and AF performance are still sub par compare to SONY and Canon FF mirrorless cameras. So it is more of a landscape and studio camera instead of action or moving subject.
Great review. How is the focus breathing on the lenses compared to quality full-frame lenses? The focus speed tests seemed to show quite a bit, but that may be from cropping the frame.
@@cameralabs i think there is more of a sense of value getting bigger sensor and more MP is handy. Is the Fuji now capable of keeping good autofocus on fast ish moving kids?
@@sticky8579 hmmm, it's by far the best-handling medium format but I wouldn't use it for action moving towards or away from you at speed. Walking is fine, maybe jogging speed, but anything quicker, get a Sony or Canon mirrorless.
BUT the A7RiV has 60mp? and about 1/4 of the price with I assume better features? Good thing about Fuji's though is just about every lens they have ever made are pro-level. My question is, is the noise performance better than fullframe offerings at the moment, that is after all the main reason for larger sensors.
Thank you for the good video. I'm preparing a commercial photo of the studio with Hi Amateur. I'm planning to buy a camera, but I have enough budget. I am currently thinking between gfx100 and R5. What kind of camera do you recommend?
is that top screen actually e ink? How is it refreshing so quickly? has e ink tech moved that far? If it actually is e ink that's blessed and I need one lol Edit: you got my hopes up :( on their official website it states: Sub LCD monitor 1.80 inch Monochrome LCD Monitor Aspect Ratio: 4:3 Dots: 303x230-dot
It seems from my research that the GFX100S does not have automated focus bracketing for stacking. Anyone know if this is the case? Anyone know if FUJI intends to add it to firmware of GFX100S? Thanks.
What are the key advantages in GFX 100s compared to GFX100, the likes of alpha1 R5 Z7II and fpL? 0 in the same system it is 40% cheaper and smaller than gfx100 with no quality loss, 1 higher quality pixel shift picture than a1, better color in jpg if that counts. Other than heavy cropping for wildlife work, 100m pixels are a pain to work with and yield very little benefit to 40mp+ in reasonable print sizes. Dynamic range is a little better compared to Sony full frame sensor, but Nikon Z7II is no slouch at iso64 either, I doubt the theoratical advantage can show up in real world result. Extreme high DR landscape scene maybe but we can also use exp bracketing for static scene.
@They Caged Non what I am saying is it is very niche for a very small percentage of photographers' specific needs. Sold out doesn't mean anything, Nikon some lenses after announcement can be on back order for 2years, I wouldn't say Canon's equivalent lenses are inferior just because Canon is in stock.
@They Caged Non talking about wide angle I just talked to a GFX100 owner yesterday. He complained lack of choice on GFX wide angle lens therefore no real pixel advantage because he also uses A7RIV, which is essentially the same sensor different size cut. But on GFX the lens is limited to 23mm F4, which in lot of cases he has to crop. After a very mild crop the 100mil pixel becomes 60-70mil. No Astro lens, no shift tilt lens, no fisheye. Macro? Even the 120mm macro is not something to write home about. There are much better corrected macro lens available in other system. Portrait focus roll off is very mild difference only when you need 4:3 ratio. If your work requires 3:2 ratio, the advantage is so minimal I doubt anyone without checking exif could tell which is which. That is 85mm f1.4 vs 110mm F2 where full frame has something like 35mm F1.4 there is no equivalent lens in gfx. Anyone can't see GFX system is very limiting is either amateur or brand loyal keyboard warrior
@They Caged Non if you know elementary math you wouldn't ask naive question like this, 44x33 is hardly medium format, as I said, about 20% - 30% lateral resolution advantage depending on output ratio 4:3 or 3:2. The area of gfx sensor is only 1.68x of full frame. Well since you mentioned APSC, full frame sensor is a whopping 2.25x of Sony Nikon APSC and 2.56x of Canon APSC. The difference is indeed much larger. Your own logic is self contradicting. If full frame is not massively superior to APSC, why a slightly larger 44x33 Fuji all of a sudden much better than full frame?
@They Caged Non phase one is not using the crippled 44x33 sensor size but closer to 645film 54x40, that is 1.48x of Fuji sensor size. The difference between 4433 and 36x24 full frame is not dramatic, it was you tried to exaggerate the focus fall off, resolution and etc etc. 20% on long edge, 30% on short edge. Can you really tell the difference in blind test?
@They Caged Non You are the one constantly quoting wrong numbers consequently wrong conclusion on comparison, keeping emphasizing medium format without knowing size of sensors you are referring to. I bet you do not know 645film was never real 6cm x 4.5cm so phase one's medium format 54x40 is indeed very close to 645 film size(4% on long edge difference, less than 3% on short edge).
Question Gordon I love camera raw I am not a light room guy at all lol. I seen your camera raw was set to 8bit if you set it to 16bit would that increase the editing ability or is the 8bit setting just for output I never dug into finding that out myself.
As far as I know, ACR uses the full dynamic range when you open a file but you can use how many bits to then output it in. So if you intend to make more tonal adjustments, set the output to 16 bit. But you'd need to check with Adobe experts, as I'm not desperately into RAW processing.
@@cameralabs Now I use Sony A7RIV and I love the EVF in that, so my A7RIII are not in use any more, I would love to have an even better EVF like in the Sony A1, I hope for a Sony A7RV or A9R with better EVF, Maybe a Fuji GFX100R with better EVF. I always use magnifying for manual focus.
They're different kinds of cameras, the really expensive medium format models have even larger sensors, but the question as always at every level, is finding what's good enough for what you want or need. I think the GFX 100S is giving a lot for the money.
