Excellent efficiency at a lowered value

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

Each cameras are clearly geared toward execs, however is the GFX100 II value the additional $2,500, or is the S mannequin fantastic 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’ll be able to see all of your key settings when taking pictures at hip stage.

It feels much more like a mirrorless than a traditional medium format digital camera. It handles effectively, however after spending time with each fashions, I choose the GFX100 II’s bigger physique and additional controls, although it is 5 ounces heavier.

The rear 3.2-inch, 2.36-million-dot-display is unchanged, tilting up, down and to the precise, nevertheless it would 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 could possibly now shoot 540 images on a cost, up from 530. Different options embody USB-C, mic and headphone ports, together with a micro HDMI connection. A brand new function is USB-SSD connectivity that enables for quicker burst taking pictures and ProRes video seize.

Efficiency

The GFX100S II does shoot quicker than its predecessor at as much as 7 fps in comparison with 5 fps in mechanical shutter mode. With no quick CFexpress card, although, you’ll be able to solely seize about 30 compressed RAW frames earlier than the buffer fills. There’s additionally a slight picture high quality penalty because the digital camera downshifts from 16- to 14-bit RAW photos when taking pictures bursts. Luckily, many of the frames are more likely to be sharp because of some massive autofocus enhancements. Even with the quicker burst speeds, I observed a big increase within the share of sharp images when taking pictures fast shifting topics.

The AF enhancements don’t finish there. AI face and eye monitoring is smarter and extra correct, that means your topic’s eye and never their eyelash is extra more likely to be in focus — one thing that’s vital with 100 megapixels of decision. Fujifilm additionally launched new topic monitoring modes for animals, birds, cars, 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 lets you 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 drawback with this digital camera 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 can destroy your photograph.

Picture high quality

For professional photographers who can afford it, the GFX100S II provides unmatched picture high quality. The 100-megapixel sensor delivers pin-sharp images and 16-bit RAW pixel depth that delivers 14 stops of dynamic vary, beating most different mirrorless cameras. Which means you’ll be able to shoot in very darkish, vivid or contrasty situations and retain element in all elements of the photograph.

Fujifilm’s shade science is good for portrait work, with correct and pleasing pores and skin tones. The extent of element means prints may be blown as much as very giant sizes, almost 40 x 30 inches at 300 pixels per inch (PPI). The decision and precision shade rendering additionally makes it excellent for panorama pictures, 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 pictures not uncovered accurately. In low-light, you’ll begin to see a good quantity of noise above ISO 8000 or so. Nonetheless, loads of that grain disappears while you shrink these 100-megapixel photos right down to a extra cheap measurement.

On the similar time, JPEG photos are excellent straight out of the digital camera. 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 prefer to tweak their photos, however many might 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 costlier GFX100 II, video is a weak level with this digital camera. Decision is restricted to 4K 10-bit, and whereas there’s no cropping, there’s appreciable pixel binning that reduces sharpness. You’ll be able to 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, shade rendering is great. You can even enhance dynamic vary by taking pictures in Fujifilm’s FLog or FLog2 modes and making use of a LUT in a while in publish.

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

Wrap-up

The $5,000 Fujifilm GFX100S II offers professionals excellent image high quality at a considerably lowered value over the $7,500 flagship GFX100 II. It even goes past what patrons would possibly anticipate by providing pretty fast burst taking pictures with autofocus that’s far more dependable than on the unique GFX100S. Video isn’t a robust level, however that received’t be vital for its goal market.

The GFX100S II can also be the most affordable digital camera within the mainstream medium format house, with its main competitors being both the GFX100 II or Hasselblad’s $8,200 X2D100C. I’d extremely advocate it for portraits and different varieties of taking pictures the place element is vital. Nonetheless, burst speeds and autofocus nonetheless aren’t fairly ok in fast paced situations.

Those that want extra pace and reliability for issues like weddings or dwell occasions can 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.