Sponsored by Fujifilm
Having worked in the photography media for more years than I care to remember, I’ve used a lot of Fujifilm cameras – but I haven’t spent much time with the company’s medium-format GFX range.
Sponsored. Eager to find out why the GFX range has been so successful, I recently borrowed a Fujfiilm GFX100RF, which manages to pack an astonishing amount of high-end imaging and optical features into a light and compact body.
Before revealing why I enjoyed using the GFX100RF so much, despite the grim UK winter weather, let’s quickly recap the camera’s main features.
Fujifilm GFX100RF at a glance
- 102MP CMOS sensor, 44 x 33mm
- Fixed 35mm f/4 lens
- ISO 80-12,800 (standard)
- Up to 6fps shooting
- 0.84x, 5.76m-dot electronic viewfinder
- 3.15in, 2.1m-dot tilting touchscreen
Yes, you read that right, the sensor offers 102MP resolution, while measuring a highly portable 133.5 x 90.4 x 76.5mm and weighing a mere 735g. The GFX100RF never felt like a burden while out shooting, and the fixed 35mm f/4 lens is remarkably unobtrusive too.
I mentioned the grim weather earlier and despite this, it’s clear the GFX100RF is built to last too, being constructed from a single block of aluminium and offering dust and splash-resistance. If you need further protection, you can screw a 49mm adapter and protector filter onto the lens for full weathersealing.
Getting to grips with the GFX100RF
If, like me, you’ve not spent much time with Fujifilm’s GFX range of cameras, don’t worry – it’s very easy to use. Anyone coming to the camera after the Fujifilm X100VI or X-T5 will find it very familiar.
Pleasingly chunky and tactile dials enable you to adjust shutter-speed/ISO or adjust exposure compensation, while the aperture ring around the lens soon becomes second nature – I also found that adjusting aperture in this way makes you a bit more considered and mindful about your settings before taking the picture, which for me is a good thing.
There is also a large and detailed electronic viewfinder, with 5.76m-dot resolution and 0.84x magnification, plus a 3.15in, 2.1m-dot touchscreen with a super-slim tilting design.
Anyway, there are plenty of reviews out there singing the praises of the GFX100RF, so I’m going to focus on the particular features that appealed to me so strongly.
Versatile fixed lens – particularly for portraits
The GFX100RF is an excellent camera for portrait photographers. You never feel like you are pushing a big, obtrusive camera into somebody’s face, which helps your subject to relax – and your pictures are better as a result. Furthermore, the leaf shutter in the lens makes the camera very quiet.
I mainly shot with single-shot autofocus mode, which has a decent range of focus point sizes, and makes it very easy to move the AF point around so you can focus on the eyes. It’s very accurate. Face detection makes portraits even easier, and there are also subject detection options for trains, planes, motorbikes, cars, birds and animals.
The 35mm lens (28mm equivalent focal length) gives a very natural and flattering perspective for people shots, too.
Cropping flexibility and dynamic range
As you’d expect from the GFX100RF’s high resolution, 102MP sensor, there is plenty of scope for cropping. While I try to get my images as ‘right’ as possible in camera, there will always be times when you want to crop out unavoidable distractions, particularly if you do a lot of street and travel work.
Shooting raw gives you lots of latitude when it comes to editing, though just make sure you have a big capacity memory card as the RAF files can be quite large (there is the option of shooting compressed raw files at 72Mb if storage space gets tight, but with capacious memory cards so cheap at the moment this is unlikely to be a big problem for most).
Sharpness is excellent throughout the lens range, and I was happily shooting ‘open’ at f/4 without softness creeping in.
Innovative aspect ratio dial
The Fujifilm GFX100RF has some interesting new tricks up its sleeve too, notably a novel aspect ratio dial. The dial definitely encourages a more creative approach to your everyday photography. If, like me, you are a big fan of 1:1 ‘square’ format, it’s a godsend, saving significant time at the editing stage.
I also really enjoyed experimenting with the 65:24 panorama mode, which evokes the appeal of Hasselblad Xpan. Yes, you can get the same effect on Oppo smartphones, but the files are much lower resolution – and the GFX100RF’s lens is far superior to anything you will get on the back of a phone.
Creative film simulations
I always thoroughly enjoyed using Fujifilm’s class-leading range of film simulations on its X series (APS-C) cameras, and these are all present and correct on the GFX100RF. They really expand your creative arsenal. It’s hard to pick a favourite but if you want to add punch to colours without them looking garish or oversaturated, Velvia is ideal for an overcast day.
Meanwhile, Classic Chrome is great for that retro, analogue look. It suits this rather battered, funky-looking wedding car really well!
For black and white, I also got very atmospheric results with the Acros simulation, which delivers plenty of contrast while preserving detail.
Low light performance and slower shutter speeds
Although the GFX100RF lacks image stabilisation – adding this would have made the camera heavier and bulkier – I was pleasantly surprised how slow I could take the shutter speeds handheld, while still getting decent results and interesting creative effects.
Yes, you need to hold the camera quite firmly and focus carefully, but this is quite easy with the handgrip, low-vibration leaf shutter and intuitive body design.
The GFX100F also has a generous ISO range, from 80 to 12,800 (standard) which makes it a great low-light performer. Noise simply isn’t an issue if you keep the ISO within typical, everyday limits; you’d have to really push the ISO in the extended range before it starts to become an issue. It’s another strong benefit of that high-resolution sensor.
Other cool features
Hopefully you can see why I enjoyed using the Fujifilm GFX100RF so much, and why I was sad to send it back. The quality of the images from that high-resolution sensor is really impressive, but at the same time, the camera is light, portable and very easy to use.
As well as the points covered above, the GFX100RF’s lens also features a built-in switchable 4-stop neutral density filter, activated by pulling the lever on the front to the right, along with a handy lever to activate digital zoom.
If you want to record video too, the GFX100RF shoots high-quality footage at 4k/30p, and supports F-Log2 for 13+ stops of dynamic range.
For any serious photographer who wants to try medium format shooting but has been deterred by the perceived cost and complexity, the Fujifilm GFX100RF is an outstanding, innovative choice – particularly for landscape, street, portrait and travel photographers.
