Fujifilm GFX100RF in-depth evaluation: not fairly an excellent X100VI

90%

Total rating

Soar to conclusion

The Fujifilm GFX100RF is a 100-megapixel medium format digital digicam with a set 28mm equal F4 lens.

Key options

• 102MP Medium format (44 x 33 mm) BSI CMOS sensor
• 35mm (28mm equiv) F4 lens w/ leaf shutter
• 5.76M dot OLED EVF
• Climate sealed when utilizing included filter ring and filter
• Topic recognition autofocus
• Side ratio dial
• 3.2″ tilting rear touchscreen
• 4K video as much as 30fps
• Constructed-in 4EV ND filter
• 14 movie simulations

The GFX100RF has a really helpful value of $4899. It is available in both black or black and silver, and features a braided strap, filter ring, filter and a color-matched sq. lens hood.

Index:

• What’s new
• The way it compares
• Physique and dealing with
• Picture High quality
• Autofocus
• In Use
• Conclusion
• Pattern gallery
• Specs
• Press Launch

What’s New

Mounted lens medium format physique

The GFX100RF occupies a brand new area in Fujifilm’s lineup and comes with a brand new design. It is basically the long-rumored ‘medium format X100,’ in that it takes the components of traditional styling, direct controls and a wideangle prime lens completely mounted on the entrance.

Do not take the rangefinder implications of the letters ‘RF’ too significantly although: that is basically the world’s most bold compact digicam, missing not only a rangefinder but in addition the X100/X-Professional hybrid viewfinder that offers the looks of a traditional rangefinder digicam. As an alternative, the RF’s EVF is a comparatively customary 5.76M dot affair positioned within the high left nook of the again of the digicam.

Whereas the physique is nowhere close to as massive because the interchangeable lens GFX cameras, it nonetheless has lots of presence. You will always remember that you’ve got it on you and can be hard-pressed to suit it right into a pocket. That is very true when it is fitted with the included sq. lens hood, which provides model factors however must be mounted on the adapter ring, including a considerable quantity of depth, substituting aptitude for flare.

Just like the X100VI, the GFX100RF may be weather-sealed with an adapter ring and filter, although this too makes it bulkier. The hood can nonetheless be fitted to the adapter ring when the filter is put in.

The mounted lens

Fujifilm says it went with a 28mm equal lens to make the digicam as compact as doable whereas additionally letting customers shoot with (to a degree) decrease shutter speeds with out the help of IBIS or optical stabilization. That potential, which largely relies on how nonetheless your arms and topic are, will turn out to be useful given the lens’s comparatively gradual F4 (F3.2 equiv) aperture.

The lens has a minimal focus distance of 20cm (7.9″) and may settle for 49mm filters when fitted with its adapter ring. Its being mounted additionally permits for the availability of a leaf shutter, letting the GF to sync with flashes as much as 1/2000 (technically, it will probably sync all the way in which as much as 1/4000, however you threat reducing off a number of the flashes’ burst utilizing such a quick publicity).

Side ratio dial

Trying behind the digicam, the very first thing that stands proud is the massive dial above the display screen. Its sole objective is to allow you to apply varied crops to your picture, altering your JPEG’s side ratio – and lowering how a lot of the sensor’s space and backbone you are utilizing.

There are 9 choices to select from, and the digicam provides you a number of methods to preview your chosen side ratio. It may well use black borders, a bounding field or elevate the opacity of the parts of the picture that can be reduce off.

Amusingly, the label for the XPan-emulating 65:24 side ratio is a bit too extensive for the window; you possibly can see the labels for neighboring side ratios peeking by.

There’s additionally a “C” setting that allows you to management the side ratio through one of many digicam’s command dials or the menus. Should you resolve you are sad with the crop after the very fact, you need to use the in-camera Uncooked reprocessing characteristic to vary the side ratio, assuming you’ve got been capturing in Uncooked + JPEG, because the digicam maintains the complete sensor Uncooked file and saves the supposed crop as metadata.

Crop zoom

28mm equiv.	35mm equiv.	50mm equiv.	63mm equiv.

Along with its alternative of side ratio crops, the GFX100RF has a crop mode that punches in to offer the impression of utilizing an extended lens. You bodily management the crop utilizing a toggle swap located below the ability swap and entrance management dial.

As at all times, cropping reduces the realm of the sensor getting used, that means a discount in decision and of complete mild seize. This has a consequent discount in tonal high quality if seen on the similar scale as full-sensor photos. The desk beneath signifies the equal focal size that every of the crops provides, each just about the digicam’s 44 x 33mm sensor, which is how the digicam experiences the ‘focal lengths’ of the crops, and when it comes to their full-frame equivalents for reference.

As you possibly can see, hitting the lever as soon as basically turns the digicam right into a “full-frame” digicam with a 35mm F4 equiv lens, earlier than dropping all the way down to nearer APS-C and 4 Thirds picture high quality.

As with the side ratio crops, the zoom is just utilized to the JPEG, leaving your Uncooked untouched. You even have the identical preview choices, in addition to the power to have your chosen crop fill the display screen, however doing so will not offer you any context to what’s outdoors of your body.

You may take away the crop utilizing the in-camera Uncooked reprocessing characteristic, although you possibly can’t choose a unique crop in-camera: it is the crop you shot the picture with or the complete sensor, solely.

The way it compares

The fixed-lens digicam market is small however has a number of robust rivals, particularly if you happen to’re prepared to spend this a lot cash on one. Leica’s Q3, with its high-resolution full-frame sensor and 28mm focal size, is the obvious level of comparability, however Fujifilm’s X100VI can be a possible competitor for many who choose the 35mm discipline of view or desire a considerably smaller, cheaper possibility.

We have additionally included the Hasselblad X2D, which has the same sensor however with an interchangeable lens mount. The Fujifilm GFX 100 S II is maybe a extra direct competitor in each specs and value, however the Hasselblad’s dimension and use of leaf shutter lenses prompted us to incorporate it as an alternative.

The GFX100RF’s sensor might look like in a category above a lot of its fixed-lens friends, and in good mild, we might count on its bigger sensor to offer it a proportionate picture high quality benefit.

But it surely’s price contemplating uncooked light-gathering potential if low-light capturing is an enormous concern for you. Large-open, the Q3’s a lot sooner lens provides it a 1.7EV potential benefit regardless of its smaller sensor, and there are lenses considerably sooner than F4 obtainable for the X2D (although they do come at vital expense). Even the APS-C-equipped X100VI* can collect a bit extra mild per-whole-image than the GFX can in its 35mm crop mode.

Whereas the distinction in focal size is a deal-breaker for some photographers, those that like 35mm equiv might discover that Fujifilm’s smaller providing offers a extra participating capturing expertise due to its standout hybrid viewfinder – the GFX100RF, in the meantime, has a superb however in any other case customary EVF. It is also the one digicam on this lineup with none type of stabilization, which additional reduces its functionality as mild stage drops, even if you happen to have in mind the decreased threat of shake from its leaf shutter.

*It is unattainable to say the X100VI with out acknowledging that, over a yr after its announcement, it is nonetheless extraordinarily laborious to get. Persistent inventory points imply you may must be affected person or prepared to pay a reseller a considerable premium over MSRP if you need one.

Physique and Dealing with

The GFX100RF is comparatively extensive and boxy, although a small grip helps make it simpler to carry. Whereas it is undoubtedly massive for a fixed-lens digicam, it is not notably heavy, making it simple to tote round all day.

From the highest, the household resemblance to the X100VI is apparent. Although that high plate sits on an appreciably bigger digicam.

The GFX100RF is brimming with controls. There are two programmable command dials: a knurled barrel on the entrance and a standard dial within the again, with the rear one being clickable to cycle by features. There’s additionally a devoted publicity compensation dial and autofocus mode management.

Shutter pace and ISO management share a dial, with the latter requiring you to tug up on the bezel earlier than rotating. The lens has an aperture ring, which incorporates an automated setting and two opposed nubs that make it simple to show.

On the left of this shot, top-to-bottom are the digicam’s energy swap, the barrel-style entrance command dial and the ‘digital teleconverter’ toggle on the backside. To the proper is the entrance plate lever (designed to appear like the self-time management on a movie digicam). This may be flicked in both route to entry two features or held (for only a bit too lengthy) in both route to entry two extra.

Additionally mounted in operate are the zoom toggle on the entrance and the side ratio dial; neither may be reconfigured. The lever on the entrance plate, nonetheless, is solely customizable, and you’ll assign as much as 4 features to it, as it will probably differentiate between a flick and a pull and maintain. The latter motion takes round three seconds to activate. It additionally has a customizable button within the heart.

The Q button, which by default brings up a customizable, on-screen management panel, is on the sting of the grip, which makes it troublesome to press with out adjusting your hand. This type of placement makes a little bit of sense on smaller cameras the place there’s nowhere else to place it, but it surely’s baffling on a digicam with a lot room on the again. Additionally laborious to hit whereas utilizing the digicam is the small, unlabeled button on the highest plate proper above the publicity compensation dial, which may be personalized. As with a lot of Fujifilm’s cameras, you may also have as much as 4 settings which might be controllable by swiping up, down, left or proper on the touchscreen.

You can too use the touchscreen to place the autofocus level, although the digicam has a devoted joystick for that objective.

The twin UHS-II SD card slots reside on the right-hand aspect of the digicam, whereas a door on the left opens as much as reveal headphone and microphone sockets, the USB-C port, and a micro-HDMI port.

Show and EVF

The GFX100RF has a two-way tilting display screen, which can assist if you’re attempting to compose photographs at waist stage or above your head. The shortage of side-to-side tilting does restrict your choices considerably, although this was possible one other concession to creating the digicam as compact as doable.

It is simple to want that Fujifilm had gone with the hybrid optical/digital viewfinder discovered on the X-100 and X-Professional collection; it could improve the rangefinder aesthetic and will make utilizing the digicam extra participating. One of many senior planners for GFX instructed us Fujifilm went with a 5.76M dot, 0.84x equiv. EVF as an alternative as a result of the extra difficult hybrid viewfinder could not present as a lot magnification and did not actually work when utilizing the digital teleconverter characteristic – relying on how far you punch in, you would be composing by some very small pointers.

The EVF we did get is massive, shiny and straightforward to compose by. It is laborious to complain in regards to the expertise it offers.

Battery

The GFX100RF makes use of the 16Wh NP-W235 battery, the identical that powers cameras just like the GFX 100 II or X-T5. It is rated to get 820 photographs in its regular mode, which is a frankly beautiful efficiency. We think about rankings – which hardly ever mirror the variety of photographs most individuals get however slightly act as a normal benchmark to measure cameras in opposition to one another – of round 400 photographs or extra to be adequate for a heavy weekend of capturing, and the GFX100RF nearly doubles that determine.

Picture High quality

Our check scene is designed to simulate a wide range of textures, colours and element varieties you may encounter in the true world. It additionally has two illumination modes to see the impact of various lighting situations.

We’ll get into the nerdy particulars in a second, however a top-level abstract is that the GFX100RF has excellent picture high quality that is downright unimaginable when you think about its dimension and weight. We have lengthy been impressed with what this sensor can do, and Fujifilm’s work on getting nice JPEGs out of it’s paying dividends now that it is in a digicam aimed toward extra informal and spontaneous kinds of pictures.

Unsurprisingly, the GFX100RF’s Raws seize noticeably extra element than the 61MP full-frame sensor used within the Q3, Leica’s high-end massive sensor compact, and considerably greater than the Fujifilm X100VI’s 40MP APS-C sensor. The digicam’s JPEG engine does a superb job of preserving these particulars.

The lens cannot match the $2700 devoted Macro lens we used for the GFX100 however the JPEG processing does its greatest to make up for the distinction.

These tendencies proceed in low-light, and taking a look at high-ISO Raws noise efficiency follows sensor dimension. The JPEG engine does a good job of not blurring away particulars when making use of noise discount.

Dynamic Vary

The GFX100RF has glorious dynamic vary efficiency at its base ISO of 80; it provides little or no learn noise to the picture, that means there’s little distinction in photos shot on the similar publicity however completely different ISOs, after which brightened to match one another in publish. Its recordsdata additionally present loads of room to boost shadows, which is able to assist if you wish to shoot at a decrease publicity to guard highlights.

The PDAF banding we noticed in our unique DR assessments for the GFX 100 would not seem in our assessments for the GFX100RF: there are experiences it was additionally mounted on the GFX 100 through software program replace.

Lens Efficiency

Our studio check scene is not designed to check lenses, however it will probably nonetheless inform us one thing about some points of efficiency. The 28mm equiv lens on the GFX100RF must be shot fairly close-up, but it surely’s nonetheless round 30x the focal size away from the chart, so it needs to be an affordable illustration of real-world efficiency. Our assessments are shot at F5.6 to take care of an affordable depth-of-field and across-frame-consistency, however the F4/F5.6 comparisons we have shot present little distinction in nook efficiency (it is vignetting, slightly than sharpness variations, that has extra of an affect).

With all of that stated, the lens performs effectively below these situations. It is fairly sharp within the heart. It performs moderately effectively out to the corners, the place there’s some mild falloff seen within the Raws (which the JPEG engine does a superb job of correcting). Whereas the unique GFX100, paired with Fujifilm’s 120mm F4 macro, renders our scene extra uniformly and sharply, that lens alone weighs greater than a whole GFX100RF.

At F5.6, chromatic aberration additionally appears well-controlled in comparison with the X100VI’s lens.

In our out-of-studio testing, we did not discover the lens to be a limiting issue to our picture high quality. Whereas we actually shot photos that we felt may have been sharper given the situations, it is the shortage of stabilization that stored the sensor from dwelling as much as its full potential, not the lens.

Autofocus

GFX100RF | 1/125 sec | F4 | ISO 3200

The GFX100RF makes use of the identical autofocus system present in the remainder of Fujifilm’s X-Processor 5 cameras, full with AI-derived detection for a wide range of topics: people/eyes, animals, birds, automobiles, planes, bikes/bikes and trains.

You should utilize the touchscreen or the joystick to pick a spotlight level, which may be anyplace from a pinpoint to a large space. It additionally helps you to retailer as much as three zones with customizable widths and heights. Whenever you’re in AF-C mode, you get a medium-sized level that makes an attempt to trace your chosen goal because it or the digicam strikes. It additionally helps tap-to-track through the touchscreen.

The digicam is normally good at respecting your chosen focus level, even when there is a topic it acknowledges within the body. Nevertheless, we discovered that, on some events, it was extra liable than different Fujifilm cameras to leap to a topic that was comparatively far-off from the chosen focus level, which may power you to disengage topic detection for sure compositions.

Like the remainder of Fujifilm’s cameras on this era, the GFX100RF’s human topic detection mode is separate from the remainder of its topic detection modes, the place most different digicam programs have people listed as a topic. Which means if you wish to set a customized button to activate topic detection, it’s a must to resolve whether or not you need it to be for faces or one of many different modes, or dedicate two buttons to it.

Autofocus Efficiency

We discovered the autofocusing system to be usually dependable for the kind of capturing the GFX100RF is fitted to: road scenes, landscapes (each pure and concrete), portraits and the like. Whereas the lens is not sluggish to focus, we additionally would not attempt to use it to shoot a topic transferring shortly by the focal aircraft.

As with Fujifilm’s different cameras with its fifth-gen processor, the GFX100RF’s monitoring is not as sticky as that of different manufacturers; it will probably sometimes lose topics or fail to lock on to them, particularly in the event that they’re transferring shortly. In most conditions, although, it labored effectively sufficient for track-and-recompose capturing.

In Use

Regardless of its large-for-a-compact dimension, the GFX100RF is not a lot of a burden to hold alongside. It isn’t like a Ricoh GR or Fujifilm X100 – an almost pocketable digicam that you just’d take with you day-after-day simply in case you bumped into one thing photogenic – but it surely’s not so cumbersome that you just’d hesitate to seize it if you happen to’re headed off to do one thing fascinating.

Whereas the entrance management dial is aesthetically pleasing, we did discover it may very well be a bit laborious to make use of, regardless of its aggressive knurling. Not like conventional management dials, it is flush with the grip, which may make it slightly troublesome to seek out and to make use of easily. And if you happen to miss it, there is a good probability you may by accident flick the fixed-purpose “digital teleconverter” toggle as an alternative.

Whether or not you may discover that toggle helpful principally relies on how a lot you worth picture high quality versus comfort. It is unavoidable that each time you punch in, you are throwing away increasingly more of the light-gathering potential and backbone that justify the digicam’s dimension and value – that is very true if you happen to use it at the side of the side ratio dial.

Nevertheless, it is also unarguably handy, and if you happen to’re in good mild, even the cropped photos can be spectacular. I took the digicam on trip with me as my major software for documenting the journey and used the in-camera crop with abandon (with the data that the digicam was nonetheless saving the complete picture as a Uncooked). I discovered it was a really pure strategy to shoot, and I used to be pleased with the picture high quality of the crops, although I hardly ever went previous the second 50mm equiv. step, which makes use of an roughly APS-C-sized area of the sensor.

Should you pixel-peep there is a truthful quantity of noise on this picture, however I nonetheless discover it completely acceptable at cheap sizes and viewing distances. GFX100RF | 1/80 sec | F5 | ISO 6400 | 50mm equiv. crop

There’s an argument to be made that utilizing the digicam on this method is losing its potential. Nevertheless, you may additionally say that you just’re utilizing it for one thing aside from pure picture high quality; the complete capabilities of the sensor are there for if you need them or want them, however you may also use the large decision and light-gathering potential so as to add a little bit of flexibility to a fixed-lens digicam, in a manner that does not work as effectively with a smaller sensor. Which aspect of that debate you land on will possible be a superb indicator of whether or not you need to even think about a GFX100RF.

The side ratio dial can be the same story, in that you’re going to in all probability have already got a good suggestion whether or not it is one thing you would be interested by utilizing or not. Enjoying round with side ratios is not a artistic muscle that I’ve personally constructed up, and I discovered myself struggling to seek out compositions that I assumed would look higher in, say, 16:9 or 1:1… or, at the very least, so significantly better that it was price utilizing much less of the sensor for.

That is not for a scarcity of effort on Fujifilm’s half, although. The expertise has clearly been thought by, with the Raws letting you see the chosen crop in post-processing software program, whereas nonetheless providing you with entry to the entire sensor’s output, and the completely different preview modes for each types of cropping providing you with flexibility with how a lot info you need about what’s outdoors your chosen body. For many who do admire completely different side ratios, it is laborious to think about the GFX100RF’s expertise leaving them wanting.

Conclusion

You aren’t getting a digicam/lens combo this a lot smaller than the similarly-specced one to the proper with out breaking a number of eggs.

It could be tempting to see the GFX100RF as a super-sized and super-powered X100VI: a take-everywhere digicam that is participating to make use of and indicators to others that you just’re somebody who’s Into Pictures. And whereas it handily achieves that final level (even earlier than you see the large movie format-emulating side ratio dial), it would not fairly reside as much as the flexibility of Fujifilm’s smaller cameras.

Each digicam has trade-offs, even expensive, premium ones aimed toward consumers who count on quite a bit. The GFX100RF is not any completely different, but it surely’s within the odd place of getting two identities: a picture high quality monster with an enormous sensor, and a walkaround, on a regular basis digicam that goals to be as compact as doable. Fujifilm has clearly put in lots of work to stability these competing personas, however with every concession, it narrowed the envelope inside which the digicam can carry out at its greatest.

To be clear, in good mild, the digicam produces high-resolution photos with unimaginable element and tonal high quality, the likes of which you merely could not get and not using a a lot bigger equipment. However in lower-light scenes, the shortage of optical or in-body stabilization and the 28mm equiv. F4 lens make it tougher to get probably the most out of the digicam. And when you’ll want to shoot at an odd angle, it’s possible you’ll end up cursing the display screen that solely tilts up and down. Mockingly, the choices that make it so compelling to hold with you all over the place you go additionally make it much less well-suited for the conditions it’s possible you’ll end up in if you get there.

Would an X-T5-style three-way tilting display screen actually have made the digicam noticeably bigger?

However whereas picture high quality stands out as the GFX100RF’s raison d’être, it is also not designed to be a purely sensible software, the way in which {many professional} and prosumer cameras are. It is constructed to be performed with, so that you can take it all over the place and fiddle with the way you see the world by its viewfinder through the digital teleconverter and side ratio dial. Why else would these options get high billing with massive, non-customizable, non-customizable controls?

In the end, whether or not the digicam is for you or not will depend upon how obsessive you’re about picture high quality and the way a lot you admire the issues that make the GFX100RF particular. These involved with most picture high quality in any scenario and corner-to-corner sharpness above all might need to look elsewhere, however if you happen to’re prepared to budge a bit on that, there’s quite a bit to advocate it… offered, after all, you can afford the asking value and admire the sector(s) of view its mounted lens offers.

The restrictions make it laborious to award it a gold, however its mixture of picture high quality, compactness and consumer expertise comfortably earns it a silver.

In comparison with its friends

By way of direct competiton, the GFX100RF just about stands alone; there aren’t another fixed-lens, medium format digital cameras on the market. Nevertheless, there are different large-sensor fanatic compact cameras on the market (albiet with sensors that are not fairly as massive).

The Leica Q3 is probably the most straight comparable, with its high-resolution full-frame sensor and in-camera cropping characteristic (to not point out two selections of lens with the Q3 43). It has a considerably sooner lens that greater than makes up for the sensor’s decrease light-gathering potential, optical stabilization and a model identify that, for some, will make each time they use it really feel particular. The GFX100RF would not supply the back-to-fundamentals consumer interface that the Leica Q3 wowed us with; with regards to menus and controls, the GFX100RF is like just about another Fujifilm digicam in that it affords lots of choices unfold out by pages and pages of settings. The Leica is considerably pricier, coming in at round $1400 extra.

Should you’re on the lookout for most portability from a compact, Fujifilm’s X100VI can be a significantly better match. In return for dropping all the way down to a a lot smaller sensor, you get in-body stabilization and a hybrid optical/digital viewfinder that gives a really participating capturing expertise – assuming yow will discover one, or are prepared to pay scalpers’ markups.

Pattern Gallery

Please don’t reproduce any of those photos on an internet site or any e-newsletter/journal with out prior permission (see our copyright web page). We make the originals obtainable for personal customers to obtain to their very own machines for private examination or printing (at the side of this evaluation); we achieve this in good religion, so please do not abuse it.

Pre-production Pattern Gallery