I’ve been doing all of my studio shoots with the medium format Fujifilm GFX 100. So why am i testing the much older Fujifilm 50s? There have been a lot of critics of the GFX 100 on YouTube. Many of them have complained about the auto focus speed and shutter lag among other things. All the while, I’ve been happily shooting away with my camera. The auto focus, while not as snappy as something like the new Canon R5, is more than enough for me in the studio. In fact, I prefer to be more in control of the focus with back button AF, as opposed to continuous AF which i’ve found to be inconsistent in some cases with the most highly touted AF systems. And in terms of the type of shooting I do, and 5 frames per second is more than enough. Over the past year I have been testing a wide array of cameras, from crop sensor mirrorless, to older film and rangefinder cameras. Besides reaffirming my initial stance on being happy with the GFX 100 - having to manual focus and shoot with cameras with closer to one frame per second had sparked a curiosity to see whether or not a Fujifilm GFX 50s could hold up for me.
A few things i’ve noticed that I am happy with. Firstly, the battery grip, it’s great. I feel much more comfortable with the 50s and the battery grip in my hands then I do the battery grip the GFX 100 comes with. The camera is definitely lighter as well. Another thing I do like is the hump in the back. A lot of people criticize the hump, but it definitely reminds me of a modular style camera similar to Hasselblad or Phase One (hope Fuji comes out with their own soon).
A few things I dislike - First, the lack of a usb c port for tethering. There are ways to get around this, but we’re talking of a matter of convenience. It should come as no surprise as the camera is five years old, but still, it leaves a bad taste in my mouth. Second, the Electronic Viewfinder lag. I’ve noticed that sometimes the EVF decides to act up and as a result there will be some significant latency in the EVF. This for me is a bit of a deal breaker as I am not an LCD shooter.
Few things I am indifferent about. 50 Megapixels. While 50MP is more than enough in most cases, what I notice with a 4x3 sensor is that unless I am shooting specifically for instagram, I am required to crop in post. In order to maintain a composition I am happy with, I have to sacrifice image quality. With the GFX 100 I’ve never worried about image degradation doing this, but with the 50, in some cases I have noticed it’s limitations. And yes, I could just shoot in a different aspect ratio, but part of the beauty with a 4x3 sensor is the composition.
Takeaway. What i’ve learned shooting with the Fujifilm GFX 50s is that for studio work it is still most definitely a viable option. The fact that the camera is five years old, yet still has features that I actually prefer over the flagship camera is quite impressive. I think that if Fujifilm came out with an update 50MP GFX camera, it would have my name written all over it.
Behind the Scenes from my shoot with the GFX 50s
Shot on the Fujifilm 50s with the Fujifilm GF 120mm f4 macro with a Profoto beauty dish as key and a guided b10 on the background as a separation light.
Shot with the Fujifilm GFX 50s and the 45mm f2.8 with a guided beauty dish as a key light and a large umbrella for a background light.