Fujifilm Packs 102MP Into A Smaller MF Body

The fourth digital medium format mirrorless camera from Fujifilm, the GFX 100S combines the 102 megapixels sensor from the GFX 100 with a more compact and lighter body similar to that of the GFX 50S. In fact, the GFX 100S weighs in at a modest 900g (500g lighter than the GFX 100) and measures a very manageable 150x104x87 mm (WxHxD) – yet it still incorporates in-body stabilisation, a

3-inch rear screen with three-way tilt adjustments, and full weather protection including for shooting in subzero temperatures down to -10ºC. Notably too, the GFX 100S brings in 100MP resolution at under $10,000… nearly $500 under and, consequently, it’s cheaper than Sony’s new full-frame Alpha 1.

The all-new IBIS module has five-axis movements and gives correction for camera shake of up to six stops. The LCD display has a resolution of 2.36 million dots and full touchscreen controls. Unlike the GFX 50S, the GFX 100S has a fixed OLED electronic viewfinder with a resolution of 3.68 million dots and a magnification of 0.77x (35mm equivalent).

The sensor is a backside-illuminated (BSI) type CMOS with dual-gain circuitry and delivers a maximum image size of 11,648x8736 pixels with the option of capturing 14- or 16-bit RAW files. JPEGs can be captured at one of three compression levels and with a choice of three image sizes. For the record, the sensor size of 43.8x32.9mm is 1.7x bigger than full-35mm and 4.0x bigger than APS-C. The sensitivity range spans ISO 100 to 12,800 with extensions to ISO 50 and 102,400. The sensor has 3.76 million phase-detect AF pixels as part of the camera’s hybrid autofocusing system that employs 425 measuring points to give close to 100% frame coverage.

The X Processor 4 engine delivers continuous shooting at up to 5fps and 4K video recording in both the DCI and UHD resolutions at 30 or 25fps with a bit rate of up to 400 Mbps. There’s also F-Log and HLG recording with 10-bit 4:2:2 colour to the HDMI output and 10-bit 4:2:0 internally. Additionally, 16-bit RAW video is available via HDMI for recording to the latest Atomos Ninja V recorder. There’s also the choice of H.264 or H.265 encoding and either All-Intra or Long GOP compression. The GFX 50S has dual memory card slots for the SD format, both with UHS-II support.

The GFX cameras share a lot with the X-series line, including the famed Film Simulation profiles, and the GFX 100S gets a new one – bringing the total to 19 – called Nostalgic Neg. According to the Fujifilm press release, here’s what it does: “Its unique tonality adds an amber tone to highlights for a softer look and boosts saturations to shadows, while preserving details, to give a lyrical feel to images”. In a nutshell, what you’re getting is 1970s colour repro.

Released along with the GFX 100S is a new and faster GF-mount standard lens, the 80mm f/1.7 R WR (equivalent to 63mm in the 35mm format). This is the fastest GF-mount lens and also the first medium format system lens to combine autofocusing with such a fast maximum aperture. It has a compact design (the weight is just 795g) with a weathersealed construction for even sub-zero temperatures, and also includes a fluorine coating on the exposed surface of the front element. The optical design comprises 12 elements in nine groups, including two with extra-low dispersion characteristics and one aspherical type.

The GFX 100S is available in Australia now and priced at $9,499 body only. The new GF 80mm f/1.7 is also available now, priced at $3,499.

For more information visit www. fujfilm.com.au.