FUJIFILM GFX 50S
First announced at CES last September, Fuji has now given a release date and full
specifications for the GFX 50S.
It will be for sale from the 1st of March 2017 and retail at £6,200 in the UK and
$6,500 in the US for the body only.
The GFX 50S is a medium format, mirrorless camera that is not much larger than a
DSLR body.
SENSOR
It has a 51.4 megapixel, bayer sensor that is 44mm x 33mm in size, making it approximately
1.7 times larger than a full frame camera sensor.
The larger sensor and pixel size allows for a wider tonal range and better low light
performance.
ISO RANGE
The GFX 50S has an ISO range of 100 – 12,800 ISO and a maximum shutter speed of 1/4000th
of a second.
VIEWFINDER AND TOUCHSCREEN
Being a mirrorless camera it has an electronic viewfinder (EVF) which is removable
and attaches via the camera’s hotshoe. This will allow for Fuji to produce a range
of viewfinders to suit different shooting applications.
The 3.2” touchscreen tilts but is not fully articulating but as the camera is very
unlikely to be used for vlogging this does not seem to be an issue.
CONNECTIVITY
Dual SD card slots, HDMI, USB3 ports as well as both mic and headphone jack sockets.
LENSES
At launch Fuji are offering three lens options, all with a new G-Mount. There is
a standard, 63mm F: 2.8 (Approx. 50mm equivalent). A 120mm, Macro, F: 4 (Approx.
87mm equivalent) and a 33mm-64mm, F: 4 (Approx. 25mm-50mm equivalent). Fuji has said
that more lenses will be available before the end of 2017.
VIDEO
Video is available at 1080p at 30fps if required but I really cannot see the GFX
50S being purchased for its video capabilities.
J-PEGS, RAW AND TIFFS
File types are J-Peg that now has a ‘super fine’ option, RAW files that can be converted
to TIFFs from within the camera.
ASPECT RATIOS
With its larger sensor size the GFX 50S has the ability to shoot in a variety of
aspect ratios which include 4:3, 16:9 as well as 1:1 to give that Hassleblad, square
format and 6:7 much like a Pentax.
FILM SIMULATION
Fuji have also including simulations of some its most popular film types such as
Provia, loved by portrait photographers and Velia for landscapes.
WHO’S IT FOR?
The GFX 50S is not a camera for everyone, it will be used by high end portrait and
product photographers mainly studio based but its small form factor and weather sealing
would be ideal for landscape photography as well.
SIMILAR CAMERAS
The medium format, digital camera is quite a small market with equivalent cameras
being the Hassleblad X1D 50c which retails at £7,800 ($9,000) and the Pentax 645Z,
£6,500 ($7,000) for the body only options.
It will interesting to see how much of market for medium format digital cameras is
out there, especially with full frame cameras giving such images already.
FUJIFILM GFX 50S :
