As a Digital Medium Format(DMF) user; when the GFX was first launch in
2016 Photokina. I was all in awe at the press conference. Its was special;
small and very usable DMF. Months later when all the dust have settled, I
ask myself, are all the working photographers gonna switch? It has great
IQ, pretty fast auto focus and a honest price; at least in the world of DMF.
Least to say I am a GFX convert. I know many photographers who have
already made that switch too. Some are considering and the rest simply
love their current system; for now. There are only that many working
photographers in the world. I ask myself who else will be interested? Beside
a small community of non professional that uses DMF, I believe the next
segment will have to be the high end Full Frame DSLR users? GFX fulfilled
all category of photography except sport and maybe video which is not what
it was design for.
For illustration I will be using a Canon 1DX as a comparison. Canon was my
last FF brand before I made the switch to Fujifilm. They are both very different
cameras but I would like to think many FF user might make that switch to GFX.
Let me explained. The most important factor is price. I will compare GFX +
GF32-64mm F4 and 1DX mk II and EF24-70mm F2.8. Below are the current
prices taken from B&H.
USD$5,999 Canon 1DX Mk II
USD$1,749 EF 24-70mm F2.8 Mk II
USD$7,748 Total
USD$6,499 Fujifilm GFX 50s
USD$2,299 GF 32-64mm F4 WR
USD$8798 Total
As you could see the price difference is USD$1,058. That is about 13% premium.
If I were to compare a Nikon D5 with a 24-70mm F2.8E VR lens, the GFX maybe
even cheaper. Back to 1DX, the 13% premium is not a small sum of money but the
IQ of the GFX is a huge advantage. I know of photographers who uses 1DX to
shoot portraits. And I hope I won’t hear GFX photographer using it to shoot sports!
Having that in mind; photographers who love to use their high end FF camera to
shoot portraits, travel, documentary landscape, fine art and sports, I meant sport
portraiture should really consider the GFX as a alternative option. The details from
the GFX are staggering. It has beautiful transition from highlights to shadows.
DMF have always been big, heavy and not that easy to use. Not to mention the
price. GFX is actually pretty feather weight and the workflow easy. If you have a
X-T2; just think the GFX as a bigger X-T2. Here is another illustration.
1530 grams Canon 1DX Mk II (with battery and card)
805 grams EF 24-70mm F2.8 Mk II
2335 grams Total
920 grams Fujifilm GFX 50s ( with EVF )
879 grams GF 32-64mm F4 WR
1799 grams Total
From the above comparison, you could easily see the weight difference is more
than half a kilogram. Unless one truly shoot sport and wildlife exclusively, 1DX will
be a correct choice. Or some will disagree and have to mention it should be Nikon
D5 instead. This blog post is not a comparison between the 2 cameras rather I
wanna share that if you are a high end FF shooter; the GFX is actually a very
tempting and logical option. Its modular, fast AF, easy workflow, superb Fujinon
glass, great IQ and last but not least, its really fun to use. Here are two full size photos.
Last weekend I was on the little island call Sentosa. I did some street and also
stop many to have a portrait of them. In fact one of the model actually knows the
GFX. He even ask where did I stole it from!
Here are some street pictures and also GFX Digital Xpan 65:24 ratio. Its pretty fun shooting
in this format too.
IG @ivanjoshualoh
FB : https://www.facebook.com/IvanjoshualohX/
You wrote about the GFX:
but the photos you linked to are NOT full sized. They are downsampled.
Hello, Please kindly see click on the picture and then scroll a little down and you will see at the bottom right is the exif with the option to click on the actual file. Cheers.
Isn’t it a little misleading/disingenuous to compare the GFX with the Canon 1DX ii when you specifically call out the GFX and not idea for sports and better for Portraits, etc.? the much clearer/relevant comparison would be the Nikon D810 or Canon 5DSR. These cameras are basically after the same market segment as the GFX and both drastically alter the cost/weight/size comparison with the GFX.
Hello DC,
Basically my POV is from a price point that is close to GFX as a comparison for this blog post. I do have many friends that uses the high
end FF camera for non sport and wildlife photography. 🙁 Having said that I certainly hear your POV and will in due time rent a 5DRs and
do a little shootout with the GFX. Till then you have a super day ahead. 🙂
Thanks for your comparisons however i think it would more effective to compare Canon’s 5DSR with the GFX. The 5DSR full frame sensor is about the same size as the GFX. The 1DX-II is a legendary sports camera for the most part so its sensor is designed for a different use IMO.
Hello Mark! Greetings from Singapore. Thanks for feedback. 🙂 I certainly will do a shoot out between GFX and 5DRS.
5DRS wasn’t in my radar because it was a lower price camera and also it wasn’t a popular camera from where I came from.
Was the 5DRs a popular camera from where you live? cheers.
Hi Ivan and thank you for your reply. Yes, in the USA I’ve been shooting with most of the Canon and Sony full frame cameras. The Canon 5DSr has a 51MP sensor and shoots much slower than the 1DX-ii. And the 1DX-ii’s sensor is about half the MP size of the GFX and 5DSR. I’ve been thinking about purchasing the GFX but would need to see how it performs after being released to the public. As far as price point, I think I paid $4,200 for my 5DSr when it was first announced and ‘L lens start at around $2,000.
I would love to see how the GFX and 5DSR compare with high ISO which the Canon is not that good at. The Sony A7R2 beats the Canon hands down.