Hi Nasim I’m sure this seems late to the party but here goes.
I’m a landscape photographer with a 4×5 background. I work on tripod almost exclusively. I do not change menu options. Stitching is important to me therefore manual focus operation needs to be simple. I am interested in IBIS for handheld photos. There have been times in the field when using a tripod was not possible. I wonder of there was a way to keep a button map with the camera menu. In other words some way to know which button did what. I’ve also thought about the 50 S and stitching but the files from the 100 look really good and make single capture a better proposition. What do you think?
Claude
Walter Reichert
December 24, 2019 11:45 am
Fantastic review and wonderful photography!
Vijay Chandra
December 16, 2019 12:26 am
Hi Nasim, Love your photographs (especially Jordan one’s, cause been to Jordan a few times and recollecting those places) and reviews. I need your suggestion on my next purchase has its going to be an expensive affair. I’m completely into photography,NO video for me. Statistically, I’m into Landscapes(75%), Portraits(20%) and sometimes Macro(5%). I’m considering the following initially a. Fuji GFX 50S + 23mm + 110mm b. Sony A7R4 + 16-35mm 2.8 + 135mmGM c. Canon EOS R (this will upgraded later or kept has 2nd) + RF15-35mm + RF70-200 d. Leica SL2 + 24-90mm Only image quality matters, video/weight/price doesn’t matter. Latter on quality glass will be added. Awaiting your valuable suggestion.
Onar
December 12, 2019 9:41 am
I have received a gfx 100 now, and this after earlier having both the 50s and the 50r. These were both fantastic cameras in many ways, but I have to say, the gfx 100 is something special. And it should be at that price point! But I have to disagree on the ergonomics. I was a bit worried before trying it out, but I love it. I’ve read that many people do not, but I mean, if you consider something like this, try it out, you might be positively surprised. I too should have tried it first, but got an opertunity to get one fast in a trade deal for a sony 400mm GM lens. And I do not regret! Simply loving it!
Sid
December 11, 2019 6:34 pm
While the camera is no doubt impressive, I found the photos more interesting! Nasim, would you be able to share in which country you took these photos?
Hi! Do you have any recommendations for a computer specs that can handle this camera? My working hard drives are all mac formatted so to avoid the nightmare of converting everything back to pc, I am shopping for a new mac. Could the new 16″ mac laptop maxed out cut it?
Chris, it depends on what you are planning to do with the files. If you want to post-process 100 MP RAW files, those specs on the MacBook Pro should work out. But for processing panoramas, you will need more RAM. That’s the issue I struggled with when working on images for this review – my iMac Pro with 32 GB of RAM suffered a lot.
SARANATHAN ASURI
December 10, 2019 6:35 am
Nasim- What’s your advice. I am in two minds …whether to buy GFX50s and wait till fuji resolves some of the ergonomic issues. I am sure not all of them would be taken up in the near future as they have very heavily invested in GFX 100s to get some money..Who knows what next? I have Nikon D850 which is a masterpiece as it can handle almost all types of photographs with the right lenses. I also have XT-3 which is extremely handy and i love shooting landscapes with that as well. If i buy GFX 50s instead of GFX 100 i would probably using almost the same resolution as that of Nikon D 850 but with minor enhancements. Is it worth investing in GFX 50s for landscapes. I normally use Nikon for action and wild life. I would appreciate your suggestion.
I don’t see how Fuji can resolve the ergonomic issues I pointed out in this review via firmware, when the issue is mostly hardware-related (bad button placement, poor joystick, etc). The GFX 50S does not have these handling issues.
If you love your D850, why change the system? If you only shoot landscapes and you know what you are getting yourself into with the GFX system, then it is a different story…
Than you sir for your considerate opinion. There are three categories that I am into.. Wildlife , Landscape and astrophotography. I believe that GFX 100 with the higher noise levels (owing to pixel densities) and the absence of wide aperture GFX lenses may not be suitable for astrophotography as I find D850 to be more suitable. I have shot with D850 in the past in Germany with it. There is also another advantage with the D850 which is , I can attach a telescope at a later point in time if I require. This means I have to use GFX 100 just for landscapes and probably still wildlife solely because of its outstanding resolution.
Forget about using the GFX 100 for wildlife – it is not suitable, and there aren’t even any good lenses for wildlife in the first place. It is a landscape / architecture and studio camera.
Like I said, unless you really understand what you are getting yourself into, I would not recommend the GFX 100. If the resolution of your D850 isn’t limiting your work, I think it is best to hold on to it. You can’t really do much astro with the GFX 100, so are you going to end up with three different systems? That would be wasteful and unnecessary.
Brien
December 8, 2019 6:31 pm
Hi Nasim,
I often agree with your camera and lens reviews. I have both the Nikon Z7 and the Fujifilm GFX 100 and I question why you gave the Z7 a Gold rating and the GFX 100 a Silver rating. The only purpose of a camera is the quality of the images it produces. In my mind, the images produced by the GFX 100 are far superior to those produced by the Z7 and they got the same rating (5). Is the size of buttons more or less important than lack of a second memory card. Maybe image quality should be worth more than for example, features or movie recording features. The images produced by the GFX 100 are the most spectacular images I have ever seen. Just saying!
Brien, we give ratings based on what we believe is the best score for that system. I do not encourage that you compare ratings between different systems. The Z7 is a much more rounded choice and has few ergonomic issues that get in the way of shooting. I cannot say the same about the GFX 100. Image quality is not everything…
I didn’t say image quality is everything. In your rating system, image quality represents only one of 16 categories. Since the only purpose of having a camera is to take photographs, it is my humble opinion that image quality is more important than for example, stability. I do understand long time Nikon shooters might think the Z7 might be a more well rounded system. I have both and respectively disagree. I don’t think the Z7 is well rounded or in fact a professional camera at this point, maybe when the Z8 is released.
Brien, there are three total factors that impact overall image quality, and it includes high ISO performance and dynamic range. So I would say it is more like 3, not 1 out of 16. In regards to all other categories, we don’t have a way to give them different weight factors, so the numbers are simply based on 1-5 ranking. For me personally, things like stability are even more important than image quality. How good is a camera, if it dies on you or becomes inoperable when shooting? I could argue about each factor being quite important.
In regards to the Z7 being a more well-rounded camera, that’s what I personally think (and I own both systems too). I guess we will have to agree to disagree on this one…
Nasim, if the Z7 is superior to the GFX 100, why is it that the Z7 has been on sale ever since it was released and the discounts keep getting larger, while on the other hand, the GFX 100 is constantly on back order and the price for the GFX is $10,000 to $15,000 depending on the country. If photographers are willing to spend three to for times more for a GFX 100 and are willing to spend months waiting, that tells me this camera is worth at least as much on your rating system as a Z7! I note you indicated you, “own both systems too”. From your review, I assume you mean by that, you own the GFX 50s and not the GFX 100!
Brien, are you trying to compare sales of a specialized medium format to a general-purpose full-frame camera? How many units has Fuji produced and sold worldwide to date? A thousand? Nikon probably sold more Z7s than that on the first day of the release. It means nothing!
A Porsche 911 Turbo has been on sale for many years, and yet one has to wait for 3-5 years to get one. Where do Porsche sales stand when compared to Nissan or Toyota? I think you know where I am going with this.
The new iPhone 11 Pro is pretty incredible. If I give it a gold star and a rank of 4.5 stars, does it mean that the GFX 100 is worse than the iPhone? Of course not.These rankings are all relative. Don’t compare systems. A person who wants the GFX 100 knows what they are getting themselves into.
Yes, I own the GFX 50S (that’s why I used the word “system”), and the GFX 100 is sitting on my desk right now. Not planning to buy it, for the reasons indicated in the review.
Nasim, I think you missed my point. I wasn’t attempting to compare the number of sale of the Z7 vs the GFX 100. I have no idea the number of GFX 100’s that have been sold/ordered or if Nikon sold more Z7 the first day it was released. I doubt you do either. By in large, photographers that spend $10,000 to $15,000 on a camera are professionals not amateurs and wouldn’t spend that kind of money unless they thought it was an excellent camera. Clearly, Nikon would sell more Z7’s because it is significantly lower in price and is targeted at a different camera market. I sold my D850, a truly professional camera, and replaced it with a Z7. At this point, I don’t think the Z7 meets the standard Nikon set when it released the D850. As I said earlier, maybe when they release the second version of their Z7, it will meet the standard Nikon set with the D850 and I will be happy to purchase one. Clearly you think the Z7 is an overall better camera and I feel the same about the GFX 100 and neither one of us is going to convince the other of the merits of our respective points of view. I’m done.
Brien, I don’t understand why I need to keep repeating the same thing… I never said the Z7 is a better camera. I said it was more well-rounded and GFX 100 has its issues. In IQ, the GFX 100 destroys any full-frame camera on the market, and that’s a given. Please stop comparing systems. Medium format will always be medium format. It is apples vs oranges comparison…
One last thing. The iPhone 11 Pro is a more well-rounded camera than the Olympus OM-D E-M1, which is a more well-rounded camera than the Fuji X-T3, which is a more well-rounded camera than the Nikon Z7, which is a more well-rounded camera than the Fuji GFX 100.
Does it mean the iPhone 11 Pro is better than the GFX 100? :)
“…there is no other camera on the market that can even remotely match its capabilities.”
Nasim, I beg to differ. The Mamiya 7II, arguably the best camera ever made, would destroy the GFX-100 in a head-to-head match up in every way, shape, and form. When scanned at Max resolution the Mamiya 7II delivers +400 megapixels. The GFX-100 doesn’t even come close to that resolution.
Plus, every 4 x 5, 5 x 7, and 8 x 10 camera system on the market would mop the floor with the GFX 100.
Sorry, Nasim but medium format film and large format still rule.
@ CAT Pro – Agree with you. Nowadays photogs whine and moan about having to change memory cards or not getting enough shots from a battery. Imagine the same guys having to change rolls every 10 or 20 frames, not to mention the joys of rangefinder focusing, the limits on focal length, the paucity of lenses, etc. Not exactly “wipe the floor in every way, shape and form” material, is it?
Gregore, I was specifically referring to digital cameras with that statement.
Not going to argue about film vs digital – I think it is an individual choice, and the systems / formats should not be compared.
Burghclerebilly
December 5, 2019 6:54 am
The terrible design and horrific ergonomics is clearly a ploy by Fuji to re-establish the pure studio MF body, a la Mamiya, Bronica, Pentax etc. There is no way any respectable photographer would contemplate using such a body in situations where rapid decisions are needed, but used indoors safely chained to a tripod, models will assume complex calculations must be being done as the tog struggles with the basic menus. Kudos to Fuji for bringing back some classic marketing tactics!
Clearly, Fuji is NOT just attempting to re-establish the pure studio camera. Did you not see Nasim’s photographs, which themselves are a silent but sure rebuttal to your assertion? Name one studio camera that can take handheld photographs at shutter speeds like the ones shown with those photographs. The 100 is surely not perfect, but is a fabulous as a landscape camera as well as other types of photography.
Hi Nasim
I’m sure this seems late to the party but here goes.
I’m a landscape photographer with a 4×5 background. I work on tripod almost exclusively. I do not change menu options. Stitching is important to me therefore manual focus operation needs to be simple. I am interested in IBIS for handheld photos. There have been times in the field when using a tripod was not possible.
I wonder of there was a way to keep a button map with the camera menu. In other words some way to know which button did what. I’ve also thought about the 50 S and stitching but the files from the 100 look really good and make single capture a better proposition.
What do you think?
Claude
Fantastic review and wonderful photography!
Hi Nasim,
Love your photographs (especially Jordan one’s, cause been to Jordan a few times and recollecting those places) and reviews. I need your suggestion on my next purchase has its going to be an expensive affair. I’m completely into photography,NO video for me. Statistically, I’m into Landscapes(75%), Portraits(20%) and sometimes Macro(5%). I’m considering the following initially a. Fuji GFX 50S + 23mm + 110mm b. Sony A7R4 + 16-35mm 2.8 + 135mmGM c. Canon EOS R (this will upgraded later or kept has 2nd) + RF15-35mm + RF70-200 d. Leica SL2 + 24-90mm
Only image quality matters, video/weight/price doesn’t matter. Latter on quality glass will be added.
Awaiting your valuable suggestion.
I have received a gfx 100 now, and this after earlier having both the 50s and the 50r. These were both fantastic cameras in many ways, but I have to say, the gfx 100 is something special. And it should be at that price point!
But I have to disagree on the ergonomics. I was a bit worried before trying it out, but I love it. I’ve read that many people do not, but I mean, if you consider something like this, try it out, you might be positively surprised. I too should have tried it first, but got an opertunity to get one fast in a trade deal for a sony 400mm GM lens. And I do not regret!
Simply loving it!
While the camera is no doubt impressive, I found the photos more interesting! Nasim, would you be able to share in which country you took these photos?
…it looks like the Faroe Islands, but wanted to check :)
Sid, Denmark, Faroe Islands and USA (Colorado).
Hi! Do you have any recommendations for a computer specs that can handle this camera? My working hard drives are all mac formatted so to avoid the nightmare of converting everything back to pc, I am shopping for a new mac. Could the new 16″ mac laptop maxed out cut it?
Thanks!
Chris, it depends on what you are planning to do with the files. If you want to post-process 100 MP RAW files, those specs on the MacBook Pro should work out. But for processing panoramas, you will need more RAM. That’s the issue I struggled with when working on images for this review – my iMac Pro with 32 GB of RAM suffered a lot.
Nasim- What’s your advice. I am in two minds …whether to buy GFX50s and wait till fuji resolves some of the ergonomic issues. I am sure not all of them would be taken up in the near future as they have very heavily invested in GFX 100s to get some money..Who knows what next?
I have Nikon D850 which is a masterpiece as it can handle almost all types of photographs with the right lenses. I also have XT-3 which is extremely handy and i love shooting landscapes with that as well.
If i buy GFX 50s instead of GFX 100 i would probably using almost the same resolution as that of Nikon D 850 but with minor enhancements. Is it worth investing in GFX 50s for landscapes. I normally use Nikon for action and wild life. I would appreciate your suggestion.
I don’t see how Fuji can resolve the ergonomic issues I pointed out in this review via firmware, when the issue is mostly hardware-related (bad button placement, poor joystick, etc). The GFX 50S does not have these handling issues.
If you love your D850, why change the system? If you only shoot landscapes and you know what you are getting yourself into with the GFX system, then it is a different story…
Than you sir for your considerate opinion. There are three categories that I am into.. Wildlife , Landscape and astrophotography. I believe that GFX 100 with the higher noise levels (owing to pixel densities) and the absence of wide aperture GFX lenses may not be suitable for astrophotography as I find D850 to be more suitable. I have shot with D850 in the past in Germany with it. There is also another advantage with the D850 which is , I can attach a telescope at a later point in time if I require. This means I have to use GFX 100 just for landscapes and probably still wildlife solely because of its outstanding resolution.
Forget about using the GFX 100 for wildlife – it is not suitable, and there aren’t even any good lenses for wildlife in the first place. It is a landscape / architecture and studio camera.
Like I said, unless you really understand what you are getting yourself into, I would not recommend the GFX 100. If the resolution of your D850 isn’t limiting your work, I think it is best to hold on to it. You can’t really do much astro with the GFX 100, so are you going to end up with three different systems? That would be wasteful and unnecessary.
Hi Nasim,
I often agree with your camera and lens reviews. I have both the Nikon Z7 and the Fujifilm GFX 100 and I question why you gave the Z7 a Gold rating and the GFX 100 a Silver rating. The only purpose of a camera is the quality of the images it produces. In my mind, the images produced by the GFX 100 are far superior to those produced by the Z7 and they got the same rating (5). Is the size of buttons more or less important than lack of a second memory card. Maybe image quality should be worth more than for example, features or movie recording features. The images produced by the GFX 100 are the most spectacular images I have ever seen. Just saying!
Brien, we give ratings based on what we believe is the best score for that system. I do not encourage that you compare ratings between different systems. The Z7 is a much more rounded choice and has few ergonomic issues that get in the way of shooting. I cannot say the same about the GFX 100. Image quality is not everything…
I didn’t say image quality is everything. In your rating system, image quality represents only one of 16 categories. Since the only purpose of having a camera is to take photographs, it is my humble opinion that image quality is more important than for example, stability. I do understand long time Nikon shooters might think the Z7 might be a more well rounded system. I have both and respectively disagree. I don’t think the Z7 is well rounded or in fact a professional camera at this point, maybe when the Z8 is released.
Brien, there are three total factors that impact overall image quality, and it includes high ISO performance and dynamic range. So I would say it is more like 3, not 1 out of 16. In regards to all other categories, we don’t have a way to give them different weight factors, so the numbers are simply based on 1-5 ranking. For me personally, things like stability are even more important than image quality. How good is a camera, if it dies on you or becomes inoperable when shooting? I could argue about each factor being quite important.
In regards to the Z7 being a more well-rounded camera, that’s what I personally think (and I own both systems too). I guess we will have to agree to disagree on this one…
Nasim, if the Z7 is superior to the GFX 100, why is it that the Z7 has been on sale ever since it was released and the discounts keep getting larger, while on the other hand, the GFX 100 is constantly on back order and the price for the GFX is $10,000 to $15,000 depending on the country. If photographers are willing to spend three to for times more for a GFX 100 and are willing to spend months waiting, that tells me this camera is worth at least as much on your rating system as a Z7! I note you indicated you, “own both systems too”. From your review, I assume you mean by that, you own the GFX 50s and not the GFX 100!
Brien, are you trying to compare sales of a specialized medium format to a general-purpose full-frame camera? How many units has Fuji produced and sold worldwide to date? A thousand? Nikon probably sold more Z7s than that on the first day of the release. It means nothing!
A Porsche 911 Turbo has been on sale for many years, and yet one has to wait for 3-5 years to get one. Where do Porsche sales stand when compared to Nissan or Toyota? I think you know where I am going with this.
The new iPhone 11 Pro is pretty incredible. If I give it a gold star and a rank of 4.5 stars, does it mean that the GFX 100 is worse than the iPhone? Of course not.These rankings are all relative. Don’t compare systems. A person who wants the GFX 100 knows what they are getting themselves into.
Yes, I own the GFX 50S (that’s why I used the word “system”), and the GFX 100 is sitting on my desk right now. Not planning to buy it, for the reasons indicated in the review.
Nasim, I think you missed my point. I wasn’t attempting to compare the number of sale of the Z7 vs the GFX 100. I have no idea the number of GFX 100’s that have been sold/ordered or if Nikon sold more Z7 the first day it was released. I doubt you do either. By in large, photographers that spend $10,000 to $15,000 on a camera are professionals not amateurs and wouldn’t spend that kind of money unless they thought it was an excellent camera. Clearly, Nikon would sell more Z7’s because it is significantly lower in price and is targeted at a different camera market. I sold my D850, a truly professional camera, and replaced it with a Z7. At this point, I don’t think the Z7 meets the standard Nikon set when it released the D850. As I said earlier, maybe when they release the second version of their Z7, it will meet the standard Nikon set with the D850 and I will be happy to purchase one. Clearly you think the Z7 is an overall better camera and I feel the same about the GFX 100 and neither one of us is going to convince the other of the merits of our respective points of view. I’m done.
Brien, I don’t understand why I need to keep repeating the same thing… I never said the Z7 is a better camera. I said it was more well-rounded and GFX 100 has its issues. In IQ, the GFX 100 destroys any full-frame camera on the market, and that’s a given. Please stop comparing systems. Medium format will always be medium format. It is apples vs oranges comparison…
One last thing. The iPhone 11 Pro is a more well-rounded camera than the Olympus OM-D E-M1, which is a more well-rounded camera than the Fuji X-T3, which is a more well-rounded camera than the Nikon Z7, which is a more well-rounded camera than the Fuji GFX 100.
Does it mean the iPhone 11 Pro is better than the GFX 100? :)
0verall rating Z7 – Gold. Overall rating GFX 100 – Silver.
“…there is no other camera on the market that can even remotely match its capabilities.”
Nasim, I beg to differ. The Mamiya 7II, arguably the best camera ever made, would destroy the GFX-100 in a head-to-head match up in every way, shape, and form. When scanned at Max resolution the Mamiya 7II delivers +400 megapixels. The GFX-100 doesn’t even come close to that resolution.
Plus, every 4 x 5, 5 x 7, and 8 x 10 camera system on the market would mop the floor with the GFX 100.
Sorry, Nasim but medium format film and large format still rule.
@Gregore, easy tough guy, not so sure about your sweeping statements here.
@ CAT Pro – Agree with you. Nowadays photogs whine and moan about having to change memory cards or not getting enough shots from a battery. Imagine the same guys having to change rolls every 10 or 20 frames, not to mention the joys of rangefinder focusing, the limits on focal length, the paucity of lenses, etc. Not exactly “wipe the floor in every way, shape and form” material, is it?
Gregore, I was specifically referring to digital cameras with that statement.
Not going to argue about film vs digital – I think it is an individual choice, and the systems / formats should not be compared.
The terrible design and horrific ergonomics is clearly a ploy by Fuji to re-establish the pure studio MF body, a la Mamiya, Bronica, Pentax etc. There is no way any respectable photographer would contemplate using such a body in situations where rapid decisions are needed, but used indoors safely chained to a tripod, models will assume complex calculations must be being done as the tog struggles with the basic menus. Kudos to Fuji for bringing back some classic marketing tactics!
That’s too bad. I was hoping for a versatile camera that can be used anywhere. This is concerning for the future of the GFX system.
Clearly, Fuji is NOT just attempting to re-establish the pure studio camera. Did you not see Nasim’s photographs, which themselves are a silent but sure rebuttal to your assertion? Name one studio camera that can take handheld photographs at shutter speeds like the ones shown with those photographs. The 100 is surely not perfect, but is a fabulous as a landscape camera as well as other types of photography.