A powerful and fun camera that’s far from perfect

After watching its fixed-lens X100 VI camera do stratospheric sales numbers, Fujifilm decided to build a bigger and badder version that could go up against Leica’s full-frame Q3. The result is the $4,899 GFX100RF, the first-ever 100-megapixel medium format compact camera.

The GFX100RF has some novel features, like a crop dial that lets you choose aspect ratios ranging from vertical 3:4 to a panoramic 65:24. It can digitally zoom via a dedicated toggle and offers all the social media-friendly benefits of the X100 VI, including film simulations. You can even shoot medium-format 4K video.

However, the GFX100RF has some flaws. Where Leica’s Q3 has a fast 28mm f/1.7 lens and optical stabilization, Fujifilm’s 35mm lens (28mm equivalent) here is limited to f4 and lacks any shake reduction, hurting the camera in low light. I’ve used the camera for nearly two weeks now and enjoyed it, but given the high price and quirks, it’s definitely not for everyone.

Fujifilm

The GFX100RF is the world’s first 100MP medium format compact camera. It offers incredible image quality and flexibility but isn’t great in low light, and the high price makes it a niche product.

Pros

Incredibly sharp images
Innovative aspect ratio dial
Compact for a medium format camera
Nice design and build quality

Cons

Poor low-light performance
No image stabilization
No hybrid viewfinder
Middling autofocus

$4,899 at B&H Photo Video

Design and handling

Though it’s Fujifilm’s smallest medium-format camera, the GFX100RF is still a hefty unit at 735 grams. That’s more than many full-frame mirrorless cameras and around the same weight as the Q3. The control layout is similar to the X100 VI with control dials on the front and back, along with exposure compensation, shutter speed and ISO controls on top.

What’s new is the aspect ratio dial that offers modes for 4:3, 3:2, 16:9, 17:6, 3:4, 1:1, 7:6, 5:4 and 65:24 (the latter pays tribute to Fujifilm’s TX-1 panoramic camera). The GFX100RF also has a toggle up front to select 28mm, 35mm, 50mm and 63mm (full-frame equivalent) zoom levels. Those gradually lose resolution due to cropping, from 100MP at 28mm down to 20MP at 63mm. Bokeh is also reduced as the sensor size shrinks.

The rear 2.1-million-dot, 3.15-inch display only tilts up and down, but that’s fine for the camera’s primary street photo role. Though sharp and detailed, the 5.76-million-dot electronic viewfinder unfortunately lacks the X100 VI’s signature hybrid display that lets you switch between optical and electronic views. However, it does offer three modes to support the aspect ratio dial and make composition easier. One only shows the selected crop, another shows the full scene with a box around the crop and the third displays everything outside the crop at 50 percent opacity.

Fujifilm's GFX100RF includes an innovative new feature on the back, an aspect ratio dial — Fujifilm’s GFX100RF includes an innovative aspect ratio dial at back (Steve Dent for Engadget)

Battery life on the GFX100RF is outstanding with up to 820 shots on a charge or about 100 minutes of 4K 30 fps video shooting. For me, that amounted to nearly two days of use, which is better than nearly every other (non-DSLR) camera I’ve tested. The camera also includes dual UHS-II memory card slots plus mic, headphone, microHDMI and USB-C ports. The latter allows not only data transfers and charging, but also SSD video recording.

Performance

The GFX100RF is essentially a GFX100S II squeezed into a compact body, so performance is similar with up to 6 fps burst shooting speeds. However, each RAW file is up to 150MB in size and JPEGs are 70MB, so even at those slower speeds, you can fill your memory cards very quickly. That said, this camera definitely isn’t designed for sports or wildlife, so I didn’t use burst shooting often.

The autofocus is reliable when shooting single photos, but it’s a little laggy for bursts. Using the face and eye detect AI modes helps nail eye focus reliably, but it’s not as fast as Sony and Canon’s systems. It also supports animal, bird and vehicle tracking, which helped me capture sharp photos of ducks floating on the Seine river in Paris.

The GFX100RF is the world’s first 100MP medium format compact camera. — Steve Dent for Engadget

The GFX100RF has both mechanical and silent electronic shutter modes. Rolling shutter skew is a big issue with this sensor in silent mode with fast moving subjects, though. Luckily, the mechanical shutter eliminates that and is nearly inaudible.

The built-in ND filter can reduce light up to four stops, letting you shoot on sunny days while retaining some bokeh. However, the main problem is when there’s not enough light. The minimum f4 aperture is simply inadequate and the lack of stabilization exacerbates the issue as you risk blurry photos at slow shutter speeds. In dim light you may need to pack a tripod, which isn’t ideal for a compact camera.

Image quality

The aspect ratio and zoom options on the GFX100RF are handy and fun. Some curmudgeons may prefer to shoot full sensor 100MP photos and then just crop later in post production. But the GFX100RF lets you have your cake and eat it, too. You can apply all the crops, zooms and film simulations you want and save them as JPEGs for easy sharing. Then, if you need to go back and change something, you also have the full 100MP RAW image as a backup (though obviously, shooting both will fill your memory card more quickly).

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As with the GFX100S II, the GFX100RF is a top performer when it comes to detail and sharpness. Colors are pleasing and RAW files retain high amounts of dynamic range, allowing for easy adjustment in Lightroom. And of course, Fujifilm’s film simulations give you colorful, nostalgic options — like Reala Ace or the dramatic black and white look of Acros — straight out of the camera.

The GFX100RF also delivers beautiful bokeh, with the f4 aperture equivalent to around f3 for a full-frame camera in terms of depth of field (but not light gathering). Like other GFX models, the large sensor produces more dramatic images than full frame for portraits, landscapes or street shots.

Like I mentioned, things fall apart when the light dims, though. With no option below f4 and no stabilization, I relied on high ISOs to boost exposure. The GFX100RF isn’t bad in this area, with controllable noise up to about ISO 8000, but that’s not high enough considering the other factors. For these reasons, the GFX100RF is less versatile than it could be.

Video

The GFX100RF can handle 4K and widescreen DCI 4K at up to 30 fps with fairly high bit rates, as long as you have a fast UHS-II SD card. It can even shoot ProRes with at much higher data speeds, but for those, you’ll need to record directly to an SSD via the USB Type-C port.

Autofocus for video is decent but not incredibly fast, so ideally your subjects don’t move too much. The AI-powered face and eye detection helps nail focus when filming people, but again, can fail if subjects dart around.

Video has a dreamy quality and bokeh that only a large sensor can offer. Like the GFX100S II, the GFX100RF captures video using the full width of the sensor in most modes, albeit with pixel binning that reduces quality. The sharpest video comes with a 1.32x crop, but that reduces the image quality benefits of a large sensor.

Video on the GFX100RF has one thing going for it that the photo side lacks: digital stabilization. This smooths out shakiness for handheld shots, but the excessive rolling shutter limits your ability to move the camera quickly.

Colors are pleasing and easy to adjust, particularly when using Fujifilim’s F-Log or F-Log2 10-bit modes to boost dynamic range. And of course, Reala Ace, Acros and other film simulations are available in video modes to create great looks straight out of the camera.

Wrap-up

Fujifilm's GFX100RF is cool and innovative but definitely not for everyone. — Steve Dent for Engadget

Fujifilm’s $4,899 GFX100RF is a powerful camera with incredible image quality that’s hampered by a lack of low-light performance. It’s also a niche and expensive product that, unlike Fujifilm’s popular X100 VI, only appeals to a small group of photographers.

Its primary rival in this space is Leica’s Q3, which has a smaller 60MP full-frame sensor and higher $6,735 price tag. However, the Q3 has a much faster 28mm f/1.7 lens, less rolling shutter, a single SD UHS-II card slot and up to 8K video. It also has the Leica brand cachet, which does mean something to people spending this kind of money.

The GFX100RF is fun to use, though, and introduces several innovations like the aspect ratio dial. Though it may never have a huge market, I think products like this push the industry in new directions and create conversations that draw new people into photography. So even though I’d never buy one, I’m glad the GFX100RF exists for those reasons.

This article first appeared on Engadget

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