Last week I brought the Fujifilm GFX 100S II with me on a trip to the UK. This was an aviation-themed trip with visits to the Royal International Air Tattoo held at RAF Fairford and the excellent RAF Museum at RAF Cosford. It would also be the first serious outing for the GFX, I was very excited to see what results this camera would produce and how it handled itself in the field.
GFX 100S II, 200mm, f/9, ISO 200, 1/500th
General use
Now the GFX system is new to me and there are a few things I really have to get used to. I really wonder why the Fujifilm engineers omitted a dedicated ISO button. Now I either have to go to the menu to change the ISO settings or I have to use the front wheel after pressing it down. The latter function is tricky, if you accidentally touch the wheel whilst shooting your ISO settings will change without you noticing it. And if, after switching lenses, you'd like to activate the dust removal function, good luck. That means scrolling through the menu again instead of taking pictures and at RIAT things happen fast. No time to fiddle with the menu. I guess it would be quicker to just switch the camera off and then on again to activate dust removal.
Battery life is another thing to consider. I used up two batteries before the end of the afternoon at the RIAT.
Aside from the lack of an ISO button these are things that I will get used to over time when the menu of this camera gets more familiar. The short battery life was unexpected, I'll have to get me at least one more battery before I take the GFX out for a long day of shooting again.
The camera feels solid in my hands and I had no issues carrying it around all day long. And those images? Wow! This is where the GFX really shines, those gorgeous medium format images. I had no issues with the autofocus, I had set the camera autofocus to the airplane mode and this worked fine for me. The image stabilization is also top notch, I am very impressed how slow I can go with my shutter speeds whilst using the camera handheld and still get sharp images.
Will I take the GFX to an air show again? You bet! I just need a longer lens than the 100-200mm I was using so Fuji, if you're reading this: I would really like to see a 100-500mm telephoto lens for the GFX system!
Images
Below you'll find images shot at the RIAT at RAF Fairford and at the RAF Museum at RAF Cosford.
GFX 100S II, 145.3mm, f/7.1, ISO 200, 1/640th
GFX 100S II, 200mm, f/10, ISO 200, 1/500th
GFX 100S II, 200mm, f/10, ISO 200, 1/500th
GFX 100S II, 200mm, f/10, ISO 200, 1/400th
GFX 100S II, 200mm, f/10, ISO 200, 1/400th
GFX 100S II, 45.9mm, f/4.5, ISO 400, 1/80th
GFX 100S II, 45mm, f/4.5, ISO 400, 1/20th
GFX 100S II, 45,9mm, f/4, ISO 400, 1/40th
GFX 100S II, 45mm, f/5, ISO 400, 1/80th