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  • Related content
  • Design & Handling
  • Features
  • Lenses
  • Conclusion
  • Related Video

While fanboys and girls have clamored for full-frame mirrorless since Sony’s A7 series hit the scene, the majority of mirrorless cameras still sport a crop sensor. This is where Fujifilm’s new GFX 50S (MSRP TBA) has come to upset the natural order of things.

Instead of making the smaller leap to 35mm full frame, Fuji took a running jump across the chasm all the way to digital medium format. The GFX 50S won’t be cheap, but in the world of high-end cameras, cheap is subjective. The camera we tried was far from finished software-wise, but physically it represents what Fujifilm is primed to launch next year, alongside three lenses to start the system off right.

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Design & Handling

Fujifilm’s new baby is a big’un

All things considered, the GFX 50S isn’t that big. If you’ve ever handled a pro DSLR like a Nikon D5, for instance, this new Fujifilm isn’t going to seem gargantuan to you. It isn’t until the mirrorless GFX is put next to something like Fujifilm’s own X-T2 that it gets put into perspective--this new system is Fujifilm’s biggest by a long shot. It’s big, it’s weathersealed, and it’s made from metal.

Fujifilm GFX 50S and Fujifilm X-T2
Credit: Reviewed.com / Brendan Nystedt

Only a big camera would make the X-T2 look so small.

It’s a good thing, then, that Fuji equipped the SLR-shaped GFX with an SLR-style grip. It makes the camera handle like it’s smaller. At least in my mitts, the GFX felt like more like something like a Nikon D610 than a gargantuan Pentax 645Z.

Along the sides of the GFX 50S are more hatches and flaps than a submarine. On the right side behind the grip is a door that hides the twin SD card slots. On the opposite side of the camera is a door for a big, boxy battery, and a smaller one for the camera’s USB, remote, and HDMI ports. A clever detail is that the GFX badge inset into this door is yet another smaller door, enabling even convenient access to the remote socket.

Fujifilm GFX 50S EVF detached
Credit: Reviewed.com / Brendan Nystedt

The detachable EVF can make the GFX a bit more compact.

Controls consist of twin dials on the front and back of the camera. A comfortable rear rubber grip flares out, making a nook for your thumb to rest in, counterbalancing the front grip. Buttons on the rear are similar to those on either of Fuji’s recent flagships, and you even will find the handy nubbin for selecting an AF point.

Fujifilm GFX 50S Rear Controls
Credit: Reviewed.com / Brendan Nystedt

The rear controls aren't far off from other recent Fuji cameras.

Of course, this being a Fujifilm, you’re also going to get some additional dials to control shutter speed and ISO on either side of the protruding electronic viewfinder. A top LCD shows information at a glance, while the power button surrounds the shutter button. If I were given the challenge of laying the buttons out, I definitely couldn’t have done a better job than Fujifilm’s designers and ergonomic experts.

Features

Not quite everything Fujifilm has to offer, but enough to get the job done.

Fujifilm has taken their best technology and put it to work in this camera. The years of X-series development pay off in GFX, from lenses to the image processing and autofocus tech. The only glaring features that won’t make an appearance in the big, 51-megapixel medium-format (43.8 x 32.9mm) CMOS sensor.

Fujifilm GFX 50S Top Down
Credit: Reviewed.com / Brendan Nystedt

The top controls and tilting display make the GFX usable even from low angles.

The first thing that’s missing compared to the likes of the X-T2 and X-Pro2 is on-sensor phase detection. Since this is more an artisan’s tool than a burst-shooting, action-capturing machine, we doubt most will mind that it only has contrast detection autofocus. In my limited time with a preproduction camera, just CDAF was still enough to give the GFX 50S relatively quick focusing speed.

The other major Fuji tech that you won’t find inside the GFX series (yet, at least) is the company’s homebrewed X-Trans color filter. Instead, this sports a conventional Bayer filter over the sensor. I trust that Fuji’s excellent image processing and lens characteristics will render this a moot point. If there’s detail in a shot you can’t capture with a big, AA-filter-free 51 megapixel sensor, I think you’re gonna have issues with or without X-Trans.

Fujifilm GFX 50S Twin Card Slots
Credit: Reviewed.com / Brendan Nystedt

Dual card slots mean you won't need to worry about stuffing a single car full of 50-megapixel RAW files.

Other than that, Fuji fans will be surprised to find that the GFX feels like an enlarged X-T2 or X-Pro 2. The controls are similar enough that if you’ve used a recent Fujifilm body, you won’t feel out of sorts at all.

Perhaps the most interesting element of this new Fuji camera is its detachable EVF. It slides off the top of the camera, leaving a hot shoe exposed for a flash. Since you have the tilting rear monitor at your disposal, the GFX 50S is just about as useful in either configuration, depending on what you want to shoot. An upcoming adapter will let you pivot the EVF at different angles. This also unlocks the potential to get different EVFs down the road, but Fujifilm didn’t reveal any plans for this just yet.

Lenses

Raise your glass!

2017 is going to be another busy year for the folks at Fujifilm, since the GFX launch is planned for the early part of the year. Alongside this new camera will be three lenses to start, a 63mm f/2.8 (50mm equivalent in 35mm format), a 32-64mm f/4 (25-51mm in 35mm format) and a 120mm f/4 macro lens (95mm in 35mm format).

Fujifilm GFX 50S with 63mm lens
Credit: Reviewed.com / Brendan Nystedt

This 63mm weather sealed lens will likely be the starter for many GFX buyers.

Three more lenses (a 110mm f/2, a 23mm f/4, and a 45mm f/2.8) will launch a little later on in the year. All these lenses feature the signature Fujifilm metal build quality, aperture rings, and every single one is weather sealed as well.

In my brief time with an early prototype, I got to play with the 63mm, and came away impressed. The super short flange distance behind the G-mount means that the camera body is surprisingly shallow, so lenses don’t protrude as much as they might on, say, a Pentax 645Z.

Conclusion

An exciting new direction for Fujifilm

Fujifilm GFX 50S left side doors
Credit: Reviewed.com / Brendan Nystedt

GFX looks like an impressive system, but it'll need to sell to prove its worth.

Only time will tell if it wins over new fans, but Fujifilm has put together one heck of a package with the GFX. If they develop this like they did X-mount, then we'll have another hot system on our hands. My biggest concern comes with the pricing of this camera. Fujifilm told me that they'd be pricing this at around total $10,000 with EVF, body, and the 63mm lens. The only direct competition in the price bracket is really the Pentax 645Z, which is $7,000 body-only. So comparatively, GFX 50S could be a steal.

For a demanding professional, $10K for a complete medium format system isn't such a high price.

But where Fujifilm might run into trouble with GFX is tempting current pro DSLR users away from their current systems. After all, a Canon devotee could scoop up a $4000 EOS 5DS and get higher-res photos from lenses they already own. Fuji X-mount devotees could be convinced to get into a medium format system, but for enthusiasts, $10K is a lot to ask.

For a demanding professional, $10K isn't such a high price. Hasselblad's "entry-level" mirrorless X1D-50C kit, with pretty similar specs to the Fuji, is still just about $3,000 more than the theoretical price of the GFX 50S. That's walking around money. That slight discount, and the promise of Fujifilm's awesome image processing and lens designs, will likely put this on many wish lists—and even into some shopping carts online.

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Meet the tester

Brendan Nystedt

Brendan Nystedt

Contributor

@bnystedt

Brendan is originally from California. Prior to writing for Reviewed.com, he graduated from UC Santa Cruz and did IT support and wrote for a technology blog in the mythical Silicon Valley. Brendan enjoys history, Marx Brothers films, Vietnamese food, cars, and laughing loudly.

See all of Brendan Nystedt's reviews

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