Fujifilm Face Off Series. Part 1: Intro/Rangefinder-ish Meet Up/Exhibition Serendipity.
Subtitle: Not a versus. An appreciation of different tools. Chose face off purely for alliteration purposes.
The seeds for this post started with a recent acquisition…
…and seeing another image capturing device arrive at my local camera shop.
Then I had a thought. Comparing the X100VI and GFX100RF would be fun. Not a which one is better exercise. More of a “What is the use case?” question. Or “Why would motivate someone to buy them?”.
Reading specs will not cut it. Reading reviews will not cut it. I have a couple of days under my belt with both now, and I have some thoughts.
While I will not be picking a “winner” there is value in looking at the similarities and differences as a starting point.
Similarities.
- The Fujifilm rangefinder-ish form factor thing.
- Many of the same controls and touchpoints.
- Much of the control scheme is straight off of the X100VI.
- Great image capturing devices.
- A luxury feel.
- Small for what they are.
- Alluded to above, but they are a pair of the best looking cameras on the market right now in my humble opinion.
Differences.
- Price.
- Just the facts. $3,600 is a significant sum. But as similar as they look and feel, I doubt anyone is cross-shopping these cameras.
- APS-C vs medium format.
- Largely the cause of the prior bullet, I would wager.
- The X100VI has an optical viewfinder with digital inlay available.
- It will matter to some. It will be a gimmick to others.
- The X100VI has a built-in flash, and the GFX100RF does not.
- While I would usually say this is not a big deal a built-in flash proved helpful side by side day one of this side by side. More on that below.
- The X100VI has IBIS, and the GFX100S (Starting to see a pattern here.) does not.
- I have gone both ways about this.
- Other pricey luxury cameras (More on this later also.) on the market also lack IBIS. No big… But…
- Other cameras do, like the Leica Q series, RICOH GR, and… the X100VI.
- Where I land is this…
- These are not competitors. In isolation, I got on just fine without IBIS in the GFX100RF.
- I have gone both ways about this.
- Size.
- The GFX100RF is a wonder of compact packaging for a medium format camera, but you can’t fight physics. Not a ding on the GFX100RF. A difference.
- Aperture is kind of a wash.
- Sure, the X100VI is technically faster, but once you factor in the differences in sensor size this was not really a factor out in the wild.
- Focal length.
- 28mm FF EQ for the GFX100RF and 35mm FF EQ for the X100VI. A factor if you have a strong preference for one or the other.
- Other differences between the two do not really register for me in the realm of all in one camera, but should be mentioned.
- X1ooVi has faster burst.
- GFX100RF has higher EVF and screen resolution.
- Closer focus with the X100VI.
- RF has two card slots something something VI has one…
- …other stuff. This is boring. Not what I am here for and no one should be cross shopping these cameras in my opinion. Here is a B&H comparison page. Back to the goofy stuff.
Occasion.
An exhibit.
I had my first exhibit ever at The Continental Club in Greensboro not that long ago.
Then the curator/promoter Preston Wiles…
…invited me back for another exhibition. He also insisted I offer work up for sale and as a result I secured my first ever purchase. Jack Stone is another artist that displays work here and he and Preston took great care in hanging my work,…
…which means a lot to me.
I have been meaning to get back for another exhibit and it was on my mind to get there Friday night. Jack Stone would be displaying his artwork,…
… and I wanted to show my support. And it was great to see him again.
The serendipity.
Not only did I get to see Preston and Jack again. I got the see Eric, the owner of the venue. I got to see photographer Maurice Hicks again, who prefers to capture rather than be captured, and I respect that. I got to meet sculptor Paul Nixon.
And then serendipity peaked. I mentioned above that a photo of mine was sold at my exhibit here. Preston negotiated the sale on my behalf and I had not met the purchaser before. I knew his name. Then, as I was preparing to leave, I saw a face that looked familiar, and it dawned on me where I had seen it before.
Author and retired NCA&T History Professor and fellow relocated NY native, Dr. Michael Roberto. I approached him and we hit it off immediately. Turns out he is a musician as well and I will be returning this weekend to see his group perform. He shared with me that the photo…
…was currently hanging with a collection of NY bridge images. Cool. Where was I?…. Right. Started this post about the GFX100RF.
Gear for the occasion. These two.
I mostly used the GFX100RF, but took a few pics here and there with the X100VI for the sake of comparison.
This was my first time using the GFX100RF, and I didn’t do it any favors. While I have a great appreciation for The Continental Club, like many entertainment venues, it has two types of lighting.
- Cave.
- Awful.
Cave lighting is self-explanatory and understandable. Sets the mood. I get it. For the awful part, you will struggle to find a light color in this place that does not make for a ghoulish image. So high ISOs and black and white conversions it is.
The GFX100RF pics first, followed by the X100VI, a no flash/flash comparison, and then some thoughts.
GFX100RF.
The arrival.
I will be posting another scenes seen blog entry with the rest of the non exhibition photos from day one with the GFX100RF.
X100VI.
Onto the no flash/flash pics.
No flash/GFX100RF.
Jack was heavily in shadow, but courtesy of the abundance of information in the file, I was able to isolate and lift Jack’s exposure, and I really like the look of this, even with the chaotic lighting. But…
Flash/X100VI.
I like this file better. A bit of fill flash did away with the shadows and thus the “Do you want to hear a scary story?” vibe with it. Yes, one could easily bring and use a flash. But that does not hold a candle to the convenience of always having fill flash at the ready.
So when it came time to turn the camera over to Jack to take a picture of Dr. Michael Roberto and myself, I immediately turned to the X100VI.
Thoughts.
Please notice that, except for the no flash/flash pics I did not do a side-by-side at any point, and that was very much on purpose here. If you wish you can do so, but the mood was more this:
How would each do in isolation?
Could I take a photo I would be happy with?
Not.
Will these two cameras take the same photo?
And the answer was an easy one.
I would be happy with either. This is not all that surprising. I have made do with a 1″ sensor camera in this space before.
But if asked which I would prefer to use, for this setting, and was pressed for an answer past my usual “Whatever floats your boat” schtick?…
The X100VI.
Why? I am glad I imagined you asked.
Compact.
While not in use, I kept the camera in my side cargo pants pocket. And pulled it out Houdini style to the amusement of Jack and Dr. Roberto when it was time for the pic with Dr. Roberto.
Flash over MP.
Viewed in isolation IQ wise I could tell no significant difference between the images captured. And while not 100MP, 40MP is nothing to sneeze at either. So flash proved a more significant role here. Take a look at the people pics taken with the GFX100RF. While I like them, I prefer the fill flash results.
Macro-ish.
This is more of an all-purpose feather in the cap of the X100RF, but it is a nice-to-have. However, in defense of the GFX100RF with 100MP on tap, I will add that one could easily make a macro of nearly any close focus pic.
Again, the GFX100RF did well also. And it looked good while doing it.
What? That matters. To me, anyway.
But at the end of the day the X100VI was an exercise in good enough.
So you cannot go wrong, no matter which you choose or use. If you need one or the other, as of last week, my local camera shop has you covered.
Ok, this post has gotten to be ridiculous. Let me try to wrap this up here. To restate.
A preference for this occasion is not declaring a winner. Just a preference for this occasion. Either camera or a myriad of other options would do.
But few, if any, would look better doing it. A fine segue to some family pics of the two and product pics of the GFX100RF before I exit.
Product pics taken with the X100VI.
Sidebar: That lever paddle dealie. There was no manual reading involved with the GFX100RF. This worked for most everything, since it is so close to the other Fujifilm cameras I have used. But this thing… Until I sorted out what I was doing, I kept seeing this cropped line moving about in the frame. Took a few beats to realize what it signified and what I was doing to invoke it. No big deal functionally for me. Since I shoot RAW the entire file is retained for post editing, but as much as I hit this even after realizing what it was for, I might disable it if that is an option, just to remove the distraction. Not a complaint. Merely an observation from your humble beef mitts having author.
This hood looks and feels the business. While I prefer the smaller hood I found for the X100VI if I were so inclined to pick up a GFX100RF this included accessory would be the hood for me. Same gooes for the strap. Teh included strap puts me in teh mind of the Fab Handcrafted straps I bought after market for the M 240, G1, and Hexar RF…
All cameras I no longer own… Quite the fickle one, aren’t I? Precisely why I say I do not give advice. While my opinions on gear do not change my tastes most definitely will. May still appreciate a camera, but that does not mean I am going to keep it. Also does not mean I will not change my mind later. Just having fun here, folks.
Anyhoo. More pics.
Yowza. Puts me in the mind of a beautiful Canon film rangefinder I tested for my local camera shop a while back.
Brings a word to mind. Luxury. As much as makes no sense this camera feels luxurious to me. Looks special. Feels special. And unlike the other relatively rare options in this space, it also offers top-notch specs and modern AF. That is a heck of a combination. I would say that it would be hard to put a price on it, but Fujifilm has managed to do so at $5,399. Even with the price hike invoked by external forces I still struggle to come up with a more appealing combination of luxury feel, aesthetics, specs, performance, and support from a mainstream manufacturer.
Hasselblad heresy alert: Hasselblad adherents look away. I know of folks that prefer the Hasselblad X series over GFX cameras, largely based on feel and aesthetics. And I get it. It does look and feel more special, while interchangeable lens GFX cameras look and feel, for better or worse, like X cameras with a glandular issue. Good looking in their own way to me, but not nuevo Swedish design meets Bauhaus form follows function beauty by any stretch. But this GFX100RF pulls ahead in my humble opinion…. <cough> and it has a leaf shutter like many like to point out with Hasselblad lenses <cough>… And the same sensor. At a lower price point. Don’t come at me. Just my opinion. Your mileage may vary. Moving on.
Welp. That is it for now. More nonsense comparisons as a distraction to come.
Happy capturing.
-ELW
Eric L. Woods 
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