(Four) Fujifilm Face Off Series. Part 2: Fan Favorite, Function, Film, and Fashion At Duke Gardens.
Subtitle: A Long Delayed Addition To My Intermittent Nonsense Comparison Series.
From time to time I like to wheel out an odd selection of gear to compare. Usually comprises of a instathreadface darling or highly vaunted but of kit of brand name against some manner of underdog. I think my first formal one was this one I wrote back when I was a KEH Spotlight contributor for a couple of years.
Here are a few more.
One I wrote for 35MMC.
And last but not least, we have…
…and I do not own either of these anymore.
None of these posts are meant to be taken seriously. That definitely includes this one. Done mostly for fun. This time it was motivated by finding myself in possession of four Fujifilm cameras.
So not two or even three, but four cameras this time.
Decided to swing for the fences and bring them all to my usual gear test bed, Duke Gardens. Something this ambitious was prone to have some manner of human error, and I made exactly one. But more on that later. I employed a bit of alliteration in describing each.
Fan Favorite.
Love or hate it, this is a camera many are writing about. And many want one. Me? I really like it, even if it is not for the reason many others wax poetic about it.
Film simulations: I shoot RAW no matter what digital camera I use so the JPEG film emulations did not play a factor.
Optical viewfinder: Some like it. Some do not. I like having it available even if I do not use it often.
Look and feel: A factor, but not the deciding one. I had an X100S that shared these attributes.
But I traded it on because it lacked the thing that has made the X100VI a keeper for me.
Performance: Where the X100S was largely about the look and feel, it fell short performance wise compared to other cameras I was using at the time. That is not the case here. The AF and 40MP, along with adding IBIS, put it in the realm of the top performers I have used. So add in looks and feel, and there is little downside to be found here.
Function.
This has unexpectedly become my Goldilocks camera. An odd thing to say about a medium format camera. But it deifies all of the stereotypes about medium-format cameras.
Fiscally Inaccessible: While not cheap by any means, these first gen GFX100S cameras are competitively priced against full frame cameras on the used market. This is even after a recent spike causing them to cost hundreds more than I spent not that long ago. Odd. Thought used cameras were supposed to depreciate, but hey, why not? Nothing else in the world makes sense anymore so why not add this?
Slow AF: This applies to phase detect having 100MP GFX variants. Contrast only models fall short of my expectations, unfortunately, and are the primary reason I never seriously entertained a two GFX main system. Two 100MP cameras used in anger would wreck my little laptop and quickly overwhelm my local and cloud storage. But even the latest 50MP GFX bodies are a no go for me. But the 100MP cameras do just fine. I was even able to capture swift moving subjects at a wedding earlier this year when I accidentally filled the memory card on my main camera just as the groomsmen started dancing.
I did not expect that. At all. All while still doing the medium format thing.
And, unlike a camera to come, adapt near any manner of glass I please to the front of it.
Nice. Moving on.
Film.
After an embarrassing amount of medium format film camera gear churn this is the one (Well… One of two.)…
…that remains. I have put an alarming amount of film through this camera, and it has never let me down.
Occasionally, I have let it down, and this is one of those occasions. In a fit of rushing while multitasking, I only put in enough developer for 35mm film and lost an edge of the exposure. Not catastrophic. Most of the images are available. A few choice words were uttered. But then I remembered something. This is a relevancy artificial construct. In the grand scheme of things, so what? So I pivoted back to reality. Colors and such can still be compared, but framing will not match. Mostly a non-issue because with the different sensor sizes and focal lengths at play, they were bound not to match anyway.
Fashion.
I do not mean this as a ding. Being fashionable is a valid justification. That is why there is a VW and an Audi, a Toyota and a Lexus, a Honda and an Acura, a Nissan and an Infiniti, and a Hyundai/Kia and a Genesis. The Honda to this camera’s Acura is the GFX100S mentioned above. Shares many bits, but lacks the special attention to detail of the GFX100RF. Will likely follow up with more detail in a direct comparison post later.
The ground rules.
Exposures.
Limited to the number of exposures with the GA645. 16.
Settings.
On a bright day like this, shutter priority would usually be my go-to. But given the different sensor sizes, relative focal length and lack of IBIS across the board, I set all to Program and let each camera sort it all out to the best of their ability.
Orientation.
Most were shot in portrait mode. Mainly because that is the default orientation of the GA645.
Framing.
Sensor sizes and relative focal lengths do not match, and I made no attempt to accommodate. I stood in the same place and snapped through the scenes. As a reminder, the GA645 pics will be cropped on one end because of my chemistry volume misstep.
Order of presentation.
Film – GA645, fan favorite-X100VI, function-GFX100S, and fashion-GFX100RF.
Here we go with some thoughts afterward.
Thoughts.
To restate. Let me be clear before I proceed. No camera is some magical device that will transform my photography. Nope. At the end of the day? It is just a camera. What transpires once it is in my hands is largely up to me. That is largely why I stopped looking at sample images from other folks. I pretty much take the same photos no matter what camera I use. Where the camera comes into play is determining, based on the tech, compactness for a daily carry, and features involved, how many images I successfully capture.
That sorted, moving on.
First off, the X100VI really punches above its weight.
It held its own against these behemoth sensor having image capturing contraptions.
Film is definitely a personal preference…
…largely tied to the nostalgia and experience involved more than the image produced. Said another way there is a reason I call it analog therapy. And it produced some fine images.
The wider focal length of the GFX100RF makes quite a bit of sense. Under the right conditions subject isolation as the sensor size muscles past the relatively humble aperture.
And with so many MP available, one can crop to their heart’s content later on while retaining an acceptable amount of resolution. I took this to the extreme while playing with the camera during chorus rehearsal this week.
Original crop.
Post crop.
A great camera. But as I suspected, and this side by side confirmed, the functional one of the bunch would be my personal choice between the two.
Personal ranking (not advice) if forced.
- The GFX100S is the “If I had to only have one camera for all things.” choice of this bunch.
- It just does everything well and offers flexibility that others cannot for a price that lands in the middle of the bunch.
- The X100VI comes in for a close second.
- Over time it may take the top spot here in reality as I have already started carrying this thing everywhere, including for purposes I would have chosen an interchangeable lens option in the past.
- The GFX100RF because digital.
- In a way it is a faithful evolution of the GA645. A point and shoot medium format camera with an amazing lens, accurate AF, and accurate exposure.
- The GA645 pulls up last in this group because film.
- In the realm of film only it has already proven to be king, purely based on it (almost) being the last film medium format camera standing.
Well… That was fun.
And that was the main point. If you got something out of it that is great also.
Borrowed for a few days, for a nominal fee, at this point the GFX100RF has already gone back. Do I miss it?
Not really. As much as I respect it as an impressive bit of packaging and for being a thing of beauty, by the end of its stay I found myself using the X100VI in most cases.
Still… Money tree in hand it would be the luxury camera purchase for me. Sat in the middle of the digital luxury point and shoot price range…
…it is the current winner in my opinion.
Anyhoo. I have already gone on for far too long… In this post. I am sure I will come up with more things to say. At a minimum I have some GFX100RF scenes seen pics to share. Until next time.
Happy capturing.
-ELW
Eric L. Woods 
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