Fujifilm GFX50S II Body

Been in photography for about 50 years and a devout Fuji X user for about 10. When the 50R came out, I went all in, only to regret it and sell it with 4 GF lenses. I just didnt bond with the GFX50R's handling or size. The lens lineup was amazing at the time, and fantastic for studio and general use... but alas, I am a travel based photographer, and particular about size and weight. They really didnt fit my mantra of travel first, pics second. So I did what many travel based photographers probably did then...threw down on a Hasselblad X system. It is beautifully made, handles like a dream and the lenses are minimal size and excellent quality. So you ask, why am I here writing a review for a 50S II ? Well, time stops for no man, and neither does Fujifilm. Fuji has definitely stepped up to answer the challenge...and boy did they prove again that they understand the niche they created. The GFX50S II is: 1) SMALLER and BEAUTIFULLY made. Not as svelte or small as the X1DII, but equal quality feel and look. Better looking in its own way. The GRIP is almost as good as the Hassy. The X1DII is still smaller but not nearly the difference it was before. 2) The GF lens lineup has grown to include SMALLER lenses, not least the new 35-70mm (a portable rock star), the 50mm pancake, the 80mm 1.7 light bucket, the lightweight 100mm-200mm, etc. (Hasselblad lens output just can't keep up with Fuji R&D it seems and they seem to not be keen on choices like zooms) 3) IBIS... normally a convenience but with MF apertures it is practically essential. 4) IBIS... yeah again. Makes ADAPTED lenses (my favorite) far more usable. 5) The SHUTTER is a huge improvement over the 50S. Still not nearly as good as the X1D2II leaf though...can't win 'em all. 6) The SPEED of the camera (black out, shutter lag, navigation...) is WAY improved. 7. The OS on the Hassy is great but the Fuji seems to have many more options and with a customizable Q menu, can be set to the same ease of use as the X1DII. 8. TILT SCREEN... nuff said. This was enough of a reason alone and enough for me to shell out for an XE4 with a 6 month old XE3 in my kit. So in summary, the X1DII is still smaller, but the modest increase in size and similar handling makes all the Fuji improvements a winner. I'm still keeping my Hasselblad for awhile for specific use cases of ultra portability but not sure if it will go the distance... For now its not getting any time and is sitting idle getting jealous. Biggest issue may be the future of the ecosystems...Fuji is plowing ahead with options and innovations, something that feels and works good. More later once I have some decent samples and some more time with the little beast. *** OK, I did an outdoor landscape and a studio shoot in the past week and the GFX50SII with the GF35-70mm has proven VERY capable. SHARP, Portable, Hand-holdable, and a pleasure to use. The camera was easy to find settings, and very responsive and it was not a barrier at all between me and my subjects. The IBIS and PC slot were very useful. The lens really did whatever I needed, it sort of disappeared and I didnt have to think about focal length, quality, speed... You get the idea. I'm more than happy with this purchase and see it as a great choice and investment. Fuji is committed to making this level of quality accessible and enjoyable.

Wow! What a terrific camera from FujiFilm. Awesome colors, wide dynamic range, lots of Fujifilm’s world class Film Simulations, all in a reasonably small form factor. Perfect for portraits, landscape, still-life, food and product photography. This is not a wildlife or sports photography camera. A lot of people these days compare products using ridiculously irrelevant standards. One cannot and should not compare a sedan with a roadster. I would highly recommend this camera for the above mentioned genres. If one is an experienced photographer, this camera can also be used tactfully in event and wedding photography. I am very happy with this purchase.

Coming from an XT3 and an XH2, I appreciate the definition boost in contrast and overall depth with Fuji's take on medium format. I can see myself going for the 100 if they come out with a newer model.

Best I’ve ever owned

Fuji did a decent job with this camera, overall. It offers nice resolution at 50mp on a medium format-sized sensor. The colors are very nice. The camera size and weight are nice. The camera offers a lot of features -- all nice. BUT....for me, the deal breakers were: 1)..Terrible electronic viewfinder. The quality of the EVF is horrible. You can hardly tell what you're looking at and don't move! If you move or your subject moves, everything blurs. You have to hold the camera still to actually see a decent viewfinder image. 2)..Autofocus? Not really. It's very slow and doesn't work that well. Basically, don't rely on it. Expect to manually focus most of the time. 3)..Not great: menu. The menu navigation is cumbersome at best. It's hard to know where to go and how to get around, then it's just a mess of knowing where to go to find something. They need to take some lessons from Nikon and Hasselblad. If this model had the EVF and Autofocus that they put in the 100Sii, then this would be an awesome smaller brother to the 100Sii, but they didn't.... If you can live with the above two deal-breakers, then you should like this camera.

He's picky and has been a long time photographer. If it's good enough for him I'm happy :) He said he likes how he can merge pics and all kinds of other technical stuff over my head.

To start off, I stated that this camera is amazing for landscape photos for a reason. The speed of the autofocus is not an area of excellence. While in my experience, the autofocus is very accurate, it definitely cannot keep up with motion that is quick at all. So if you are mainly wanting to take pictures of sports or even kids who are moving a lot, this camera would not be a good selection for you. However, for shooting landscape or any type of photos where the targets are more fixed, it is amazing! First the image stabilization is wonderful. I cannot believe how slow of exposure times that I have gotten very clear photos. I easily agree that a person gets six stops which is very useful in dealing with the larger sensor which gives much more detail but also makes the lenses not as fast so a person is often shooting at smaller apertures. The detail a person gets out of each shot is truly amazing. If you are shooting with a wide angle lens and then blow the photo up to 100%, you can see details which blow your mind. This amount of detail allows a person to make large prints that stand out due to such intricate detail and this makes the scene larger than life. You can blow up the image and get great results do to all of the detail in the shot. Along with the detail, the amount of light differential which a person can have within a single shot is also incredible. You can take sunset photos shooting directly at the sun and get perfect exposures with only one shot and you do not need to do layering of the photos in photoshop afterwards. This saves a huge amount of processing time in the end while giving shots that look even more realistic in my opinion. Another thing that I love about this camera is the ease of use. You have so many options of what to assign to the different buttons which are placed in very easily usable locations such that it makes it a true joy to use. Also, the weight of this camera is also great to me. I would never believe that I am holding a medium format camera with OIS when considering it's weight and size. This is especially true when using the kit lens. It is so light and compresses nicely while giving great images. I have no regrets about purchasing this camera as I feel it has opened up many doors for doing landscape photography!

In the hands of a professional who knows how to use manual override when needed, this camera is a work of art. There are so many features not openly marketed. For one, rapid autofocus helps a LOT. It’s buried in the menu. RAW to JPEG and TIFF conversion IN CAMERA, with the new, stellar image processor. It’s truly possible to have finished images in the field with a card reader and an iPhone when needed. Prints look fantastic. Keep the sensor clean and you’re good. It’s the ultimate “artist camera”, for those of us who spend 99% of our time taking actual photos. My friend who is an agency model from Colombia, she was pleased with the JPEG output immediately, without a studio setup. That is UNHEARD OF. Use this camera for what it was meant for - to functionally eliminate a computer if you know what you’re doing…yes, it’s that good. Use it like you would with film and you will be good to go. I have taken this in a torrential downpour in Mexico City (zero issues with the 35-70mm) and it has survived 50 degrees Celsius with ease in the Mesquite, Nevada region. It’s a Toyota Land Cruiser in terms of build quality. Next will be the Magdalena River valley of Colombia - one of the most brutal climates on the planet. The only weakness is dust. All mirrorless cameras have this issue. Be careful, carry a sensor cleaning kit and enjoy it. Cameras this well-made almost never get produced at this price point.