Fujifilm GFX100s II First Impressions Review

[@amykleck]

I also appreciate seeing the Capture One adjustments. I have the original 50S which is plenty for me. It's too bad they stopped adding the tilting viewfinder on newer models. I do a lot of landscape with a tripod, and the tilting VF is very helpful. And I just smile at the "autofocus issue."

[@jb-el6xs]

I love that you’re showing the Capture One adjustments you’re doing on screen - that really helps. Also, these shots all have a great Fuji pop to them!! Nice

[@PeteCocoPhoto]

Thanks! Glad it was helpful!

[@charliejg]

Some beautiful images!! Thanks for the overview Pete!

[@PeteCocoPhoto]

Glad you enjoyed it!

[@JohnJohn-fz6nt]

Love the photographs. The ones of Mr. Carter have a filmic feel. I just got the 4k Criterion of Le Samourai (1967) and it has lots of great interior shots with big windows and space and framing of Alain Delon. Melville said to direct "One needs a lot of cinematic baggage". I think the same is true of great photographers.

[@PeteCocoPhoto]

Thank you so much! This comment means a lot to me.

[@exoticcarlife2904]

your image samples are so good, 3D pop for sure! Could watch another 20min of you editing 100s II files.

[@PeteCocoPhoto]

Thank you!!!

[@friendofarca6550]

if you are an amateur the only important question you should ask yourself is - do i really need very large files ? if the answer is - no - forget the gfx as every camera in the 50mpx range is overall a superior tool. when photography is your business it is more complicated not because of image quality a gfx100 resolves just a little more than a sony r7-5 /a1 and the differance in DR is also small but maybe some features which make life easier are important. in my case it is the evf tilt adapter I totally love (no more neck /back pain ) and how focus stacking is implemented.

[@PeteCocoPhoto]

It depends what you are shooting too, but yes, those 100mp files are massive to work with

[@JohnCross-rz5uq]

I think that the new Fuji GFX 100 S II are a great buy, it is a bit more light weight than the GFX 100 II, it does not have as much resolution in the EVF, but I can live with that, the 100 S II are USD$ 2500 cheaper at a price that some full frame cameras have ! The only downside with the Fuji GFX are that many of the Lenses are too big and heavy (and a bit expensive) ! Fuji needs to remake all their Lenses ! The latest 500mm 5.6 from Fuji are a very compact and light weight Lens for what it is. So I would get the 100 S II, 30mm, 45 or 50mm and 80 or 110mm. I think that if Fuji makes new Lenses and lower their prices a bit, many will ditch their full frame cameras !

[@PeteCocoPhoto]

Yes, I agree!

[@JasonLawrenceNoel]

My a7rv with 50 1.2 has a pop to it that I actually don’t really find pleasing. Very smooth… like digital smooth and very sharp! Have been thinking of going gfx… your images looked natural, pleasing and great! I tend to shoot events, weddings and music venues tho so not sure on the af :/ Great video ty

[@PeteCocoPhoto]

Thank you! The gfx definitely has that “filmic” look to it

[@ArtMeripol]

Always enjoy your thoughtful comments. I have a number of architects and interior designers as clients and wanted something with more dynamic range and finally shelled out the $ for this new 100s II. You nailed it when you talked about the dynamic range. The color and detail is superb and the files are a pleasure to work. I just wish I could afford the new 30mm tilt/shift. Until I can I’ll keep adapting the Canon 24mm t/s lens. I’m also interested in in those two lenses they sent you. I cannot decide between them. Versatility vs speed…hmmm?

[@PeteCocoPhoto]

Glad you enjoyed the review! Both of the lenses are stellar, but I always want as fast as possible. I love shooting wide open. I think the image quality of both is excellent, though.

[@nevvanclarke9225]

I just wanted to come back to this video and post my thoughts after owning this camera for about 2 weeks now. I absolutely love it now I'm not a Portrait shooter so I just want to clarify that but yes I do shoot the odd wedding and no, I have not shot any weddings with this camera yet that is to. But I can assure you that the focusing is pretty snappy and on a par with the XT5 now some people will say that's a bad thing. Well I say the XT5 is fine if you know how to adjust some of the settings in the camera. In fact I found the GFX to be probably slightly more accurate than my current XT5 what did I love about this camera? The dynamic range is absurd and when I say absurd it is off the charts. The colours are just beautiful bit colour oh my I've worked really hard over the last two years to save for this camera so it was my dream camera and I'm really loving this so far and selling a few prints from the new camera already has made it even more enjoyable. It also came at a time in my life where I realise that life is short and if you really want something go ahead and buy it and enjoy it and embrace it and that's what I'm doing. Thank you for your channel which on many levels has inspired me in my journey in Photography.

[@PeteCocoPhoto]

Nev, you are crushing it! I am so glad you got the camera and always appreciate your support and love your work!

[@joeschmoe1301]

Looks just like an F2 Photomic. And that's saying A LOT!!

[@jimjimgl3]

Own that camera. So far so good. I do find the menu puzzling after coming off the Canon eco-system (R5) but the files themselves, like you said, are impressive.

[@PeteCocoPhoto]

The Fuji menus are not nearly as good as the Canon, but not terrible. It takes a bit of getting used to. Glad you are enjoying the camera!

[@nevvanclarke9225]

The level of detail is insane isn't it. I have a 50S ii and six months into my GFX journey. The 3D pop is real. I was skeptical of this. My Love for this camera will be immense when I purchase one. I know that I will. I think it's a fantastic camera and I don't own it yet, but I can see what it can do. I have had many of my landscape photos printed and many of my customers have said I feel like I'm on the beach. I feel like I'm in the Woodland. I feel like I'm in the mountain that I've shot and with these portrait shots I feel like I'm standing next to that man, incredible isn't it? I have made the point to many editing is easier with GFX because you can simply edit the file how you want. Thank you for the video. I probably already made up my mind on this camera quite sometime ago. I was really just hoping that the autofocus was okay. Look if I get an 80-90% hit rate. I'm okay with that and all I do in most scenarios is I overshoot anyway and that's okay. I've worked really hard in the last five years and I can afford this camera and that's what I'm gonna do. Yes there are probably cameras that are male versatile I agree with that. I looked at the Nikon Z8 when I was with Nikon but there were many things that I didn't like about that camera and Nikon the company itself the one thing I love about Fuji cameras is actually the Fuji Community but also the colours. Oh my gosh I should a lot of different stuff probably about 80% landscapes but I do shoot some other things and I love the colours that it can produce and I've taken some amazing photos with my 50s ii which I will be keeping.

[@PeteCocoPhoto]

The AF is solid for sure. It's definitely better than the 50s II. You will love the files - your hard drive will not haha

[@nevvanclarke9225]

@@PeteCocoPhoto the one thing about storage now though it's a lot cheaper than it was even three or four years ago. I'm happy to buy extra storage. I can get storage relatively cheap in comparison to Camera gear and I've never believed in buying a lesser camera because of storage.

[@PeteCocoPhoto]

@@nevvanclarke9225 I'm still trying to figure out my storage LOL. I gotta get a solution that I can access from anywhere but is based in my studio. I've just been avoiding the expense.

[@nevvanclarke9225]

@@PeteCocoPhoto NAS?? Or SSDs

[@PeteCocoPhoto]

@@nevvanclarke9225 I have ssds right now and an online backup

[@selishots]

I've got one on loan from Fuji now, editing my first set of photos and man I really like this camera. I've got a video shooting landscapes in upstate NY coming soon!

[@PeteCocoPhoto]

Enjoy! Looking forward to the vid.

[@selishots]

@@PeteCocoPhoto should be out tomorrow am!

[@jtes1442]

Nice video. I'm thinking about picking up the GFX 100s for $2899. They have it on sale at the BX exchange on base, and I'm mulling it over.

[@PeteCocoPhoto]

Ahh this is a great deal. Hard to pass on that!

[@jakubstrumillo]

I think GFX 50 S II would be perfect for You, to start and build GFX lens lineup. I did not upgrade my X-H1 yet, and i will jump on GFX system as well.

[@outwestjim]

Good video Pete! I hope you get a chance to try out the GF110mm, it's epic for headshots.

[@PeteCocoPhoto]

This is what I have heard from a lot of people.

[@drzman6901]

I am looking for a good bird photo camera. Currently, I use an X-T5/Fuji 100-400mm zoom. When this does well, it does pretty darn good. However, I find myself frustrated by the autofocus, especially in low light and when the subject is in front of a complex background. What's your opinion on switching to a GFX 100s ii with the Fuji 500 mm prime for bird photography? Virtually all my bird photography on the X-T5 is at full zoom, 400mm. Obviously, I can expect more detail with the GFX, but what about autofocus and a subject that tends to move a lot?

[@PeteCocoPhoto]

I think the autofocus will be about the same, maybe a bit better than the XT5. It's of course a massive upgrade in terms of image quality, but it's still not going to be as fast and snappy as a Canon or Sony. I did fall in love with the GFX 100S I when I tried it out - the images are sublime!

[@lumberjack3008]

Leaving the XF system and switching to the GFX system would've kept me in the same trap: Fujifilms crappy AF system and their very slow (and too often: noisy) focusing lenses, combined with an extremely slow development speed, especially for new lenses. Thought a long time about this, but in the end, the decision was easy. Very limited use cases for a GFX camera....

[@PeteCocoPhoto]

Yeah I get that. The GFX for me is a portrait camera for stationary or slow moving subjects. They are marketing the new 100 II for sports but I don't really get that.

[@captaincook6283]

A really beautiful camera with beautiful pictures! What I like the most is the 4 x 3 ratio instead of the 3 x 2. In times of Instagram, it happens so many times that I had the perfect photo and when cropping it to the 4 x 5 ratio for Instagram. I had to crop the feet or whatever and had to use AI in Photoshop to manage. You could say just go a step behind and you were fine but that’s actually not true because then the depth of field will be different and the separation from the background from the model also! And that’swhere this camera shines… But I still will keep the Canon and waiting for the new R5 with 16 stops of dynamic range what I’ve heard and let’s be honest with the beautiful 50 mm and 85 mm 1.2 from Canon. You can achieve about the same separation from the background and you have a hit rate of 98% instead of 60 - 70 ish. I hope I will see a review from the new R5 on this channel too cheers :)

[@PeteCocoPhoto]

Yes, I love the 4x ratio too! I generally find myself cropping to that anyway. I didn't realize the new R5 has 16 stop dynamic range... wow. I'm using the R5 with the 50mm f/1.2 and even that gets pretty darn close to the Fujifilm.... very cool. I will definitely review it when I can get my hands on one. Thanks for watching and for the great comment!

[@davidbridenstine6358]

Can't afford the camera. But, wow, Ron Carter! Were you able to talk bass?

[@PeteCocoPhoto]

YES! I'm a bass player too, so this was extra special. He let me play a few notes on his bass at the end of the portrait session. I'm definitely going back for a lesson at some point too!

[@vaskoobscura_]

What do you think should someone with a GFX 100S upgrade to the 100S II?

[@PeteCocoPhoto]

I don’t think it’s worth it to do so in that case. But the af is a little better for sure

[@mansikhurana7329]

That outdated toggle switch ruins it all. So so difficult to navigate menus.

[@PeteCocoPhoto]

Can't argue with that!

[@RM-hy4so]

FYI: you keep calling it a medium format camera, which it is not. Fujifilm calls it "larger than full frame". This is because the sensor is significantly smaller than the smallest medium format film : 6*4.5

[@PeteCocoPhoto]

Everyone calls it medium format

[@chrishipop5]

were you shooting Ron Carter?

[@PeteCocoPhoto]

Yes, it was an amazing experience.

[@chrishipop5]

@@PeteCocoPhoto so cool! Legend!