Fuji GFX 50R thread

[eronald]

The 50R has been this year's MF "surprise", it  is starting deliveries, so there might as well be a thread.

There a couple of "private" group FB pages with pics from people who already have the 50R. Color looks decent, BW conversion interesting, apart from that it look like well, it's a camera.

My contribution cut and paste here today is an ebay link for the incredibly fast ZhongYi 65mm F1.4 (!) lens which at a retail price of $800 (!) seems to cost less than a decent 35mm system lens of that focal would cost. It does put the price of the Hassy 80mm F1.9 in perspective.

https://www.ebay.com.sg/itm/283279321931?ul_noapp=true&fbclid=IwAR2xnq5aMMH0RhjbZpuY9PowS_3sHVm5L_e5gyTXKU1ASB0gkEon6Rwyrrs


There also seem to be an 85mm F1.2 from the same manufacturer, Mitakon, but I don't think it's out yet.
https://cameratimes.org/mitakon-announced-speedmaster-65mm-f1-4-85mm-f1-2-lenses-fujifilm-gfx/

Edmund

[narikin]

I have the Mitakon 135mm f2.0 which I use on my Phase IQ3-100 back. It almost covers full frame MF, just a small bit of hard vignetting in the extreme corners.  (Canon mount, with Alpa-Canon adapter).  This would certainly cover crop MF, so that's another option on the Fuji.  Great for portraits, and a full stop faster than anything by Phase/Schneider.

and its... $480 !!

I tried the Zeiss Apo Sonnar 135/2.0 and could see no optical difference. Returned that, kept the Mitakon.

[FelixWu]

I wonder how good the autofocus is in practice (now with better face tracking). On the roadmap will Fuji introduce LS lens soon? My local store now has a good deal for all the GFX camera and lenses.

[nemtom]

I have the Mitakon 135mm f2.0 which I use on my Phase IQ3-100 back. It almost covers full frame MF, just a small bit of hard vignetting in the extreme corners.  (Canon mount, with Alpa-Canon adapter).  This would certainly cover crop MF, so that's another option on the Fuji.  Great for portraits, and a full stop faster than anything by Phase/Schneider.

and its... $480 !!

I tried the Zeiss Apo Sonnar 135/2.0 and could see no optical difference. Returned that, kept the Mitakon.

The Sigma 85/1.4 Art has also a quite decent image circle. Should cover 44x33 sensors.
I took this quick sample through the window on a IQ3 100MP back then. I didn't have time to properly test it before the lens was sent back.

This is the full frame focused on the clouds (close to infinity)

And this is the 100% crop from where the sharpness falls off (see the Navigator for the location on the frame)

[narikin]

Yeah, it has to be said that resolution falls off as you exceed the coverage these lenses are designed for, even if light doesn't.

It works well for portraits, or anything where it's a mostly central subject, and the periphery is unimportant, or even better for being blurred/vignetted. If you need sharpness to the edge, you kind of have to go with lenses designed for MF: Phase-Mamiya or Rodenstock/ Schneider or Fuji itself, of course. For 3rd party FF lense, Fuji with its 44x33 crop MF makes less of a demand, obviously.

I'll take a look at the 85/f1.4 Sigma, that is impressive coverage. The other thing to check for is Chromatic Abberation. The faster a lens gets the more of that red-green fringing you find when at or near wide open (Longitudinal CA). To my surprise that Mitakon 135 f2 was very good, and the equal of the Zeiss 'Apo Sonnar' which many people think is an Otus in all but name.

(I tried the Leica Noctilux 75mm Leica Noctilux 75mm f1.2 Asph on my Phase the other week, and it has its special qualities, but had bad CA wide open... and the point of this lens is to be wide open! That was a $13k lens!)

[eronald]

Yeah, it has to be said that resolution falls off as you exceed the coverage these lenses are designed for, even if light doesn't.

It works well for portraits, or anything where it's a mostly central subject, and the periphery is unimportant, or even better for being blurred/vignetted. If you need sharpness to the edge, you kind of have to go with lenses designed for MF: Phase-Mamiya or Rodenstock/ Schneider or Fuji itself, of course. For 3rd party FF lense, Fuji with its 44x33 crop MF makes less of a demand, obviously.

I'll take a look at the 85/f1.4 Sigma, that is impressive coverage. The other thing to check for is Chromatic Abberation. The faster a lens gets the more of that red-green fringing you find when at or near wide open (Longitudinal CA). To my surprise that Mitakon 135 f2 was very good, and the equal of the Zeiss 'Apo Sonnar' which many people think is an Otus in all but name.

(I tried the Leica Noctilux 75mm Leica Noctilux 75mm f1.2 Asph on my Phase the other week, and it has its special qualities, but had bad CA wide open... and the point of this lens is to be wide open! That was a $13k lens!)

There's a bunch of people now with the $800 Mitakon and the images sure look great. People using Leica and other MF lenses say the MF focus check on the Fuji works great, and a lot of people are using adapters. Unfortunately for Hassy, their eshutter doesn't really seem a good solution at the moment for using fast third party glass and their own glass is really expensive - the 80 1.9 is at $5K. Fuji is eating their lunch with the GFX 50R which is a pity because the X1D is a really nice design with equivalent abilities, and it did come first.

If things continue like this, when Fuji brings out the 100S they will essentially own the MF market.


Edmund

[FelixWu]

There's a bunch of people now with the $800 Mitakon and the images sure look great. People using Leica and other MF lenses say the MF focus check on the Fuji works great, and a lot of people are using adapters. Unfortunately for Hassy, their eshutter doesn't really seem a good solution at the moment for using fast third party glass and their own glass is really expensive - the 80 1.9 is at $5K. Fuji is eating their lunch with the GFX 50R which is a pity because the X1D is a really nice design with equivalent abilities, and it did come first.

If things continue like this, when Fuji brings out the 100S they will essentially own the MF market.


Edmund

The both are nice looking cameras in their own way. Hassy has a futuristic flash design and GFXR is the classic that people love.

If Fuji announce LS lenses then it will truly be game changing. Anyone know when?

[Christopher]

They would they? I don’t think the market is big enough. I talked to three big production studios shooting with Phase / Canon / Nikon / Sony and the answer is pretty simple they need higher flash sync from the phase perhaps 1-2 times every 100jobs. The number was shockingly low.


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[TonyVentourisPhotography]

I shoot architecture and product for a living and I’ve rarely need LS indoors.  1/250 at f/11 is usually plenty to darken the brightest rooms in a studio setting.  At least mine.  In architecture I have other ways to control light.  The only time I’ve ever really counted on it is outdoors.  And with high speed sync coming on higher wattage strobes now...often I can still get away without it.  There was a time hss was worthless because it was only on small brand specific flashes.  Not anymore. 

I have been on the fence about buying into the Fuji system.  I already have my phase and hassy system up for sale.  I’ve always liked the lesser vibration of leaf shutters...but in the long run I think we will see less and less of them.  More of a specialty item than a standard on a lens line. Like shift lenses.

[eronald]

They would they? I don’t think the market is big enough. I talked to three big production studios shooting with Phase / Canon / Nikon / Sony and the answer is pretty simple they need higher flash sync from the phase perhaps 1-2 times every 100jobs. The number was shockingly low.


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I think having Hassy around as an expensive specialty option is actually good for Fuji - it gives their product a value aura when -let's face it- it's a pretty expensive option compared to equivalent Sony, Nikon or Canon kit.

The cost of persuading people that Fuji is better is higher than just pointing at Hassy and saying "we have 90% of the features and all of the image quality of Hasselblad, except 50% cheaper".

Edmund

[BobShaw]

The cost of persuading people that Fuji is better is higher than just pointing at Hassy and saying "we have 90% of the features and all of the image quality of Hasselblad, except 50% cheaper".

You mean that it is also a camera?
I actually have found over several decades that the cost of the camera is the cheapest thing in photography. If people are worried about the cost of the camera then they should get a new hobby.

I am not sure about Fuji but does it have colour reproduction mode with scene calibration? Does it have full remote wireless control of the camera? Can it overpower the sun with a 400W Quadra pack? Does it have 1/800 or 1/2000S sync speed? Can you walk into a hire shop and hire lenses like you can with Hasselblad and Phase? A 10% (if that is the difference) is a hell of a lot in practice.

Some one said that you may only need these things 2% of the time. So what do you do for those other 1 in 50 customers?
The majority of the time a higher shutter speed is an advantage, especially with longer lenses. 1/125 Sec on the current Fuji would be a lot more than a 10% disadvantage to me.

Fuji is probably an excellent camera, but at least I never have someone walk into the studio and say "Oh, you have a Fuji. My kids bought one of those to take Instamax pictures at a party".
The high end clients will pay more if you can clearly articulate the benefits of a Hassy or Phase.

[eronald]

You mean that it is also a camera?
I actually have found over several decades that the cost of the camera is the cheapest thing in photography. If people are worried about the cost of the camera then they should get a new hobby.

I am not sure about Fuji but does it have colour reproduction mode with scene calibration? Does it have full remote wireless control of the camera? Can it overpower the sun with a 400W Quadra pack? Does it have 1/800 or 1/2000S sync speed? Can you walk into a hire shop and hire lenses like you can with Hasselblad and Phase? A 10% (if that is the difference) is a hell of a lot in practice.

Some one said that you may only need these things 2% of the time. So what do you do for those other 1 in 50 customers?
The majority of the time a higher shutter speed is an advantage, especially with longer lenses. 1/125 Sec on the current Fuji would be a lot more than a 10% disadvantage to me.

Fuji is probably an excellent camera, but at least I never have someone walk into the studio and say "Oh, you have a Fuji. My kids bought one of those to take Instamax pictures at a party".
The high end clients will pay more if you can clearly articulate the benefits of a Hassy or Phase.

Actually Fuji now has something strong going for it on this forum, namely the C1 workflow. Doug and Steve might agree if I say that a lot of people have invested in this workflow, and also there are some good repro/heritage calibration solutions available. I myself have done calibrated work with C1 and had no issues.

Anyway, nobody is going to prevent you from bringing an H series Hassy to a wedding, as you'd be crazy to shoot anything that moves with contrast detect AF. on the X1D.  Or you could even bring an XF if you have that sort of  inclination.. The old cameras haven't gone away yet, the Fuji only competes against the X1D really.

All the hedge-fund guys are getting Hassy X1D  bodies, so I really wouldn't take that to a high-budget social occasion as a photographer.


Edmund

[BobShaw]

All the hedge-fund guys are getting Hassy X1D  bodies, so I really wouldn't take that to a high-budget social occasion as a photographer.

Sweet. I don't photograph social occasions or weddings, but if I did it would be with a Canon or Nikon.  I didn't buy MF for that purpose.
However you make an excellent point. High end customers have an average over 1 Bachelor Degree each. They probably own at least a full frame 35mm camera and have probably been to professional photographers before. I will definitely tell them I use the brand NASA uses. Thanks for the tip. BTW, what's Auto Focus?

[Kirk_C]

I will definitely tell them I use the brand NASA uses.

Wait, now I'm confused.

https://petapixel.com/2017/08/25/nasa-just-ordered-53-nikon-d5-dslrs/

[BobShaw]

Wait, now I'm confused.

https://petapixel.com/2017/08/25/nasa-just-ordered-53-nikon-d5-dslrs/

Fair enough. I guess that is OK if you can take 4 spares (:-)

[tcdeveau]

Oldie (dates back to 2016 I think) but a goodie:

https://www.diyphotography.net/camera-gear-nasa-use-international-space-station/