Fujifilm Unveils Its New GFX 50s II Medium Format Mirrorless Camera

Fujifilm has recently announced the GFX 50s II, the latest addition to its G-mount medium format mirrorless camera line-up. An upgrade to the original that was released back in 2017, the new shooter comes with various improvements such as in-body stabilisation (IBIS), among other things.

The GFX 50s II sports the same 51.4MP sensor as its predecessor, which is capable of capturing images of equivalent pixel size and recording Full HD videos at up to 30fps. Again, much like the original model, there are no 4K options available for video recording. Newly introduced on the camera is the aforementioned 5-axis IBIS system and Fujifilm’s latest X-processor 4. When working in tandem, both of these enables for fast and high-precision shooting, burst shots at up to 3fps, and improved autofocusing capabilities such as face, eye and contrast detection.

Features found on the device includes the new Pixel Shift Multi-Shot mode which relies on the IBIS and sensor to produce images of up to 200MP in size. Fujifilm explains that the mode is capable of achieving this by capturing 16 RAW files and then combining them into a single Digital Negative (DNG) RAW via the onboard Pixel Shift Combiner software. Also onboard are 19 of the brand’s Film Simulation modes, and a large number of exposure controls.

The GFX 50s II sports a magnesium alloy body that weighs approximately 900 grams and is also weather-resistant, allowing it to operate in temperatures as low as -10 degrees Celsius. Design improvements featured on the medium format camera includes a new grip to reduce hand strain, a 1.8-inch LCD monitor on its upper body for EXIF settings, a 3.69M-dot electronic viewfinder with 0.77x magnification, a two-axis tilting 3.2-inch main LCD display on its back, and dual card slots for UHS-II media support.

The new Fujifilm GFX 50s II is expected to be shipped out in late October at a recommended retail price of US$3,999 (~RM16,586) for body only. There’s also a kit bundle which includes the GF 35-70mm f/4.5-5.6 WR lens for US$4,499 (~RM18,655). It is also worth noting that the GFX 50s II is listed on Fujifilm Malaysia’s website, but details of its potential local availability and pricing are not known at this time.

Fujifilm Announces The GFX100S; A Compact Medium Format Camera With 102MP Sensor

Fujifilm has recently announced the new GFX100S medium format camera. It is a compact variant of the original GFX100 model, significantly reducing the overall size to a common mirrorless shooter, while also featuring the brand’s more advanced imaging technology.

The Fujifilm GFX100S measures 5.9-inches wide, 4.09-inches tall, 3.4-inches deep, and weighs approximately 900 grams with battery and SD card included. Additionally, it is constructed with a magnesium alloy casing and is made to operate in temperatures as low as -10 Celcius. The camera is also claimed to be dust and water resistant, but no rating was provided.

In terms of framing assistance, the GFX100S comes with an eye sensor-equipped 0.5-inch OLED electronic viewfinder with a resolution of approximately 3.69 million dots, 23mm eyepoint, 0.77x magnification and 38-degree view angle. On its back is a tiltable 3.2-inch LCD touchscreen with 2.36 million-dot resolution.

The new camera is equipped with the same back-illuminated 102MP sensor as the original, which is enhanced by the high-performance quad-core Fujifilm X-Processor 4 CPU. It has a standard ISO range of 100 – 12,800 (1/3 step) for both stills and video, and features an updated focus tracking algorithm for its built-in autofocus (AF) systems. For the latter, the company claims that the GFX100S’ on-sensor phase-detection pixels cover nearly 100% of the onboard sensor, enabling it to acquire focus in as little as 0.18 seconds even in low light conditions.

Also featured on the device is a newly designed in-body image stabilisation (IBIS) system that further enhances visual stability when used in handheld situations. Specifically, it is a five-axis system which provides 6-stops of CIPA-rated image stabilisation, and is also noted to be 20% smaller and 10% lighter than the one featured on the original GFX100.

The new camera is capable of recording 4K videos up to 30fps in 16:9 and 17:9 aspect ratios in either H.264 or H.265 codecs. In addition, it can output 4K30p footage in either 10-bit 4:2:2 F-Log or 12-bit Apple ProRes RAW via HDMI out and an external monitor recorder. Concurrently, videos can also be recorded internally to an SD card at bit rates of up to 400Mbps in 10-bit 4:2:0 F-log. Fujifilm says that it included 19 Film Simulation modes built into the device as well, including the new Nostalgic Neg mode.

The Fujifilm GFX100S is priced at US$5,999 (~RM24,268) and expected to be available globally starting March 2021. Fujifilm Malaysia has listed the new camera on its official website, but its local pricing has not been revealed at this time.

Fujifilm Releases Software That Turns X And GFX Cameras Into Webcams

Fujifilm has announced that they have released a software that allows users to use its X and GFX series cameras as webcams for video conference calls. Similarly, the brand’s other Japan-based rival, Canon, had also released their webcam solution software last month.

The software, called Fujifilm X Webcam, is currently only for Windows-based devices for the time being. After downloading and installing the application, the user will simply need to plug in a USB cable from their device to a compatible Fujifilm in order to use it as a webcam.

Typical of Fujifilm, the brand is not shy from letting their users have a bit of fun (or overkill) when it comes to their webcam presentation. Via the software, users can apply a variety of filters such as sepia or monochrome effects. Additionally, they can also further customise their webcam presentation by swapping the camera’s lenses with higher aperture ones for a shallow depth of field background, and so on.

Hey, it’s an option. So why not?

As mentioned earlier, the Fujifilm X Webcam is only available now for Windows and is compatible with the brand’s cameras including the X-H1, X-Pro 2 and 3, X-T 2 to 4, GFX100, GFX50S, and GFX50R.You can download the application via the link below.

Download

Compatibility