The Fujifilm GFX 100s Long-Term Review

A Camera That Goes Beyond the Status Quo…

I took the GFX 100S across various productions worldwide to push my personal and client work to new heights. What impressed me the most was that while not perfect, very few compromises were made with this medium format monster. As a photographer, one might feel they can create anything with this camera, but various limitations exist. As much as Fujifilm will crank their marketing to make this camera seem like the most obvious choice for professional creators, we're still talking about a camera worth over $6,000 with premium lenses that land north of $2,000 each.

Keeping these variables in mind, let's explore how much value this camera brings.

First Impressions

A heft to the GFX 100S reminds me of my old Nikon D800. With the dimensions of a premium full-frame camera, this steers away from what makes the Fujifilm X-series so unique. However, it feels great in the hand where your middle finger sits in this comfortable notch, allowing your index finger to trigger the shutter easily. The grip has plenty of room for most hands to clutch onto where the optional metal grip plate may not feel necessary.

The camera's overall look is immaculate. Flip to the top, and you start to see more of that classic Fujifilm signature — especially with the always-on sub-LCD monitor. Like the GFX 100 from 2019, you can customize this display to reveal metadata, control dials, or histograms. I never found the fake control dials handy; they often feel more challenging to discern. I stuck to the settings view most of the time, and it worked perfectly.

The camera has a single-mode dial, six customizable profiles, and a stills/movie switch. This setup doesn't remind me of that epic photography experience I've come to know and love from Fujifilm, especially when traveling the world and exploring my surroundings. However, back to context, this camera is not one I'd bring on a romantic photo walk in a new city. The 100S is a workhorse in the studio or for a professional production with the expectation of working fast and turning over results.

The real value of any Fujifilm camera lies in building recipes you can rely on for most of your image-making experience. I can quickly sift through various coloring options for a particular setting that suits my needs. This mode dial compliments the professional shooting environment and makes getting to where you need to be quicker. It might not pull on those retro heartstrings, but there's no denying how much value it brings to the studio.

The back of the camera has a 3.2" LCD with acceptable 2.36M dots capable of tilting up, down, and to the right. The screen makes it easy to compose unique shots, specifically at a lower angle. Unlike other modern Fujifilm X-series solutions, the focus switch sits at the back of the camera, and I think I prefer this location. My right thumb can switch between focus modes swiftly, whereas my left hand never leaves the lens. Additionally, you have a healthy set of buttons that feel dense and responsive to navigate the camera.

A notable feature I couldn't wait to talk about is the new stabilization unit. You can shoot handheld at a tenth of a second and still get great shots. While some may say the camera's heft makes this more manageable, you have to factor in the size of this sensor corner to corner and that even the tiniest shift throws off your image. It's a significant achievement for a camera like this to have such good stabilization for photography.

I didn't know I needed the addition of Nostalgic Negative in my life, but this film simulation has quickly become one of my favorites. This look's saturation bump does some exciting things with the reds but doesn't dial up the contrast in a way that Classic Chrome or Classic Negative would. It's something that I found myself going back to a few times. My only issue with this simulation is that Fujifilm hasn't found a way to bring this to their X-series cameras. I'd shoot with this all day on my X100VI if I could.

Speaking of all day... battery life! The team at Fujifilm has BLESSED us by using a single battery that they introduced with the X-T4. It creates a great user experience for anyone, like myself, who lives and works in the Fuji ecosystem. They rate the battery for about 460 shots, which is pretty accurate. I need roughly two batteries for a 12-hour day when I'm not shooting tethered.

This sensor is no joke. With this rich tonality and micro-contrast, you can capture uncompressed 16-bit raw files, offering incredible depth to any photo. The color information offers a beautiful tonal when capturing melanin-rich skin, which is a feature I particularly love and appreciate. The sensor will elevate your work for anyone in fashion, portraiture, weddings, or landscapes, especially if you're coming from an X-series camera.

After pixel-peeping the images, each photo's information was richly uncompressed and continuously offered incredible amounts of data to work with within the editing room. It's complicated to poke holes in this camera's IQ and what it brings to the table.

Autofocus is another place that seems to have gotten a healthy upgrade from the last GFX system I used. Face and eye detection works reliably in well-lit environments; however, as the contrast drops, I started to see the eye detection lag, while the face detection held reliably. It isn't as sticky as you'd see on something like a Sony Alpha 1, but the difference is by no means earth-shattering.

Drawbacks & Challenges

When I look at an impressive camera like the GFX 100s, at some point, I can't help but think how a camera like this can improve for the future beyond just throwing more megapixels. The viewfinder and LCD on the back feel like they should've shipped with higher resolutions to match the brevity this camera brings.

The protrusion on the left side that houses the Quick Menu button felt odd at times. It seemed either too low or too big, unnecessarily pushing against my hand during an extended operation.

Moving onto some things that I feel more assertive about, the directional pad on the back looks like a disc-based joystick but operates more like their traditional directional pads. There were many times when I would want to bring the focus point back to the center, but it would awkwardly shift directions or vice versa. I felt this was an inferior feature and wished Fujifilm had crafted it differently.

Next, as we've come to expect with Fujifilm cameras and image stabilization, while they're great for photography, the algorithm seems to work against the natural movements you'd want for video. Additionally, this camera ships with a micro-HDMI port despite its size, which is far too flimsy and should be rightfully omitted, in my opinion.

I wish this camera had at least one slot for a higher-speed card, be it CF Express or XQD.

Lastly, the GFX logo seems out of place on the side. It was almost as if it were an afterthought, but that may just be me.

The Competition

At first glance, the Fujifilm GFX 100s looks to compete with cameras like the Canon EOS R5 and Sony Alpha 1. There's so much on the table between the three, though it comes down to what consumers value most. There's only one camera on this list that shoots north of 50MP. Only one camera on this list shoots over 4K without worrying about overheating. And that might not be a strong differentiator for the platform-agnostic, it still has some power with those that grew up with Canon being synonymous with creativity.

When paired against the competition, the GFX ultimately wins because of its ability to create high-resolution images with speed. The 16-bit RAW files are a huge win for those who want beautiful tonality. The body's strong ability to capture a dynamic environment makes the 100S far more appealing than the Hasselblad X1D II, where visual acuity is held back by how quickly it can perform. Ultimately, there's no one clear winner in my eyes; it just comes back to what you value most for your image creation. Is the GFX for everyone? No. But there's no denying that widening the offering in digital medium format and providing more market choices is excellent for consumers.

Final Thoughts

Even with the marketing noise about what this can do in video and recording in ProRes RAW, the Fujifilm GFX 100s, in my eyes, is not a market disruptor. It is important because it marks an inflection point for the company where digital medium format photography has become significantly more accessible for professional image creators. This device is as vital as it needs to be. For years, I've carved out a career with a crop sensor camera creating award-winning images worldwide and meeting some phenomenal humans. At no point did I feel like I needed a medium-format sensor to be better?

However, when companies like Fujifilm aggressively lower the barrier to entry into this technology, people like myself who begin to see more success might be lucky enough to look at a camera like the GFX 100s and think sh*t… what if? What if we were to introduce a new tool that brings so much to the table that it objectively raises the ceiling in which we practice our medium? That's what the GFX 100s is. It's a tangible example of the continued democratization of creative technology. Or, in simpler terms, it's just f*cking brilliant.