Medium-format cameras encompass pretty powerful imaging capabilities, but the bodies tend to be beast-like both in size and performance. Fujifilm, however, is trying to make the larger sensors more manageable in terms of size and performance. The Fujifilm GFX100 II—pronounced “the second,” not Mark II, according to Fujifilm—narrows the gap by enhancing the autofocus while maintaining the image quality expected from the larger sensors.
While the II in the name suggests a marginal update, the Fujifilm GFX100 Ii is anything but minimal. The body is entirely different, no longer featuring a battery grip built in. The autofocus sees an upgrade, but so does the processor, stabilization, and even the edges of the 102-megapixel sensor are tweaked. Even the price drops, though purchasing the now separate battery grip makes up for most of that pricing difference.
Just how impressive is the Fujifilm GFX100 II? Is the camera worth a $7.5K investment?
Table of Contents
The Big Picture
Feast your eyeballs on 102 megapixels of colorful medium format goodness—at least, that’s how I thought I should introduce the unedited JPEGs captured on the Fujifilm GFX100 II. I’ve never seen a set of images look so perfect straight from the camera without editing. Get the exposure and white balance right in the camera, and the large sensor and Fujifilm color science will do the rest. The images from the Fujifilm GFX100 II lived up to my exceptions with excellent detail, low noise, and when I didn’t get it right in camera, lots of dynamic range flexibility in post. The new film simulation, Reala Ace, is bound to be a Fujifilm fan favorite. While I’m a huge fan of Fujifilm’s retro-styled top dials, I thought the ergonomics on the GFX100 II were at least significantly better than the XH2 series.
But, while I first picked up the GFX100 II with big imaging expectations, I had low expectations for the autofocus performance. And in some cases, those expectations were dead on. The animal eye AF liked the nose on my dark-colored dog, struggled on dark-colored subjects, and on someone running towards the camera, I was lucky if I got one shot in focus. But autofocus has long been a weakness of medium format mirrorless and I did see several big advancements. The GFX100 II’s autofocus actually did pretty well on a dark dance floor and had a high enough hit rate for some lifestyle and event images.
Is the Fujifilm GFX100 II ready for fast action? No, but the dreamy images mean this beast is a worthwhile investment for high-end portraits, commercial work, or anything moving slower than a run. I’m giving the Fujifilm GFX100 II four out of five stars.
Pros
- Light-up top dial
- Lots of ways to set up custom controls, including fast subject detection swaps and a front dial that can control three different settings
- Lighter than the previous one because it no longer has the built-in battery grip
- Low noise yet high megapixel count
- Beautiful colors
- Reala Ace is spectacular
- The price dropped from the first generation’s original list price
- Autofocus performance didn’t drop significantly in low-light
- Eight stops of stabilization
Cons
- Medium format is a big investment
- Autofocus can’t keep up with anything faster than a walk
Gear Used
I used the Fujifilm GFX 100 II with the Fujifilm GF 55mm f1.7 R WR lens. Both the camera and lens are a short-term review loan from Fujifilm.
Innovations
Despite the II in the name, the Fujifilm GFX100 II sees many changes over its predecessor. The sensor, processor, autofocus, stabilization, and even the ergonomics all see an update — which you can read about here. But, the biggest thing that sets the Fujifilm GFX100 II apart is that it makes medium format less of a one-trick pony and introduces the possibility of using the system for lifestyle, journalism, and other moving subjects. No, it’s not as fast as many of the full-frame cameras, but it increases the performance enough that I can see this camera creeping into more genres. The other most exciting changes are a lower price point than the first generation and a brand new film simulation called Reala Ace.
Ergonomics
As a medium format camera, the Fujifilm GFX100 II is no lightweight. The camera weighs nearly 2.3 pounds with the viewfinder, battery, and card. Thankfully, the camera uses a large grip to help support that weight. While the camera was noticeably heavier than my usual gear, it’s significantly lighter than the first generation. That’s because the second doesn’t have the built-in grip like the first — it’s an optional accessory and saves a bit of weight.
While I’m a huge fan of Fujifilm’s retro-styled top dials, I thought the ergonomics on the GFX100 II were at least significantly better than the XH2 series.
The shape of the GFX100 II strikes me as a bit odd, but that’s because the top of the camera tilts towards the back. The slant helps reduce glare on the LCD at the top, which displays vital shooting details like exposure settings and remaining battery life. A small button near the screen turns on a backlight so the screen can easily be read in the dark. Another button switches the LCD display to a digital version of the retro shutter speed and ISO dials or a histogram. The screen version of the retro dials isn’t nearly as nice as the real, physical dials, but I like that both options are there.
Near the shutter release are three custom buttons. By default, the first two are set to the subject detection, so it’s easy to switch between people and animals. This was one of our complaints about the XH2, so it’s really great to see an easy way to switch the subject detection modes.
The viewfinder is modular. Photographers could slip the included viewfinder on and leave it attached long-term—there’s still a hot shoe slot. Or, there’s an upgrade option for a tilting viewfinder. On the opposite side of the viewfinder from the LCD screen, there’s a simple mode dial and a video-stills switch.
The back houses a touchscreen that tilts using a hinge system. No, it doesn’t flip forward for medium-format selfies, but it allows photographers to shoot over their heads or from the waist. The camera doesn’t have the usual bank of arrows to navigate the menu with, but the autofocus joystick seemed easy enough to use instead. The back also houses buttons for drive, playback, back button focus, auto exposure lock, and a quick menu.
The GFX100 II has two control dials. The rear dial controls shutter speed by default, but the front dial controls three different settings, all without going into the menu. Pressing the front dial in once flips through the different settings that can be controlled. A long press pulls up the custom settings menu, where you can change the settings controlled by the front dial. I set the options to ISO first, since heading into the quick menu to adjust ISO is annoying and I used a lens with an aperture ring. I really liked this solution to the missing ISO top dial, as I find cameras without quick access to ISO inherently annoying.
Two more customizable buttons sit on the front between the grip and the lens mount. Opposite the grip side of the camera is the bank of controls, which includes a wired LAN, headphones, HDMI, and USB-C, with a flash sync port at the front of the camera.
While I will forever be a fan of Fujifilm’s retro top dials, the ergonomics on the GFX100 II slide in as my second favorite. The larger body leaves room for more controls than the XH2, and the triple-function front dial is quite clever.
Build Quality
The Fujifilm GFX100 II has a robust feel, in part due to the weight. The top plates don’t have the same metal feel as cameras like the XT4, though with the camera already weighing more than two pounds, I’m not sure more metal would be a good thing. Regardless, it feels robust.
The camera is weather-sealed. I gave the camera and lens a good splash with no ill effects. I also didn’t find any noticeable dust on the sensor or inside the lens during the course of my review.
My first experience with the camera wasn’t entirely bug-free, however. Twice, many of the controls were grayed out and locked into P mode, and the images had the white balance pushed all the way to green and all the way to blue. Turning the camera off and back on seemed to solve the issue, but I wasn’t able to get the camera to repeat the error after my initial shots.
Autofocus
Based on everything that I’ve heard about medium format, I had low expectations for autofocus performance going into the GFX100 II. The larger sensors can’t quite capture data as fast, and they aren’t exactly known as sports cameras. Well, I’m going to have to continue to lie to myself to preserve my gear budget because the autofocus on the GFX100 II is halfway decent. No, it’s not even close to the same level as cameras like the Canon EOS R3. But I was surprised at how well it managed to keep up on a dark dance floor and with active subjects in lifestyle portraits.
The GFX100 II is able to keep up with portraits of squirmy kids attempting to stay still, but it has more misses than hits if those kids are running toward the camera. In around 200 shots of semi-still kids, only 18 percent were out of focus. Once I switched from jokes to make them smile to games, however, the number of keepers dropped drastically, with some bursts of running towards the camera all out of focus and some getting a small handful of sharp shots. This is based on the autofocus performance level set to normal, the aperture set to f2.5, and the exposure preview on inside the viewfinder. The GFX100 II will do okay with lifestyle portraits at a walking pace but not at a running speed.
I took the XT4, the XH2, and the GFX 100 II onto the same dark dance floor, and I didn’t have a dramatic drop in the number of sharp shots when I got to culling the GFX100 II shots. Once you start shooting, the autofocus is actually comparable to some of Fujifilm’s best X series cameras, though still significantly behind some of the top performers from Canon and Sony. While I didn’t see a jump in soft shots, I did notice that the GFX100 II took a little longer to find the subject initially, where I could have shot a little sooner with my XT4.
No, it’s not even close to the same level as cameras like the Canon EOS R3.
Eye detection on the GFX100 II is also decent, but the big struggle is choosing which face to focus on in groups — an issue that persists across the Fujifilm family. On that same dark dance floor, even when I used the joystick directly over another person’s face, the camera often stubbornly stayed on the original face that it found. Usually, it favors faces towards the center of the frame. The controls don’t really have a good way to tell the camera to look for a different face.
The Fujifilm GFX100 II gains more recognizable subjects as well. Animal Eye AF worked okay, but the camera occasionally sought out my dog’s nose instead of the eyes. I did, however, really love that there are physical buttons to quickly switch from human to animal eye AF.
While I didn’t see a jump in soft shots, I did notice that the GFX100 II took a little longer to find the subject initially, where I could have shot a little sooner with my XT4.
The scenario where the camera had the most difficulty is in backlighting. This is especially true for dark-colored subjects. The camera had a much tougher time finding my brown dog’s brown eyes when the sun was behind him, and his face was in shadows. The camera is going to focus much better if the subject has some catchlights, which will be an issue when creating catchlights with flash instead of natural light. Many cameras struggle with dark colors in the shadow, and the GFX100 II isn’t an exception.
The GFX100 II performed a bit better than my expectations, as medium format tends to lag behind in performance. I wouldn’t hesitate to pick it up for portraits and even some lifestyle portraits and events. But while the autofocus is much improved, it’s not yet on the right caliber to capture running toward the camera or the fastest twirls on the dance floor.
Ease of Use
The Fujifilm GFX100 II was my first medium format experience — though I’ve shot with X-mount cameras for a few years now. At first, I found the controls a little annoying, but once I customized the buttons and dials, I enjoyed the experience. The ability to set the front control dial to three different settings — including ISO — and dedicated buttons to swap between human and animal eye AF elevate the GFX100 II above cameras like the XH2. But, it’s not obvious that the control ring is multi-function unless you read the manual or explore the custom settings menu. There’s a learning curve here for sure, but plenty of customizable physical controls tailor the camera to your style.
My experience with Fujifilm’s X series helped me quickly learn the different controls and quickly navigate the menu. There are a lot of similarities between the two series, particularly in the menu set-up. But physical controls like the single to continuous autofocus switch are also familiar.
The new film simulation, Reala Ace, is bound to be a Fujifilm fan favorite.
While the GFX100 II’s screen is touch-enabled, that feature isn’t available within the menu. Instead, the menu is navigated with the joystick. This is fine for the most part, but occasionally, I meant to press the joystick in and instead nudged it to the side. The more traditional menu buttons are more forgiving for sloppy fingers. I’d still prefer to have both, but if it comes down to choosing an autofocus joystick or menu arrows, I’m choosing the joystick 100 percent.
The stabilization system also sees a boost from the first generation, bumping up to 8 stops from 5.5. That’s a nice feature simply because medium format systems are heavy, and the heavier the camera is, the more likely shake is to play a role. I was able to take sharp images at 1/25 and even 1/10, but to consistently get sharp shots without holding my breath and bracing my elbows, I needed to push the shutter speed up higher.
An updated processor brings the GFX100’s speed to 8 fps, a jump up from 5 fps. While I know most bodies these days are in double digits, 8 fps seemed like a sweet spot between nailing the timing — and having way too many 102-megapixel files to upload and cull. The GFX100 II isn’t a sports camera, and the speed seems more than sufficient for the genres that typically attract medium format.
Metering
Following the Sunny 16 rule, metering was right where it needed to be. I didn’t have any issues with the meter being misleading.
Image quality
The Fujifilm GFX100 II encases the company’s best imaging technology — and it shows. The 102-megapixel medium format sensor delivers exceptional sharpness while gathering more light and smoothing that bokeh. The larger sensor means that noise is never overbearing. Paired with the GF 55mm f1.7, the camera captured nice smooth backgrounds. But, like Fujifilm X cameras, my favorite part of the GFX100 II is the colors, including the new Reala Ace film simulation.
Reala Ace
The soft colors make Astia my favorite Fujifilm color profile. Or, I should say, made — because the Reala Ace profile is quickly becoming my new favorite. Reala Ace actually looks very similar to Astia in some scenarios. In an indoor photo of a color card, I really had to seek out the differences. But that quickly changes when shooting outdoors.
The greens are a bit less saturated with Reala Ace — and that’s a great thing. The grass of peek summer feels overwhelming to me, and Reala helps tone that down a bit. I didn’t feel the need to touch that magenta-to-green white balance slider as often.
But my favorite part of Reala is how the profile renders skin tones. The reds are a bit less saturated as well, making the skin feel more evenly toned even with the skin softening feature off. Caucasian skin also felt a little brighter without reaching ghost territory. Pushing the white balance for warm tones didn’t add too much orange saturation like it can occasionally in Astia.
The shadows on Reala also feel a bit more pronounced and film-like. Reala has light hints of film-like colors and contrast without looking like an overdone Instagram filter.
High ISO Images
Three-digit megapixels are too many for a full-frame sensor if you want to blow up big prints taken in low light. But, spread those pixels across a medium format sensor, and noise is rarely an issue. I shot a dark dance floor at ISO 12800, and sure, viewed at 100 percent, there’s some noise. But the noise isn’t at a level that drastically reduces sharpness. On the RAW files, there’s a bit of color noise this high, but the kind that is easily edited out. On the JPEGs, the in-camera processing automatically took care of the color noise, though that leaves the JPEGs noticeably less sharp than the RAW files.
I used that same ISO 12800 dance floor image in a print test. Printed as a 13 by 19, I couldn’t pick up the noise that I could see on the screen. Prints at a low ISO have more sharpness to the fine details, but ISO 12,800 is more than usable.
RAW File Versatility
The dynamic range on the GFX100 II is enough to recover some of the difficult shadows created by shooting in full sun.
I took this photo, also shot at ISO 12,800, and brought up the exposure by two stops. The noise is a bit more pronounced, but I didn’t see any of the signs that suggested I pushed the edit too far.
Dynamic range isn’t going to replace a flash in recovering details out an overblown sky, but there’s a lot of flexibility for recovering even nearly black shadows. I intentionally underexposed the image above by about 4 stops. Then, in Capture One, I pulled up the exposure by four stops. Amazingly, there isn’t any editing weirdness going on from adjusting the exposure in post that far.
Extra Image Samples
From day one, the Phoblographer has been huge on transparency with our audience. Nothing from this review is sponsored. Further, lots of folks will post reviews and show lots of editing in the photos. The problem then becomes that anyone and everyone can do the same thing. You’re not showing what the lens can do. So we have a whole section in our Extra Image Samples area to show off edited and unedited photos. From this, you can make a decision for yourself.
UnEdited
edited
Who should buy it?
If you have around $8k burning a hole in your bank account, want highly detailed images with film-like colors, and don’t photograph fast-moving subjects, buy the Fujifilm GFX100 II. The medium format camera captures lovely colors, sharpness, and bokeh inside a durable body with plenty of physical controls.
If you want to photograph something at a running pace, then the GFX100 II isn’t the best way to spend nearly $8K — sports-oriented cameras like the Canon R3 would be the better choice for freezing fast motion.
Tech Specs
LensRentals lists the following tech specs for the Fujifilm GFX100 II:
- Brand: Fuji
- Camera Type: Mirrorless
- Compatibility: Fuji G
- Environmental
- Operating Temperature: 14 to 104°F / -10 to 40°Ce
- Operating Humidity: 10 to 80% (Non-Condensing)
- Exposure Control
- Shutter Type: Electronic Shutter, Mechanical Focal Plane Shutter
- Shutter Speed – Mechanical: 1/4000 to 60 Minutes in Manual Mode; 1/4000 to 30 Seconds in Program Mode; 1/4000 to 30 Seconds in Aperture Priority Mode; Up to 60 Minutes in Bulb Mode
- Shutter Speed – Electronic: 1/32000 to 60 Minutes in Manual Mode; 1/32000 to 30 Seconds in Program Mode; 1/32000 to 30 Seconds in Aperture Priority Mode; Up to 60 Minutes in Bulb Mode; Bulb/Time Mode
- ISO Sensitivity – Photo: 80 to 12,800 (Extended: 40 to 102,400)
- ISO Sensitivity – Video: 80 to 12,800 (Extended: 25,600)
- Metering Methods: Average, Center-Weighted Average, Multi, Spot, TTL 256-Zones
- Exposure Modes: Aperture Priority, Manual, Program, Shutter Priority
- Exposure Compensation: -5 to +5 EV (1/3 EV Steps)
- White Balance: 2500 to 10,000K
- White-Balance Presets: Auto, Custom, Fluorescent, Shade, Underwater
- Continuous Shooting – Mechanical Shutter: Up to 8 fps at 102 MP for up to 76 Frames (RAW) / Unlimited Frames (JPEG); Up to 5 fps at 102 MP for up to 497 Frames (RAW) / Unlimited Frames (JPEG); Up to 2 fps at 102 MP for Unlimited Frames (RAW) / Unlimited Frames (JPEG)
- Continuous Shooting – Electronic Shutter: Up to 5.3 fps at 102 MP for up to 390 Frames (RAW) / Unlimited Frames (JPEG)
- Interval Recording: Yes
- Self-Timer: 2/10-Second Delay
- Flash, Built-In Flash/Light: None
- Maximum Sync Speed: 1/125 Second
- Dedicated Flash System: TTL
- External Flash Connection: Shoe Mount, PC Terminal
- Focus: Focus Type
- Auto and Manual Focus
- Focus Mode: Continuous-Servo AF, Manual Focus, Single-Servo AF
- Battery Type: 1x NP-W235 Rechargeable Lithium-Ion (Approx. 540 Shots)
- Shoe Mount: 1x Hot Shoe
- Tripod Mounting Thread: 1x 1/4″-20 Female
- Dimensions (W x H x D) – Camera Only: 6.0 × 4.6 × 3.9″ / 152.4 × 117.4 × 98.6mm
- Weight: 2.271 lb. / 1.030 kg (With Battery, Recording Media, Viewfinder); 2.1 lb. / 949 g (With Viewfinder)
- Imaging
- Sensor Resolution, Effective: 102 Megapixel
- Image Sensor: 43.8 × 32.9mm (Medium Format) CMOS
- Image Stabilization: Sensor-Shift, 5-Axis
- Built-In ND Filter: None
- Capture Type: Stills & Video
- Interface
- Media/Memory Card Slot: Slot 1: SD/SDHC/SDXC (UHS-II); Slot 2: CFexpress Type B
- Video I/O: 1x HDMI (Unspecified Signal) Output
- Audio I/O: 1x 1/8″ / 3.5mm TRS Stereo Microphone Input; 1x 1/8″ / 3.5mm TRS Stereo; Headphone Output
- Power I/O: 1x USB-C Input/Output
- Other I/O: 1x USB-C Data Input/Output (Shared with Power Input); 1x RJ45
- Wireless: Wi-Fi 5 (802.11ac), Bluetooth 4.2
- Mobile App Compatible: Android & iOS. As of September, 2023: Check with manufacturer for the most up-to-date compatibility
- App Name: FUJIFILM XApp
- Functionality: Access Stored Files, Adjust Settings, Firmware Update, Remote Control, View Live Feed
- GPS: Via Connected Smartphone
- Item Type: Camera, Lens, and Accessory
- Mfr. Model Number: 600023590
- Monitor
- Display Size: 3.2”
- Resolution: 2,360,000 Dot
- Display Type: 3-Way Tilting Touchscreen LCD
- Secondary Display Top: 2.09″ LCD Status Display
- Mount: Fuji and Fuji GFX
- Sensor Size: Medium Format
- Still Image Capture Aspect Ratios: 1:1, 3:2, 4:3, 5:4, 7:6, 16:9, 65:24
- Image Sizes – 3:2
- 11,648 × 7768
- 8256 × 5504
- 4000 × 2664
- Image Sizes – 4:3
- 11,648 × 8736
- 8256 × 6192
- 4000 × 3000
- Image Sizes – 16:9
- 11,648 × 6552
- 8256 × 4640
- 4000 × 2248
- Image Sizes – 1:1
- 8736 × 8736
- 6192 × 6192
- 2992 × 2992
- Image Sizes – 65:24
- 11,648 × 4304
- 8256 × 3048
- 4000 × 1480
- Image Sizes – 5:4
- 10,928 × 8736
- 7744 × 6192
- 3744 × 3000
- Image Sizes – 7:6
- 10,192 × 8736
- 7232 × 6192
- 3504 × 3000
- Image File Formats: JPEG, RAW, TIFF
- Bit Depth: 16-Bit
- Video Capture
- Internal Recording Modes – H.264/H.265/MPEG-4 AVC/ProRes 422/ProRes 422 HQ/ProRes 422LT
- 8192 × 4320 at 23.98/24.00 fps [50 to 720 Mb/s]
- 7680 × 4320 at 23.98/24.00/25/29.97 fps [50 to 720 Mb/s]
- 8192 × 2968 at 23.98/24.00 fps [50 to 720 Mb/s]
- 5824 × 2476 at 23.98/24.00/25/29.97 fps [50 to 720 Mb/s]
- 5440 × 2868 at 23.98/24.00/25/29.97 fps [50 to 720 Mb/s]
- 4776 × 3184 at 23.98/24.00 fps [50 to 720 Mb/s]
- 4776 × 2688 at 23.98/24.00/25/29.97 fps [50 to 720 Mb/s]
- 4664 × 3380 at 23.98/24.00 fps [50 to 720 Mb/s]
- 4096 × 2160 at 23.98/24.00/25/29.97/50/59.94 fps [50 to 720 Mb/s]
- 3840 × 2160 at 23.98/24.00/25/29.97/50/59.94 fps [50 to 720 Mb/s]
- 2048 × 1080 at 23.98/24.00/25/29.97/50/59.94/100/120 fps [50 to 720 Mb/s]
- 1920 × 1080 at 23.98/24.00/25/29.97/50/59.94/100/120 fps [50 to 720 Mb/s]
- External Recording Modes – 4:2:2 10-Bit via HDMI
- 7680 × 4320 at 23.98/24.00/25/29.97 fps
- 8192 × 4320 at 23.98/24.00 fps
- 8192 × 2968 at 23.98/24.00 fps
- 5824 × 2476 at 23.98/24.00/25/29.97 fps
- 5440 × 2868 at 23.98/24.00/25/29.97 fps
- 4776 × 2688 at 23.98/24.00/25/29.97 fps
- 4664 × 3380 at 23.98/24.00 fps
- 4096 × 2160 at 23.98/24.00/25/29.97/50/59.94 fps
- 3840 × 2160 at 23.98/24.00/25/29.97/50/59.94 fps
- 2048 × 1080 at 23.98/24.00/25/29.97/50/59.94/100/120 fps
- External Recording Modes – RAW via HDMI
- 7680 × 4320 at 23.98/24.00/25/29.97 fps
- 8192 × 4320 at 23.98/24.00 fps
- 3840 × 2160 at 23.98/24.00/25/29.97/50/59.94 fps
- Recording Sensor Crop: Crops by 1.42x When Recording at Max Resolution
- Fast-/Slow-Motion Support: Slow-Motion Only
- Recording Limit: Up to 60 Minutes in 4K
- Broadcast Output: NTSC/PAL
- IP Streaming: None
- Built-In Microphone Type: Stereo
- Audio Recording: 24-Bit 48 kHz LPCM Audio
- Viewfinder
- Type: Built-In Electronic (OLED)
- Size: 0.64”
- Resolution: 9,440,000 Dot
- Eye Point: 21mm
- Coverage: 100%
- Magnification: Approx. 1x