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The New Fujifilm GFX 100S II is a Medium Format XH2

Chris Gampat
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Last updated on 05/15/2024
05/16/2024
5 Mins read
Fujifilm GFX 100S II for the Phoblographer Product shots_GFX100S II_3
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In several ways, the new Fujifilm GFX 100S II is playing catch up to full-frame. But in several other ways, it’s exceeding it if you’re a real photographer. This new camera boasts features like a new low ISO 80, 8-stops of image stabilization, 7 frames a second in the mechanical shutter, AI scene detection, a new high-resolution EVF, and Reala Ace. By all means, it seems to be catching up to the Sony a7r V — but then you remember that this is Fujifilm medium format. And that means that the images will actually have character and the light will render completely different. Indeed, the soul doesn’t seem to have been completely sucked dry by the mosquito that is the overengineering of modern cameras.

The Art of the Camera

In line with our becoming less of a gear-bro, tech-specy, and geek website, we’re writing this from the perspective of an artist. That’s because real photographers spend more time actually making images. Can the Fujifilm GFX 100s II help you make better images? Totally, and Fujifilm is making that happen at a price point that is quite shockingly low compared to some full-frame cameras on the market.

What’s also important here is the fact that Fujifilm, in a presentation to the press, went on to speak more about some of the other things that really make this the luxurious product it is. For example, they state that there is a brand new Fujifilm GFX series leather pattern. This is an important textural thing that helps photographers connect more to the cameras that they’re using. We haven’t felt it, but we’re very curious to see how it is in the hands during long shoots, the rain, etc. Truly, cameras are a more important tactile experience than you’d like to believe. Just think about how many people would complain if you took their previous hand grip away.

The referenced leather pattern is BISHAMON-TEX leather, the same one as the Fujifilm GFX 100II, according to their website. Online research via TREA shows that this is a US Patent, and it also claims it to be rubber — and not leather. There are plenty of reasons why society generally moved on to rubber instead of animal leather, inlcuding all the ones you probably are thinking of. We can’t imagine Fujifilm using leather because of how it weathers the test of time. The leather on various vintage cameras wears away with enough use and causes quite a patina. Surely, this isn’t the type of product that Fujifilm would logically want to introduce the idea of patina with.

To many people, 7 frames a second doesn’t seem like a lot. But I truly think that to be enough. I don’t need to shoot at 120 frames a second and I often work to time my shots to be more careful than not. Good photography doesn’t give you 240 variations of the same moment. It instead makes you choose the right one and time your shots accordingly. Otherwise, you’ll be exporting the culling process to an AI algorithm that it replacing a human. As it is, I’ve been trying to shoot at s slower pace these days.

For several years, I only shot one frame per shutter press. Then, I moved away from that to the highest burst rate. And these days, I’m shooting at either a single frame or a slower rate. By my thinking, if we outsource all this work to a camera, we’re creating the same photos and taking the humanity out of the picture-taking process.

A Medium Format XH2

Additionally, there is a brand new (to the GFX series at least) 5,760k-dot OLED viewfinder. That’s around the same as the Leica SL3. The new viewfinder means that you’ll be able to see the finer details in an image so much better. It’s not as pixel-dense as the Sony a9 III and the Sony a7r V; but it’s still quite good. Practically speaking, though, the Fujifilm GFX 100S II is a medium-format camera with 102MP. Shouldn’t it also boast a more pixel-dense viewfinder? Or at least a higher resolution LCD screen than the standard 2.36M one?

The answer to that question lies in the price point. The Fujifilm GFX 100S II is a $4,995 camera. That’s cheaper than the Sony a9 III, Sony a1, and the Leica SL3. So, essentially, Fujifilm has invested everything into the sensor and processor—which we’re still not completely clear about. In comparison, the Sony a9 III is a speed demon-beast with the ability to take flash photography to places the GFX could only dream of. The Sony a1 boasts around half the resolution for more speed. The Leica SL3 gives you more than half the resolution, Leica-looks, insanely good battery life with the quick-sleep feature, and the autofocus speed that it boasts even over the Sony a7r V.

In the grand scheme of the camera space, the Fujifilm GFX 100S II doesn’t seem to be innovating. It’s just taking what’s been around for full-frame, making it medium-format, and updating the camera to use the company’s latest features — which are now approximately two-years old as of the publishing of this article. Will it make great photos? We’re pretty sure it will, but we have to test this in person. Overall, it seems much like what Sony, Canon, and Nikon do: take the features of full-frame cameras and bring them down to APS-C cameras. In this case, however, Fujifilm is taking the features of the X series and bringing it up to GF format.

That truly feels odd. The GF series is supposed to be a flagship series, but currently, it doesn’t feel like it’s being treated that way. Instead, this so far seems to be just a medium-format XH2.

Fujifilm GFX 100S II Tech Specs

  • 102MP sensor that Fujifilm claims to be a newly developed sensor. This is vague wording, as we’re not sure how it’s different from the GFX 100 II.
  • X Processor 5: Also pretty vague. The Japanese camera manufacturers in general use terms like this, but this processor could be one of several that they use. By this logic, they’re using the same processor as the XH2 in a medium format camera.
  • New AI autofocus: Fujifilm actually called it AI autofocus in their presentation. There are humans, animals, birds, planes, etc. It can do eye detection and tracking too.
  • Claims of better phase detection autofocus at the corners of the frame
  • Low ISO of 80 for still photos with 16-bit RAW output. This will be so fun to play with using the Velvia film simulation.
  • Improved image stabilization or up to 8 stops. A few of Fuji’s lenses really see the full benefit of this feature.
  • All the same film simulations as the current generation of cameras.
  • $4,995.95 USD
ai scene detection camera fujifilm fujifilm gfx 100s ii GFX gfx 100s ii medium format scene detection sensor
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Chris Gampat is the Editor in Chief, Founder, and Publisher of the Phoblographer. He provides oversight to all of the daily tasks, including editorial, administrative, and advertising work. Chris's editorial work includes not only editing and scheduling articles but also writing them himself. He's the author of various product guides, educational pieces, product reviews, and interviews with photographers. He's fascinated by how photographers create, considering the fact that he's legally blind./ HIGHLIGHTS: Chris used to work in Men's lifestyle and tech. He's a veteran technology writer, editor, and reviewer with more than 15 years experience. He's also a Photographer that has had his share of bylines and viral projects like "Secret Order of the Slice." PAST BYLINES: Gear Patrol, PC Mag, Geek.com, Digital Photo Pro, Resource Magazine, Yahoo! News, Yahoo! Finance, IGN, PDN, and others. EXPERIENCE: Chris Gampat began working in tech and art journalism both in 2008. He started at PCMag, Magnum Photos, and Geek.com. He founded the Phoblographer in 2009 after working at places like PDN and Photography Bay. He left his day job as the Social Media Content Developer at B&H Photo in the early 2010s. Since then, he's evolved as a publisher using AI ethically, coming up with ethical ways to bring in affiliate income, and preaching the word of diversity in the photo industry. His background and work has spread to non-profits like American Photographic Arts where he's done work to get photographers various benefits. His skills are in SEO, app development, content planning, ethics management, photography, Wordpress, and other things. EDUCATION: Chris graduated Magna Cum Laude from Adelphi University with a degree in Communications in Journalism in 2009. Since then, he's learned and adapted to various things in the fields of social media, SEO, app development, e-commerce development, HTML, etc. FAVORITE SUBJECT TO PHOTOGRAPH: Chris enjoys creating conceptual work that makes people stare at his photos. But he doesn't get to do much of this because of the high demand of photography content. / BEST PHOTOGRAPHY TIP: Don't do it in post-production when you can do it in-camera.
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