Fuji GFX100S - Video Comparisons

[Zack Birlew]

Hi, everybody, okay, so Sony drops the 50mp A1 and it sounds like a really nice 8K option, although the 4:2:0 internal is a weird misstep but anybody using it for filmmaking would go Prores/BRAW HDMI output anyway, and now Fuji brings out the medium format 100mp GFX100S to shake up the competition.

From what I've read, the GFX series is pretty spectacular for stills and there's some odd lens options you can add to the mix, even carrying some FF35 lenses over that cover it, but I just haven't heard much about video for either it or the bigger GFX100. Is there any problems like Moire, anti-aliasing, limited ISO choice, noise issues, etc. to worry about with the GFX100 series? I simply don't know but I do like the medium format style so filming that way could be interesting in some cases.

The thing is, I currently have been toying around with a Kipon Baveyes speed booster with Mamiya 645 lenses on my Sony A7S and while it's a nice option, the A1 seems like the ideal upgrade choice for this combo as it not only boosts my stills capability but I get 8K video to go with it. However, as noted in my lens thread on the Mamiya 645 500mm 5.6, not all lenses are compatible withe the Kipon and I worry that even when paired with the RED version of the adapter, which was my original idea and goal, those same limitations will follow to that adapter combination as well. So, despite losing the 8K video, the GFX100S looks like a more direct solution than dealing with the optical limits of the Kipon speed booster as it is already a medium format camera to begin with. Still, my main focus is video and I just don't have much to go on with the GFX100S except for a small selection of videos online that look nice but don't delve into how it all works and what you have to look out for.

Does anybody have any insight or first hand knowledge of the video aspects of the GFX100 series or does anybody have any advice for this comparison?

 

[Martin Konrad]

I use the GFX100 for my photography work and its results are stunning even in the standard 100MB raw. Fuji recently released a multi shot settings via firmware and their own software which dhifts the IBIS between exposures and takes resolution to 400MB if you shoot stilllife on a tripod.
On the video side I only used it a bit on a food shot where the client asked for a few 5-10 second moving images and I had no time and space to rig the Red in the same set. Going from photo to video was super easy, I shot photos tethered to CaptureOne, with the camera dial set to video, to switch to video I unplugged the USB on the camers side, takes 2 seconds. The files were very easy to grade in Resolve. I just bought the Atomos V to play with the Raw output but I had no time to put it through its paces as work has been crazy busy.
The main downside with the GFX100 will be rolling shutter jellow if you shoot handheld. Have a look at the video of Jallo Faber on YouTube, you see how far colours and lowlight can be pushed but you also notice the line skipping jellow in a couple of shots.

 

[Zack Birlew]

So I've been going back and forth on this but I while I think the Fuji GFX100S and original GFX100 would make the better stills cameras, I can't find any way of getting around the major clarity difference between the 4K medium format video and the 8K video in the Sony. The Sony's 8K just visually pops out of the screen exactly like the NHK 8K video demo I had seen years ago at NAB and despite the the sensor size coverage the Fuji would bring, the possibilities with my current FF lenses and Kipon Mamiya 645 speed booster outweighs the medium format difference. Now, if Fuji would add their own 8K video option, even externally, that would change the game significantly but it will most likely take a GFX200 (or 105, not sure how they will go with their numbering scheme). Still, we have to remember that 4K is no slouch so great things can be done with the Fuji of course but, for my investment in what I want to do with these cameras and my need for video performance, the Sony wins in this instance. In any case, I thankfully don't need a new camera right away but if this is what the beginning of the year brings, I'm eager to see what other options are announced from here on.

 

[Phil Holland]

Somewhat a personal theory, Fuji won't/can't do 8K video on the GFX100s this generation. Especially not with the current media used in the camera.

First you'll see the A1 with 8K, then "something else". Then after that a whole lot of something elses.

Really excited about the GFX100S as a stills camera though.

On an incredible side note. Long time camera person and many camera owner here. I've been very curious curious to see what would be next as Canon, Sony, Nikon, Fujinon, Hasselblad and even Kodak abandoned the $4500-$8000 market in a post 5D Mark II world. All of my various Canon 1Ds, 1Ds Mark II, 1Ds Mark III bodies were in the realm of $8000 and that market vanished. I suspect higher end hybrid concepts are the way to reenter this segment and that recently has been seen with the Canon R5 and Sony A1. Fujinon also plays camera with their previous and larger camera, though an even higher price point. Hassleblad is also in this space in recent years using the same sensor tech.

Fujinon's efforts in the above 135 format format size is really interesting and cool. Not exactly 645 in width, but unique to stand above FF35, but I suspect we'll get there with larger sensors this decade at some point in smaller cameras. At the moment that is the world of Phase One and Hasselblad still. Lots of new media will make that concept more attainable for a still camera. Likely in the sub-$16K arena. There's some who would by that camera immediately if everything added up specs-wise.

Wild times also reflecting on the newest entry through professional digital cinema cameras recently. The next few coming in 2021 will highlight that further.

 

[Zack Birlew]

If those "something elses" are along the lines of a Blackmagic Pocket 12K, Mirrorless Ursa 12K, or 8K+ Sony/RED/ARRI cameras then I'm interested!