At 1.9 pounds, the GFX100S II is an ounce lighter than its predecessor, and has nearly the same body design and controls. As before, it has a mode dial, focus selector, dual command dials, drive select button and quick menu. There’s a small, always-on display on top that shows settings, a simulation mode dial, and graphs. This way you can see all the key settings when shooting from hip level.
It looks more like a mirrorless camera than a classic medium format camera. Handling is good, but after using both models, I prefer the GFX100 II’s larger body and extra controls, even though it’s 5 ounces heavier.
The 3.2-inch, 2.36 million-dot display on the back remains unchanged and can be tilted up, down, left, and right, but not flipped. However, Fujifilm has increased the viewfinder resolution to 5.76 million dots, making it sharper than the 3.69 million dot EVF of the previous model.
The GFX100S II has two UHS-II SD card slots, but does not have the GFX100 II’s high-speed CFexpress port. It uses the same battery as before, but can take 530 to 540 photos on a single charge. Other features include USB-C, microphone and headphone ports, and micro HDMI connectivity. A new feature is USB-SSD connectivity, enabling fast burst shooting and ProRes video capture.
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The GFX100S II shoots up to 7 fps faster than its predecessor, while shooting in mechanical shutter mode is 5 fps. However, without a fast CFexpress card, you will only be able to capture about 30 compressed RAW frames before the buffer fills up. Image quality also decreases slightly when the camera switches from 16-bit RAW images to 14-bit RAW images during burst shooting. Fortunately, most photos are sharper thanks to significant improvements in autofocus. Despite the faster burst shooting speeds, I noticed a noticeable improvement in image clarity when shooting fast-moving subjects.
The AF improvements don’t stop there. AI’s face and eye tracking is smarter and more accurate, so it’s more likely to focus on a person’s eyes rather than their eyelids. At 100MP, this is very important. Fujifilm is also launching new object tracking modes for animals, birds, cars, motorcycles, bicycles, planes and trains.
The body’s anti-shake has also been upgraded. It currently provides 8 levels of anti-shake, compared to the previous 6 levels. This allows you to capture dim scenes or blurry motion with a shutter speed of 0.5 seconds without using a tripod. Like its predecessor, shutter distortion is a big issue with this camera’s electronic mode, which means neither you nor your subject can move around much during use. Otherwise, serious distortion will occur and the image will be damaged.
Image quality
For capable professional photographers, the GFX100S II delivers unparalleled image quality. The 100MP sensor delivers ultra-sharp images and 16-bit RAW pixel depth with 14 stops of dynamic range, which is larger than most other mirrorless cameras. This means you can shoot in very dark, bright or high-contrast conditions while maintaining detail in every part of the image.
Fujifilm GFX100S II sample photo review
Fujifilm’s proprietary color technology delivers accurate, skin-friendly tones, making it ideal for portrait work. The level of detail means prints can be enlarged to a large size of approximately 40 x 30 inches at 300 pixels per inch (ppi). Its resolution and accurate color reproduction make it ideal for landscape photography and archival art.
Superior RAW quality enables photographers to perform detailed post-processing without compromising image quality, even on incorrectly exposed photos. In low-light conditions, noise becomes noticeable at ISO 8000 and above. However, if you scale down the 100MP image to a more reasonable size, most of the grain disappears.
Meanwhile, JPEG images straight out of the camera look great. Like other Fujifilm models, the GFX100S II comes with a variety of film grades, from the new Rila Ace to Velvia, Acros and more. Most professional photographers like to enhance their images, and many use film simulations to shoot in RAW and JPEG formats so that they can show clients immediately and make detailed adjustments later.
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Unlike the more expensive GFX100 II, this camera’s weak point is video. Resolution is limited to 10-bit 4K, and while there’s no cropping, there’s noticeable pixel binning that reduces sharpness. You can shoot 10-bit ProRes 4:2:2 video at up to 30fps, which requires an SSD drive. 4K and 1080p recording are limited to 60 fps, so there’s almost no slow-motion mode.
The video isn’t as sharp as other mirrorless cameras like the Sony A1, but the color reproduction is excellent. You can increase dynamic range by shooting in Fujifilm FLog or FLog2 mode and then applying a LUT.
Rolling shutter in video mode is reduced compared to still photography due to pixel binning, but care must be taken not to move the camera excessively to avoid excessive vibration or distortion. Built-in image stabilization is only effective in handheld shooting with little to no movement. If you try taking a video while walking, you’ll see amazing results. Overall, I consider the Fujifilm GFX100S II to be primarily a stills camera, with video shooting for emergency use only.
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The $5,000 Fujifilm GFX100S II offers professionals superior image quality at a much lower price than the $7,500 flagship GFX100 II. It also exceeds buyer expectations, delivering faster burst shooting speeds and more reliable autofocus than the original GFX100S. Video isn’t a strong point, but it’s not important to your target market.
The GFX100S II is also the cheapest camera in the medium format camera segment, with its main competitors being the GFX100 II or Hasselblad’s $8,200 X2D100C. Highly recommended for portraits and other types of detail-oriented photography. However, burst shooting and autofocus speeds are still not enough for fast-moving scenes.
If you need speed and reliability for situations like weddings and live events, you’re better off opting for a full-frame, high-resolution model like the $3,700 Nikon Z8, the $6,500 Sony A1, or Canon’s new $4,300 EOS R5 II.
