Fujifilm announces GFX 50S II medium format camera

Angled view of the new GFX 50S Mark II with the new GF 35-70mm f/4.5-5.6 WR kit lens. (Source: Fujifilm.)

The new camera comes with the same 51.4-megapixel sensor as the GFX 50R but its body is based upon the GFX 100S, which means it includes a compact five-axis image stabilisation  mechanism that claims up to 6.5 stops of shake correction. The body of the new camera is made of rigid magnesium alloy with added thickness around the base of the lens mount, which is subject to a greater load. It is weather-sealed at 60 locations and weighs only 900 grams with the NP-W235 battery and dual SD cards installed. The top panel design is identical to the GFX 100S, with a conventional mode dial and 1.8-inch sub LCD data display that can show key settings such as shutter speed, aperture, ISO sensitivity and exposure. The 0.5-inch type OLED EVF has a resolution of approximately 3,690,000 dots and a comfortable 23 mm eyepoint, while the three-way tilting 3.2-inch touch screen LCD monitor has a resolution of 2,360,000 dots. Both claim full frame coverage.

Internally, the GFX 50S II is equipped with the latest X-Processor 4 image processor as well as a contrast-based AF system with improved speed and accuracy. Nineteen Film Simulations are available for JPEG shooting, among them the popular ‘Nostalgic Neg.’ mode, which was developed for the GFX 100S and is characterised by high saturation and soft tonality. The GFX 50S II includes the Pixel Shift Multi-Shot function, developed for the GFX 100S, which uses the camera’s IBIS to shift the image sensor by half a pixel and records 16 RAW images. Fujifilm’s  Pixel Shift Combiner  software, a free download from the company’s Support pages, transforms them into a single Digital Negative (DNG) file, resulting in an ultra-high-definition 200-megapixel image.

We don’t know much about the new lens GF 35-70mm f/4.5-5.6 WR lens yet, although rumour says it has a ‘collapsible design’, lacks an aperture ring and is not stabilised. The latest leak from Japanese source, Nokishita (which was published on the Fuji Rumors website), adds the following information:
Construction: 11 elements in 9 groups (1 aspherical lens, 2 ED lenses)
Minimum focus: 35cm
Maximum magnification: 0.28x
Filter: 62mm
Dimensions (diameter x length):  84.9 mm x 73.9 mm (collapsed) / 96.4 mm (Wide) / 95.7 mm (Telephoto)
Weight: 390 grams

The new lens is expected to sell for US$999 (~AU$1370) if purchased on its own or US$500 when bundled with the GFX 50S II camera. A local source tells us it will initially be bundled with the camera and then ‘have its own standalone launch in a couple of weeks’. We’ll keep you posted.

The GFX 50S II will be available in late September at an RRP of AU$6499 for the body alone or AU$7299 with the GF 35-70mm f/4.5-5.6 WR lens.

Click here to read our pre-release review of the GFX 50S II.