Fujifilm GFX 50R: First Look (Sample Photos)

Specs

The Fujifilm GFX 50R was released in late 2018 and is currently the newest in Fujifilm’s line up of digital mirrorless medium format cameras. The first thing I noticed about it is that it looks a lot like my Fujica GW690 but smaller. The GFX 50R boasts a 51.4MP X processing sensor; that’s the same sensor the GFX 50s has but in a rangefinder-inspired package.

Speaking of the package, this camera has a robust magnesium alloy body that’s both compact and lightweight. It’s completely dust and water resistant made to withstand the toughest environments. It also has dual UHS-II card slots to support high speed shooting at 3 frames per second.

As for internal features, the GFX 50R uses a 117 point contrast-based autofocus system with face and eye detection just like the Fujifilm x-t3. But, because the standard format in the camera is 4:3 you can shoot in other formats; this is weird and (arguably) a waste of perfectly good megapixels. Plus, this is a more traditional format seen in most medium format and large format cameras.

External Features & Settings

Working our way to external features and settings, the 50R has a 3.69 million dot OLED viewfinder. That’s accompanied by a 3.2 inch 2.36 million dot LCD screen you can use to access the menu, image playback, and live shooting. As you can see, it has a tilt design which is perfect for long-angle shooting.

Now it wouldn’t be a Fujifilm camera without a prominent set of dials and knobs. These not only give it a retro feel but also make operation smoother and quicker. On top, we have a shutter speed dial with speeds up to 1/400th of a second, an exposure compensation dial, and a programmable dial around the shutter button. You can set this button to ISO or any other setting you want to adjust quickly.

Moving on, all GF lenses have an aperture ring around the lens as well as an A mode to switch to shutter priority and C mode for camera-based control over the aperture.

Battery Usage

Finally, the Fujifilm GFX 50R uses a massive NP-T125 rechargeable battery that can last up to 400 shots in power-save mode. That said, when I was out using this I had plenty of battery life at the end of a photo shoot and was even able to shoot around the city afterward.

Summary

So, this was my first look at the Fujifilm GFX 50R. I really enjoy this camera as a nice everyday street photography camera if you can handle its size. It also works really well for larger-than-life portrait photography. You can buy this camera now at focuscamera.com.