Photography News 92 Newsletter

News Fujifilm first for medium format Updates for the X-T30

The latest model in the medium format family is the GFX 50S Mark II. It’s a highly featured camera, as you would expect, but its headline feature is the price: £3899, complete with kit zoom

Fujifilm’s latest X Series camera is the X-T30 II. It features the same X-Trans CMOS 4 26-megapixel sensor found in a host of the brand’s cameras, including the flagship X-T4 and X-T30. Where this new model has gained most significantly is the autofocus system – and the X-T30 II gives a performance similar to the X-T4, using phase-detect AF across the frame and the latest algorithm. This delivers a focusing speed as fast as 0.02secs and great tracking skills, with subjects moving towards and away from the camera. The AF system works in light as low as -7EV. Compared with the original X-T30, other key upgrades are a higher-resolution monitor (now with 1.6 million dots), 18 Film Simulation modes, and improved video features including Full HD 10x slow motion and 4K/30p video at 8-bit 4:2:0 onto the camera’s SD card. The X-T30 II is also equipped to keep more ambitious image makers happy and there’s a nine-shot multiple exposure feature, HDR mode and AWB priority. The X-T30 II will be in the shops from this October in black or silver, with the body priced at £769. Two standard lens kits are on offer: the XC15-45mm f/3.5- 5.6 OIS PZ kit is £849, and with the XF18-55mm f/2.8-4 R LM OIS, the price is £1099. The Fujifilm X Series welcomes a powerful compact camera to its fold New take on lens roadmaps Fujifilm has updated its X Series and GFX medium format lens roadmaps with several exciting lenses added. Destined for a 2022 arrival, the X Series will gain an XF150-600mm (35mm equivalent 229-914mm) and an 18-120mm (27-183mm equivalent) superzoom. GFX fans also have two lenses to look forward to next year: a GF 55mm f/1.7 (44mm equivalent) and a GF 20-35mm (16-28mm equivalent). Also expect to see a tilt/shift optic in the future.

From the beginning, Fujifilm’s stated aim with its GFX System was to make digital, medium format photography as affordable as possible to enthusiasts and pros alike. Nearly five years later, with several models available – including two 100-megapixel cameras and an extensive lens system – it has clearly succeeded. That’s why it’s worth starting this news story with the GFX 50S II’s price. Body only it’s £3499; and £3899 with the GF 35-70mm f/4.5-5.6 WR lens. With the latest full-frame cameras coming in at ever higher prices, people, landscape and studio photographers now have a medium format option at a comparable price. The GFX 50S II is an amalgam of existing GFX models. The 51.4-megapixel sensor is the same as that found in the GFX 50S and GFX 50R, both of which are no longer in production. Sensor size is 44x33mm and offers an ISO range of 100 to 12,800, with expansion to 102,400 possible – and 19 Film Simulation modes, including Nostalgic Neg, are available. Its body is identical to the GFX 100S (100-megapixel), and the only physical difference is on the left end of the body, where you see the camera’s name.

The new GF 35-70mm f/4.5-5.6 WR lens gives an equivalent 28-55mm coverage in the 35mm format, has a 62mm filter thread and weighs just 390g. This compact lens features 11 elements, including one aspherical and two ED, in nine groups, for high resolving skills. It has a retracting body and measures just 73.9mm when fully collapsed. Length increases to 96.4mm when the lens is at its working wide position. Focus is handled by a stepping motor for fast AF and supports the camera’s face/ eye focus detect modes. Operation is near silent, too, so suits video use. The GFX 50S Mark II is on sale from 23 September, while the GF 35-70mm f/4.5-5.6 WR is available from this November at a stand-alone price of £849. fujifilm.com/uk

The new camera uses the X-Processor 4 – the same as other current Fujifilm cameras – and this power has enabled no fewer than 79 upgraded camera features. The magnesium alloy body weighs just 900g and is sealed in 60 locations for dust and moisture resistance. It also features a five-axis, 6.5EV benefit in-body image stabiliser (this compares with 6EV on the GFX 100S), and with it comes the ability to use a pixel shift multi-shot mode that can produce 200-megapixel stills, with files merged in editing. An NP-W235 gives up to 455 shots and there are two SD card slots. Autofocusing is delivered by a Contrast AF system, with an updated algorithm for greater accuracy and a more effective face/eye detect. There’s also a Rapid AF function for even more responsiveness.

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