FUJIFILM GFX ETERNA 55
where you simply can’t pull focus traditionally, it’s a real advantage. A handy switch on the camera body lets you choose between AF and MF, and the viewing tools are good to help you nail manual focus every time. On the subject of run-and-gun doc work or gimbal use, one obvious omission is any in-body stabilisation. Fujifilm has chosen to lean on lens- based solutions, which is a sensible cinema decision in certain contexts, but it’s also a practical reality check for solo shooters. If your style involves significant use of handheld walking shots, you’ll want lenses with strong OIS, a rig for inertia or a gimbal. The upside is a cleaner and more cinema-orientated internal architecture. The downside is you can’t expect any hybrid-camera- style forgiveness when the operator gets tired. Fujifilm gets body conscious The Eterna is loaded with film-centric usability touches in design, controls and monitoring, as well as boasting a body that’s solidly built with high- end engineering fasteners. A dedicated top handle has buttons and a multifunction control knob, and the camera comes with a five-inch HD LCD monitor rated at 2000 nits, plus a hood for glare control. There’s waveform, vectorscope and zebras, and function buttons on the monitor add to those on the camera. Either side of the camera body are three-inch LCDs with contextual buttons and full menu and camera controls. And lockable menu access is useful for assistants or avoiding accidental changes. Fujifilm also prides itself on physical control logic aimed at operators. With a native GF lens mounted, you can set controls for focus, iris and zoom, and configure which parameters you want quick
use, and you control it from a pair of adjustment dials on the camera. This makes it perfect for seamless exposure transitions when moving between lighting environments. It’s something no fiddly external ND filter could ever match. During testing, ND was used heavily with no obvious colour shift, which is exactly what you want. The ND becomes an exposure tool, rather than a fix-it-in-post problem generator.
Fast AF? Almost… Autofocus is definitely
usable in lots of situations, but not the best compared to the implementation on some rival brands. Though
compared to other large format cinema cameras,
it’s a revelation. The Eterna uses the same AF
system as the GFX100 II with a hybrid phase and contrast detection system plus subject detection. It’s not the absolute benchmark for autofocus, but it’s more reliable than many would expect from a large format cinema tool. The transition speed can be adjusted, the AF area set, tracking can be activated and you can select from subjects including a human face, animals, birds, cars, bikes, aeroplanes and trains. In good light the system worked well, but once levels began to drop it sometimes struggled a bit to lock on for no apparent reason. When it did lock on, for example to a subject’s face, it stayed in sharp focus. While not a one-setting-does-it- all deal, if you learn to use it well and understand how it copes in different scenes, it’s a good system. For solo operators, gimbal work, fast doc moments or run-and-gun scenes
modern cinema cameras, but it’s still valuable when implemented well. In our lower-light test, the higher base was used up to ISO 5000, and footage remained surprisingly clean without aggressive noise. But as a high-end cinema camera with a very high-resolution sensor, it isn’t built to see in the dark. The camera gives you predictable noise behaviour and a consistent image structure, so you can make deliberate lighting choices rather than chasing exposure chaos. With a touch of noise reduction in post, images are clean. When it comes to bright light, the Eterna has you covered with its super-cool internal electronic ND that’s genuinely production-friendly. It engages at ND 0.6 and runs up to ND 2.1 – a seven-stop reduction. It’s adjustable in 0.15 increments, which is effectively stepless in real
FLEXIBLE FRIEND The top handle and clever screen mount mean the monitor can be put in lots of positions
PERFECT MATCH The
massive sensor and fast Sigma lens are terrific for shallow depth-of-field and low light
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