Getting Out: Washington & Idaho with the Fuji 50 GFX
A try-before-you-buy offer came up for the GFX Fuji mid-range camera came up on Instagram and I decided to go for it as it coincided with my birthday. And with us driving from the west coast of Washington State to a remote fire lookout in AirBNB it seemed like the perfect opportunity to try out a new piece of equipment. I went the extra mile and rented a 250mm Fujinon lens to make the most of the try out.
Unfortunately, the weather was not the best—mostly overcast with snow and rain—with just one day of sun. Our first night in the lookout the temperature got down to zero degrees and our most critical task was to get up every hour thru the night to stoke the fire. Being a fire lookout I expected ample opportunity to shoot landscapes, and was dearly hoping for some great sunset and sunrise action. Alas, the trees surrounding the lookout had clearly grown obscuring the sweeping views we expected. Rising the first morning I was dog-tired and managed to capture a few shots of the interior and exterior as well.
The GFX Fuji in Hand
As a medium format camera the camera felt big, but I’ve been using a Sony A7iii for the past 4 years, and before that the even smaller Sony a6000. So it should feel big.
Original Jpeg: ISO: 500 | f: 5.6 | s: 1/80 | 35-70@70mm: Quick self portrait to test the Fuji in my home studio using the in-camera Velvia setting. It turns out the cameras presets are not applied to RAW files. Doh!
Original Jpeg: ISO: 50 | f: 5.6 | s: 1/250 | 35-70@54mm: Exterior of the fire lookout on Saturday, which had the best weather, with no film preset.
Post in Adobe Photoshop: I brought up the shadows, shifted the color and did a few cosmetic things to taste. This was shot super quickly in the morning before returning the camera.
Post in Adobe Photoshop: I brought up the shadows, shifted the color and did a few cosmetic things to taste. Keep in mind this was done super quickly before I had to return the camera Monday morning.
Original Jpeg: ISO: 500 | f: 5.6 | s: 1/80 | 35-70@70mm: Quick self portrait to test the Fuji in my home studio using the in-camera Velvia setting. It turns out the cameras presets are not applied to RAW files. Doh!
Original Jpeg: ISO: 50 | f: 5.6 | s: 1/250 | 35-70@54mm: Exterior of the fire lookout on Saturday, which had the best weather, with no film preset.
Post in Adobe Photoshop: I brought up the shadows, shifted the color and did a few cosmetic things to taste. This was shot super quickly in the morning before returning the camera.
Post in Adobe Photoshop: I brought up the shadows, shifted the color and did a few cosmetic things to taste. Keep in mind this was done super quickly before I had to return the camera Monday morning.
Fuji 50 gfx: ISO: 3200 | f: 5.2 | s: 1/320 | 35-70@59mm: Hasson the local cabin dog finally trusted us enough to stay with us one night. Shot inside on an overcast day the Fuji did great at ISO 3200—better in low light than my Sony a7iii.
Sony A7iii: ISO: 50 | f: 5.6 | s: 1/125 | 35mm: Hasson, on the lookout steps after a breakfast of ribeye morsels and bits of double smoked bacon. Shot outside I was a little surprised the Sony kept pace with the Fuji. I credit the Sony 35mm GM lens for the excellent clarity.
With the cold weather and the need to continually stoke the fire I didn’t get in as much shooting as I’d hoped, and really didn’t get the full sense of the camera. But I can say I love the larger sensor and the higher resolution files it produces. But comparing the two images above of Hasson, the cabin dog, my appreciation for my “old” Sony A7iii soared. The shots, definitely different—one inside and one outside help itch my desire for a new camera. With the recent release of the Sony A7iv I’ve been hankering for a new camera body with all the bells and whistles.
Fuji’s out-of-camera JPG files are excellent and with the film presets they provide a quick way to upload images. I tend to focus on RAW images and tweaking in post, which delays my uploading to social media by a lot. Like a few days to a few weeks. My fiancé with her excellent iPhone 12 can post on the spot—we did have a decent WIFI signal—and we usually have to discuss who’s posting to what and when. Often I request she hold off depending on our strategy.
Returning to the subject of resolution I do love that about the Fuji—and the menu system. Below is my one shot of an eagle in a snowy field before it flew off, in a series of ever-tighter crops. I love that clarity and resolution!
Driving back from Idaho to Washington’s west coast I was able to stop and shoot a few barns and in the Palouse we drove to the top of Steptoe Butte for a commanding overview of ocean of rolling hills—definitely a place to return to in better weather and some different lenses.
Gallery
