X Summit PRIME 2021: Fujifilm Announces the GFX50S II
During the X Summit event, taking place in Japan and live-streamed on YouTube, Fujifilm has announced the newest addition to the GFX medium format mirrorless camera lineup: the 51.4-megapixel GFX50S II.
The company says the GFX50S II offers the perfect mix of accessibility and flexibility with professional features that include 19 Film Simulation modes, advanced autofocusing, and a large number of exposure controls. The new GFX50S II uses the same 50MP sensor as its existing cameras and adds image stabilization and the same X Processor 4 chip used in the GFX 100S.
The new camera uses a specialized design with uniquely small, light-collecting microlenses on the sensor that creates a wide gap between adjacent pixels, which Fujifilm says maximizes light resolution per pixel for increased image sharpness. The company claims that this increased light-receiving area per pixel provides a high ISO sensitivity, a wide dynamic range, and tonality, and provides precise highlight and shadow clipping.
The new compact GFX50S II has five-axis in-body stabilization (IBIS) that the company says delivers up to 6.5 stops of vibration reduction, which is the highest available to the GFX lineup. This is made possible by the use of a high-performance gyro sensor and accelerometer that has an increased sensitivity capable of detecting motion at high accuracy for precise image stabilization. This will provide more hand-held shooting opportunities when compared to previous medium format generations which tended to remain mounted on tripods for slow and careful shooting.
Fujifilm also says the GFX50S II features the Pixel Shift Multi-Shot function, which is capable of creating 200MP images almost entirely free of false color presentation, making it ideal for archiving large artwork and historical artifacts. The Pixel Shift function uses the camera’s IBIS to shift the image sensor by 0.5 pixels to incrementally record 16 RAW files and combine them into a single Digital Negative (DNG) RAW with the Pixel Shift Combiner software. This function can also be configured to produce 51.4MP images which are easier to handle.
Here some sample pictures:
The Fujifilm GFX50S II is expected to be available in late October for $4,000. A GFX50S II camera and lens kit featuring the GF 35-70mm f/4.5-5.6 WR lens will be available as well for $4,500.
More info on Fujifilm’s website.
