Pic(k) of the week 21: W I D E - Fujifilm GFX100S review becomes a personal project

May 25, 2021

Pic(k) of the week 21: W I D E - Fujifilm GFX100S review becomes a personal project

Earlier this month, Fujifilm Middle East provided me with a GFX-100S to test for a couple of weeks. This new medium format camera (Fujifilm calls it "More than full frame" now) has a staggering 102 Mpx resolution!

It is probably a typical reaction for most photographers shooting a very high resolution camera such as the GFX100S, to zoom in on some small detail to then be blown away with what can be seen. And yes, it does put a smile on your face.

But rather that using all of these 100 million pixels to their full potential, I decided to get rid of about half of them! How?

Some of you might be familiar with the X-Pan film cameras? In the late nineties, Fujifilm developed a special camera for Hasselblad, called the X-Pan. Combining two 35mm frames together, this unique camera produces a wide panoramic 65mm by 24mm frame. While the camera was worldwide sold under the Hasselblad brand, in Japan titanium body version was sold as the Fujifilm TX-1. Three lenses, which are basically medium format lenses, are available; the 45mm f4, 90mm f4 and a very rare and expensive 30mm f5.6.

Fellow X-photographer Jonas Rask has a soft spot for these and I can see why! Check out his excellent article about the TX-1 here. For those that want a TX-1, budget at least 3000,-USD for a copy. Prices have skyrocketed in the last few years.

Back to the GFX100S. Just like its GFX predecessors, the camera allows one to shoot in the 65-24 image ratio. Yes, one can call it a digital X-Pan! When doing so, one looses about 50% of the pixels but with more than 50 million remaining, it is nothing to feel bad about. When shooting RAW, the full resolution is of course still available.

Shooting compelling images in the 65-24 format is actually harder than one thinks. First of all the getting the image 100% straight, is much more important than shooting standard frames. Being just a little bit of might not be noticeable in the viewfinder but will immediately stand out on a larger screen. Secondly finding good compositions is different.

Below, is a triptych of some blackboards shot in an empty school at an abandoned village called Jazirat al Hamra, in the Northern Emirate of Ras al Khaimah (UAE).

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