Nature and Landscape with GFX100S

For the nature and landscape shooting, the camera has to have the amazing quality to describe its beauty. And now GFX100S was launched with high image quality and resolution, which is obviously top of the mountain in the industry.  The images described by GFX100S is beyond my imagination and will expand my horizon of photography.

Compared to the conventional GFX100, the size of GFX100S is close to GFX50S and GFX50R. It is very lightweight size, and I was surprised to find that 100 million pixels can be captured in such a compact form. The grip also fits comfortably in your hand, so you can easily carry it anywhere and shoot! That was my impression.

As I mentioned earlier, nature and landscape photographer require us to have very detailed description.  I am really amazed by details of each one of leaf and branches.

There was also very little unevenness in the colors and resolution when shooting at high sensitivity. Rock patterns and unevenness are rendered realistically and with a sense of vertex. The large format and resolution of 100 mega pixels also gives a sense of perspective, giving the viewer the feeling of being there in front of the scene.

In nature and landscape photography, I often express dramatic scenery framing sunrise or sunset but those expression always have difficulty in shadow and highlight.

The GFX100S smoothly depicts everything from shadows to highlights, and I was very surprised at the richness of the tones that I could not get with a full-frame camera. I was very surprised by this.

The ability to control the tones with the film simulation function, just like when I was using a film camera, is another thing I enjoy about shooting. I tend to choose the PROVIA, which reproduces the true natural color, or the Velvia for vivid images, but sometimes I find that changing the film simulation to suit my own image further expands the range of expression.

The first thing to do is to set the tripod to a fixed position. But sometimes I was about to miss the great moment because I need to chase the light which was always changing.  In order not to miss the moment, you need to shoot with a handheld camera for mobility. The camera’s in-body image stabilization function with a maximum of 6.0 stops is a great help in such situations. I was also able to focus instantly by moving the focus lever while looking through the viewfinder, so the time between pointing the camera at the subject and releasing the shutter was very short, and I was able to take the shot without missing a chance.

I usually shoot through the viewfinder, but sometimes I set up the camera on a tripod at a height higher than myself, or shoot from a low angle. In this case, I cannot look through the viewfinder, so the tiltable LCD monitor was very useful. By tilting the LCD monitor at an angle, I can check the framing, exposure, and focus, which widens the scope of my shooting.

The lenses I used this time are “GF23mmF4 R LM WR”, “GF32-64mmF4R LM WR”, “GF45-100mmF4 R LM OIS WR”, and “GF100-200mmF5.6 R LM OIS WR”. All of these lenses are not only descriptive, but also weather resistant structure, so you can shoot with confidence even in harsh environments. The sharpness from the front to the back of the lens is excellent when shooting at maximum aperture, and I also like the soft bokeh effect when shooting at maximum aperture.

Since the GFX100S is smaller and lighter than the previous GFX100, the size of the equipment I carry is almost the same as when I was using a full size camera, so I feel that mobility is a big advantage. I usually print my photos at home, and even at A4 size, I can feel the three-dimensional effect, perspective, and even the sense of air, and I could tell at a glance the difference in the delicate descriptive power of 100 million pixels.

The descriptive power of the high resolution of 100 million images, the richness of tones due to the wide dynamic range of the large format, and the color reproduction that can express nature as it is, give me more freedom of thought than when I was using a full-size camera, and make me want to challenge dynamic landscape photography even more. It is a camera that makes me want to challenge dynamic landscape photography more and more.