Beno\u2019s years creating ultra-realistic renderings of city architecture paved the way for his move into photography. \u201cIt taught me about all the things that make an image a beautiful one to look at. Basically, I learned photography without even owning a camera,\u201d says Beno, who fell in love with photography as a way to convey his own personal interpretation of a scene.<\/p>\n
\u201cI was never interested in capturing the \u2018literal\u2019 light. It would never be enough for me to simply reproduce what my camera captured,\u201d he explains. \u201cI strive to infuse my work with subtleties, which define me as a person and express my own individuality.\u201d \u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<\/p>\n GFX 100 + GF32-64mmF4 R LM WR – 2 sec at F9 ISO 160<\/p>\n<\/div>\n For this project, Beno took the GFX 100 somewhere he knew he could capture the cities in all their glory. \u201cI took it to my \u2018natural habitat\u2019, the place where I like to be the most; the skyscraper rooftops,\u201d he tells us. \u201cDubai and Abu Dhabi are full of very tall buildings with rooftops ranging from 50 to 100 floors. The views from the rooftops are spectacular and you can find a huge variety of compositions suitable for ultra-wide, all the way up to telephoto lenses.\u201d<\/p>\n Beno chose the rooftops as the ultimate test for the GFX 100\u2019s 102-megapixel back-side illuminated (BSI) sensor. \u201cI wanted to see how well this camera would resolve the details on the fa\u00e7ade of a skyscraper miles away,\u201d he says. \u201cI was curious how clean the images would look at night, captured with high ISO, and how the camera handled the light with challenging contrasts,\u201d he explains. \u201cI also needed to know how fast its internal processing is, given the very high-resolution images it captures.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/p>\n GFX 100 + GF23mmF4 R LM WR – 5 sec at F9 ISO 160<\/p>\n<\/div>\n Beno is used to carrying a large amount of gear with him on shoots, so the first thing that struck him about the GFX 100 was its portable design. \u201cYou\u2019d expect a large format camera to be big, bulky, heavy, and cumbersome,\u201d says Beno. \u201cA conventional larger format camera belongs to a temperature-controlled studio environment in a permanent setup, but have a quick glance at the GFX 100 and you will know immediately it\u2019s a \u2018take-me-with-you\u2019 camera,\u201d he continues, adding that he particularly enjoyed the camera\u2019s handling.<\/p>\n \u201cDespite its enormous sensor and high-end specs, it\u2019s surprisingly compact and light. It fits perfectly into my hands, just like a high-end DSLR with a battery grip would. The buttons and dials have an intuitive and logical layout, and the ergonomics are well thought out. This is obviously a camera that was designed by photographers, for photographers.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/p>\n GFX 100 + GF110mmF2 R LM WR \u2013 1\/40 sec at F9 ISO 160<\/p>\n<\/div>\n It wasn\u2019t just the look and feel of the camera that impressed Beno; the GFX 100\u2019s performance in challenging conditions also struck a chord. \u201cI thought the battery life was great. After a four-hour time-lapse shoot (about 2,500 shots), I lost about 50% of the power reserve on the first battery, while the second one remained at 100%,\u201d he reveals.<\/p>\n \u201cCamera customization was a breeze and the first time I used the camera, I was ready to shoot in minutes. I saved some presets, which allowed me to power-up the camera with a ten-second shutter release delay, AE bracket preferences, and my preferred WB and ISO settings. This saved a lot of time during my two-week shoot.\u201d<\/p>\n He goes on to talk about the camera\u2019s focusing capabilities and how they added to his experiences. \u201cFocus peaking with a selectable color and intensity was an absolute delight. I was able to get pin-sharp shots during the day or night in a split second,\u201d says Beno, highlighting how this is complemented by the GFX 100\u2019s 5.76 million dot viewfinder. \u201cThe EVF is fantastic. Extremely sharp, bright, and vibrant. The best I\u2019ve seen to date.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/p>\n GFX 100 + GF23mmF4 R LM WR \u2013 1\/250 sec at F4 ISO 125<\/p>\n<\/div>\n A portion of the shoot was conducted from a helicopter flying above Downtown Dubai. In such conditions, you need a camera you can rely on to be quick enough to get the shot whenever you need it. The GFX 100 delivered on a number of different fronts due to its advanced functionality, something that didn\u2019t go unnoticed by Beno.<\/p>\n \u201cThe camera is light enough to hold in your hands for 40 to 60 minutes without a problem. I haven\u2019t lost a single shot due to a misfire or lost focus, and although most shots were taken at higher ISOs, noise is virtually invisible in the images,\u201d he reveals, adding that the In-Body Image Stabilization (IBIS) was the cherry on top. \u201cWith IBIS turned on you could see the picture literally hanging still in front of you. Remarkable! It added a few very valuable stops of light to the relatively dark shoot,\u201d he enthuses. \u201cI wouldn\u2019t hesitate to recommend this camera to serious aerial shooters.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/p>\n GFX 100 + GF32-64mmF4 R LM WR \u2013 1\/80 sec at F5 ISO 100<\/p>\n<\/div>\n Beno also used the GFX 100 to capture a time-lapse of the city and was stunned by the results. \u201cI have never seen cityscapes rendered with such unapologetic, brutal sharpness, precisely rendered color tones, and extreme clarity of details. This camera resolves a surreal amount of information hidden in the shadows and highlights. It inspired me to revisit and reshoot my favorite locations and places I\u2019ve shot a dozen times with a lesser camera.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/p>\n GFX 100 + GF23mmF4 R LM WR \u2013 10 sec at F9 ISO 160<\/p>\n<\/div>\n Although he only spent a short time with the camera, Beno tells us he has come away from the experience with a whole new outlook. \u201cLooking at images captured by the GFX 100 makes you think just what else is possible in this wonderful era of digital photography,\u201d he says. \u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s quite scary to think how fast this camera spoiled me. I can\u2019t imagine going back to 50 megapixels or less than that. The camera is small, light, ergonomic, configurable and user-friendly. I\u2019ve no idea how Fujifilm managed to pack its massive sensor in such a tiny body, inclusive of an IBIS system, which works wonderfully. And it blows my mind to see how fast the X-Processor 4 handles these ridiculously large files.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cI think it\u2019s a category-defining camera, especially at that price point,\u201d he adds. \u201cFujifilm has created a proper market disrupter here. It\u2019s a killer camera.\u201d<\/p>\n Beno Saradzic is a compensated FUJIFILM X-Photographer.\u00a0<\/em>To see more of Beno\u2019s work, visit his website<\/strong><\/a>.<\/p>\n Learn more about the FUJIFILM GFX 100 and read the full specifications\u00a0here<\/a><\/u><\/strong>.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n![\"Aerial](\"https:\/\/fujifilm-x.b-cdn.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/09\/Beno-Saradzic_Scraping-Skies_GFX-100_1.jpg\")
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