{"id":63147,"date":"2021-02-19T14:00:22","date_gmt":"2021-02-19T05:00:22","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/fujifilmnxtc.wpenginepowered.com\/?post_type=xstories&p=3946332"},"modified":"2024-05-02T01:48:36","modified_gmt":"2024-05-01T16:48:36","slug":"gfx100s-flat-out-for-success","status":"publish","type":"story","link":"https:\/\/www.fujifilm-x.com\/en-us\/stories\/gfx100s-flat-out-for-success\/","title":{"rendered":"GFX100S: Flat Out for Success"},"content":{"rendered":"

Michael Clark explains how the smaller, lighter styling of GFX100S makes its 100-megapixel sensor even more useful in his outdoor and action photography<\/strong><\/p>\n

\u201cIf you’re hanging out the back of a pickup truck that\u2019s doing 60mph, and photographing downhill skaters racing just a few feet from the fender, then yeah,\u201d laughs Michael Clark, \u201ca smaller, lighter camera is going to give you some advantages!\u201d<\/p>\n

Combine that portability with the unrivalled image quality of a 100-megapixel larger format sensor, and you get a package that\u2019s as versatile as it is powerful. We gave Michael the new FUJIFILM GFX100S to test on location and see how it matches up to its predecessor.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n

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Photo \u00a9 Michael Clark | FUJIFILM GFX100S camera and GF23mmF4 R LM WR lens, 1\/25 sec at F8, ISO 100<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

An internationally published outdoor photographer with decades of experience in adventure sports, Michael clearly puts himself in conditions as intense as those faced by the athletes he\u2019s photographing. Starting as a climbing specialist, he now contributes editorially to the likes of National Geographic and Sports Illustrated, as well as creating for commercial clients including Nike, Apple, and Red Bull.<\/p>\n

Moving to GFX100 with the launch of the camera in 2018, Michael says he was \u201cat a stage in my career where I was up against the best photographers on the planet.\u201d He adds: \u201cThough I make a lot of action images, my peers on the portrait side of things are all shooting with medium format, and I wanted to up my game in the portraiture world to that level \u2013\u00a0something that would set me apart in my own genre pretty seriously. GFX100 has become my main camera, and I probably do 80% of my work with it at least.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/p>\n

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Photo \u00a9 Michael Clark | FUJIFILM GFX100S camera and GF100-200mmF5.6 R LM OIS WR lens, 1\/1250 sec at F8, ISO 800<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

So what were his first impressions of GFX100S? \u201cThe size was a shock, for sure,\u201d he says. \u201cGFX100S is way smaller. Compared to the power it has, it\u2019s tiny. So much closer to the size of a FUJIFILM X-T4. It\u2019s going to be a revelation.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/p>\n

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Photo \u00a9 Michael Clark | FUJIFILM GFX100S camera and GF80mmF1.7 R WR lens, 1\/4000 sec at F1.7, ISO 100<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

Deciding to test the camera photographing downhill skaters in the vertiginous hills above Malibu, Michael\u2019s short time with the new camera showed its versatility as he created a striking range of images, including studied portraits typical of a larger format approach, but also shutter-dragged action photos that you wouldn\u2019t normally consider this kind of camera producing. \u201cThe real driving design concept of GFX100S,\u201d says Michael, \u201cis that it can be used in any situation where a DSLR would, so we wanted something action-based.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/p>\n

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Photo \u00a9 Michael Clark | FUJIFILM GFX100S camera and GF23mmF4 R LM WR lens, 1\/25 sec at F8, ISO 160<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

And that brings us back to the pickup truck. Dialing a shutter speed that would pick up motion blur, then using a burst of flash to freeze the skater\u2019s motion, this shutter-dragging technique is something Michael has done \u201cthroughout my career to add a sense of speed to these kinds of sports.\u201d He explains: \u201cWith a really fast shutter speed, they\u2019ll just be frozen, and it doesn’t necessarily convey the energy you feel in person. Technically it\u2019s something you can do with any camera, but it\u2019s certainly a rarity with a larger format body kicking out 100-megapixel images.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/p>\n

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Photo \u00a9 Michael Clark | FUJIFILM GFX100S camera and GF100-200mmF5.6 R LM OIS WR lens, 1\/1250 sec at F8, ISO 800<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

In practice, explains Michael, \u201cthe skater would be on the other side of the road, and we’d be right next to them, going the same speed. I had an assistant holding a boom arm out in the front and angled back at the skater with a big strobe on it. Everybody had a climbing harness on, and we were all clipped in, and so was the camera, but I was literally hanging out of the truck, holding the camera as low as possible and using the little LCD screen flipped out. It\u2019s definitely somewhere that a bigger, heavier camera might have been harder to stabilize and certainly been more painful on my arm!\u201d<\/p>\n

Backing up those kinds of situations and allowing the huge reduction in the size of the camera is GFX100S\u2019s new In-Body Image Stabilization (IBIS) system. A smaller unit than GFX100 and with an upgraded gyro sensor, it syncs with GF OIS lenses to give up to six stops of stabilization. And more importantly, the IBIS allows every one of those 102 million pixels to deliver the maximum resolution \u2013\u00a0even when the camera is being held out of a moving car.<\/p>\n

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Photo \u00a9 Michael Clark | FUJIFILM GFX100S camera and GF32-64mmF4 R LM WR lens, 1\/40 sec at F6.4, ISO 50<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\u201cThe IBIS was amazing,\u201d says Michael, \u201cand definitely came in handy for those motion blurred images where we were down below 1\/10 sec, because even though you have the intentional movement to create the blur in the background, it still needs to be a stable motion for them to look smooth. It\u2019s a huge deal for a camera of this resolution. I mean, to be able to use 1\/10 sec handheld with a 100-megapixel camera… That’s just, you know, science fiction really.\u201d<\/p>\n

This was particularly clear in some of the images where the skaters got right up close to the truck. \u201cSome of the images, where the skater is dead center and full of detail, really show what the camera can do,\u201d says Michael. \u201cIn those, we had them holding on to the back of the truck and launching off just as we got to a part of the road where the strobes were set up. The timing was ridiculous to get them right between the lights, but I’m so happy that some of them worked out and were so full of detail.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/p>\n

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Photo \u00a9 Michael Clark | FUJIFILM GFX100S camera and GF32-64mmF4 R LM WR lens, 1\/6 sec at F8, ISO 200<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

So, will GFX100S change the way Michael creates? \u201cIt\u2019ll certainly mean I get to take a 100-megapixel camera with me on a wider variety of assignments,\u201d he says. \u201cLike, last year, I did a climb in the Himalayas and I took a FUJIFILM X-Pro3 with me because it’s tiny and light. But now I can do the same with GX100S and a couple small lenses, hiking hours into the back country and not really feeling like it’s a big deal.<\/p>\n

\u201cWith those kind of crossover outdoor climbing and trekking situations, it’s all about how the ounces add up, and this feels like a very streamlined kit to me. And the battery life is looking great, too. So if you\u2019re going somewhere where it\u2019s going to be epically beautiful, having 100 megapixels is a huge difference in terms of final image quality. For sure, this will be my new main camera and GFX100 will be the backup from now on.\u201d<\/p>\n

Watch our exclusive video to go behind the scenes and discover how Michael used GFX100S to create these awesome images!<\/p>\n