Fujifilm GFX Sensor Quality
My thoughts keep returning to the Fujifilm GFX, the sensor quality. By that I mean of course the sensor and electronics, the output of the electronic pipeline that delivers the raw file.
While the Fujifilm GFX sensor quality is an entire pay grade above the Canon 5DS in terms of sensor quality, some of my recent images on the Nikon D810 needed a big shadow boost. What walloped me was how I had gotten used to the GFX sensor quality in my work over the past few weeks—the D810 images were certainly fine but not as fine as the GFX.
And so in spite of the focusing instability of the GFX (maybe this can be improved in firmware) and other reservations which I have detailed, my thoughts keep straying back to the sensor quality.
And so I hope the rumors of a Nikon D820 with 42 or so megapixels are true. Because if I could have GFX sensor quality at 42 megapixels in a Nikon D820 and use all my nice Zeiss glass with none of the insane focusing issues of the GFX, I can save a lot of money—and 42 vs 50 megapixels is of little consequence—lenses and reliable focus are far more important.
I’ll have a GFX again when the GF 23mm f/4 and GF 110m f/2 ship. By that time I am hoping that Fujifilm will have delivered a firmware upgrade that addresses the imprecise and unstable autofocus issues. However, I don’t hold out a lot of hope though, since at least one glitch I’ve seen debuted with the Fujifilm X cameras five years ago—a genetic defect it seems, and one the Fujifilm has never fixed (slight change in focus when in manual focus mode).