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Beginner’s Guide to Light Painting

01 Feb

The post Beginner’s Guide to Light Painting appeared first on Digital Photography School. It was authored by Bruce Wunderlich.

a beginner's guide to light painting in photography

Do you want to use light painting for stunning results? Do you want to discover all the ins-and-outs of light painting so you can create otherworldly images at night?

You’ve come to the right place.

In this article, I’m going to share everything you need to know about light-painting techniques.

And by the time you’re done, you’ll be able to light-paint your images with ease!

Let’s dive right in.

light painting for beginners
Mill Falls in Logan, Ohio. The main source of light for this scene was the street lights on the bridge over the river. The bridge was light-painted with a high-powered spotlight. I also added light to the rocks in the foreground. The exposure was 69 seconds, and I set the aperture to f/14 to maximize the starburst on the street lights. This image won me a Photographer’s Choice award in the 2014 Shoot the Hills photo contest.

What is light painting?

Light painting is a photography technique that uses a moving light source (e.g., a flashlight) to add light to a subject while taking a long-exposure photograph. A scene or object can be brought to life by painting with a beam of light.

When light painting, you, the photographer, become an entirely different kind of artist. Instead of just capturing an image as it’s presented, you create the image that the camera is capturing.

Now, light painting may take lots of patience and practice to perfect, but the results can be very rewarding.

And it’s important to recognize the simplicity of lighting painting – it’s a lot like any low-light photography, except you are putting an external light source in motion to enhance an image.

Let’s take a look at some of the basics for beautiful light painting photography.

school house in snow
Schoolhouse in the snow. This was a long, 170-second exposure, shot at f/8 (for depth of field) and ISO 100. Notice the light coming from inside the schoolhouse, added from the outside by shining a flashlight through windows at the back of the building.

Tools for light painting

Before you start doing light painting, you’ll need to make sure you have the proper tools:

  • Camera – Any digital camera capable of manual settings (including Bulb mode).
  • Tripod – One of the most important tools to produce light paintings. In most cases, your shutter is going to be open for several minutes, and it is very important that your camera does not move during the exposure.
  • Shutter release – Either use a cable release or a remote shutter release to begin your exposure. If you don’t have either of these, use your camera’s self-timer function to initiate the shot. It is very important that you never touch your camera or tripod during the exposure.
  • Stopwatch – A stopwatch or some other way of timing your exposures is helpful, since most light-painting exposures will use Bulb mode.
  • Light source – Many different types of lights can be used for light painting. These light sources are your “brushes” and may include flashlights, torch lights, lasers, glow sticks, flashes, cell phones, and even candles. Just about anything that can produce light can be used for light painting. Note that different light sources will produce different colors of light. For example, an LED light source will produce a cooler (blue) colored light, while a halogen source will produce a much warmer (orange) colored light.
  • Color gels – Color gels can be used to alter the tint of your light and add color to your painting.
light painting farmhouse
30 seconds | f/8

Camera settings

Now let’s take a look at the best camera settings for light painting:

  • Mode – Shoot in Manual mode, which allows you to set your shutter speed and aperture.
  • Image quality – Set your image quality to RAW, which allows you to capture as much information as possible. (This is not a necessity, but it is an important recommendation.)
  • White balance – If you want to balance out your artificial light source, choose either the Incandescent or Tungsten white balance setting. However, sometimes experimenting with other white balance settings can produce some interesting light effects. Daylight white balance is a good starting point if you want to maintain the original colors of your artificial light sources. Auto White Balance is not recommended.
  • ISO – Use a low ISO, such as 100.
  • F-stop or aperture – Stop down to f/8 or f/10, which allows you to get more depth of field and enables you to use a longer shutter speed.
  • Shutter speed – Set your shutter speed to Bulb mode (your final shutter speed will be determined by the amount of ambient light in the scene).
  • LCD brightness – Lower the brightness of your LCD preview, because the normal setting is too bright at night and will make your image look bright when it’s actually underexposed.
  • Histogram – Use your histogram to check your exposure. If the histogram skews heavily to the left, your image is going to be too dark.
  • Blinkies – Turn on your blinkies (a highlight warning) to help you determine if your highlights are exposed properly. It is perfectly acceptable for your brightest highlights to be slightly clipped if the rest of your image is properly exposed.
  • Image stabilization – Set this to Off. With your camera on a tripod, having image stabilization turned on can actually fool your camera or lens and cause blurring in your image.
  • Long exposure noise reduction – The recommended setting is Off. This can be set to On, but it will cause your exposure time to double (because the camera takes a second black exposure to help remove noise). If your camera is set to a reasonable ISO, the noise level will be low enough in most cases that in-camera noise reduction is unnecessary. Still, it is a good idea to check your noise levels in advance, and some older cameras may require this setting to be On to get acceptable noise levels.
still life flowers
This vase was backlit with a candle and I painted the flowers with a small penlight.
30 seconds | f/16 | ISO 100.

Begin with ambient light

The first step – before the actual light painting – is to determine the correct exposure for any ambient light in your scene.

Unfortunately, determining base exposures can be time-consuming when you’re experimenting with three- to four-minute shutter speeds.

Here’s a little trick that can help expedite this process:

  1. Set your ISO to six stops higher than the ISO you plan to ultimately use. For example, if you are planning to shoot at ISO 100, set your ISO to 6400.
  2. With your camera set to ISO 6400, experiment to find out how many seconds you will need for a nice exposure. Every second of exposure at ISO 6400 is equal to one minute at ISO 100.
  3. Once you’ve determined the proper shutter speed at ISO 6400, set your ISO back to 100 and prepare your exposure in minutes instead of seconds. (Many camera’s lowest ISO is 200, so 6 stops higher would be ISO 12800. And if your camera’s lowest ISO is 50, six stops higher would be ISO 3200.)
person with arms raised to the sky
A 30-second exposure at ISO 800. For this image, I increased the ISO to shorten the exposure to 30 seconds, because a longer exposure would cause a noticeable blur on the stars. Light painting was applied from the front of the subject, without letting the light shine directly back at the camera.

Focusing

Correctly focusing your camera is an important step – and in the dark, it can sometimes be difficult to pull off. The simplest way to get perfect focus is to shine a light source at a spot in your scene that you’ve determined must be in focus.

Then, using autofocus, focus on the light.

Finally, switch your lens from autofocus to manual focus (so that your focus point won’t change).

But remember:

If you move the camera, you must turn your autofocus back on and refocus. 

(Back button focusing is another great way to achieve focus when light painting.)

The exposure

At this point, you should have determined your exposure time, and your camera should be focused on your subject.

So now it’s time to begin your exposure and start painting! 

Most cameras allow you to set exposures of up to 30 seconds. For exposures over 30 seconds, set your shutter speed to Bulb. Use your cable release or remote to trigger your shutter button. Your shutter will remain open until you press the release again. Use your stopwatch, or the timer on your phone, to time the exposure length.

1971 VW bus light painting
This vintage 1971 bus was painted using one LED flashlight on the outside, with a second light inside to illuminate the bus interior.

Painting techniques

Light painting is subjective, so you’re free to approach it however you like.

But here is some advice for getting the most impressive results:

  • Paint from the sides – Don’t just stand behind your camera and wave the light across your image. Painting flat surfaces from the side will allow you to bring out textures.
  • Use lots of different angles – For instance, when painting the ground, hold the beam low and pan the light along the floor. This will keep the ground from appearing flat, and it’ll bring out all the details of the surface. Also, by adding light from many angles, the resulting image will have an interesting three-dimensional effect.
  • Don’t stand between the camera and your light source – If you do this, you will show up as a silhouetted ghost in the final photo!
  • Wear dark, non-reflective clothing and keep moving – Again, you do not want to appear as a ghost in your image!
  • Don’t shine the light source back at the camera – Otherwise, you’ll create a bright spot in the image.
  • Use a flashlight with a red filter when you check your camera to make adjustments. The red light will keep you from ruining your night vision.
  • Different surfaces are going to react to light differently – Wood surfaces may require more light than shiny surfaces such as metal or glass, because rougher surfaces absorb more light than smooth surfaces.
  • Keep your light moving – Move the beam in slow strokes to add lots of light and make faster strokes in areas where less light is needed.
  • Paint in up-and-down or side-to-side strokes, just like you’d work with real paint.
  • You probably won’t get the shot you want on the first try – It may take multiple attempts to get an image that you’re satisfied with. For this reason, try to keep track of how much light you add to each surface. Develop a plan so that you can make adjustments to each exposure until you get the image you’ve visualized.

A beginner’s guide to light painting: Conclusion

I’ve shared lots of tips and techniques to get you started with light painting, but there is so much more you can do with the medium! Be creative and fearless about trying new things.

Once you start to get the hang of light painting, there is no limit to the images you can create – all you need is a camera and a few creative light sources. 

Now over to you:

Which of these light painting tips is your favorite? Have you tried light painting before? Do you have any additional tips or tricks for great light painted photos? Share your thoughts in the comments below!

The post Beginner’s Guide to Light Painting appeared first on Digital Photography School. It was authored by Bruce Wunderlich.


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Fujifilm Announces the X-E4, With 26 MP and 20 FPS (for Just $850)

01 Feb

The post Fujifilm Announces the X-E4, With 26 MP and 20 FPS (for Just $ 850) appeared first on Digital Photography School. It was authored by Jaymes Dempsey.

Fujifilm announces the X-E4

Earlier this week, Fujifilm announced a spate of new mirrorless gear, including the Fujifilm X-E4, a compact, rangefinder-style camera designed for enthusiasts, street photographers, and more.

The X-E4 offers no handgrip and none of the standard Canon/Nikon/Sony mode dials. Instead, you get a minimalist, flat profile (though you can buy an attachable handgrip), plus a shutter speed dial and an exposure compensation dial, reminiscent of the film days. This makes for a tactile photographic experience, as you rotate thick dials to change your camera settings – and you even have the option of purchasing Fujifilm lenses with aperture rings, if you’re hoping to take the “old days” experience a step further.

While the lack of a handgrip might annoy some photographers, it compresses and lightens an already-compact camera, making the X-E4 an excellent purchase for street photographers, travel photographers, and other walkaround shooters who don’t want the inconvenience of carrying a huge camera around their neck. 

On the back of the X-E4, you’ll find a decently-specced electronic viewfinder (it offers 2.36M-dot resolution, which is neither especially low nor especially high but should get the job done). If you’ve spent time working with a DSLR’s optical viewfinder or a mirrorless camera’s EVF, you’ll know how important a viewfinder is for any type of action or low-light shooting. There’s also a nice flip-up LCD, perfect for capturing shots at tough angles, and essential for vloggers needing to monitor themselves while filming. 

Then there’s the X-Trans sensor, which offers 26 MP of detail. Fujifilm APS-C images are consistently superb, and the X-E4 will doubtless continue the company’s dominance in this area; I could easily see the X-E4 creating top-notch files for street photography and portrait photography, as well as for more detail-demanding genres such as landscape photography.

Of course, no Fujifilm camera is complete without a handful of Film Simulation modes. Here, the X-E4 is outfitted to include film looks such as Velvia, and if you’re anything like me, you’ll have a blast switching through all the different simulations and watching as the EVF previews the world in vivid color, black and white, and even sepia.

As for action capabilities, the Fujifilm X-E4’s autofocus speed remains to be seen, but the press release claims “fast and accurate autofocus” that can nail subjects in “0.02 seconds.” You also get 8 frames per second when working with the mechanical shutter, and this leaps to 20 fps with the electronic shutter (higher still if you’re willing to accept a 1.25x crop!), which is more than enough for serious sports shooting.

So for photography enthusiasts looking for a compact camera packed full of high-end specifications and capable of pro-level image quality, I highly recommend checking out the X-E4. While the camera won’t ship until March, you can currently preorder an X-E4 for just $ 850 USD.

Now over to you:

What do you think of the Fujifilm X-E4? Is it a camera you’d be interested in buying? What would you use it for? Share your thoughts in the comments below!

The post Fujifilm Announces the X-E4, With 26 MP and 20 FPS (for Just $ 850) appeared first on Digital Photography School. It was authored by Jaymes Dempsey.


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Adobe Camera Raw vs. Sony Imaging Edge Desktop: Which is your best bet?

31 Jan

For most photographers, the digital darkroom is based around payware or subscription software from the likes of Adobe, Capture One, DxO or one of their many rivals. But if you’re a Sony shooter, there’s an option which is available entirely free of charge along with your camera purchase: Sony Imaging Edge Desktop.*

Sony Imaging Edge Desktop version 3.0’s user interface.

In this article, we’ll take a look at how Imaging Edge Desktop compares with the 800-pound gorilla in the room, Adobe Camera Raw, whose algorithms also underpin the company’s popular Lightroom Classic application. As with previous articles in this series, I’m limiting myself only to still image editing in the interests of keeping things to a readable length, and won’t address features like image management, tethering or printing.

*Sony does include a version of Capture One, called ‘Express,’ with camera purchases, which we’ll investigate in a future article.

The ground rules

This comparison is based upon the most recent versions of each application at the time of writing. For Adobe, that’s Camera Raw 13.0 and Bridge 11.0. For Sony, it’s Imaging Edge Desktop 3.0. My computer is a 2018 Dell XPS 15 9570 laptop running Windows 10 version 1909.

To ensure neither Adobe nor Sony had any advantage out of the gate, I’ve aimed to reproduce, as closely as possible, the look of already-processed images from our galleries, without any prior knowledge as to the recipes behind them.

Adobe Camera Raw version 13.0’s user interface.

I’ve chosen images from the Sony A7 III (ILCE-7M3) for use in this comparison, as its been available for long enough for Adobe to fine-tune its rendering, while its price tag and resolution are broadly similar to those of the Canon EOS R and Nikon Z6 used in my previous manufacturer software comparisons.

Sharpness and noise reduction were left at their default settings to avoid overcomplicating things, while lens corrections were enabled for both applications. Images processed in ACR were saved at JPEG quality 11, just as used in our galleries. For Imaging Edge Desktop, which offers a choice of just four different compression levels, I used the maximum quality.

The main differences

Of course, the most immediately obvious differences between ACR and Sony’s Imaging Edge are their camera support and price tag. You already paid for Imaging Edge when you bought your Sony camera, so it’s effectively free. While it only supports Raws shot by the company’s own cameras, you can expect full Raw support for every Sony camera to be available pretty much immediately upon release.

Imaging Edge’s shadow and highlight sliders don’t give you as much latitude as the same sliders in Adobe Camera Raw, so shadows can only be lifted so far – even with D-Range Optimizer enabled.
Download the full ACR image here; the full Imaging Edge image here.

By contrast, ACR requires a recurring subscription fee. It supports a vast range of cameras from many manufacturers – including every single interchangeable-lens or large-sensor Sony camera made to date – but that support can sometimes take a while to arrive after the release of new models. It’s also sometimes more limited than that in first-party software, especially for older models.

For example, while Adobe offers ‘camera matching’ profiles for most recent Sony cameras, it’s not yet available for the recently-launched A7C. Nor has it been provided for any Translucent Mirror model made before 2014, or any Sony DSLR model at all.

A clean, modern interface with good multi-monitor support

Imaging Edge Desktop offers a twist on a modal interface. The initial install is merely a launcher which in turn installs and then launches separate viewer, editor and tethering apps. These can run separately or simultaneously, and can span multiple monitors. The editor app can’t browse entire folders of images, but you can open individual shots directly from within and stay out of the viewer app entirely, should you choose. Web help is available through the menu system, but it’s quite abbreviated.

We’ve found that Imaging Edge uses a bit stronger noise reduction by default, though in some cases its finer-radius sharpening will tease out the finest details a bit better; but ACR has a ‘punchier’ look.
Download the full ACR image here; the full Imaging Edge image here.

The user interface is really quite straightforward and very clean, although it does involve a lot of scrolling. Buttons in Imaging Edge and the individual apps launch the other apps, and the editor sports a single scrollable toolbar whose 14 sections can be rearranged or hidden. Thumbnails of currently-opened images line the bottom of the screen, but they’re tiny and not terribly useful even at Full HD resolution, and lots of space is wasted on the filenames. Nor can you move them to the side of the screen, unfortunately.

Unlike most rivals, Imaging Edge doesn’t treat your Raw files as sacrosanct

Sliders move smoothly, but some control names are a bit unintuitive like “overshoot” / “undershoot” for the sharpness control, or “magnification chromatic aberration correction”, neither of which are explained in help. There are also no automatic controls other than those for white balance, dynamic range and noise reduction.

A risky data strategy and not the best standards compliance

Sadly, while Imaging Edge plays nicely with pens and touch screens, it doesn’t support 4K monitors terribly well. Many user interface elements are too small for comfortable use, and Windows’ scaling setting is mostly ignored. Imaging Edge also doesn’t follow Windows keyboard conventions like tabbing between controls, and you can’t customize the keyboard shortcuts at all. And there are some occasional bugs; for example on canceling processing of a brief six-image batch, the program stopped functioning for multiple minutes and had to be force-closed.

Overall, I did find it easier to get more pleasant foliage and sky color out of Imaging Edge than Adobe Camera Raw.
Download the full ACR image here; the full Imaging Edge image here.

That’s doubly worrisome because unlike most rivals, Imaging Edge doesn’t treat your Raw files as sacrosanct. Instead of using a database to store its edits, or putting them in sidecar files in the same folder, Sony instead saves them in the headers of the original raw file.

The company has already been bitten by this approach once in the past with a separate application, PlayMemories Home, and in 2018 had to release a tool to correct that app’s corruption of Raw files. To avoid this issue, I recommend using Imaging Edge solely with copies of backed-up images.

Curiously, batch processing is not available in Edit mode, even if you have multiple images open. It’s available only from the Viewer window, and provides fairly limited possibilities for renaming your output images. Imaging Edge also only has a choice of four compression levels, and there’s a huge gap in quality between the highest (~15MB/image) and second-highest (~5MB/image) levels.

Reasonable if pedestrian performance

Compared to ACR, Sony Imaging Edge’s performance is reasonable, but it’s not going to light any fires. Where ACR takes just 12 seconds to process six images, Imaging Edge takes around 21.5 seconds when saving highest-quality JPEGs. Admittedly, dropping the quality level one step reduces this to just a hair under 20 seconds, but it also slashes files sizes by two-thirds.

You can see here how much more highlight detail Adobe Camera Raw is able to save in the windows, though the softer overall tonality of the Imaging Edge version isn’t unpleasant.
Download the full ACR image here; the full Imaging Edge image here.

While previews are two-pass, they update fairly quickly, usually within a second or two of releasing the control. This is still nowhere near as quick as Adobe’s near-real time previews, however. And they sometimes don’t update the whole screen at once, with a tile or two of the overall result occasionally needing a few additional seconds to finally fill in.

Very similar controls to ACR, but not all as effective

Sony Imaging Edge Desktop’s editing controls are broadly similar to those on offer in Adobe Camera Raw, including the highlight and shadow sliders that many other apps lack. It also allows display not just of clipped highlights and shadows, but out-of-gamut colors. It foregoes ACR’s texture and vibrance controls, but adds a D-Range Optimizer slider with auto mode.

In many cases, it’s just hard to balance dynamic range and contrast in Imaging Edge.
Download the full ACR image here; the full Imaging Edge image here.

D-Range Optimizer does a pretty good job of lifting shadows, but the highlight and shadow sliders are nowhere near as effective as their Adobe equivalents, and the highlight slider in particular didn’t seem capable of recovering much detail at all from blown highlights, even when ACR could do so with ease. I found the best results with more difficult images tended to send me to the curves tool, whereas Adobe could get the results without needing to fiddle with curves.

Sony’s noise reduction is rather more heavy-handed

By default, Imaging Edge uses higher levels of noise reduction than Camera Raw, and Adobe produces crisper results out of the box. With that said, you likely won’t notice the difference unless you’re pixel peeping or making large prints, where Adobe’s NR has a finer-grained look.

Noise reduction levels in both apps can be dialed back from that default. Imaging Edge also offers an “off” setting, but Sony’s app still applies more noise reduction than Adobe’s, even when that’s used. Setting NR to off definitely applies less noise reduction than simply zeroing out the sliders in manual mode, though, especially when it comes to chroma noise.

I found ACR to do a better job with skin tones. Imaging Edge tended a bit towards the magenta, but in turn delivered more convincing skies and foliage than ACR. Of course, you can improve color in either app by fiddling with the sliders, but ACR has an auto mode to get you in the ballpark, whereas Imaging Edge requires you make corrections manually.

Another example where Adobe Camera Raw is able to take advantage of remaining highlight information better than Imaging Edge.
Download the full ACR image here; the full Imaging Edge image here.

Final thoughts

Sony Imaging Edge Desktop looks and feels more modern than some of its rivals from other camera manufacturers, but I still found Adobe Camera Raw more pleasant to use. And Adobe also wins in terms of performance, although Sony certainly doesn’t trail in this respect as badly as some of its rivals.

In terms of image quality, things were rather closer, however. Imaging Edge is capable of delivering good results with most images, although Adobe clearly still has an edge when it comes to recovering blown highlights and blocked-up shadows. And Sony’s highlight slider, in particular, proved rather less effective than I’d hoped.

But if you’re trying to slash your budget to a minimum, Imaging Edge Desktop delivers pretty decent image quality for most shots, and does so with reasonable performance and versatility. There’s definitely money to be saved by switching away from a monthly subscription, especially if you tend to stick with just the basic tweaks and don’t often make major edits to your photos.

Sony Imaging Edge Desktop

Pros Cons
  • Available free with a Sony camera
  • Excellent support for Sony’s cameras from launch day
  • Good foliage and sky color with minimal effort
  • Tames noise well
  • Good lens corrections
  • D-Range Optimizer makes it easy to lift shadows
  • Only supports Sony cameras
  • Doesn’t treat Raw files as sacrosanct
  • UI requires lots of scrolling
  • Doesn’t follow Windows standards
  • Doesn’t support 4K monitors well
  • Minimal help documentation available
  • Highlight / shadow sliders aren’t very effective
  • Skin tones tend towards magenta
  • Denoising robs some fine detail even if switched “off”

Adobe Camera Raw

Pros Cons
  • Clean, clear and modern interface
  • Supports a vast range of cameras from many brands
  • Great performance
  • Allows fine-grained adjustments with accurate real-time preview
  • Great image quality
  • Extracts more fine detail than Imaging Edge with minimal fuss
  • Does a great job with highlights/shadows
  • Recurring subscription fee with no perpetual license option
  • Camera support can take a while to arrive for more obscure features or even fairly big ones like camera matching profiles
  • One-click auto control produces overly contrasty, saturated results
  • Tends to leave more noise in images by default

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65 Films About Photography: Our Picks to Watch

30 Jan

Photography and movies have a lot in common. While one is the art of capturing a frame, another is capturing moving frames. However, both are powerful creative mediums to tell a story. Apart from practicing photography yourself, one of the easiest ways to learn and improve your photography skills is to watch other people’s work and be inspired. And, what’s Continue Reading
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10 Tips for Doing Your First Family Portrait Session

30 Jan

The post 10 Tips for Doing Your First Family Portrait Session appeared first on Digital Photography School. It was authored by Louise Downham.

family portrait tips

Photographs from a good family portrait session will be treasured for many years to come. It’s an incredibly rewarding area of photography, but it can also be a little daunting for new photographers. You need to build a rapport with the family, keep the children on board, and meet the parents’ expectations with gorgeous photographs.

Family portrait family group

So where do you start? Which camera settings should you choose?

Here are some important pointers to make your first session go smoothly, and to help you take great family portraits every time!

1. Get down on their level

If you’re photographing children, get down on their eye level. This will lead to far more engaging photographs, and will also help you interact better with the child.

Family portrait girl with flowers

2. Use the center AF point to focus

Different focus settings suit different photographers, but using the center point to focus tends to be the most useful for family portraits. As you take more and more family images, you’ll get a feeling for whether this setting suits you.

But it’s a great starting point for your first session.

3. Choose an appropriate aperture

Your aperture settings will be influenced by the style of photography you prefer.

As a starting point, many lifestyle family photographers choose to shoot wide open for individual portraits (f/2.2 works really well if you’re after beautiful background bokeh), and around f/5.6 for group shots to ensure everyone is in focus.

Here’s an example of the effect you get with a wide aperture:

girl in the park family portrait
This image was shot at f/2.2.

And here’s what you get when shooting at f/5.6:

Family portrait dad and son black and white
This image was taken at f/5.6.

4. Choose a fast shutter speed

Children move fast, and sometimes unpredictably.

That’s why you generally want a faster shutter speed, at least compared to your average portrait settings. A good place to start is 1/250s, which will still deliver sharp photos, even if children are rolling over or waving.

If you have a situation where someone is moving very fast, such as a child jumping or racing off into the distance, choose a much faster shutter speed (such as 1/800s).

family portrait baby held up high
To capture a sharp shot of this child being tossed in the air, I shot at 1/800s.

5. Use Auto ISO

While you’re familiarizing yourself with the apertures and shutter speeds that work for family portrait sessions, consider setting your ISO to Auto. The results are usually satisfactory, and it’s one less thing to think about when shooting.

As you gain experience and confidence, you can start to select the ISO manually.

6. Experiment with metering modes

Certain metering options suit some photographers better than others. As you take more family portraits, you’ll soon see which mode works best for you.

To start with, try using Spot metering for individual portraits, and Evaluative metering (also known as Matrix metering) for group shots.

family portrait mother and baby
This photo was taken using Evaluative metering mode.

7. Shoot in RAW format

If you shoot in RAW, you’ll have a far greater range of colors and details in your images – which you can then use for stunning edits in Lightroom.

8. Use Auto White Balance

Set your white balance to Auto if you’re doing a location shoot.

Why?

Because you’ll be working with a variety of scenes with different lighting, and you won’t have much time to change the white balance as you go.

Plus, correcting white balance is an easy edit in Lightroom, so you’d be better off spending the time engaging with the family you’re photographing.

9. Choose your lenses carefully

Carefully consider which lenses to take to the family portrait session.

If you don’t have several lenses, consider renting some. This can be surprisingly economical, and it’ll give you the opportunity to try out different focal lengths to see which suit your style of shooting.

Family portrait baby at 85mm
This baby photo was taken with an 85mm lens.

Using several lenses in a family portrait session will also help you vary your compositions, and it’ll ensure you can cope with most locations. A zoom lens like a 24-70mm will give you lots of flexibility, while a popular prime lens for family portraits is an 85mm lens (it creates very flattering photos!). A wide lens, such as a 35mm prime, will help you set the scene.

As you gain experience photographing families, you’ll develop a sense of which lenses work best for your style. And once you know what you like, I recommend you invest in the highest-quality lenses you can afford.

family portrait siblings at 35mm
This sibling photo was taken with a 35mm lens.

10. Set limits

Limit yourself to capturing five versions of each scene. This will train your eye to look for the details and expressions you want to capture, and will teach you to include everything you need in a single photograph.

Family portrait photography tips: Conclusion

So there you have it – family portraits in a nutshell!

Practice makes perfect, though, so be prepared to work hard and hone your camera skills. Above all, a friendly and professional attitude combined with careful preparation for each family portrait shoot should make for happy clients and repeat business.

Do you have any family portrait photos you’re proud of? Share them in the comments below!

The post 10 Tips for Doing Your First Family Portrait Session appeared first on Digital Photography School. It was authored by Louise Downham.


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Weekly Photo Challenge – Trees

30 Jan

The post Weekly Photo Challenge – Trees appeared first on Digital Photography School. It was authored by Sime.

Where would we be without them! I left the weekly challenge topic to my 11yo today, his first choice was “Piranhas” I’m thankful he got the idea from my facial expression that his first topic choice wouldn’t fly… ‘Trees’ he said, thoughtfully.

Tag your photograph #dPSTrees if you share it on social media.

Black and White Photo of a Tree

Still trees, silhouetted trees, reflected trees, trees with lots of movement and a slow shutter… As ever, your options are endless and this is where your creativity must rear up and show itself! A tree is an easy thing to photograph, there it is, sitting there keeping you alive, click, job done right? No no no… take some time and show us something we haven’t seen before, detail, angles, the life of a tree.

Missed a challenge? Catch up here!

Tree Photograph

The two trees above couldn’t be any more different, the first one on Coombe Hill, in London, this one just above in Tilba Tilba, Australia, an old Oak and an old Gum… Moody was what I was going for there! Below’s tree, in London again, for a spot of reflection. Well, don’t just stand there, make like a tree and leaf…. (yes, I know, that was terrible)

Sports car reflecting a tree

Great! Where do I upload my photos?

Simply upload your shot into the comments field (look for the little camera icon in the Disqus comments section) and they’ll get embedded for us all to see. Or, if you’d prefer, upload them to your favourite photo-sharing site and leave the link to them.

Weekly Photography Challenge – Looking Up

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Leica’s Noctilux-M 50mm F1.2 is an homage to one of its most iconic lenses

29 Jan

The last Leica Noctilux 50mm F1.2 lens was produced 46 years ago. Now, nearly half-a-century later, the iconic lens has been reborn in the form of the Noctilux-M 50mm F1.2 ASPH, a ‘new’ lens from Leica that pays homage to a classic.

An advert for the original Noctilux 50mm F1.2 lens (note it uses the same six-element, four-group optical construction as the new Noctilux-M version).

The original Noctilux 50mm F1.2 lens was the first to feature aspherical elements in its optical design. This, along with its large maximum aperture, made for a unique aesthetic that’s become synonymous with the Noctilux line. Leica says the original lens’ ‘visual signature embodies the original essence of the “Leica look” and has helped shape the landscape of Leica’s iconic reputation for the best lenses.’

So, rather than go back to the drawing board, Leica stood atop its own shoulders and based the new lens so similarly to its predecessor that Leica says the resulting images are ‘nearly identical.’ Despite that, Leica says ‘the purpose of this lens is by no means limited to nostalgia or trips down memory lane,’ going on to say that when ‘stopped down to F2.8 or further, the Noctilux-M 50 f/1.2 ASPH delivers impeccably sharp images that live up to the quality expectations of modern-day digital photography.’

The lens is constructed of six elements in four groups, including two aspherical elements. It features a 16-blade aperture diaphragm, has a 1m (3.3ft) minimum focusing distance and uses a 49mm front filter thread. The lens measures 61mm (2.4″) in diameter, 52mm (2″) long (without lens hood) and weighs 405g (14.3oz).

This lens marks the third in the Leica Classics Range, which has seen reissues of the Summaron-M 28 f/5.6 of 1955 and the Thambar-M 90 f/2.2 of 1935. To further pay homage to Leica’s lens history, the Noctilux-M 50 f/1.2 ASPH will come in both silver and black versions — a nod to Leica’s transition from silver to black anodized lenses over the years.

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The silver chrome edition of the Noctilux-M 50 f/1.2 ASPH ‘features a brass lens barrel, a front-ring engraving that reads LEITZ WETZLAR (distinguished from the contemporary LEICA engraving) and along with the clear lens container is packaged in a vintage-inspired box that even further recreates the 1966 original.’ The silver chrome edition is limited to just 100 units worldwide and will retail for $ 16,395.

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The black anodized version of the Noctilux-M 50 f/1.2 ASPH will come in packaging ‘inspired by the box of the original [Noctilux].’ Leica doesn’t specify how many of the black anodized versions it will be making, but it doesn’t appear to be a limited edition. Units are available now through Leica Stores and authorized dealers for $ 7,695.

Leica has shared a number of Raw photos captured with the lens that you can download and play around with on its product page.

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Sony Announces the a1, Its Best Mirrorless Camera to Date

29 Jan

The post Sony Announces the a1, Its Best Mirrorless Camera to Date appeared first on Digital Photography School. It was authored by Jaymes Dempsey.

Sony a1 announcement

Sony has announced its latest full-frame mirrorless offering, the Alpha 1.

A groundbreaking camera that offers a shocking combination of speed, resolution, and video capabilities, the a1 somehow manages to speak to action photographers, wildlife photographers, and even all-around professional shooters without sacrificing on, well, anything.

For several years now, Sony has maintained the same four full-frame camera lineups:

  • The a9 lineup, geared toward professional sports and action photographers
  • The a7R lineup, geared toward landscape and commercial photographers
  • The a7 lineup, geared toward all-around professionals and advanced hobbyists
  • The a7s lineup, geared toward serious videographers (plus the occasional hybrid shooter)

(Sony also recently released the a7C, a compact full-frame model.)

Note the division of labor here, with one camera tailored toward action photographers, another tailored toward videographers, and yet another tailored toward landscape shooters.

But now, with the launch of the Sony a1, the division between action photography, landscape photography, and even video seems to have crumbled, leaving Sony users with a camera clearly more capable than the a7 III, and even offering a leg up over the a7S III, the a9 II, and more.

Sony a1

So what does the Sony a1 offer?

First, check out the sensor:

50 MP for intense cropping abilities, plus it gathers enough detail to satisfy professional landscape shooters.

Then there’s the autofocus, which packs “improved real-time Eye AF for humans and animals, and new real-time Eye AF for birds.” Sony is well-known for its top-tier autofocus algorithms, so don’t be surprised if the bird Eye AF makes the a1 a hot choice among serious bird photographers.

You also get in-body image stabilization (Sony claims up to 5.5 stops), as well as a lightning-fast continuous shooting speed (30 frames per second using the electronic shutter).

The a1 also boasts one of the most impressive electronic viewfinders on the market. With a whopping 9.44M-dots of resolution, you should have a clear view, even in low light, which is always a plus for event photographers, night street photographers, and wildlife photographers, to name just a few.

Sony a1

Finally, there’s the video capabilities. The a1 can record at 8K/30p, as well as 4K/120p; the former capability is what puts the camera above the Sony a7S, at least in terms of raw recording power. While 8K is likely overkill for casual videographers, I can highly recommend the a1 for serious videographers and true hybrid video/stills shooters.

Sony a1

Of course, you should also consider the price: $ 6499.99. In other words, the a1 costs more than the Nikon Z7 II, more than the Canon EOS R5, more than the Sony a9 II, and more than every other full-frame mirrorless camera on the market.

But the a1 really is one heck of a camera, and those who can afford it are bound to be impressed (to say the least!).

Now over to you:

What do you think about the Sony a1 announcement? Are you excited? Apprehensive? Frustrated? Share your thoughts in the comments below!

The post Sony Announces the a1, Its Best Mirrorless Camera to Date appeared first on Digital Photography School. It was authored by Jaymes Dempsey.


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How to Shoot Images for Book Covers: The Essential Guide

28 Jan

The post How to Shoot Images for Book Covers: The Essential Guide appeared first on Digital Photography School. It was authored by Charlie Moss.

how to shoot images for book covers

There’s lots of information out there about making money shooting stock images. However, the most successful stock photographers have a secret – they’re shooting niche content for specialist agencies! There are lots of different specialist fields that you might consider, but in this blog post, I’ll walk you through how to shoot images for book covers.

Let’s get started.

How to break into the book cover industry

There are several specialist book cover stock agencies that exist purely to match clients with photographers and illustrators. These agencies can be a great way to get into shooting book covers.

However, book cover stock agencies do require a good portfolio as part of your application. If you don’t already have a portfolio suitable for a book cover agency and you want to get started right away, you can try networking with potential clients on social media – Instagram is a great place to connect with other creatives.

Think about format and layout

One of the most important things to think about when it comes to shooting book cover images is the aspect ratio. Book covers are almost always produced in a vertical format, so landscape images generally won’t be of interest to book cover designers.

shoot images for book covers examples
Left: Canon EOS 5D Mark II| Canon EF 100mm f/2.8 Macro USM | 100mm | 1/125s | f/8.0 | ISO 100 | Window Light + Reflector
Right: Canon EOS 5D Mark II| Canon EF 70-200mm f/2.8 IS II USM | 70mm | 1/640s | f/2.8 | ISO 800 | Available Light

Books can be printed in all different sizes, meaning that no single aspect ratio is the best for shooting cover photos. Therefore, book cover designers will usually need to crop images to make them fit on a cover.

Keep this need to crop in mind when you shoot images for book covers, and make sure you don’t place any interesting parts of the subject or composition near the edge of the frame. This will give a designer more options when using your images in different book cover layouts.

Leave some blank space

When you shoot images for book covers, you can’t just think about the photo. You also need to leave room for the title of the book and the author. In other words, there should be at least one place in your book cover shot that is plain enough to place text.

book cover layout examples
Left: Fujifilm X-T20 | Fujifilm XF 35mm f/1.4 R | 35mm | 1/280s | f/1.4 | ISO 200 | Window Light
Right: Fujifilm X-T20 | Fujifilm XF 35mm f/1.4 R | 35mm | 1/3500s | f/1.4 | ISO 200 | Available Light

You can achieve these plain sections by using simple colors, by shooting areas with less detail, or by using a shallow depth of field to blur backgrounds and foregrounds.

There’s no rule dictating where book cover designers must put the title and author text. However, it’s good practice to shoot several variations of each image, including compositions that leave room in the middle of the photo, as well as compositions that leave room at the top and bottom.

Plan your images out

If you’re finding it hard to shoot compositions that allow for text placement, then go old school and get out your sketchbook.

Take a pen and paper, draw some empty rectangles, and start imagining all the different places a designer might put the title and name of the author. You can then start to imagine how and where you might leave blank space.

book cover sketches
These are a set of sketches based on the bestseller listings of a popular bookseller. The boxes show the text location on the cover of each book.

To take your shots to the next level, think about the props you’d like to use in your photos and how they might fit into the sketches you just made.

Playing around in a sketchbook can really improve your images and save you lots of time.

Finding inspiration

If you’re trying to come up with ideas for potential book cover images, I highly recommend browsing through a bookstore. You don’t have to do this in person; there are plenty of opportunities to browse book covers on the internet, as well!

You’ll quickly get a feel for the different styles of cover images across various genres.

shoot images for book covers
Left: Fujifilm X-T20 | Fujifilm XF 35mm f/1.4 R | 35mm | 1/450s | f/2.0 | ISO 200 | Window Light + Reflector
Right: Fujifilm X-T20 | Fujifilm XF 35mm f/1.4 R | 35mm | 1/640s | f/1.4 | ISO 200 | Window Light + Reflector

It’s also a good idea to follow the social media feeds of publishers in your favorite genres. Many publishers regularly post pictures of upcoming books, which will give you a sense of industry trends.

If you’re an author, but not a photographer

So you’re a self-published author who wants to do the design work for your book yourself? That’s great, and all of the tips above still apply. However, you might find some of our beginner’s articles helpful; these will help you understand the creative potential of your camera.

It’s also important to be realistic when shooting images for your book cover; photography isn’t instinctive for everyone, and the best photographs are usually the result of years of hard work and practice.

However, if you put your mind to it and you learn the basics, there really is no reason why you shouldn’t shoot photos for your own book cover. Though it’s always worth asking a few trusted friends for their opinion when it comes to the final layout – especially if you have friends who buy and read a lot of books!

How to shoot images for book covers: Conclusion

Whether you want to diversify your photography business and start shooting images for a book cover agency, or you simply want to create your own book cover for your self-published book, the tips above should get you started. Follow traditional rules of composition, make space for titles and other text, and seek out inspiration in your genre.

Ultimately, if you’re looking to start shooting images for book covers, the best advice is to jump right in. Put together a portfolio, then get it out there for people to see. Ask around to determine which stock agencies work best for photographers you know, and see if you can get your pictures on a new bestseller!

The post How to Shoot Images for Book Covers: The Essential Guide appeared first on Digital Photography School. It was authored by Charlie Moss.


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Fujifilm GFX 100S initial review

27 Jan

Introduction

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GFX100S product photography by Dan Bracaglia & Richard Butler

The Fujifilm GFX 100S is the logical next step in the development of the company’s medium format lineup: a 100MP sensor in a single-grip DSLR styled body. But don’t mistake predictability for complacency: the GFX 100S is an awful lot of camera.

Inside its comparatively compact body, the GFX 100S carries the 102MP BSI CMOS sensor from the original GFX 100 mounted within a smaller, more powerful image stabilization mechanism. By blending technology from the GFX 100 with components from the APS-C sensor X-T4, Fujifilm has created a very powerful camera at a comparatively affordable price.

What’s new | How it compares | Body & controls | Initial impressions
Sample Gallery | Specifications

Key specifications

  • 102MP BSI-CMOS 44 x 33mm medium format sensor
  • Image stabilization system rated at up to 6EV
  • Continuous shooting at up to 5 fps with C-AF
  • 4K video at up to 30p with HDMI output of 10-bit 4:2:2 or 12-bit Raw footage
  • Multi-shot 400MP mode for static subjects
  • 2.36M-dot rear touchscreen with two-axis tilt
  • Fixed 3.69M-dot OLED EVF with 0.77x equiv. magnification
  • Lossy, lossless or uncompressed Raw in 16 or 14-bit
  • Twin UHS-II SD card slots
  • NP-W235 battery, rated at 460 shots
Out-of-camera JPEG using the Provia film simulation.
ISO 6400 | 1/100 sec | F11 | GF 120mm F4 Macro
Photo by Carey Rose

Despite offering most of the capability of the twin-grip GFX 100, the smaller camera is significantly less expensive. It should be available around March with a recommended price of $ 5,999.

What’s new

More compact body

The use of a smaller battery and fixed viewfinder have helped significantly slim-down the GFX100S (left), relative to the original 50MP GFX 50S (right).

Fujifilm says the addition of the image stabilization system meant that it was more practical to make the GFX 100S into a DSLR-shaped camera, rather than the more rangefinder-like layout of the GFX 50R. But a lot of the downsizing efforts that went into the 50R have been applied here, resulting in a camera that’s appreciably smaller than the original GFX 50S.

The GFX 100S has a control layout very similar to that of the original, dual-grip GFX 100, with a large LCD top plate display and a comparable number of custom buttons. A conventional mode dial and movie/stills switch replace the button-within-a-dial arrangement on the camera’s left shoulder.

Image stabilization

Core to the GFX 100S is the inclusion of in-body image stabilization. Just as Fujifilm has been able to continue to miniaturize the IS systems used in its X-H1, X-T4 and X-S10 models, it’s also been able to reduce the size of the mechanism from the original GFX 100 to allow it to fit in a smaller body.

Despite the size reduction, the new mechanism is more effective than the one that precedes it: rated to correct up to 6EV of shake. This is half a stop more than the GFX 100’s rating and is achieved with more lenses, giving a rated 1EV improvement with most combinations. On top of this, the new system can synchronize with OIS lenses to maintain this level of correction even with longer focal lengths. This Sync IS system uses both lens and body IS to correct pitch and yaw, just as Panasonic, Olympus and Canon systems do.

Fujifilm has managed to create an IS mechanism for the GFX 100S that is both smaller and more effective than the one in the original GFX 100.

As usual, we find CIPA ratings (which only asses pitch and yaw correction) tend to over-state the benefit somewhat, but a 6EV rating should make it much easier to obtain the full benefit of the GFX 100S’s resolution. You can see the effect of this in our sample gallery, where we’re consistently getting high levels of resolution, even at relatively slow shutter speeds.

The image stabilization mechanism is also used to provide an eight-shot high-resolution mode. This moves the sensor between each shot, first to ensure that a red, green and blue pixel has been captured for each location, then to do the same again at a slight offset. This both boosts the chroma resolution and the overall pixel count of the image. However, in our experience with the GFX 100, we found that the lack of any motion correction means it really only works for completely static subjects, such as artwork reproduction.

Eight-direction control nub

The eight-way rubber control nub sits within easy reach of your thumb as you grip the camera.

The four-direction joystick that’s featured on previous GFX cameras has been replaced by a wider, flatter textured nub, that allows diagonal control as well as vertical and horizontal.

Its lower profile makes it easy to nudge the AF point around or navigate menus without too much risk of accidentally pressing it inwards which, as before, resets the AF point or accepts the current menu setting.

Additional Film Simulation mode

The GFX 100S gains a 13th Film Simulation mode: Nostalgic Neg. Fujifilm says this is based on the distinctive look achieved by American color film photographer Stephen Shore.

Out-of-camera JPEGs.
ISO 100 | 1/500 sec | F4 | GF 120mm F4 Macro
Photo by Carey Rose

‘Nostalgic Neg’ aims to offer slightly amber-tinted highlights, cyan-ish skies and saturated reds along with deep shadows to provide another option for retro-looking images. As usual, the effect is relatively subtle, giving an attractive option without spilling into overly intense ‘Instagram-filter’ territory.

Battery

The GFX100S uses the smaller NP-W235 battery from the X-T4 but still boasts a decent battery life rating.

The move to the smaller body format also sees the GFX 100S make use of a smaller battery, compared to the GFX 100. It uses the same W235 battery first introduced with the X-T4. It’s a fair bit smaller than NP-T125 used in the previous GFX bodies. Despite the reduction in physical size and electrical capacity, the GFX 100S is rated at a pretty reasonable 460 shots per charge using the LCD, per CIPA standard tests.

As always with CIPA ratings, the number reflects very demanding use, and we’ve found we regularly get more than twice the stated number of shots from most cameras. However, the numbers are broadly comparable between mirrorless cameras, so it’s reasonable to expect you’ll get more than 1/2 as many shots out of the GFX 100S as you would from the 800-shot-per-charge rated twin-battery GFX 100. This is likely to be enough for a lot of situations, though wedding photographers are likely to find themselves wanting to pocket a spare. A two-battery charger is available for such users.

The X100S will recharge over its USB-C socket but there are no electrical contacts to allow a vertical grip option to enhance the battery life or provide a more substantial portrait grip: there’s the GFX 100 for that.

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How it compares

Beyond this, much of what the GFX 100S offers is a match for its larger sibling: 102MP Raw files in 14 or 16 bit with a choice of lossy, lossless or no compression, DCI or UHD 4K video at up to 30p and up to 400Mbps, with the option to output uncompressed 10-bit 4:2:2 or a 12-bit Raw stream over HDMI. Impressively, for a camera with a 100MP sensor, the GFX 100S can shoot at up to 5.0 fps with continuous autofocus, despite the continued use of UHS-II SD card slots.

As always, the key consideration is that the GFX has a sensor that’s 68% larger than a full-frame sensor, which means it receives around 2/3EV more light when shot at the same exposure values as a full frame camera. The ISO system means those images appear the same brightness, but the additional light provides better quality.

Fujifilm GFX 100S Fujifilm GFX 100 Hasselblad
X1D II 50C		 Sony a7R IV
MSRP $ 5999 $ 9999 $ 5750 $ 3500
Sensor size 44x33mm
(1452 mm2)		 44x33mm
(1452 mm2)		 44x33mm
(1452 mm2)		 36x24mm
(864 mm2)
Pixel count 102 MP 102 MP 51MP 60MP
Image stabilization Yes (up to 6EV, and lens sync) Yes (up to 5.5EV) No Yes (up to 5.5EV)
Continuous shooting 5.0 fps 5.0 fps 2.7 fps 10.0 fps
Viewfinder size/res 3.69M dot OLED / 0.77x 5.76M dot OLED / 0.86x 3.69M dot OLED / 0.87x 5.76M dot OLED / 0.78x
Rear screen Two axis tilt 3.0″ 2.36M-dot touchscreen Two axis tilt 3.2″ 2.36M-dot touchscreen Fixed 3.6″ 2.36M-dot touchscreen Tilting 3.0″ 1.44M-dot touchscreen
Max shutter speed 1/4000 sec 1/4000 sec 1/2000 sec (leaf shutter) 1/8000 sec
Video 4K/30p up to 400 Mbps 4K/30p up to 400 Mbps 2.7K/30p 4K/30p up to 100 Mbps
Battery life
(LCD)		 460 800 Unspecified 670
Weight 900 g 1320g 766g 665g
Dimensions 150 x 104 x 92mm 156 x 164 x 103mm 148 x 97 x 70mm 129 x 96 x 78 mm

Although the GFX 100S’s maximum shutter speed, durability rating and 1/125 sec sync speed all match the GFX 100, Fujifilm says the new mechanism reduces shutter lag from 0.09 sec to 0.07 sec.

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Body and controls

The camera is primarily controlled by two clickable command dials, front and rear. You get a decent level of control over which dial accesses which function and, of course, you can directly control the aperture using the ring on the lens, if you prefer.

The GFX 100S uses a similar control approach to that of previous GFX cameras, primarily relying on its twin command dials for most control, and using an exposure compensation button rather than a dedicated dial (though, with a bit of work, you should be able to assign it as an option when you press the rear dial).

The GFX 100S fits nicely in the hand, with a thin layer of dense rubber providing a good amount of traction to a well-shaped hand grip, though photographers with larger hands may find the middle-finger indentation a little too small and close to the front of the camera. The solid grip is important because although the camera is smaller than the likes of a Nikon D850, it can start to get quite heavy once you’ve mounted something like the GF 110mm F2 lens on the front.

The top display panel can be set to show shooting information, a graphic representing shutter speed and ISO dials or a histogram. The camera maintains separate settings for stills and video, and can show black on white if you find it clearer than white on black. A small ‘lamp’ button on the side of the viewfinder illuminates the panel.

Viewfinder

The GFX 100S, unlike the GFX 100 or GFX 50S, has a fixed built-in viewfinder. It’s a 3.69M-dot OLED panel with 0.77x magnification (with a 50mm equivalent lens mounted). This is a pretty big display with pretty decent resolution. ‘Boost’ modes in the camera’s power settings let you increase either the refresh rate or the resolution.

Interface

The rest of the interface is very similar to that of recent Fujifilm models. Buttons can be customized by holding down the ‘Disp/Back’ button, and the ‘Q’ menu can be modified without the need to delve into the full menus. Menu options let you decide whether the Q menu is displayed on a grey background or overlaid on top of the camera’s live view. Different contrast levels for the interface and menus are available, including a night vision preserving red and black color scheme for working in extreme low light conditions where it’s easy to get dazzled.

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Initial impressions

The GFX100S (left) is a significantly smaller camera than the original GFX 50S (right), and it gives up the shutter speed and ISO dial to help with this downsizing. In return you get a significantly larger, customizable, top-panel display.

We’ve been impressed with what Fujifilm has achieved with the GFX system so far: most of the lenses are superb and the cameras bring a level of mass-market polish and usability that hasn’t always been a feature of medium format cameras (Pentax’s digital ‘645’ models being the notable exception). But the GFX’s have almost risked being a victim of their own success, in that this level of usability has invited comparisons with more mainstream cameras.

In testing we found that the 50MP sensor of previous GFX cameras didn’t offer a major image quality benefit over the best full-frame cameras of the time, but the move to a 100MP chip changed that. In use, we’ve found the smaller size and more powerful IS of the GFX 100S means it offers nearly all the capabilities of the original GFX 100 in a package that’s more accessible and more usable.

Out of camera JPEG using the Nostalgic Neg film simulation.
ISO 100 | 1/320 sec | F4 | Fujifilm GF 45mm F2.8
Photo by Carey Rose

It’s still not cheap, of course. Larger sensors are harder (and thus more expensive) to produce, they require larger, more expensive lenses, and the consequent lower sales volumes just serve to push up the unit price in what risks becoming a vicious cycle. But our experience of the GFX 100S is that you do gain something recognizable for that extra expenditure.

Getting the GFX 100S down in size (and price) does mean you lose out in a couple of respects, compared with the full-sized GFX 100, but none that are overly detrimental. For instance, the battery is significantly smaller than the ones the larger camera uses, though the battery life rating appears pretty solid and doesn’t appear to be achieved by being over-keen to drop into battery saving mode, or anything else sneaky that might undermine performance or user experience.

The viewfinder is perhaps the other significant step down in spec, compared to the GFX 100. A total of 3.69M dots is fewer than in the finders of the cameras such as the Panasonic S1R and Sony a7R IV, but it’s the same as the 50MP GFXs had, but Fujifilm appears to make good use of that resolution, rather than only using the full resolution in playback mode, as some cameras do.

While the GFX 100S won’t match full-frame cameras for autofocus responsiveness, it’s autofocus can be very accurate, especially with portraiture and eye-detection.
ISO 320 | 1/60 sec | F3.2 | GF 80mm F1.7
Photo by Richard Butler

Fujifilm’s lenses, while optically impressive, aren’t always the fastest to focus (though there’s some variability within the range). So, despite the inclusion of on-sensor phase detection, the GFX 100S won’t offer the levels of AF responsiveness you’d get from a Canon EOS R5, and Sony A7R IV or Nikon Z7 II, for portraiture, for instance.

But the fact that the GFX 100S offers only a slight reduction in responsiveness compared to mainstream full-frame cameras, and outputs not just usable but excellent out-of-cameras JPEGs is another major step forward for medium format usability. Add in image stabilization that means you don’t have to obsess about stability to realize the camera’s full resolution potential, and you have a camera that can be used in a wider range of circumstances than has previously seemed possible for medium format.

In-body stabilization that syncs with lens IS means you can get 100MP worth of detail without a tripod, without stopping to control your breathing or having to agonize over a steadiness/detail loss trade-off of using a higher shutter speed.

We’ve seen plenty of posts questioning whether cameras such as the Nikon Z7 II or Sony a7R IV will offer an appreciable upgrade over last-generation high-res DSLRs such as the Nikon D850 or Canon EOS 5DS R. In general that’s a difficult question to answer, because while there are benefits to the newer cameras – they tend to be are smaller, provide access to the latest lenses (and manufacturers’ future lens developments), offer better video and include features such as eye AF – we don’t usually see major IQ benefit from the cameras themselves. The GFX 100S appear to provide that image quality benefit, as well as all those other things that the latest mirrorless cameras offer.

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Sample Gallery

Photos are from a pre-production camera. At Fujifilm’s request, original Raw files are not available for download.

Please do not reproduce any of these images without prior permission (see our copyright page). We make the originals available for private users to download to their own machines for personal examination or printing (in conjunction with this review).

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