Rangefinder is a member of the Technical Image Press Association, which has partnered with the testing laboratory Image Engineering for detailed camera reviews, including the new Fujifilm GFX 100S featured here.

Fujifilm has iterated quickly on its medium-format GFX camera system since its initial release in 2017. With the GFX 100S, the company has taken what was an already compact camera (by medium-format standards) and trimmed it down to size. Is less more? Let’s find out.

Fujifilm GFX 100S Features at a Glance

Camera design, like life, involves trade offs. If you want a camera that has a medium-format sensor and in-body image stabilization, you have to accept that it won’t slide unnoticed into your pants pocket (unless you wear fancy clown pants).

While it would be hyperbolic to claim that Fujifilm has solved this thorny trade-off, the new GFX 100S represents a big step forward towards a smaller medium-format camera. While it employs the same 102-megapixel image sensor as the GFX 100, the GFX 100S is over a pound (1.1) lighter and 2.3-inches smaller.

[Read: Clever Fujifilm Reveals GFX 100S Rumors Were True]

One technology responsible for the diminished dimensions is Fujifilm’s in-body image stabilizer. The newly designed unit is smaller than the version used in the GFX 100 while offering a half-stop improvement in performance (so no trade off, just a trade up). The GFX 100S is capable of up to six stops of shake reduction. Fujifilm didn’t trade away dust and moisture resistance in its quest to slim down the GFX 100s, either. You’ll enjoy both, plus the ability to operate the camera in temperatures down to 14 degrees °F.

As for autofocusing, the GFX 100S can focus in low light down to -5.5EV and features on-sensor phase detection pixels covering nearly 100 percent of the camera’s image sensor. Fujifilm updated the AF tracking algorithm to improve the camera’s performance during both Tracking and Face/Eye AF modes.

The camera offers 19 film simulations, including an entirely new option, Nostalgic Neg, which the company says adds an amber tone, boosts shadow saturation and delivers “a uniquely soft look.” It has an ISO range of 100-12,800, expandable to ISO 25,600.

[Read: Fujifilm’s GFX-Medium-Format Roadmap Adds 3 New Lenses]

Medium-format moviemaking may still be a niche phenomena, but the GFX 100S has enough technical chops to make it a viable option. You can record 4K/30p at up to 400Mbps in 10-bit (4:2:0) using Fujifilm’s F-log profile to an SD card. The camera also supports 12-bit RAW or 10-bit 4:2:2: video output to an external recorder.

For this review, the GFX 100S was tested in the lab with the Fujinon GF 63mm 1:2.8 R WR lens and the Fujinon GF 32-64mm 1:4 R LM WR lens (which was used to test autofocus speed and continuous shooting). Note that between testing the GFX 100 and the new GFX 100S, Image Engineering made several changes to its methodology so it’s not possible to truly compare the two models based on their lab results. The Hasselblad X1D II was also tested using the older methodology, so it, too, wouldn’t merit a fair comparison.

Resolution: The GFX 100S Improves Resolving Power as ISO Increases

The GFX 100S is capable of resolving 95 percent of its sensors’ theoretical maximum resolution. Interestingly, whereas many cameras tested by Image Engineering steadily lose resolving power as you increase ISO, the GFX 100S actually improves as you move up to ISO 400, where the camera can resolve 98 percent of its sensor’s maximum. While the performance does decline as you increase further, the camera stays above 90 percent of its theoretical maximum through ISO 3200. At the highest ISO setting (ISO 12,800), the camera drops to 80 percent.

[Read: The Fujifilm X100V Camera Review]

Image Engineering found that the GFX 100S applies a “moderate” level of sharpening, and will add a little more along low-contrast edges than high-contrast edges. You’ll notice more sharpening on high-contrast edges as you increase ISOs.

Visual Noise: Outstanding Performance

According to Image Engineering’s technical results, the GFX 100S delivers “outstanding performance” with respect to visual noise. When viewing the images at 100 percent on a display, noise would not be noticeable at any ISO up through ISO 800. Noise will begin to be visible at ISO 6400, but then in the mostly “untextured” parts of a scene.

More impressively, there’s no visible noise at any ISO setting when viewing the GFX 100S’ output as a postcard-sized print or a large print.

If the noise control is first rate, Image Engineering did find that the camera can struggle with fine detail reproduction, with some artifacting apparent as you increase ISO.

Dynamic Range and Color Reproduction

Dynamic range was recorded at 9.4 f-stops at ISO 100 and 8.9 stops at ISO 1600.

Image Engineering described the GFX 100S’s color reproduction as “excellent” with no colors deviating strongly from the reference target. The white balancing was found to be only moderate. Be warned: Image Engineering found that sometimes the display shows a white balance that’s “noticeably different” from the one shown when playing back JPEGs. (This isn’t a problem if you’re shooting RAW.)

Video Performance of the GFX 100S

When evaluating the video performance of the GFX 100S, Image Engineering notes that it was capable of resolving over 100 percent of its sensor’s theoretical maximum at both ISO 200 and ISO 1600, with good reproduction of fine detail and no visible noise. Video sharpening isn’t very heavy-handed and appears milder at low-contrast edges.

At 10.3 stops, Image Engineering measured wider dynamic range recording video than shooting stills. Color reproduction performance was just as good shooting video as it was shooting stills, with similar white balancing.

Speed: Clocking in at 1.8 Seconds Start-Up Time

The GFX 100S clocks in with a start-up time measured at 1.8 seconds. It takes a fifth of a second to shoot (and autofocus) in bright light (300lx). In low light (30lx), this same process takes a tenth of a second.

Continuous shooting was recorded at 5.3 frames per second (fps) recording JPEGs using the mechanical shutter. The camera keeps up this pace until the memory card is full. Switch to RAW recording, and the speed drops to 4.5 fps and you can shoot up to 18 images.

Performance slows considerably when you shift to the electronic shutter: you can shoot JPEGs at 2.9 fps until the card is full, or up to 29 RAW images at 3.2 fps before the camera slows down.

One consequence of a smaller camera is a smaller battery, and here the GFX 100S definitely makes a trade-off. Its battery life of 460 frames (per CIPA) is almost half that of the GFX 100.

No one said life was fair.

Price: $5,999.95

fujifilm.com