OwlsEyes
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InFocus2014 wrote:
First, I am not an accomplished nature photographer. My normal kit includes a Sony A1 and A7R5. When out with friends, I have had a chance to shoot some nature with the Nikon Z8 and Canon R5. I recently added the Fuji GFX 100S II to my kit.
When I received my GF 500mm a couple weeks ago, I tested on my MTF50 targets and detailed subjects. I was blown-away with the sharpness & contrast on the 100mp. I don't think any of the $14K+ Sony/Canon/Nikon lenses, on their respective bodies, could have done any better.
Then when evening approached and it was getting dark in the house, I shot my cat, often at over 25 feet, in shadows. Eye focus grabbed his eyes 95+% of time - a big surprise given the low level of light. When I later reviewed the images in Lightroom, 100% of my shots were in perfect focus. Further, the eyes were so sharp, it looked like I had run the images through AI sharpening.
As a further test, I took very small pictures of birds, including a blackbird with black eyes, and shot them with my GFX 100S II, A1 and A7R5 cameras at progressively greater distances, until Eye Focus stopped working (I used 50mm equivalent lenses at f2.8 on all three cameras). To my amazement, all of them stopped reliably working at essentially the same distance! The Fuji actually kept-up! As a note, the Lightroom default sharpening setting of "40" almost seemed like too much.
A day ago, i went to the Tampa Bay to photograph shore birds and try some BIF. Unfortunately, the birds obviously sensed the approaching hurricane and there were almost no birds to shoot other than some distant BIF. Still, the performance of this Fuji combination floored me. Using Zone/Bird focus, no matter the distance, the camera grabbed focus and placed the focus box around the eyes, perhaps, more reliably than my A1(!). Later verification confirmed razor-sharp images.
I actually purchased my GFX 100S II primarily for portrait work. I am now amazed that it has much more utility. When I need 30fps, I'll grab the A1; otherwise, I expect to use the Fuji system one heck of a lot more than I ever expected to and, IMHO, the GF 500 performs way above its $3500 price tag. Another thing - the stabilization is outstanding.
Sorry for the lack of photo's. When doing informal testing, I always delete my test photo's when I have finished.
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Thanks for the information, especially the input about your 100S II.
As I indicated, I'd really like to see some images. In fact, I am very curious about uncropped work that illustrates the bokeh, as backgrounds and foreground rendering is just as important as point of focus. I spend a lot of time in the field, shooting prone or seeking to get at eye level. In these conditions, I'm often shooting through vegetation or forced to include vegetation in the background. The best wildlife lenses will continue to isolate the point of focus while softening the out of focus areas. While I do not expect a medium format 500 f5.6 lens to have the bokeh of a 400 f2.8, I'd expect it to look similar to what a 400mm f4 might produce.
cheers,
bruce
Edited on Sep 25, 2024 at 07:10 PM · View previous versions
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