Nikon shooter here. I bought my first GFX 100 (OG) a year back and sold it... its one camera that has always been on my mind. I really liked using it. I liked the DR. My question is, being that its MF... does Fuji have something like the Nikon 135mm Plena for portraits? That's my favorite lens I've used. Im going to acquire a few lenses, like a general purpose zoom perhaps the 35-70, but what's their portrait lens? And while at it, what's their 70-200 equivalent? Thank you!
If you still have your Nikon gear, you might make good use of an Fringer adapter for Nikon glass on the Gfx. I have them both for Contax 645 and Canon EF, nice to broaden the lens options.
RoamingScott wrote:
The 110 is the peak of portraiture for the GFX system.
Exactly. What really surprised me is that I tend to use the GFX 55mm f1.7 even more for portraiture. The following shots have been edited, but you can get the general idea (taken with the GFX 100S II):
SGinNorcal wrote:
If you still have your Nikon gear, you might make good use of an Fringer adapter for Nikon glass on the Gfx. I have them both for Contax 645 and Canon EF, nice to broaden the lens options.
Just fyi for the thread, Nikon Z lenses like the Plena won’t adapt to the GFX without some type of optical adapter. F mount will work just fine with a Fringer or similar.
RoamingScott wrote:
F mount lenses are among the worst to adapt to GFX because of the sensor stack thickness. EF is MUCH better.
There are so many F-mount lenses, however, this is a bit of an overgeneralization. Some adapt just fine. For example the Zeiss ZF 135 f/2 APO performs wonderfully on the GFX and is a great option for the camera.
Steve Spencer wrote:
There are so many F-mount lenses, however, this is a bit of an overgeneralization. Some adapt just fine. For example the Zeiss ZF 135 f/2 APO performs wonderfully on the GFX and is a great option for the camera.
It's not an overgeneralization, it's a simple fact. It doesn't mean that there aren't ANY that won't adapt well, but in general, F lenses struggle the most compared to EF. I would never buy into GFX with the sole intent on adapting a cabinet of F lenses.
Buy the GF if it exists, and buy the EF if it doesn't is a great strategy to fill out a lineup.
Jack Flesher wrote:
Just fyi for the thread, Nikon Z lenses like the Plena won’t adapt to the GFX without some type of optical adapter. F mount will work just fine with a Fringer or similar.
Thanks Jack, I wasn't aware that Z mount doesn't work. Too bad.
Aug 16, 2025 at 10:04 AM
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RoamingScott wrote:
It's not an overgeneralization, it's a simple fact. It doesn't mean that there aren't ANY that won't adapt well, but in general, F lenses struggle the most compared to EF. I would never buy into GFX with the sole intent on adapting a cabinet of F lenses.
Buy the GF if it exists, and buy the EF if it doesn't is a great strategy to fill out a lineup.
Well, you might notice that I started the adapting lenses to GFX thread about 5 years ago, so I have followed adapting lenses to GFX for a long time. I think your suggestion is way too simplistic.
I agree you should get GF lenses if they suit your needs, and I think the line has expanded to cover a lot of needs now. Canon EF or any FF lens system would not be my first fall back, however. You need to ask some basic questions. Do you want AF? If you do, then you need to know GFX autofocus lags quite a bit behind mirrorless AF and adding any of the adapters makes it in general worse.
I would agree that among the alternatives to adapt for AF that EF is probably the best, but--and it is a big but--there is a second and also important question: How do you feel about full coverage of the 44 X 33 sensor vs cropping to a smaller size? Personally my first alternative to GF lenses would be Contax 645 lenses and maybe now that there is an adapter Leica S lenses. You won't get great AF with the Contax 645 adapter, but if I wanted great AF I wouldn't be shooting a GFX. I don't know about Leica S lenses, because I haven't used any, but I a pretty sure that AF will be weak too. Contax 645 does offer a few interesting lenses including the awesome 120 f/4 APO macro (that is a manual focus lens, however). Leica S offers some even more intriguing options and if you are willing to use manual focus (as I am) there are tons of options that I prefer to Canon EF. So, yes, in my view your description is way way too simplistic.
It depends somewhat on your favorite focal length for portraits. The 110mm is the closest I have used to the Nikon 135mm focal length. It is fantastic, and probably the one most people would recommend for tighter portraits.
Personally, I love the 80mm a tad bit more. 80mm is an extremely versatile focal length that can do anything from full body to headshots. It is a bit less optically perfect than the 110mm, but (to me) that makes it great for portraits.
I have also used the 65mm and the 32-64mm without any problems, and would think the 55mm would also work very well.
In the end, I don't feel like there is any Fuji lens that cannot be used; it pretty much depends on what focal length you want.
As a general walk-around lens I like the 32-64. It is heavy, though, and the 35-70 might be a better option if you don't mind the variable aperture.
I have not used the native 110 but don't doubt its excellence. The 55/1.7 is my favorite native lens and is great for environmental style portraits. My favorite adapted lens is the Contax 645 140/2.8. Its very sharp for an older lens yet has a little "vintage" look to it. Nice warm tones SOOC. I am very patient and the slow AF doesn't bother me. It is pretty accurate to AF, just slow and noisy. Its the type of lens you go out of your way to use, I have rusty fence post shots taken just to see how the lens renders it. OOF is nice and the transition is very smooth.
I'm going to go against the grain here and say a non-Fujifilm lens, the Mitakon 65mm 1.4, is my favourite portrait lens on the GFX system. Possibly on any system.
I used the 110 f/2 at work all the time. Terrific lens. Now that I'm retired, I have the 80mm f/1.7 and the original GFX100. Makes a nice portrait combo if you like it a little loose, which I do. But I'm thinking if you like the 135 for portraits it'll be too loose.
Prosophos wrote:
I'm going to go against the grain here and say a non-Fujifilm lens, the Mitakon 65mm 1.4, is my favourite portrait lens on the GFX system. Possibly on any system.
—Peter.
I heard good things about that lens as well. Im unfamiliar with the ease of manual focus on Fuji to get focus confirmation
PixiPhotography wrote:
Forgive me for me asking but I get the gist on FF and crop, but how does adapting FF on MF work? Does it have that black circle around?
Not if you adapt the right lenses. Some will cover, some won't. for the ones that don't you throw it in 3:2 mode which, for me, totally defeats the purpose of using a GFX for multiple reasons.
The 110 is just an 85/1.4ish in full frame terms, similar in practice to the Z 85/1.2 which I think you've shot, right?
RoamingScott wrote:
Not if you adapt the right lenses. Some will cover, some won't. for the ones that don't you throw it in 3:2 mode which, for me, totally defeats the purpose of using a GFX for multiple reasons.
The 110 is just an 85/1.4ish in full frame terms, similar in practice to the Z 85/1.2 which I think you've shot, right?
Yeah. I like the look off of the 110. Maybe I'll go 35-70 and 110 to cover my bases.
kenbennett wrote:
I used the 110 f/2 at work all the time. Terrific lens. Now that I'm retired, I have the 80mm f/1.7 and the original GFX100. Makes a nice portrait combo if you like it a little loose, which I do. But I'm thinking if you like the 135 for portraits it'll be too loose.
There aren't any GF lenses that get you close to the field of view of a 135mm lens on FF with a lens faster than f/5.6, but there are some you can adapt. I had an Angenieux 180 f/2.3 APO that fully covered the sensor for shots shorter than about 10m in focus distance. It is manual focus but was a lovely lens for portraits on the GFX. I also used a Nikon 200 f/2.0 VR and it too fully covered the sensor for portrait type distances. It produced lovely images, but is rather huge. Other adapted FF 35mm lens options include the Canon EF L 200 f/1.8, 200 f/2 IS, and 200 f/2.8. I haven't tried those so I don't know how well they cover the sensor.
I think looking at medium format lenses could be interesting as well. I had the Hasselblad CFE 180 f/4, which was a great lens for landscapes, and allowed full coverage of the sensor of course, even at infinity focus, which none of the FF 35mm lenses that I have tried do. There is also the Hasselblad HC 210 f/4 and the Leica S 180 f/3.5 APO. I always wanted to try the Mamiya 645 200 f/2.8 APO, which might be a really nice option for portraits.
I have always found it a bit odd that Fuji has a hole between 120mm and 250mm in their line up of primes. Perhaps we will get a lens more suitable for portraits other than the 100-200 f/5.6 for this hole someday.
