The X2D is a different camera probably, with a few exceptions, mainly bought by folk with different agenda and budgets to those who go for the GFX and certainly different to those who get to use the XF/XT and IQ4.
I find the "having to make" comparisons between different brands of camera has become tedious and frankly pointless.
All that happens is that fans/owners of one brand are going to get irked if the YouTuber makes a remark they do not like.
So it is far better to just report on what one finds and not draw comparisons -- The exception is if the YouTuber has conducted a systematic comparison test and is reporting on the results. Then these vids can be useful -- but never useful to anyone who has invest heavily in System "A" (particularly the glass) and then any decision is far more complex than a reviewer who has had a body for a few hours could assess.
I hate to do this but here we go -- take Matt G's recent "comparison" vid of the X2D and GFX 100s. He shared a bunch of RAW files from each camera and when we looked at them we discovered the shooting settings were vastly different for every set up - massively different ISO/Aperture/Shutter speeds - the night shoot of HK were vastly different. Vast differences in white balance AND since one body was shot with an XCD V 55mm f/2.5 and the other a GF-63mm f/2.8 R WR as a result the portraits and street shots were also very different.
NONE of us had the development profiles Matt used and we all came up with very different looks to each other and his.
So-- while I prefer hands on comparisons - the comparison shots need to be made using EXACTLY the same shooting settings, lighting and field of view -- fairly obviously the portrait shots with the 55 should have been closer than those taken with the 63. Sorry Matt but yours were not.
Since the 3FR files have to be imported and "developed" in Phocus (3.7), which I use on a daily basis, and I chose to try to develop the GFX files in FujiFilm's own RAW developer I struggled to get useable images using this tool from the GFX. I ended up using Pure Raw 2 for the Fuji RAW files and they came out great. Others went straight into LR - my version does not open 3FR (I have not worked out where to put the plug in and since I use Phocus, well I could not be bothered)
So what do we know -- X2D and GFX100/100s share the same sensor -- it might be exactly the same -- but that is where the similarities END -- they each have different technology and software and each are tuned to the manufacturer's preference.
The X2D is out now and while it works OK (frankly better than OK) it has a way to go to become the tool folk like me want. While there are many similarities to the X1D (launch in 2016, but greatly improved in 2019) the AF in particular was more akin to the H6D than any modern mirrorless system. This is an area that the X2D has begun to address (and the X2D is much better than its predecessors) but there is still a way to go - AND we owners all hope for firmware updates that deliver the simple improvements soon. Eye/Tracking will not be simple for a new entrant to this capability. I am waiting for the 3 new design lenses to arrive (should be with me this month) to see the real effect of the better AF.
The GFX range has been out since 2017 and builds on the legacy of the X-series (launched in 2011). Now the GFX100s is much more like a modern Mirrorless camera than it is a traditional pro digital mirrorless. YES it has great features particularly the AF, but like all such cameras it is not perfect. Folk who have bought it have learnet to work around its idiosyncrasies.
AND folk who now own the X2D will do the same. Currently -- for example - if you want to shot with Back-button AF - you switch the camera into Manual Focusing mode and depress the AF-D button on the back of the camera -- who knew -- well X1D shooter did 'cause this is how Hasselblad did this.
The X2D replaced focus peaking with a new focus assist tool -- YES it is DIFFERENT and YES the focus group seems larger than ideal if shooting pictures of a kid wearing a baseball hat - the example was shots of a kit and the brim of the hat was in focus -- why the user did not focus a little further down... who knows -- but this is what one would learn to do. Why we hope Hasselblad come out with options for smaller AF "groups"/points/zones AND the option to switch back to focus peaking.
YES -- the X2D does not currently have some options we liked in the X1D-ii -- aspect ratios/crop modes for RAW shots -- we had lots of choices AND have asked for them all back: No Crop (645); 1:1 (6x6); 7:6 (6x7); 5:4 (4x5); 11:8,5 (Letter); 297:210 (A4); 3:2 (6x9); 3:2 Crop (24x36); 16:9 (Screen); 2:1 (6x12); 65:24 (XPan)
BUT -- the image from the whole sensor was recorder and the crop mode could be applied or ignored in Phocus.
We also lost GPS - but we do not know whether GPS data will be pulled via Phocus Mobile or an external GPS unit (like for the X1D) will be provided later.
AND we had 3 AF point sizes and desperately need both a smaller AF point AND a "pinpoint" option added SOON
AND YES - please enable the tethered live view and automated controls and in camera focus bracketing like the X1D-ii.
Many "requests" seem to be for "stuff" Hasselblad have never offered but seem to be available in the GFX 100s -- like live view RAW histogram (RGB or Luminance) and YES Continuous AF and Tracking. I very much hope that Hasselblad is able to deliver these too.
I do not WANT Video anywhere near the X2D -- this is not what this camera is for, but then even Leica added it to the SL2 and SL2-S full frame mirrorless camera systems. So who knows what H will do.
Oct 08, 2022 at 04:56 PM
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