FUJIFILM GFX - THE STORY SO FAR

30th May 2026

Part Two - The Lenses

The Fujinon GF lens range is still small, not to mention plain Fujifilm weird, with both gaps and overlaps in focal lengths etc.
On the used market, the GF lenses are no more expensive, cheaper in many cases, than full-frame lenses from Canon, Sony or Nikon. Compared to Hasselblad X system lenses they are a total bargain.

GF 23mm f/4 R LM WR

As a landscape photographer, this is my favourite GF lens.

A lens that just feels right and acts like a magnet for great compositions. It reminds me of the Carl Zeiss Distagon 18 + 21mm lenses in that it doesn’t push the background away despite being a wide-angle lens.

Image quality is simply superb, as can be seen in the image below from the Isle of Skye. I have taken many images from this spot near Sligachan with many different cameras and lenses but none have come close to the foreground detail and overall organic look.

GF 20-35mm f/4 R WR

The newer GF 20-35mm f4 R WR is similarly priced to the epic GF 23mm, maybe a touch sharper and lighter. But, it suffers from the ‘plague’ of many modern mirrorless lenses in having its optical deficiencies corrected by software. Consequently, it isn’t really useable at the 20mm end as the corners appear stretched and smeared. Obviously, with the 50 or 100 megapixel resolution of the GFX cameras there is no problem in framing images slightly 'loose' and cropping out the software correction nonsense during image processing. Should you have to do this with a lens costing over £2000? Of course not.

The GF 20-35mm lens is a superb night sky/astrophotography lens, despite the f/4 maximum aperture, with pinpoint stars right into the corners. The limiting factor is a maximum shutter speed of 10 seconds (at ISO 6400) to minimise star trailing, 4 to 6 seconds is preferable. This lens comes into its own when using a star tracker, stop it down to f/5.6, reduce the ISO and raise the shutter speed to suit.

On the used market, the GF 20-35mm lens is around double the price of the GF 23mm. I would advise trying both lenses and make you own decision about which one suits you best.

GF 32-64mm f/4 R LM WR

Plenty sharp enough but simply too big, heavy and expensive to justify the limited zoom range.

GF 35-70mm f/4.5-5.6 WR

Cheap and light, the GF 35-70 really should not be this good. A bit like the Fujinon XF 15-45mm in that one of the cheapest lenses in the range is also one of the best. The collapsible design seems at odds with the premium GFX system.

Superb on a 50 megapixel camera, even on a 100 megapixel GFX you will be hard pressed to tell the difference between images from the GF 35-70mm and the GF 32-64mm lens .

A lens that deserves to be in every Fujifilm GFX outfit.

GF 45-100mm f/4 R LM OIS WR

One of the least favourite lenses I have ever owned, not just in GFX, but any camera system.

An odd choice of zoom range (36-79mm in full frame/35mm equivalent), featuring huge overlaps with the GF 32-64mm and GF 35-70mm lenses.

Handling is poor, the lens feeling very front heavy and guaranteed to make cheap (and many expensive!) ball-heads droop.

Advertised by Fujifilm as a ‘wonderfully versatile portrait lens’, it certainly failed for landscapes and I could only find one image worth publishing. Even then, it is just dull, flat and lifeless with none of the trademark GFX ‘I was there’ depth. Maybe it needs studio lighting to bring it to life, but I see no reason why any portrait photographer would choose the GF 45-100mm over the superb GF 110mm f/2 R LM WR?

GF 100-200mm f/5.6 R LM OIS WR

My original GF 100-200mm lens was sharp with OK contrast, but still unworthy of the GFX sensors, I have owned 2 further copies of this lens and neither were as good as the original. I cannot recommend this lens due to the limited zoom range (79-158mm in full frame/35mm terms), the weird ‘hollow’ feel and the sample variation.

The image below was made with the last GF 100-200mm lens I had, but is no better, probably worse, than any half-decent 70-200mm lens on a full frame camera.

Just for comparison with the GF 100-200mm, the image below was made with an East German Carl Zeiss Jena 135mm f/3.5 lens in M42 screw mount from the 1970s, the original Sonnar design of this lens is nearly 100 years old. The sharpness, contrast and 3D depth of this vintage 135mm lens put the GF 100-200mm to shame in every respect. The 35mm film format Carl Zeiss Jena 135mm covers the GFX 50 + 100 megapixel sensors without vignetting, but the best thing of all about this lens is that it can be bought for under £30!

In conclusion, if I was to revisit the Fujifilm GFX system, this is what I would buy;

• Fujifilm GFX 50 R camera

• Fujinon GF 23mm f/4 R LM WR lens

• Fujinon GF 35-70mm f/4.5-5.6 WR lens

• Canon EF 100-400MM f/4.5-5.6L IS II USM lens

• Fringer EF-GFX Pro lens adaptor

The Canon 100-400 may seem like a strange choice but it covers the 100mp sensor without fall-off or vignetting, providing the plastic baffle is removed from the inside of the rear lens barrel. It is a similar size to the GF 100-200 and handles much better, the extra weight of the 100-400 and the adaptor is more than worthwhile when the huge increase in zoom range is taken into account.

It is difficult to see where the GFX series goes next, there has been talk of a 150 megapixel model but in reality it seems like the system has gone into hibernation. The GFX 100RF + Eterna appear to be pet projects, camera firmware updates are few and far between and the lens roadmap was last seen disappearing down a cul-de-sac. It would be a huge shame if this amazing camera system fades away.

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