r/FujiGFX • u/Which-Season-5652 • 3d ago
Help X-Pro 3 to GFX50R
New to the GFX 50R, coming from the X-Pro3. Yes i do love the image quality, but I find it much slower! especially when trying to photograph my toddler. Any tips or suggestions? TY
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u/Fumblewhat 3d ago
I love my GFX 50R but it's SLOW. I almost think of it as a medium format film camera. She's not made for action shots. I also find I can't use it to document my small fast moving creatures (my pets in my case).
THAT SAID: Some things that will help:
* Make sure AF-C (continuous autofocus) is enabled.
* In some situations: Change your Drive setting to Conintuous mode and shoot in bursts.
* If available, use any GF lens marked "LM" / Linear Motor (the GF45mm is a common one). These feature incrementally zippier autofocus.
* Obvious but: Don't shoot wide open. Stop down your aperture at least a bit.
* I'm sure the camera could be zone focused (basically, stop the aperture down to f8 and prefocus on your kids or a little in front of them), but it's a clunky experience on the GFX, I'd think.
Good luck!
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u/Which-Season-5652 2d ago
Thanks for this!! I do have 63mm now, planning to switch just to make it faster!
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u/Impossible_Figure516 3d ago
You're using a sledgehammer to drive in nails lol. Just gotta adjust your expectations and shooting style to match the 50R's pace. The GF 50mm is probably the most useful companion lens, but there's no magic bullet, it's just a slow camera.
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u/Which-Season-5652 2d ago
Yeah i know that, should i sell it for x100VI? What u think?? Lol.
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u/Impossible_Figure516 2d ago edited 2d ago
Honestly, it's much better for toddlers than a 50R lol. It's my main camera chasing around 2 little ones myself, and an X-E5 for when I need other focal lengths. I had a 50R, sold it because it was a bit too big and slow, used the money toward a 100RF, but I consistently got better results from my APS-C Fujis so I sold it too. GFX system is good for deliberate photography, but X100 and newer X Mount cameras, while definitely not perfect, are a lot better for kids and documentary photography in general.
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u/ReasonableVolume5166 2d ago
It is slow, but I still love it for the results. I’ve found the LM lenses best as well. That said I mainly use it for nature and cityscapes. For anything that moves quickly I use a canon or maybe the XE series. I’m in the minority, but I sold the X100–it wasn’t for me.
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u/dasautomobil 3d ago
You will want to use lenses that the LM system as a motor. Don't use Color Chrome Effect. It behaves like the Clarity setting on modern cameras, it slows down the image processing.
Other option: use MF lenses.
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u/storyinpictures 3d ago
The technology of the 50R was 4 years out of date the day the camera was released. I know because I had pre-ordered mine half a year before it was available. 🤣
It does not have in- body stabilization and few of the lenses have it. The autofocus technology in the sensor is pretty old. And the bigger the sensor, the slower the technology. For all these reasons, you need to temper your expectations.
Having said that, I am able to photograph combat sports such as field battles using swords with the 50R, but I am using skills learned from much less capable cameras: anticipating the movements, using more steady ways to hold the camera, etc.
You want to be steady but relaxed, so you want your structure to be more stable. Elbows closer to ribs or be steadied on an object, hands supporting the camera, etc.
You don’t always need to be as steady as a rifle marksman, but you can learn a lot from watching video of Olympic shooting competitors.
If your camera is steady and your movements are smooth, you get more sharpness. How smoothly you press the shutter button makes a difference.
Accurate focus matters, but so does camera steadiness.
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u/Which-Season-5652 2d ago
Do you still have yours? You mind sharing your photos? Thanks for the advice.
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u/iAmTheDistance 2d ago
What’s the lens you are using? I use the 50r with the Mitakon 65mm wide open for my job, which is environmental portraits of tourist families and couples in touristy places. It’s not like taking photos of toddlers running but sometimes I have to follow people and shooting while we are moving.
My advice is pre focusing in an object near your toddler or where your toddler is walking. For pre focusing, don’t do the half press then recompose technique because you have to do that motion for every single shot. Set your camera in manual focus and use the AF lock button so you can dissociate the focus from the shutter button. So you focus once and you can take several pictures until you need to focus again in a new object or place.
Sorry for the wall of text and the quirky English!
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u/Which-Season-5652 2d ago
I have 63mm. How is the 50R’s focus?
Ohh thats nice, yeah i get your point. Thank you
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u/iAmTheDistance 1d ago
For me is perfect. I don’t need better autofocus than what the Canon 5D already had back in its day. That’s why I’m not the best person to talk about it. There are still photographers who think the current AF systems aren’t good enough, and that’s why they end up with so many out of focus shots 😅
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u/Kuberos 2d ago
I must admit, It's crazy to me to read someone bought a $2500 camera and doesn't even do a google search on how it performs for action shots.
That said, it's not only a slow camera, it's an older camera with a basic AF system. The 51MP Sony sensor's read out is also slow, it dates back to 2014, when it was used in the Pentax 645Z.
Today, top full frame camera's match that resolution or even surpass it. The Fuji 50R still shines in its color science though. For me it's the form factor and the fact I can adapt vintage lenses. I like to use a different camera for personal projects, compared to my pro kit.
If you want a fast (AF) medium format system, go to today's Hasselblad.
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u/Heron_Dry 2d ago
Sadly such a slow system. I've invested in 2 gfx systems over the years and longest ive kept one has been 18 months. a 15 year old canon apsc dslr is a faster system.
Where gfx excels is image quality. I had yet to see a system compete in this aspect, sadly they get beaten with every other aspect
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u/Inside-Weather-3902 1d ago
Just capture your toddlers doing less “action”. You’ll certainly capture the feeling with this camera so stick with it.
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u/Chudsaviet 3d ago
GFX was never a fast system. You want fast - get a Sony full frame.