GRIGORY BASOV

Photographed by Sean Micah I New York

The Many Lives of William Klein (2012)

William Klein has lived many lives. One of the world’s most influential photographers, he pioneered the art of street photography and created some of the most iconic fashion images of the 20th century. He also made over twenty films, including the first ever documentary about Muhammad Ali and a brilliant satire of the fashion world, Who Are You Polly Magoo? With a major Tate Modern exhibition currently celebrating his work, imagine… spends time with William Klein to discover the irrepressible, charismatic personality behind a remarkable creative life.

QUESTION

Assuming the gfx 100 is in mint condition and low shutter count, which of the two will you rather have?

As a 50s owner, I use the vertical grip a lot, I do want a faster focus system, I’m fascinated by the 100s small body size but still attached to the tiltable evf and battery grip.

The more time pass, the more difficult it will be to sell the gfx 50s (since better and cheaper bodies are being introduced to the market )

So I wonder, which option is a “better” upgrade for the 50s? Heavier and bigger gfx 100 or smaller and limited 100s (removable evf wise and grip)

WHAT I RECOMMEND

The 100s and 100 are the SAME exact sensor even though the 100s is a newer release the image quality is EXACTLY the SAME. This being said, the 100 and 100s have very different body designs. The 100s is more compact. Easier to fit in a small back and less ostentatious. But the trade-off it the lack of some features that GFX 100 has, such as the ability to add the tilting EVF adapter, and a vertical grip. In simple terms I put it this way - The 100s is great is if need a compact and lightweight camera package and that’s it. Otherwise, given that the GFX 100 camera itself is so new (especially since it took up to a year for most to receive their bodies from Fuji) on the used market its a MASSIVE value. Take into consideration the Fuji GFX 50S system. The vertical grip on that system runs $600 USD. But on the 50s unlike the 100, the grip is both optional and removable.  Add that valuation to the GFX 100 system. 

The GFX 100 also has many more customizable buttons all over (front, back and on the vertical grip). This makes assigning things that seem so trivial like “Natural live view” mode on or off. This allows you to see a preview of what your shot is going to look like (great when shooting ambient light but not when shooting F11 in a dimly lit location or studio). Really nice when on location and you like to shoot a variation of strobe and ambient at the same time. 

In short, it comes down to usage. If you like the idea of a tiltable EVF (which in my mind is GOLD) and a vertical grip (which for me shooting mostly vertical shots is super nice), the GFX 100 IS THE OPTION. If you want something more compact than the 100s is your way to go! 

Last note:

Although the 100s is newer in terms of release date, again, it uses the SAME sensor as the 100. The latest GFX 100 firmware version 4.00 brings ALL the benefits of the 100s to the 100. So the choice really comes down to body design.