Fujinon GF80mmF1.7 Definitive Reviews

March 2, 2021
Reviews
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We continue covering Fujifilm’s Focus on Glass series, this time with the Fujinon GF80mmF1.7. Down below is a summary.

Also down below you can find the final review of the Fujinon GF80mmF1.7 by Dustin Abbott and ZP Productions (videos + summary).

by multiplying 3 factors: higher pixels, higher lens resolution and rich background blur, the subject will be blown away by the three-dimensional effect this lens can produce
this world can only be created by GFX
Fujifilm wanted to create the fastest large format lens
by combining 100MP with large format and large f/1.7 aperture, this is the only set with the capability to make the best portraits ever in the world
achieve a high level, a new horizon not even full frame can achieve
the focus mechanism for this lens weights 200g
moving the lens precisely with only 1 motor was the biggest challenge for Fujifilm engineers
in order to break through this challenge, Fujifilm developed a new focus mechanism and incorporated it into this lens
you’ll never miss focus with this lens

Dustin Abbott GF80mmF1.7 review (video below)

focus ring not to stiff and not too smooth
aperture ring has an A and C lock position
thick focus ring and nice damping. But if you make major focus changes, you’ll have to turn on that ring a lot. Hence better for fine-tuning focus rather than making significant focus changes
it’s lighter also then the Hasselblad 80mm f/1.9
9 rounded aperture blades keep bokeh balls fairly round even when you stop down
70cm minimum focus distance
63mm full frame equivalent
lens hood has locking mechanism
lenses feel chunky compared to the Fuji APS-C lenses
used in the original GFX100, the AF is not yet at the level of top full frame cameras. Not an action camera
video autofocus is not so great
uses DC motor. Not at level of linear motors (used in GF110mmF2 for example), hence lenses that use a number of linear motors to drive the AF
largest aperture on medium format lens. Needs to move big glass. He wishes it would have linear motors [admin note: but then it would become bigger. Fuji Guy Billy illustrates the differences between various Fujifilm AF motors]
not a quiet lens when it focuses
when it aquires focus, and then you full press the shutter, it kind of makes another focus adjustment again [Note: pre-production stuff]
not a good lens of action
video AF is a mess
eye AF actually worked quite well. He had good success. His tests all well focused. But in many cases the eye AF is acutally detection the eye lashes and not Iris. But important is that in his portrait sessions he got consistent results
overall at the end he did get well focused results, just sometimes the process to focus leaves you lacking in a lot of ways
very minimal distortion
mild vignette in corners easy to clean up
sharpness in center is unbelievable
he has a test chart that he uses to test all the lenses, and it’s the first time he noticed some details in the chart, because of the amazing resolution of the GFX
you’ll see details that you have just never seen before
corners are still reasonably good, but nowhere near the incredible levels in the center of the frame
if you shoot in the sweet spot, at f/1.7 you already have incredible sharpness
little trace of fringing white open
at f/2 results quite similar, a bit more contrast, resolution the same
f/2.8 corner performance is much improved
f/4 even better corner performance with better contrast and mid-frame is exceptional, but mid-frame is exceptional also wide open
at f/5.6 corners are stunningly sharp
f/8 looks similar to f/5.6, maybe even a bit better. But at this point we start to flirt with diffraction
f/11 a tiny bit of regression, but not really that noticable
f/22 significant amount of softening due to diffracion
wide open there is some purple and green fringing. Mild improvement at f/2 and cleared up at f/2.8
excellent performance at minimum focus distance, impressive performance
at f/1.7 there is a little bit of aberration, but what stands out far more is how much texture and information you have at f/1.7 already, truely impressive
fairly good bokeh quality, nice soft bokeh background
fantastic contrast and details
he shows sample images of landscape shots he took, and how much he crops into it and still it’s sharp and crisp. This is what he loves most of this system
for portraits, great amount of information at f/1.7. Skin textures look good
lots of latitude for re-framing due to cropping ability of the GFX system
he shows a portrait image taken in the forest, with shadows and lights, and he says he loves how the sensor deals with the different range of light
failry good flare resistance
fantastic details even with intense backlight
at center and mid-frame, the results are off the charts
the last time he was so impressed by a camera sensor, was back with the Canon 5DSR, which at the time was revolutionary with 50MP and no AA filter. The GFX100 sensor is even better and has IBIS
the GF80mmF1.7 handles all that resolution excellently, and for a portrait lens, it’s not a big of a deal if wide open it is not super sharp in the extreme corners
very little to complaint outside of autofocus

ZP Productions GF80mmF1.7 review (video below)

not very big lens
easier to handle than GF110mmF2, as center of weight is a bit more back to the camera
Autofocus is not linear motor, hence more noisy and not as fast
takes quite some time to move and it is not that quick on the field
however, it has a really good autofocus accuracy
it will hit accurate focus more than 90% of the time. He rarely needs to check the focus
when you play back the images, the lens needs to “park”, and since this takes a while, there is a longer blackout before you can review the image. It has to wait that the lens is back in “parked” position. This was an irritating issue in the pre-production version, but not as irritation now with the final production version
NOTE: there is a second video about this below.
Along with the GF63mm it is the one that needs longest to “park”
Fuji could fix it via firmware by disabling the need for the lens to park when reviewing photos
overall he loves the image quality, the most appealing portrait lens he used for a long time
he enjoys shooting the GF80mmF1.7 more than other setups he uses, which includes the Canon RF 85mmF1.2
GFX100 with GF80mmF1.7 is the setup he enjoys to shoot most
really sharp at f/1.7 and on
if you look for sharpness, this is the lens
in terms of bokeh it is also very nice, smooth and silky and really appealing. Smoother falloff than the GF110mmF2, which had a more abrupt subject separation. Depends on what you prefer
chromatic aberration is there, but it’s not that bad
lateral chromatic aberration is the weakest point of this lens. At f/2.8 it mostly goes away. it will appear though in extremely, extremely contrasty shots
f/1.7 has chromatic aberrations if you shoot in the worst case scenario with the worst clothes (he shot portraits), which means white dress with black patterns outdoor in sunny daylight
that chromatic aberration is easy to correct in post
at f/2.8 chromatic aberration is still there (in the worst case scenario shooting)
it also depends on how he processes the image. Unprocessed the chromatic aberration is still there, but not as strong as when he processed the image to his taste
the fringing line is like 2 pixels wide, so you won’t really see it in your images. You have to zoom in a lot or printer very big
bokeh of the GF80mmF1.7 is slightly, just slightly smoother than the one of the GF110mmF2
this is his perfect portrait lens for his GFX100
he truely enjoys shooting the lens in the field
when he tests lenses, he rarely shoots with it all his jobs for 3 weeks, as he normally gets tired of the look and the lens, so he swaps around a bit, but this is the first time he just continously used this lens because he so much enjoyed it

Pre-Orders

GF80mmF1.7 R WR: BHphoto / AmazonUS / Adorama / Focuscamera / Moment
Fujifilm GFX100S: BHphoto / AmazonUS / Adorama / Focuscamera / Moment
MHG-GFX S hand grip: BHphoto / AmazonUS / Adorama