Bob Poole Puts the Fujifilm GFX100 II in the Path of Elephants — and It Delivers Cinematic Magic

While working on his latest elephant documentary, Emmy Award–winning cinematographer Bob Poole decided to bring an unexpected camera into his setup: the Fujifilm GFX100 II. Not as a main cinema camera — that role was covered by the ARRI Alexa 35 paired with the massive Fujinon Duvo HK 25–1000mm f/2.8–5 — but as a creative tool to capture something different.

The goal was simple: get unusual, ultra-high-quality shots from extremely low angles.

To make that happen, Poole and his team built an elephant-proof cage and placed the GFX100 II directly on the ground — right on paths regularly used by elephants — to capture perspectives that would be impossible with traditional cinema rigs.

Naturally, this should have been a disaster.

After all, if he had asked internet forum experts, they would have confidently explained that the GFX100 II is “not a real video camera” and that creating meaningful cinematic footage with it would be basically impossible.

Luckily, Bob Poole didn’t ask the forums.

And somehow — against all odds and comment sections — the GFX100 II ended up delivering stunning, cinematic footage that blends seamlessly with high-end cinema cameras.

Here’s what Poole had to say about working with the GFX100 II:

  • GFX100II has been instrumental in this film project, giving us angles we would have never been able to achieve with larger cameras
  • We made an Elephant proof cage and dropped the GFX100II on a path the Elephants use
  • when the Elephant pops in front of the camera, all the detail is there on that large sensor, all that information, I think it’s going to blow people away
  • the idea was always to have massive wide angle shots that show the landscape from a perspective you otherwise you would not see
  • GFX100II came into play because the wide angle stuff coming out of these lenses in this amazing camera were seamless
  • the image has the same beautiful soft rolloff of the Arri Alexa 35, shallow DOF, super sharp, beautiful bokeh
  • the image is fantastic
  • GFX100II also really valuable for timelapse, counting on that large sense to be able to oversample and then be able to work within the frame which has given our post production so much flexibility, because we can move within the frame we’ve created
  • GFX100II stills are amazing. We have got so many beautiful images

Well done, Bob — and well done Fujifilm for giving creators tools that don’t just improve image quality, but actually expand what’s creatively possible, opening new ways to work, experiment, and tell stories with more freedom and flexibility.

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Sony Tricked You: The Sony A7V Does Not Match the Fujifilm GFX100II in Dynamic Range – UPDATED

The Sony Trick

UPDATES: Bill Claff made an error an apologised. Here are the true results and findings

Original Article:

Photons to Photos has published their dynamic range measurements for the Sony A7V.

As soon as the chart dropped, several Fujifilm GFX shooters in our group started wondering: is it time to ditch the GFX100 series and move to Sony?

Why the sudden doubt?

Because at low ISO values, the Sony A7V appears to match the Fujifilm GFX100II in dynamic range — at least according to the Photons to Photos graph here.

But there’s a trick. 😉

As Bill Claff (the mind behind Photons to Photos) explained over on DPReview here:

Note the triangles point down which indicated Noise Reduction (NR) baked into the raw files.

Also note, no Dual Conversion Gain (DCG) was detected.

Noise Reduction (NR) makes comparisons less reliable. Unfortunately it’s hard to gauge how much of an impact NR has on the results. Note there’s even stronger NR at the very high ISO settings.

That’s why the GFX100II shows simple dots, while the Sony A7V shows downward arrows: those arrows are a warning that NR is being applied to Sony’s RAW data — meaning the “true,” NR-free performance would be worse.

The real question now becomes: how strong is Sony’s NR, and how would the A7V fare against a GFX100II if both had the same amount of noise reduction?

Also a pity there is no dual gain conversion on the Sony A7V, because that helps to improve ISO performance at higher ISO. All modern (and even older) Fujifilm cameras have dual gain. This explains why the GFX100II jumps ahead to the Sony A7V at some point – even if the Sony is agressive with noise reduction – because dual gain kicks in on the GFX100II.

UPDATE: Bill Claff says “There will be ES results shortly at PhotonsToPhotos.net. And it does look like there’s High Conversion Gain (HCG) at ISO 1000 that is obscured by the NR with Mechanical shutter.”

The Fuji Trick

And because here on FujiRumors we take pride in being 100% honest and bias-free, let’s remember something before anyone starts yelling “SONY IS CHEATING!”

Fujifilm has played its own tricks, too.

With the Fujifilm X-Pro3, Fujifilm used a different method to make the camera appear to have better dynamic range than it actually did. And yes — we called it out immediately when the results came out.

So… hopefully this little reminder will help prevent the incoming sh*tstorm from Sony fanboys in the comments. 😉

The Best Deal on the Best Dynamic Range

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Fujifilm X-T6 Truth Unveiled :: X-Pro4 Wishes :: The First Official Fujifilm Camera Recipe :: GFX100RF Fragment Edition and More – Top 10 November

Mega Deal

Top 10

  1. Fujifilm X-T6 — It’s Time to Tell You When It’s Coming
  2. Fujifilm X-Pro4 – Time to Remove the OVF, or the EVF… and Everything in Between
  3. Fujifilm GFX100RF Fragment Edition Announced
  4. WARNING: The Fujifilm X-T5 Struggles Badly With Wildlife Photography – A Real World Proof
  5. Meet FRGMT BW – Fujifilm’s First ‘Official’ Film Simulation Recipe
  6. Fujifilm Showcases a “Lensless Camera” Prototype
  7. Fujifilm Issues an Official (and Long Overdue) Apology :)
  8. Fujifilm X-T6 Coming Second Half 2026 – And What About X-Pro4, X-H3/S, X-T60, X-S30 and Rest of 6th-Gen Wave?
  9. This Chart Shows You the Full List of Fujinon XF/XC and Third Party X Mount Autofocus Lenses
  10. Top 10 Fun – and Affordable – Lenses for the Fujifilm X Mount

New Film Simulation Recipes

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Fujifilm GFX100RF Wide Conversion Lens Option

Recently, I wrote an article about yet another WCL and TCL conversion lens set coming to the X100 system—this time from Viltrox. In that piece, I also expressed my hope that someone would finally create conversion lenses for the Fujifilm GFX100RF as well.

Well, while we don’t have any conversion lens specifically designed for the GFX100RF, it looks like the Ricoh GW-4 wide conversion lens actually works fine also on the Fujifilm GFX100RF.

I have found a video about it and also a blog post, you can find both of them below.

Summary of the video:

  • The Ricoh GW-4 wide-angle converter delivers surprisingly high image quality on the GFX100RF.
  • Sharpness remains strong, both in the center and corners, even with 100MP files.
  • Contrast stays consistent with the native lens; no noticeable loss in micro-contrast.
  • Minimal corner softness at typical landscape apertures (f/11–f/16).
  • Distortion is very low for a wide-angle converter and easily corrected when visible.
  • Flare control is good — lamps and bright light sources show no major artifacts.
  • Vignetting is minor and natural-looking, often negligible in real use.
  • Overall: delivers a clean, wide 21mm-equivalent image without the usual compromises of cheap add-on lenses.

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The GFX100S II Just Unlocked an Unexpected Drone Capability

Fujifilm announced that the FUJIFILM GFX100S II is now officially supported by the 3D photogrammetry software PIX4Dmatic.

This new compatibility enables users — particularly those utilizing drone-based aerial photography — to generate ultra-high-resolution 3D models from images captured with the GFX100S II, making it a powerful tool for infrastructure, plant, and facility inspections where detail and accuracy are critical.

By combining FUJIFILM’s 120 megapixel sensor with PIX4Dmatic’s advanced Structure-from-Motion processing, this pairing offers an efficient, cost-effective alternative to traditional close-up inspections — significantly improving safety and reducing labor in hard-to-reach or hazardous environments.

Save $1,000 + Free CFexpress Type B card and Camera Bag

Press Release

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Fujifilm GFX100 II in CLOSEOUT at Adorama and Massive $1,000+ GFX100II Bundle Price Drop at BHphoto – UPDATED

UPDATE: Adorama briefly marked the Fujifilm GFX100 II as a “closeout” product (see screenshot above), which prompted speculation about an upcoming replacement. We reported on it earlier today, noting how odd it seemed. Adorama has now corrected what was apparently an error, and the GFX100 II is no longer listed as closeout. The original article has been removed.

NOTE: the massive $1,000 rebate on the GFX100II bundle (+ freebies at BHphoto) is not a sell-out to make place in the warehouse for a replacement. The Fujifilm GFX100II is in full production and we know knothing about a replacement coming in the next few months.

There are great deals also Fujifilm X APS-C gear.

The Top Deal – save $1,000 + Free CFexpress Type B card and Camera Bag

X Cameras

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The Fujifilm GFX100RF Looks Stunning on Its Own — But You Can Still Dress It Up with the RRS L-Bracket from B&H Photo

You’ve got to think twice about this one — because the Fujifilm GFX100RF already looks gorgeous as it is.

But if you’re willing to sacrifice a bit of that beauty for the practical benefits of an L-Bracket, then here’s some good news: you can now grab the Really Right Stuff L-Bracket for the Fujifilm GFX100RF also at B&H Photo.

Form, function, and flawless fit for the GFX100RF

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Iridient adds Fujifilm X-E5 and GFX100RF Support

The new version of Iridient has just been released.

It comes with several improvements and bug fixes.

Also relevant for Fujifilm shooters is support for Fujifilm X-E5 and Fujifilm GFX100RF.

You can check out all details at the Iridient page here and download here.