Fujinon GF80mmF1.7 King of All Portrait Lenses (vs GF110mmF2): “Usually Gear Does Not Matter, but in This Case, It Matters”
ZP Productions published his review about the Fujinon GF80mm f/1.7 on his youtube channel. Since he owns the GF110mmF2, he also compares to that lens.
Down below is a summary, but the 12 minutes video linked below is well worth watching.
- very good lens, but not a perfect lens
- the GF110mmF2 is more perfect in terms of optical quality, chromatic aberration, sharpness to the corner
- GF80mmF1.7 is a lot easier to use outdoors than the GF110mm. It’s lighter and shorter
- the rendering on the GF80mm is smoother than the GF110mm most of the time, because of smoother bokeh balls
- GF110 is optically more corrected than the GF80mmF1.7. There is a very slight chromatic aberration on the GF80mm (you must zoom in a lot to notice a very slight aberration). It’s not obvious and also not distracting, but when it happens, you can remove it in post
- GF80mmF1.7 mantains sharpness in the center and also in the corners. However, in the extreme corners it’s still sharp, but not tack sharp like the GF110mmF2
- sometimes, when you try to focus on something in the very corner of the frame, the lens seems to not always nail the focus and it can result in softer images
- it’s overall a very sharp lens
- works great outdoors but also indoors, where the GF110mm might be a bit too long sometimes
- unique lens that gives you a unique look in your portraits
- Unique rendering
- fantastic lens for night photography
- easier to shoot handheld and get sharp images at slower shutter speeds
- for night portraiture, available light and led lighting photography, it is definitely easier to sue than the GF110mmF2
- he enjoys this lens a lot
- this lens is not too expensive. It’s cheaper than the GF110mm and some equivalent FF lenses
- it is pre-production sample/firmware, and that bit of chromatic aberration might be fixed with the final firmware. But he repeats it is very minor chromatic aberration, almost non-existant and visible in case only at 200% magnification
- it is the nicest portrait lens you can get on medium format today
To certain degree, it’s just inevitable to see CA in such super fast lenses. Some show more if it, some less, and from what I could see in the sample in the video, the Fujinon GF80mmF1.7 shows a very reasonable and acceptable amount of CA in some conditions.
Look for example at the just announced Sony FE 35mm f/1.4 GM lens. Right now some people are actually quite impressed by how much chromatic aberration it shows wide open (DPR highlights it as the main flaw of this lens) and they hope that the shipping delay announced for the Sony 35mmF1.4 GM means that Sony is somehow trying to quickly fix it.
In some situation in life you just have to come down, stop down, and all will be good again ;).
Another review has been published by Patrick Tomasso (video below). Here are his thoughts about the Fujinon GF80mmF1.7.
- if you are a portrait photographer shooting full frame right now and you consider to go medium format, the GF80mmF1.7 is the definition of “bokeh beast lens”
- every sensor size has its bokeh beast lens, but the GF80mmF1.7 is the king of all of them. Nothing comes close to this lens in terms of DOF, detail, sharpness
- if you are portrait photographer and try this lens, it will be hard to you go back to anything else
- the reviewer does not shoot much portraits, but if he did, he’d just drop his full frame gear to get this lens
- you can back up, get a wider shot, but still separate the subject from the background in a way you can’t with full frame or APS-C
- he used the lens to shoot landscape and street, and even if you’d usually not use it for that, it’s a lens that changes your entire perception of photography, the way you see and frame things
- GFX camera + GF80mmF1.7 gives you a look that will set you apart from almost everybody else that’s shooting right now
- in an oversaturated market, the GFX gear can separate you from the pack
- usually gear does not matter, but in this case, gear matters
- it’s difficult to pull off that GFX look with any other combination that’s out there in the camera market
- for video, as this lens is focus by wire, it is almost impossible to manually focus this lens during video, and AF is not good enough for video use
- moving forward, medium format might become a system that is just affordable and attainable as full frame
- everyday people are now starting to get access to medium format
Enjoy the videos down below.
- Fujifilm GFX100S: BHphoto / AmazonUS / Adorama / Focuscamera
- Fujinon GF80mmF1.7: BHphoto / AmazonUS / Adorama / Focuscamera
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