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']]}Boxy and vaguely SLR-shaped with a pronounced grip, the GFX 50S is large, but it's not quite as heavy as it looks. The body weighs within 75 g of both the Nikon D810 and Canon 5DS R and is also significantly lighter the Pentax 645Z, though not the Hasselblad X1D.
The GFX 50S and X-T2 share some similar design elements, like matching ISO and shutter speed dials.From a top-down view, the GFX 50S looks a lot like a big version of the Fujifilm X-T2, that is, if someone built a small apartment on the back. Added bloat aside, both cameras offer an impressive amount of direct control and customization. However one aspect of the X-T2's design that did not make it's way into the GFX 50S is the inclusion of a dedicated exposure compensation dial.
Still the camera handles in very similar fashion to its smaller-sensor cousin. Offering familiar body elements like an easy-to-reach AF joystick, locking dials, a plethora of custom buttons and a 2-way tilting LCD (though the GFX 50S has a touchscreen, unlike the X-T2).The GFX 50S is comfortable to hold and fairly easy to operate with a single hand. It's easy to reach the AF joystick without compromising one's hold.
The grip is deep and the camera feels well-weighted when used with the 63mm F2.8 or 120mm F4.
When the camera is off, the top plate LCD shows the remaining battery and shots left on one's card.
The top plate offers an ISO dial, with a setting for Auto ISO, as well as a shutter speed dial, also with an Auto setting. Both dials can be locked. A three-way switch directly below the ISO dial (left of the EVF) allows users to change focus mode (MF, AF-C, AF-S). While a button on the top plate in front of the shutter dial brings up drive mode settings.
The on/off switch is located around the shutter button for easy access. And the exposure compensation button next to it can be customized, though truthfully, it is very small and kind of difficult to press. The two unmarked buttons on either side of the back-facing control dial can both be customized, as can the function of that dial when pressed.
A small button to the left of the top plate LCD switches on backlighting for easy reading in dark conditions.
Like the X-T2. the GFX 50S has a dual hinge LCD, which is great news for shooting from high or low angles. And the touchscreen makes it easy to select an AF area if the AF joystick is uncomfortable to reach, due to one's shooting angle. Of course, because the GFX 50S has both a dedicated AF joystick and a touchscreen, the four-way directional pad can be customized to your heart's content.
As we mentioned before, there is no dedicated exposure compensation dial, though the rear dial can be customized to that function. It's not a perfect fix though, as it can be difficult to turn the dial more than one or two clicks before your finger hits the thumb grip (basically it's too recessed and inconveniently located). Also, to call up exposure compensation, the dial must first be pressed.
The GFX 50S offers the ability to remove the electronic viewfinder and shoot without it or shoot using it with a tilting angle-finder adapter (more on that below). The 3.69M-Dot OLED EVF that ships with the camera is nice and high resolution, but when focus is initiated, the image in the EVF can get "crunchy," with moiré and 'shimmering' rearing their ugly heads. This is likely due to the sensor dropping into a faster readout mode to both focus and display the image in the EVF. Some might find this distracting, especially when photographing subjects with repeating patterns.
Fujifilm will also be offering the EVF-TL1, an adapter that slides in between the hotshoe and viewfinder allowing the EVF to tilt 90 degrees when shooting horizontally and 45 degrees when shooting vertically. Pricing and availability on the EVF-TL1 are forthcoming.
Again, size-wise, the GFX 50S is surprisingly not much bigger than a full frame DSLR, like the Canon EOS 5DS R to its left.
Battery life
The back of the camera juts out somewhat considerably but this frees up room for the large battery.
GFX 50S uses a new NP-T125 rechargeable battery. Just smaller than a box of 35mmm film, it is CIPA rated to 400 shots. However CIPA ratings tend to be modest and in real world use one charge easily provided 650+ shots.
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