I had no idea how fun it is to use the Fujifilm GFX 50s II (in my case), with the XPan perspective, emulating the classic Hasselblad XPan panoramic imagery. Together with the Fujinon GF 23mm f 4 and GF 30mm f 3.5 lenses - which are close to the original Hasselblad XPan lenses from year 1999; 30mm and 45mm.

I am also surprised that the AF focus works very well (most of the time) with native Fujinon GF lenses. As well that the built-in image stabilization in the GFX 50s II actually works very well, even at longer speeds. Last night to took images around 1 second (!) - and got away with fully sharp images !

Clearly impressive.

Evolving with the GFX Medium format camera

It is like discovering the magic of the Fujifilm GFX camera after more than 6 month ! It is also funny, that my original aim has changed. From the beginning it was supposed to be a camera (for me) to be used as a "7x7" sensor camera with help of the rotating Vertex adapter together with Pentax 6x7 lenses, creating 150 MP images that render exactly the images exactly like an analog Pentax 67 camera would do.

That alone is a fascinating genre to say the least.

I mean we photographers who are / have been familiar with analog mediumformat cameras like Hasselblad 503, Mamiya RZ67 and Pentax 6x7, always dreamed about the day when digital cameras would have an equally large sensor covering the 6x6 and 6x7 format. That never happened. But it can be done, with the rotating Vertex adapter, using classic 6x6 and 6x7 lenses - giving you the same optical style like they do on analog film.

Using the GFX - also for what it was designed for

Now, since the light has come back, the temperatures have risen - i do love using the Fujifilm GFX camera as a handheld camera and in the way it was designed for - together with native GF lenses. Resulting into a very good combo, I must say. With high quality images and superb sharpness and resolution - even at "only" 50 MP, i find the resolution to be stunning.

The camera system grows on me more and more, each month I use it more extensively. I am not surprised that landscape photographers love to use the Fujifilm GFX medium format platform. I would say it is better than both Leica S and the Hasselblad X1D platform.

Fujifilm definitely a better overall balance between quality and price and performance.

XPan Panorama perspective

Now, that you also can emulate Hasselblad XPan panorama images - it a fantastic bonus. I never envisioned it would be so fun. I even recognize my photo style now, compared with the time 25 years ago when I used the Hasselblad XPan with film for panoramic perspectives. The look is very similar.

One thing i wish to add; the GF 35-70mm ƒ 4.5-5.6 zoom, which many got for a bargain when they bought the Fujifilm GFX 50s II camera - can very well serve as a "XPan" panorama lens. The 35mm are equivalent to a 28mm lens on fullframe. It is almost as wide as the original Hasselblad XPan 45mm ƒ 4 lens.

Pretty much the same quality (GF 30mm ƒ 3.5 vs 35mm f 4.5)

The quality between using the GF 30mm f 3.5 and the GF 35-70mm / 4.5-5.6 lens are very similar, I have noticed. So, you do not need the GF 30mm f 3.5 lens, if you already have the GF 35-70mm zoom, because there isn't really much difference in look, perspective or sharpness. Also; the 1 stop difference is in real life, less than 1 stop (to my surprise i noticed). More like 0.3 to 0.5 stops only. Which puzzled me a bit, when i looked at the exposure data in my images.

However, I don't regret having bought the Fujifilm GF 30/3.5 lens, because it is so lovely sleek and suits the GFX camera perfectly. A wonderful digital "XPan" combo, emulating the classic (and unique) Hasselblad XPan panorama camera style perfectly.

I couldn't be happier