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Hi, this is Jay P. Morgan. Today on The Slanted Lens I’ve got Dianna here with me. “Hi.” We’re going to take a look at the GFX 100 II versus the Nikon Z8. I’ve shot on medium format cameras for a huge portion of my career. I love the look. There’s some reasons why I love it. But I certainly love full frame cameras. And the Z8 is no exception because it’s a beautiful image, beautiful camera. Let’s compare these two and just see why you would choose one over the other. Let’s get started and see what we can do.
So let’s take a look at these two cameras, the Nikon Z8 and the GFX 100 II. Two beautiful cameras. I think the Nikon is one of the best crossover video and still cameras on the market today. And I think the GFX 100 II is the best combination of the 100 and the 100s. 
It gives us a great medium format camera. So it is a medium format camera, 102 megapixels. Whereas the Nikon Z8 is a full frame camera and comes in at 45 megapixels respectively. This camera is going to run you about $7,500, the GFX100 II. Whereas the Z8 is going to run you about $3,800. 
So very different price point here, very different sensor size, very different megapixels. Let’s take a look at all those things in our tests and just see exactly what and how these compare with each other. I think the reason this test is interesting for me is because the Fuji GFX 100 II is a camera that is trying to get into this kind of professional full-frame market. It’s a camera that gives you a large sensor and a large image, a beautiful image. But it’s going to give you faster frames per second. It’s going to give you great video specs. So let’s just see how the tests compare these two. Which one of these cameras seems right for you.
So the first place to start for me is an image quality test. So let’s go to that image quality test. I love looking at picture quality tests and especially with cameras that are as gorgeous as these two. We got the Z8 on the left for the 45 megapixel sensor. Then you’ve got the GFX 100 II at a 100 megapixel sensor. And right off the bat you just see beautiful color from both these. I see very vivid colors in the color chart and both of these are just really, really sharp. It’s a little more vivid and a little more interesting, a little more vivid to me with the GFX 100 II. Look at the color rendition in that color chart, the Spyder Checkr. It’s just really beautiful. When I punch in on these and take a little closer look, I kind of see exactly what I would expect to see. 
The GFX 100 II is a 100 megapixel sensor. It’s giving me a ton of detail. The Z8 is a 45 megapixel sensor and not giving me quite as much detail. But super close. I think, both of these images, you look at the way the blues render in the background. You take a look at their skin, the skin tone. Just two very gorgeous cameras. As you would expect, the GFX 100 II is just a little better image quality and just a tiny bit sharper than that Z8. So there’s the image quality test. This is hard for me because I love the color on both of these cameras. I think the color is gorgeous. But I think the GFX 100 II really kind of beat out the Z8, barely, because it has great detail. And you know it’s a 100 megapixel sensor. How can you argue with that. It’s going to be great for landscapes. It’s going to be great for those kinds of applications. So, and as far as the image quality test goes, I think it’s just a little better, little sharper, little nicer.
Let’s talk about the ergonomics of these two cameras. There’s a lot going on with the GFX 100 II. They have moved, like I say, they’ve taken that GFX 100 that had the big battery pack on the bottom, they’ve removed that battery pack. They have more of the form factor of the GFX100s which gives you a tighter form factor. 
You got that battery grip on the side which is really easy to hold on to. So body only for the GFX 100 II is like 2.1 lbs. Whereas the Z8 is like 1.8 lbs. So it’s a heavier camera. When you add other things to it, it’s going to become more heavy. It’s just the camera that is larger, a little more robust, but not huge. Not like it used to be. It’s a much more achievable form factor that you can carry with you. And it makes it easier to become more in this category of a full-frame camera.
These two cameras have the exact same setup when it comes to cards. They both have, both of them have an SD card slot and both of them have a CF Express type B slot. It’s hard with these cameras because you can’t back up to the second one because one card runs so much faster, you know. The CF Express type B is going to run so much faster than the SD card that it’s hard to do video or things where you’re backing up to two cards. That seems to be a big deal for some people. I’ve never felt like that was a big deal. I don’t do that. I don’t feel like that’s something that I’ve ever really felt a need for. But you certainly need that faster card, that CF Express type B because it gives you the ability to do a lot of video things. It unlocks a lot of video capabilities for these cameras that you really need.
All right, when it comes to the monitor these two are very similar. You have that 3.2 inch, 2,360,000 dot for the GFX 100 II. And then on the Z8 you’ve got 2,100,000 dot, so similar. I certainly have a better image and a nicer monitor when it comes to the GFX 100 II. When it comes to the display, you’ve got this tilt out display that I don’t necessarily love on the GFX 100 II. It gives you some options but just isn’t near as nice as what you get when you can pop this out and this articulates off to the side. They’re both equally not amazing. 
It doesn’t articulate. That’s the problem. Both of these screens do kind of pop out but it doesn’t give you an articulation. So you can pop it around to the side. It doesn’t make it as easy to work in low situations or if you’re going to put it in a refrigerator or something. So as far as the display goes they’re kind of equal in that way. They both have a display that does tilt and give you some options. But it really isn’t, doesn’t really step up and match a lot of the really good cameras out there.
Again, I do love this kind of a ring for holding your straps. It’s a solid ring. It’s not this like you have, the Z8’s got this little kind of dangly thing here you hook your strap to. I don’t like these. They are hard to move in and out of cages. They just are not an effective use. This hard built into the body kind of attachment, I think, is really a good device. It makes it easier to hook your straps on. Easy to take them off and put it into a cage. I like that much, much better.
There’s a lot of great access when it comes to features of the buttons. The GFX 100 II has got these three buttons right here that allow you to, and you see those in that top monitor, which is something that this camera does as well. Both these cameras have a top LCD that you can look at to be able to see your different features. 
These three buttons on the GFX 100 II allow you to see whatever you program them for. They show up in the top of this LCD screen. So if you program to do white balance you’ll see a WB on the first one. If the middle one is ISO you’ll see ISO. It is fascinating on the back of the Z8 you get that second wheel. On the back of the GFX 100 II you don’t. 
There’s so much real estate back there I would love to have that. It’s a little difficult to use just that small kind of wheel to move things around. It’s not near as effective as when you have a second kind of pad, d-pad or ability to scroll or to do things on that second wheel on the back of the camera. 
And the Z8 has that which makes that really nice.
When it comes to battery life these two are similar but not exact exactly. On the GFX 100 II you get 540 shots out of a battery. On the old GFX 100 you had that built-in battery plate on the bottom which gave you tons of battery. This is more like a full frame camera now and just gives you a single battery. But it gives you 540 shots, which is pretty amazing for a medium format. On that full-frame camera the Z8 here, I’ve got 340 shots with that single battery. That’s one of the weaknesses of the Z8 as we’ve tested it in the past, was that that battery did not really give us as much time and length as we’d like. You got to make sure you have extra batteries. Well any camera when you’re shooting professionally should always have several batteries. But the Z8 is not going to get you through a day by any means with a single battery.
Viewfinder resolution between these two cameras couldn’t be more different. You get 9,440,000 dots on the GFX 100 II, whereas on the Nikon Z8 you get 3,690,000 dots. A significant difference. You’re seeing a much, much better image. It’s easier to work on this camera. I think that’s a major, major advantage of the GFX 100 II.
When it comes to autofocus points the Fuji gives you 425 whereas the Nikon’s going to give you 493. Let’s see how that relates to autofocus when we shoot our autofocus stills test.
All right, when it comes to autofocus for stills we shot this inside. She’s walking fairly slowly towards us. The Z8 I ran around 40 images. Every single one of them sharp as could be. Just beautiful rendition on every image. It was sharp and stayed with her as she walked towards us right through that transition into a full kind of a tight face shot. It did an excellent job. The GFX 100 II didn’t do quite as well. I lost about four out of 40 that were out of focus and some that were kind of marginal. But in saying that, it’s come a long ways. It’s better, and I said this in the other review we did with the Sony a7R V, it certainly is competing now autofocus wise. Whereas, past GFX medium format cameras have not really competed. 
But this one is. This is getting you within the realm of acceptability. You are losing a few shots, but it’s certainly giving you a great autofocus. Its features, you have all the autofocus features. It’s following the eyes. It’s, you know, it can switch it to the different airplane, bird, all those kinds of things. So it certainly held up and was right in there with the Z8. But the Z8 was spot on perfect. So there you go, the Z8 was just a little better. So there’s the autofocus stills test. This GFX 100 II has come so far. It’s much better than GFX 100s, but it’s still not quite there. 
We’re missing about four to five images out of 40. Whereas the Z8 was on every single one, it just hit every single one of them. So this Z8 really gave us beautiful autofocus on every image. And the Fuji struggled just a little bit.
Continuous shooting on these two cameras, mechanical shutter. Well the Z8 does not have a mechanical shutter. It is only electronic. The GFX 100 II has a mechanical shutter that’ll give you 8 frames per second at 102 megapixels up to 75 raw images or continuous jpegs. So it’s really amazing. It’s giving you great frames per second with continuous shooting jpeg or up to 75 raw images. So when it comes to an electronic shutter on the GFX 100 II you go to 5.3 frames per second at 102 megapixels still, up to 390 frames in raw and unlimited in jpeg. 
Now when you go to the Z8 the electronic shutter is where it really shines. 20 frames a second still at that 45 megapixels, up to 1,000 raw images. If you go to 30 frames a second you can do continuous jpegs on this platform. If you want to bring the megapixels down you can do 60 frames a second at 19 megapixels. Or you can do 120 frames a second at 11 megapixels. So if there’s an application for sports and those kinds of things this really becomes a camera that really fits that mold. It’s ready to shoot fast continuous frames.
Now let’s talk about some video features with these two cameras. First off let’s take a look at the autofocus video test. Let’s see how these two cameras really function with regards to autofocus in video mode. When it comes to autofocus in video mode it was interesting to me. These two cameras looked almost the same to me. They lose a little bit of the autofocus when she turns around. It searches a little bit as she comes towards the camera. You can see these two examples together. You can see that they’re both losing it just a little bit, then picking it back up. I mean, they feel organic in a way that it’s not just spot on the whole way, that there is some kind of, you’re kind of losing it and picking it back up. But they really performed almost exactly the same. 
They were both struggling a little bit as she turned around and that. So I think, these two cameras when it comes to video mode are reacting just about the same. These two cameras really tied each other. They do kind of come in and out a little bit. But they really look very similar. Tell me, leave a comment below, if you think that wasn’t the case from that test.
So let’s look at the codecs of these two cameras. The GFX 100 II has really positioned itself to be a professional camera. You get that H.264, H.265, MPEG-4 and 4.2.2 10-Bit. But it also has ProRes. You got ProRes 4.2.2. You got ProRes high quality. You got 4.2.2 and you got ProRes 4.2.2 light. So you have all of those. So let’s take a look at the video capabilities of the Z8. First off it’s really a camera that I think is one of the best crossover cameras on the market right now. And you start with ProRes Raw high quality and 12-Bit. That’s 12-Bit Raw. That’s amazing to me. You get the same H.265 4.2.2 8 and 10-Bit. You get ProRes 4.2.2 in high quality, 4.2.210-Bit. I mean it’s just an amazing video camera. 
You have N-log, so it gives you N-log which is a great log to be able to grade and to be able to use. So just an amazing camera that way. You do get 8K external recording off this camera at 24 and 30 frames. You get 24, 4K at 24, 30, 50 and 60 externally and 4K at 100 and 120 frames per second externally. Whereas on the GFX 100 II you do get 4.2.2 10-Bit via the HDMI at 8K at 24 and 30, 4K at 24, 30 and 60. These two cameras are made to shoot high-end video and they have the codecs to be able to make that happen. They both have a full-size HDMI. They would have to, to be able to function at the level they need to.
Both of these cameras have sensor shift 5 AXIS stabilization. So let’s take a look at our video stabilization test and see what we get. When it comes to stabilization in video mode, I was really surprised at how well the GFX 100 II did. It looks very smooth. It looks really good. It gives a great stabilized image. 
The Z8, I think, worked as well. It was very close. I think the GFX 100 II, there’re head to-head, if not the GFX 100 II is slightly ahead. But they both look really good in video mode. They give you a great smooth image. It looks to me like the GFX 100 II maybe won by a hair, or it’s a tie. They both give you great stabilization.
Now let’s take a look at the ISO test. We’re going to start off at 400 ISO. There’s really nothing to talk about at 400 ISO. I’m not so sure why we even shoot it anymore. They look very similar to each other. I go to 800 ISO, I’m seeing a little bit of buildup in the background. I see a little bit on her nose. No, I mean, at 800 these two are both very clean still. I’m not seeing a lot of difference in the way they’re reacting. 
It’s interesting how the ISO these days has really become pretty competitive. Yeah, definitely the GFX 100 II at 1600 ISO is definitely, it’s a little more, a little more noisy. It has more digital noise than what we were getting with the Z8. 
So at 3200 ISO I’m starting to see some pretty pronounced digital noise in the background with that GFX 100 II, especially if I look into the blacks compared to the Z8. It’s definitely more. It’s got a lot more noise. 
Let’s take a look at 6,400 ISO. At this point it should be starting to show just about everywhere. Look at that transition between the hair and the background there. The GFX 100 II is definitely a little stronger, the noise is stronger. 
And so when we go to 12,800 ISO I would expect to see the GFX 100 II even more so. Yeah, look at that. It’s just a very pronounced noise with the GFX 100 II. Whereas, the Z8 is doing okay at 12,800 ISO. I mean we’re seeing a little shift in color. Actually I feel like the color isn’t shifting as much with the GFX 100 II and it’s shifting more with the Nikon. But there’s not as much digital noise with the Nikon as there is with the GFX 100 II. 
So there’s 25,600 ISO and this is 25,600 -1/3 because we didn’t have the ability to go up. And even still they kind of equal out at that. So I think the GFX 100 II has a little more digital noise than the Z8. But I think the color is shifting a little quicker on the Z8. So I think they kind of come up with a tie. You do get better noise rendition out of the Z8. Wow, these two cameras were head to-head when it came to the ISO test. I mean, up into the 1600, 3200 ISO I felt like they were clean. You could use them both in video and stills. That was pretty amazing, kind of head-to-head. I couldn’t say which one was better.
Let’s take a look at the dynamic range. Now, first off on this normal I think I overexposed these just slightly. Maybe about a half a stop. But look at the dynamic range in these normal, two normal images. Look at the detail in the back. I’m seeing just a little more shadow detail in the back. It’s just blown out on the Nikon. But the Nikon seems like the image itself might be just a teeny bit brighter on her face. 
But if I go to minus one, minus one should start to be bringing in nice detail through the entire image. And that’s one full stop. I’m not picking up a full stop on the Nikon. The GFX 100 II is, I see detail in the white objects in the background. I see detail in the reflection on the counter. I mean, if I’m over, if I’m overexposed on this by a third of a stop it’s not a third of a stop difference here, not seeing that. The GFX 100 II is really holding at minus one much better now. 
Nikon at minus two kind of picks up where we were on the minus one for the GFX 100 II. These are looking pretty good. The color is nice on each of them. Nikon has such beautiful color. So is the Fujifilm GFX 100 II. I’m seeing great detail at that minus two. I’m seeing great dynamic range with these two cameras. I’m able to bring the background up. I’m seeing detail in the whites. I’m seeing detail in the shadows. I think the GFX 100 II just has a little more dynamic range, just slightly.
When I go to minus three, I mean, these are three stops under exposed and we’re opening everything up. I’m seeing great detail in the background. Is it shifting my color? Maybe a tiny bit. Let’s see what the Nikon looks like, color shift from one to the next. 
Let’s see what that looks like at -3, -2. Yeah, it’s not bad. It’s not bad at all. 
Now let’s jump up to mins 4. At minus 4 the color is starting to shift just a little bit on the Nikon. The GFX 100 II is holding pretty good. The GFX 100 II has a beautiful color rendition. It’s still holding really well. I think it’s looking like that GFX 100 II has a little better dynamic range to me than the Nikon. 
There’s the Nikon at plus one. Look how that background just blows out on the Nikon. It pretty much blows out on the GFX 100 II. 
The color is going to start to shift now at plus two. It should really shift on us. Yeah, look at their faces are starting to be very orange. The background is just a blob but the GFX 100 II is holding the background better than the Nikon. Even though better is like, okay, it’s the better of the worst images. 
But now we go to plus three and it’s just posterizing. Color is gone. You know, I’d have to say in looking at these that the GFX 100 II is slightly better than the Nikon at least by a half a stop if not slightly more. It just gives us a little nicer dynamic range, a little nicer color rendition and I think holds really well. But these are both gorgeous cameras, gorgeous images. We’re not talking about five stops or anything here. We’re talking about half a stop. 
But it looks pretty impressive. In this test it was interesting because I did feel like the GFX 100 II edged out the Z8. I just felt like it had a better dynamic range. It held the highlights a little better and just gave me a nicer dynamic range. They were very close though.
So let’s wrap this up. In the GFX series this is the best camera that they have made from Fujifilm. It is really a beautiful image. It gives you great video capabilities. Ergonomically it is so much easier to use. The form factor is really easy. The weight is down so it’s easier to carry it with you. I think this is a home run all the way around. As I say that, as much as I love that GFX 100 II, the Z8 is an incredible camera. It doesn’t have the megapixels to compete with regards to image quality for doing scenics and those kinds of things. But it certainly excels when it comes to frames per second. It excels even in video with ProRes Raw. I mean, this really is an incredible crossover camera, the best on the market right now. These two are head-to-head. I love the form factor of a medium format. I love the shallow depth of field. Here’s a test that we did earlier I showed in the other review that we did. I want you to see that because it really is about how that background falls out of focus. The medium format is incredible for really high-end commercial shooting with regards to products, you go into fashion, any kinds of those types of applications. It really looks great. Shooting people on that medium format just gives you a beautiful out of focus background. 
Now the Z8 and that full frame is, this camera is about frames per second, sports, any kind of birds and animals. I mean it really is an incredible camera in that way and has the lens system to support it. So you have the lenses to be able to get, those telephoto lenses to get those kinds of images. Two very different cameras but, and two very different prices, but this camera is creeping into that full frame market. It’s starting to get the features that the full frame cameras have. It really is starting to compete in that category. For that reason I thought we should do this review. So I hope you liked it. If you want to look at some other of our camera reviews check these out, and keep those cameras rollin’ and keep on clickin’!
What does it mean to make it in the industry? I think it means everything that you have the support of others around you who also think like you and, you know, you end up supporting each other in a way where you push each other to be your best, you know. And I was around a lot of great musicians out of high school. Every band or every situation I found myself in I found myself laughing. I found myself enjoying myself. I found myself, you know, honing my craft, you know. And being lifted up to that next level, you know, where I started getting hired and paid for my craft, you know. So for me that was making it. Now I have about four flight cases all made by SKB. They work and they get beat up and they’re still, you know, everything’s still intact and all my stuff is protected.
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