Fujifilm GFX100 II Gets Its Autofocus Fix. Is It Finally the Right Camera for Moving Subjects?

The original review of the Fujifilm GFX100 II made a finding that haunted every recommendation: approximately 18% of shots were out of focus when tracking subjects in motion. For an $8,000 medium format camera, that number — confirmed across multiple reviewers — was disqualifying for anything beyond static subjects. Firmware v2.21 and v2.50 were Fujifilm’s response. Whether they fixed it enough matters to a narrow but specific audience.

Why This Camera / Comparison Matters

The GFX100 II sits at an unusual intersection: it’s the only medium format mirrorless camera that comes close to matching full-frame systems on autofocus capability. The alternatives — Hasselblad X2D 100C, Phase One, large-format film — either don’t track moving subjects at all or have no phase-detect autofocus. If you want the rendering quality of 102 megapixels with color science that Fujifilm’s medium format sensor delivers, the GFX100 II is the only camera in the segment where “tracking autofocus” is even a discussion.

The pre-firmware baseline made that discussion short: 18% of action shots out of focus is an unacceptable miss rate for a professional camera, regardless of how well the remaining 82% look.

What Makes It Different

Firmware v2.21 introduced subject detection improvements, retrained the tracking AI on a broader dataset, and adjusted the predictive algorithm for subjects moving through cluttered backgrounds. Firmware v2.50 followed with additional AF reliability improvements in low-contrast conditions.

Post-firmware testing shows a meaningful improvement: the GFX100 II now tracks moving subjects in crowds with enough reliability that the 18% miss rate benchmark no longer characterizes its performance. Reviewers testing with portrait subjects moving at a moderate pace through a busy location report the camera tracking cleanly — something that consistently failed before the updates.

The honest caveat: it’s still slower than a Sony a7R VI or Canon R5 Mark II. Subject detection initiates more slowly, tracking through rapid direction changes is less reliable, and burst sequences at the edges of the AF envelope produce more misses than comparable full-frame systems at a similar price point. The question is whether “better than before, still behind full-frame leaders” is good enough for the specific use cases where you’d choose medium format.

For portrait sessions with subjects who are moving at natural walking pace, event photography with some subject movement, or architectural/landscape work where the motion tracking requirement is occasional rather than constant — the post-firmware GFX100 II is now viable where it wasn’t before. For sports, wildlife, or any application where you’re regularly tracking fast, erratic subject movement, it still isn’t the right tool.

The medium format sensor advantage remains unchanged by any firmware update: the rendering quality at base ISO, the latitude in RAW files, and the color science that makes Fujifilm medium format distinctive are structural benefits of the sensor. A landscape or portrait image taken with care looks like nothing else in a 35mm-dominated world.

The Catch / Who It’s For

The GFX100 II at $8,000 makes sense for photographers who have already decided medium format rendering is non-negotiable for their work and were previously blocked by the AF reliability issue. Editorial portrait photographers, commercial still life and product shooters who occasionally photograph people, and serious landscape photographers who want the maximum dynamic range and color depth available at desktop printing scale.

It doesn’t make sense as an action or wildlife camera. It doesn’t make sense if you’re choosing between it and a Sony a7R V or a7R VI purely on the basis of image quality — at most shooting scenarios, you won’t see a difference that justifies the price premium. And the GFX system’s lens ecosystem, while growing, remains narrower and more expensive than Sony FE, Canon RF, or Fujifilm’s own X system.

Source: Photography Life

Content created with AI assistance and reviewed for accuracy.