Fujifilm North America's series looking in depth at the workings of the GFX ETERNA 55 has just added three new videos
The Fujifilm GFX ETERNA 55 is generating a lot of interest among those looking for a high-end camera, and Fujifilm North America is accelerating its promotion and explanation of the new camera. Think of its series of videos presented by Michael Bulbenko as an in-depth trade show presentation without the crowds and the queues.
First though, the company has been busy uploading a lot of new video content to its X Series YouTube Channel. Here are some highlights.
Tales from the Flat Pedal Thunder chronicles the career and post-career of Australia’s most successful ever downhill mountain biker, 8x World Champion Sam Hill. It was shot by Australian cinematographer and photographer Sam Tolhurst, and shows a lot of what the camera can do. There's also a BTS.
Another video worth watching for understanding the camera's range is Indian cinematographer Swapnil Sonawane's narrative short film Distance. This is the short version.
Again, there's a BTS, which is where we grabbed the frame at the top of the article. Nice to see the camera out of the showroom and hard at work.
One of the new Hands-On videos looks at the menu system, and you can have a play with that yourself with the new Menu Simulator tab on the camera's website.
While the company admonishes that visuals, labels and behaviour may differ from the actual camera, and that features and specifications are subject to change without notice, it gives you a heads-up on what you can expect when you start trying to grapple with the menu. The way the Fujifilm constructs its menus is probably going to be new to many people, so it's a valuable resource that flattens the learning curve.
It also works on mobile too so can even be used as an on-set resource.
These aren't flashy to say the least, but they are extremely information dense.
Chapters 1, 2, and 3 looked at the physical layout of the camera and what's included in the box; basic functions and menu structure; and the GFX ETERNA's Project Setting menu.
There was a big months-long gap between the first two chapters, but Fujifilm North America seems to have rather picked up the release pace, with three new chapters dropping in the past 10 days.
Chapter 4 explores the monitoring setup and options. It details SDI/HDMI output settings, including 4K/HD and frame rate selection, and shows you how to customize the LCD display and output information, plus waveform, vector scope, and framing guideline options.
Chapter 5 takes things a step further with a look at the GFX ETERNA 55's lensing and optical options. It details autofocus modes, including multi, tracking, and area, along with focus check and subject detection. It also covers mount adapter settings for third-party lenses, including distortion and color correction.
And finally (at least for now), in Chapter 6 Michael guides you through the setup for networking on the GFX ETERNA 55.
We'll cover more when they are released, though there is the sense that we're getting to the end of the workflow now.
Sensor: GFX 102MP CMOS II HS (Bayer Filter Array)
Dimensions: 43.8 × 33.9 mm
Processor: X-Processor 5
Native sensitivity: Dual-base ISO 800 & 3200
Dynamic range: 14+ stops
Optical Low-Pass Filter (OLPF)
ND density: ND0.6 – ND2.1
Adjustment: 0.015 F-stop increments
NP-W235 allows for hot swapping external camera power source without
need to power down camera body – reducing potential for clip corruption on
accidental power loss.
NP-W235 enables the potential for low-profile and agile camera build
NP-W235 battery is automatically charged via external power source
CFexpress Type B and SD card support
AF type: Intelligent Hybrid AF (TTL contrast & TTL phase detection)
Subject detection: Face, Animal, Bird, Automobile, Motorcycle & Bike, Airplane, Train
Audio: Support for TASCAM XLR Microphone Adapter
Expanded audio input compatibility via hot shoe handle
Support for Adobe Frame.io Camera to Cloud
Remote Multi-Camera Control via web browser (wired or wireless network)
Bluetooth Low Energy (v4.2) for ATOMOS AirGlu™ and FUJIFILM TG-BT1
External timecode supported via:
TC In/Out (BNC)
ATOMOS AirGlu
USB-C with Ambient devices
Apple ProRes 422 HQ – Linear PCM stereo (24-bit / 48 kHz)
Apple ProRes 422 – Linear PCM stereo (24-bit / 48 kHz)
Apple ProRes 422 LT – Linear PCM stereo (24-bit / 48 kHz)
Apple ProRes Proxy
HEVC/H.265 (4:2:2, 10-bit) – Linear PCM stereo (24-bit / 48 kHz)
H.264 Proxy
4:2:2 10-bit uncompressed
12-bit RAW
GF 4:3 Open Gate
GF DCI
Premista DCI
35 mm DCI
8K DCI (dot-by-dot)
Super 35 DCI
PROVIA/Standard
Velvia/Vivid
ASTIA/Soft
Classic Chrome
REALA ACE
PRO Neg.Hi
PRO Neg.Std
Classic Neg.
Nostalgic Neg.
ETERNA/Cinema
ETERNA Bleach Bypass
ACROS (Standard, +Ye, +R, +G)
Black & White (Standard, +Ye, +R, +G)
Sepia
16 custom 3D LUT slots
Fujifilm will release downloadable LUTs (F-Log2 / F-Log2 C) for:
ETERNA
ETERNA Bleach Bypass
PROVIA
Velvia
ASTIA
REALA ACE
Classic Chrome
Classic Neg.
ACROS
5.0″ Touch LCD Monitor
Max brightness: 2,000 nits
Resolution: ≈6.22M dots (1920×1080×3)
Aspect: 16:9
3.0″ On-board Menu Display
Max brightness: 700 nits
Resolution: ≈1.04M dots (720×480×3)
Aspect: 3:2
Ø3.5 mm stereo mini jack (mic)
Ø3.5 mm stereo mini jack (headphones)
Ø2.5 mm remote connector
TC In/Out connector
Genlock connector
12G SDI Out (max 4K59.94p, 12G/6G/3G)
12-pin lens connector (14V / 0.5A)
DC Out: 12V @ 3A
DC In: Lemo connector (FGJ.1B.304.CLLD)
Wi-Fi: IEEE 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac
Encryption: WPA2 / WPA3
LAN (RJ45): 1000BASE-T, 100BASE-TX, 10BASE-T
Bluetooth: v4.2 BLE (2402–2480 MHz)
Dimensions: 110.8 × 138.2 × 176.8 mm / 4.36 × 5.44 × 6.96 in
Weight: ~4.41 lbs / 2.0 kg (excluding battery & media)
Operating temperature: 14–104°F / –10–40°C
Operating humidity: 10–80% (no condensation)
Nominal consumption: 21W
Max consumption: 49W
DC input: 12–16V
V-Mount input: 11–16.8V
Accessory power:
2-pin Lemo 12V @ 3A
12-pin Hirose lens connector 14V / 0.5A
NP-W235 Li-ion battery
AC-15VS power adapter + AC cable
Body cap
Handle
LCD monitor + hood + mounting bracket
PL-mount adapter