Fujifilm makes a wide range of high-quality, high-performance APS-C format X series cameras with interchangeable lenses but leapfrogs the full-frame (35mm) sector altogether, moving straight on to the GFX medium format system. It’s based on digital bodies that include the conventional-looking Fujifilm GFX 100 II and the now-discontinued, rangefinder-style GFX 50R.
A similarity of all GFX series cameras is that they have a 43.8x32.9mm image sensor, which is substantially larger than the 36x24mm sensor of ‘full-frame’ (35mm) cameras. As such, GFX system lenses have a kind of 'inverse' crop factor or focal length multiplier of 0.79x. We’re more used to multiplying the focal lengths of X-mount APS-C format lenses by 1.5x to give the ‘effective’ focal length in full-frame terms, so a 50mm lens would be similar to using a 75mm on a full-frame camera. It’s the opposite of the GFX system, where a 50mm lens gives an ‘effective’ focal length of 40mm on a full-frame body.
The GFX 100 now has a colossal 100-megapixel image sensor – that is a lot of megapixels for these lenses to resolve. The lenses are typically quite chunky because they need to deliver a bigger image circle than full-frame format lenses, to cover a relatively large medium-format image sensor. But they don’t tend to be overly large, however, with modest aperture ratings that help to keep the size and weight down to manageable levels.
Matthew Richards is a photographer and journalist who has spent years using and reviewing all manner of photo gear. Camera lenses are a prime area of his expertise, and consequently we are fortunate enough to have Matthew as Digital Camera World's principal lens reviewer. He has tested the vast majority of camera lenses on sale today - mirrorless and DSLR - including many of Fujifilm's GF lenses.
The Quick List
The best prime for Fuji GFX cameras: this lens produces stunning image quality, and it's versatile, with a natural viewing angle that can be used for everything from portraiture to landscapes.
The widest GF prime on sale, this lens is great for shooting in cramped interiors, or capturing sweeping vistas. As usual for a GF lens, image and build quality are sublime.
With a focal length equivalent to 85mm on a full-frame camera, this lens is ideal for flattering portraiture. It's tack-sharp, and can generate sumptuous bokeh thanks to its large, well-rounded aperture.
The widest lens in the GF range, the 20-35mm is an ideal companion when shooting in tight spaces. It's also surprisingly compact, yet offers superb image quality thanks to its high-tech construction.
The least expensive GF lens, the 35-70mm is also surprisingly light weight at only 390g. The focal range is versatile for general shooting, and it's even weather-sealed.
If you only pick one GF zoom lens, this should be it. It offers a useful focal range and image quality is brilliant throughout. Team it with the GF 20-35mm for an unbeatable twin-lens combo.
The best Fujifilm GF lenses
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Best fast GF prime lens
We think this is the best prime lens you can currently buy for Fujifilm's GFX cameras. For starters, its focal length gives a natural viewing angle on Fujifilm’s GFX medium format cameras, resulting in a highly versatile lens that can be used for everything from landscapes to half-length portraits.
And you'll want to use it for everything, as our comprehensive testing revealed that image quality is simply stunning. Sharpness is spectacular across the entire image frame, while areas not in focus take on sumptuously smooth and dreamy bokeh. Build quality is easily solid enough to make this a lens suitable for any weather, and although no featherweight contender, it's still compact enough for everyday shooting.
Read our full Fujifilm GF 55mm f/1.7 R WR review for more details
Best GF ultrawide prime lens
Compared with the GF30mm lens, the GF23mm gives a much more generous viewing angle, similar to using an 18mm rather than 24mm lens on a full-frame camera. It’s great for shooting everything from cramped interiors to sweeping landscapes, although the f/4 aperture rating is a bit on the slow side for capturing the night sky. An upside is the fairly short 0.38m minimum focus distance, which enables you to get in really close and exaggerate the perspective effect between the foreground and background in a scene. The high-tech optical path includes two aspherical elements, two ED (Extra-low Dispersion) elements and one Super ED element, to reduce distortion and chromatic aberrations, along with Nano GI coating to minimize ghosting and flare. Typical of GF lenses, build quality is excellent with plentiful weather-seals, while image quality is superb with excellent sharpness right out to the corners of the frame.
Read our full Fujifilm GF 23mm f/4 R LM WR review for more
Best GF lens for portraits
Thanks to the medium-format image sensors of GFX cameras, this 110mm lens has an ‘effective’ focal length of 85mm, making it ideal for portraiture. You can shoot anything from tight head-and-shoulders shots to half-length portraits from an entirely natural distance that allows you to engage with subjects without crowding them. The shortish telephoto focal length also gives a flattering effect of slightly flattening the perspective. While the lens delivers excellent sharpness even wide-open at f/2, the quality of bokeh is often more important in a ‘portrait lens’. Aspherical elements can be the enemy of bokeh but this lens doesn’t have any, although it does include no fewer than four ED elements. The net result is superb image quality with bokeh that remains excellent when stopping down a little, helped by the well-rounded 9-blade aperture diaphragm.
Read our full Fujifilm GF 110mm f/2 R WR review for more
Best GF wide zoom lens
Despite being a zoom lens, the GF20-35mm F4 R WR goes noticeably wider than the GF23mmF4 R LM WR prime, which had previously been the widest lens for a GFX camera.
The GF20-35mm offers an effective focal length equivalent to a 16-28mm on a full-frame camera and has been designed to offer sufficient resolving power to take advantage of Fujifilm's 100MP GFX cameras. This is also surprisingly small and light for a medium format lens. The number of elements traditionally needed has been reduced by using an aspherical surface in each group, while a Nano-GI coating to suppress lens flare and ghosting.
We were able to conduct a full review of the GF 20-35mm, and came away immensely impressed by the image quality it offers. Sharpness is utterly superb at all focal lengths, while fringing is minimal. Distortion can be quite severe if left uncorrected, but it's easily ironed out with the use of automatic in-camera correction.
Read our full Fujifilm GF20-35mm F4 R WR review
Best budget GF zoom lens
The Fujinon GF35-70mm F4.5-5.6 WR was developed to be a lightweight kit lens, as well as a low-cost entry point to the GF lens range. $999 certainly isn't everyone's idea of 'low cost', but in the world of GF lenses you could almost call it a bargain!
Equivalent to a traditional 28-55mm lens in full-frame terms, it weighs a mere 390g - half the weight of the older GF 32-64mm f/4 R LM WR (above) - making it great for anything from street photography to studio portraits or even still life. The lens has a variable maximum aperture and does away with the manual aperture ring to help achieve its smaller proportions and low weight.
The GF35-70mm has been designed to produce minimal focus breathing to enhance its credentials to video shooters. The STM autofocus motor helps to minimize autofocus vibrations for near-silent video focussing, plus the lens supports in-camera eye/face detection modes. The weather-sealed construction seals the lens, and the deal.
Best standard GF zoom lens
For enhanced versatility, this lens covers an arguably more useful range than the companion GF32-64mm. It’s naturally not so wide-angle but does stretch into telephoto territory, with an ‘effective’ overall zoom range of 36-79mm in regular full-frame terms.
The f/4 aperture rating might not sound very ‘fast’ but it’s pretty typical for medium-format zooms and does enable a reasonably tight depth of field, especially towards the long end of the zoom range. Also like the GF32-64mm, the physical length of the lens extends at longer zoom settings but, even so, build quality, handling and performance are all of a fully professional-grade standard.
During our time reviewing this lens, we were impressed by just how fabulous sharpness is throughout the entire zoom range, right into the corners. We also found there to be minimal colour fringing or distortion, all helped by the inclusion of three aspherical elements, one ED element and one Super ED element. If you’re only going to pick one zoom lens for a GFX camera, this is probably the most appealing.
Read more: FUJINON GF45-100mm F4 R LM OIS WR review
Best GF telephoto zoom lens
Photographers with a full-frame (35mm) camera of pretty much any make and model are able to reap the rewards of a 70-200mm f/2.8 lens, which boasts a generous telephoto zoom range and fast f/2.8 constant aperture. The longest of Fujifilm’s GF zooms, this one is a little less appealing, with a 79-158mm ‘effective’ zoom range and an aperture rating that’s two f/stops slower throughout. Even so, it’s ideally suited to landscape and nature photography with a tough, rugged and weather-sealed construction, a 5-stop optical image stabilizer and a fast yet virtually silent autofocus system. Handling is intuitive and the lens is easy to live with, being a mere two-thirds of the weight of most 70-200mm f/2.8 lenses. Image quality is up to the typically impeccable quality of GF lenses and, if you want more telephoto reach, you can fit the GF 1.4X TC WR teleconverter (£749/$849) which boosts the effective zoom range to 111-221mm in full-frame terms, albeit with a narrowing of the aperture to f/8.
Read our full Fujifilm GF 100-200mm f/5.6 R LM OIS WR review for more
Best GF telephoto prime lens
This is currently Fujifilm's range-topping telephoto lens, giving a 35mm-equivalent focal length of 396mm. Naturally it's pretty big, but not inconveniently so, and at just 1,375g it's surprisingly portable for a 500mm lens. It's also not hugely more expensive to buy than the GF 250mm, making it relatively good value for the sheer telephoto reach you're getting. And its image quality doesn't disappoint, either. When we tested the lens on a 102MP GFX 100S II it produced stunning levels of detail and texture, while bokeh was wonderfully soft. The lens also proved to have fast autofocus with consistent accuracy, making it suitable for shooting sports and wildlife (all-weather shooting is further enhanced by extensive weather seals with a -10C temperature rating, and a keep-clean fluorine coating on the front element). Factor the very effective 6-stop stabilizer and the GF 500mm is a superbly well-engineered lens and a must-have for sports and wildlife photography.
Read our full Fujifilm GF 500mm f/5.6 R LM OIS WR review
Best GF lens for compact size
Canon famously makes a 40mm pancake lens for its full-frame EOS DSLRs and this is something broadly similar for the GFX system. As such, it has a slimline design and, while it doesn’t really qualify as a pancake lens, its overall length of less than two inches makes it very small for a medium-format optic. It also has a fairly modest f/3.5 aperture rating that helps to enable the small size and an uncommonly light weight of just 335g. Suffice it to say that this is an ideal lens for casual walkabout photography. Centre-sharpness is impressive even when shooting wide-open but sharpness drops off more noticeably towards the edges and corners, compared with other GF lenses. The optical design is relatively basic, as you’d expect in such a small lens, with just nine elements in total, including one aspherical element and no ED elements.
Read our full Fujifilm GF 50mm f/3.5 R LM WR review for more
How to choose GF lenses
What's the equivalent focal length of Fujinon GF lenses?
Most photographers will choose their GF lenses based on their focal length, and the needs of the particular subjects they are shooting.
As GFX cameras have larger sensors than full-frame cameras, you need to multiply the focal length of a GF lens by 0.79 to see the angle of view is compared to a full-frame mirrorless camera or a traditional 35mm SLR. Therefore a Fujifilm GF 30mm f/3.5 R WR gives an "effective focal length" of 24mm.
What do all the letters mean in Fujinon GF lens names?
Lenses for the GFX system all have a ‘GF’ prefix to denote the mount type. To date, most have an ‘R’ suffix as a reference to the inclusion of a physical aperture ring, so you can easily adjust the aperture via a control ring on the lens itself. Another similarity is that they so far all have a ‘WR’ (Weather-Resistant) construction. The vast majority have an ‘LM’ classification, to show they have a fast and virtually silent Linear Motor to drive autofocus, while a small number with longer focal lengths add OIS (an Optical Image Stabilizer). For example, the GF100-200mmF5.6 R LM OIS WR includes all of these elements.
The two new tilt shift lenses in the range - the Fujinon GF 30mm F5.6 T/S and Fujinon GF 110mm F5.6 T/S Macro both have T/S in their name to label their shift and tilt lens movements.
How we test lenses
We test lenses using both real-world sample images and lab tests. Our lab tests are carried out scientifically in controlled conditions using the Imatest testing suite, which consists of custom charts and analysis software that measures resolution in line widths/picture height, a measurement widely used in lens and camera testing. We find the combination of lab and real-world testing works best, as each reveals different qualities and characteristics.
See more on how we test and review at Digital Camera World
