Fujifilm GFX 50R Performance

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Fuji GFX 50R Performance

Timing and Performance

Mixed performance for its class, with some improvements over the 50S.

Startup/Play to Record
Power on to first shot	~1.1 seconds	Time it takes to turn on and capture a shot.
Play to Record, first shot	~0.9 second	Time until first shot is captured.

Powerup to first shot was sluggish compared to most DSLRs at 1.1 seconds, but not bad for a mirrorless camera and a bit faster than the 50S' 1.3 seconds. Switching from Play to Record mode and taking a shot took 0.9 second which is slow, requiring one shutter press to get out of review mode and another to take the shot, though that's also slightly improved over the 50S.

Shutter Response (Lag Time) (EFCS (default) / Mechanical Shutter / Electronic Shutter)
Full Autofocus, Single-point AF	0.442/0.450/0.977 second	Time from fully pressing shutter button to image capture, with the lens already at the proper focal distance setting. (All timing performed with the Fujinon GF 63mm f/2.8R WR lens.)
Manual Focus	0.119/0.251/0.633 second	For most cameras, shutter lag is less in manual focus than autofocus, but usually not as fast as when the camera is "prefocused".
Prefocused	0.102/0.103/0.608 second	Time to capture, after half-pressing and holding shutter button.

The shutter lag numbers above measure time from shutter button press to image capture, with the lens already set to the correct focus distance. This largely removes the issue of differences in lens focusing speed, and measures how fast the camera can measure and act on focus information. In this metric, the Fuji 50R was on the slow side for a modern camera, even for one relying on contrast-detect AF. The 50R's full-autofocus shutter lag (with the subject at a fixed distance) was 0.442 second in Single-point (center) AF-S mode using the default Electronic First Curtain Shutter mode. That's slightly improved over the 50S with the same lens, however it's still quite slow. By comparison, most mirrorless cameras test at below 0.25 second these days.

When manually focused, the Fuji 50R's shutter lag time dropped to 0.119 second, which is not bad, and quite an improvement over the 50S' 0.270 second.

The 50R's prefocused shutter lag of 0.102 second was a bit faster than the 50S' 0.108 second, but that's still slower than most cameras.

As you can see in the table above, we also tested the fully mechanical shutter mode which was slightly slower than EFCS, and the fully electronic shutter which was significantly slower. We also tested with the 50R's Rapid AF and Pre-AF options enabled, but they made insignificant differences in our static lab tests.

To minimize the effect of different lens' focusing speed, we test AF-active shutter lag with the lens already set to the correct focal distance.

Cycle Time (shot to shot)
Single Shot mode Large Super Fine JPEG	1.1 seconds	Time per shot, averaged over a few frames.
Single Shot mode RAW + LSF JPEG	1.1 seconds	Time per shot, averaged over a few frames.
Early shutter penalty?	No	Some cameras refuse to snap another shot if you release and press the shutter too quickly in Single Shot mode, making "No" the preferred answer.
Continuous mode Large Super Fine JPEG	0.34 second (2.99 fps); Unlimited(?) frames; 1.5 seconds to clear*	Time per shot, averaged over 30 frames, with no apparent buffer limit.
Continuous mode Lossless Compressed RAW	0.34 second (2.99 fps); 25 frames total; 1.2 seconds to clear*	Time per shot, averaged over buffer length of 25 frames, then slows to an average of 0.59s or 1.7 fps when buffer is full.
Continuous mode Lossless RAW + LSF JPEG	0.34 second (2.98 fps); 11 frames total; 1.8 seconds to clear*	Time per shot, averaged over buffer length of 11 frames, then slows to an average of 0.59s or 1.7 fps when buffer is full.
Continuous mode Uncompressed RAW	0.33 second (3.02 fps); 8 frames total; 6.0 seconds to clear*	Time per shot, averaged over buffer length of 8 frames, then slows to an average of 0.67s or 1.5 fps when buffer is full.
Continuous mode Uncompressed RAW + LSF JPEG	0.34 second (2.98 fps); 8 frames total; 6.8 seconds to clear*	Time per shot, averaged over buffer length of 8 frames, then slows to an average of 0.87s or 1.2 fps when buffer is full.
*Note: Buffer clearing times measured with a 64GB Lexar Pro 2000x UHS-II SDXC card. Slower cards will produce correspondingly slower clearing times. Slow cards may also limit length of bursts in continuous mode. ISO sensitivity and noise reduction settings can also affect cycle times and burst mode performance.

Single-shot cycle time was 1.1 seconds when shooting Large Super Fine JPEGs or Lossless RAW + Large Super Fine JPEG files, slightly slower than the 50S' 1.0 second. This is sluggish compared to most ILCs and DSLRs.

The 50R's top continuous mode speed is rated at 3.0 fps, the same as the 50S', and our lab results confirmed that. That's slow by today's standards, and on par with the 4-year-old Pentax 645Z DSLR which uses a similar sensor.

Some buffer depths at 3 fps were improved over the 50S in our tests. For best quality JPEGs, the 50R did not appear to have a buffer limit other than card capacity, versus a 40 frame limit for the 50S. When shooting lossless compressed RAW or RAW+JPEG files, buffer depths decreased to 25 and 11 frames respectively which isn't bad considering the class. The 50S only managed 21 lossless RAW frames, but the same number of lossless RAW+JPEG frames at 11. When shooting uncompressed RAW or RAW+JPEG files, the buffer depth dropped to only 8 frames, the same as the 50S.

Buffer clearing times were pretty fast with our fast UHS-II card, taking between 1.2 and 6.8 seconds to clear after a max-length burst depending on the file type. The 50R allows you to change settings while the buffer is clearing, however you cannot view just-shot images until after they are written to the card.

Bottom line: the Fuji 50R's overall performance is generally improved over the 50S', but is still quite sedate compared to most cameras.

Battery Life

Decent battery life for a large sensor mirrorless camera.

Operating Mode	Battery Life
Still Capture, (EVF, CIPA standard)	400 shots
Still Capture, (LCD Monitor, CIPA standard)	400 shots

The Fuji 50R uses a custom NP-T125 10.8V 1250mAh rechargeable lithium-ion battery pack for power (the same as the 50S), and comes with a dedicated battery charger. An AC adapter is available separately that will let you power the camera and/or charge the battery via the DC input jack. Charging via USB is not supported.

The battery is rated for 400 shots per charge when using the EVF or LCD monitor, however that's with Auto Power Save On. With it Off, battery life drops to 340 shots with either display active. That's decent battery life for a mirrorless camera with such a large sensor (the same as the 50S'), but quite poor compared to most DSLRs. We definitely recommend getting a second battery for your 50R if you plan any extended outings.

The table above shows the number of shots the camera is capable of on fully-charged battery, based on CIPA battery-life and/or manufacturer standard test conditions. While real-world battery life tends to be much better for mirrorless cameras, CIPA-rated battery life is still very useful for comparison purposes.

(Interested readers can find an English translation of the CIPA DC-002 standards document here. (180K PDF document))