Fuji GFX 100s: Blurred image parts

[Pieter 12]

Not helpful. The OP has a question. If you have nothing to add, then don't add anything.

I thought I was being helpful by pointing out that the defect does not make a major difference in the image. It is more pertinent to shoot take good photos than to get hung up on such a detail. In an effort to be helpful, has the OP requested help from the dealer or the Manufacturer? After all, the camera is current and support should be available. It seems reasonable that would be the first place to go for a solution rather than a forum.

 

[mristuccia]

If it's atmospheric and non-deterministic, then just take a few shots and merge/mask them together so that you keep a good one on each area.
Another possibility is taking multiple frames (at least 10 I'd say) and median-merge them together. The median algorithm will take care of cutting out singularities automatically.

 

[nazdravanul]

I thought I was being helpful by pointing out that the defect does not make a major difference in the image. It is more pertinent to shoot take good photos than to get hung up on such a detail. In an effort to be helpful, has the OP requested help from the dealer or the Manufacturer? After all, the camera is current and support should be available. It seems reasonable that would be the first place to go for a solution rather than a forum.

If you really care about those 100 MPs you’re paying for, the difference will be very visible in large prints - 100% enlargement and / or beyond. If you just post images online, sure, it makes no difference. But in that case your 100 Megapixels camera + lenses also don’t make much of a difference.
+1 on you post not being helpful!

 

[nazdravanul]

If it's atmospheric and non-deterministic, then just take a few shots and merge/mask them together so that you keep a good one on each area.
Another possibility is taking multiple frames (at least 10 ai'd say) and median-merge them together. The median algorithm will take care of cutting out singularities automatically.

Yes, but when doing focus stacking (which I do, all the time), you will just end up with a broken stack!

 

[nazdravanul]

Not necessarily. Atmospheric heat effects are very transient -- there one second and gone the next.

When I'm comparing lenses of the same focal length to choose one, or comparing mounting or calibration of the same lens, I will shoot the same scene a lot. When the conditions are right, I'll see blurriness in one scene that isn't in a scene I made moments later. This is especially common with longer lenses.

I’ve seen this happen also on 23, 30, 80, 110 lenses etc. Not sure about 45 and 63, but it’s been a while since I’ve shot those …

 

[Pieter 12]

If you really care about those 100 MPs you’re paying for, the difference will be very visible in large prints - 100% enlargement and / or beyond. If you just post images online, sure, it makes no difference. But in that case your 100 Megapixels camera + lenses also don’t make much of a difference.
+1 on you post not being helpful!

And the other posts have been helpful? Has the OP resolved his issue because of them?

 

[nazdravanul]

And the other posts have been helpful? Has the OP resolved his issue because of them?

Yes, I’ve seen very educated statements about some potential factor, not accounted for: atmospheric conditions. I doubt that’s the culprit, but it may stimulate further thinking / warrant further experimentation.
Please, you may not care about this, but we do.

 

[Pieter 12]

Yes, I’ve seen very educated statements about some potential factor, not accounted for: atmospheric conditions. I doubt that’s the culprit, but it may stimulate further thinking / warrant further experimentation.
Please, you may not care about this, but we do.

I'm sure you all care. But who has cared enough to contact the manufacturer?

 

[mristuccia]

Yes, but when doing focus stacking (which I do, all the time), you will just end up with a broken stack!

I see. Of course you could implement my suggestion for each frame of the stack, but I can perfectly understand that this would be cumbersome.

 

[Paul2660]

As for contacting Fuji. I have spoken with them on this issue. All on the GFX100. In 2023 I had a rash of this with the 500mm and thought it might be the lens. Never received any solid answer however this issue has been documented on many photographers websites. Most feel it’s atmospheric however I have found when it’s atmospheric the effect is more of a subtle smearing and all over the image. The way I got around it in 2023 was to shoot multiple exposures then blend back together as the effect is never in the same place. That’s also why I don’t believe it’s atmospheric most times but some issue in the IBIS. Most times I use long glass with the Fuji I will turn IBIS off, use a tripod, remote release, and a 2 second shutter release also I will use ES. Can’t hand hold this setup I understand so that will not do much for the OP. One feature of the GFX100II that is nice is the 100 percent zoom on the EVF as most times I will see this issue when it happens when reviewing the images on the camera.

Paul

 

[SrMphoto]

As for contacting Fuji. I have spoken with them on this issue. All on the GFX100. In 2023 I had a rash of this with the 500mm and thought it might be the lens. Never received any solid answer however this issue has been documented on many photographers websites. Most feel it’s atmospheric however I have found when it’s atmospheric the effect is more of a subtle smearing and all over the image. The way I got around it in 2023 was to shoot multiple exposures then blend back together as the effect is never in the same place. That’s also why I don’t believe it’s atmospheric most times but some issue in the IBIS. Most times I use long glass with the Fuji I will turn IBIS off, use a tripod, remote release, and a 2 second shutter release also I will use ES. Can’t hand hold this setup I understand so that will not do much for the OP. One feature of the GFX100II that is nice is the 100 percent zoom on the EVF as most times I will see this issue when it happens when reviewing the images on the camera.

Paul

Thanks for the update. You probably know that, but to see 100% view with Fuji one has to shoot JPEG as well.

 

[nazdravanul]

As for contacting Fuji. I have spoken with them on this issue. All on the GFX100. In 2023 I had a rash of this with the 500mm and thought it might be the lens. Never received any solid answer however this issue has been documented on many photographers websites. Most feel it’s atmospheric however I have found when it’s atmospheric the effect is more of a subtle smearing and all over the image. The way I got around it in 2023 was to shoot multiple exposures then blend back together as the effect is never in the same place. That’s also why I don’t believe it’s atmospheric most times but some issue in the IBIS. Most times I use long glass with the Fuji I will turn IBIS off, use a tripod, remote release, and a 2 second shutter release also I will use ES. Can’t hand hold this setup I understand so that will not do much for the OP. One feature of the GFX100II that is nice is the 100 percent zoom on the EVF as most times I will see this issue when it happens when reviewing the images on the camera.

Paul

IBIS is my primary suspect, too! I still don’t have a workaround / fix for the issue … except to use my X2D as my primary camera But that doesn’t work with my TS30 and Rodenstock lenses

 

[buildbot]

IBIS is my primary suspect, too! I still don’t have a workaround / fix for the issue … except to use my X2D as my primary camera But that doesn’t work with my TS30 and Rodenstock lenses

I too lean towards blaming IBIS, I know some bloggers have had issues where the momentum of the shutter _starting_ the exposure causes the IBIS mechanism to shift and results in slightly blurring.

I struggle to figure out why that would occur though only in parts? With Electronic first curtain I could see different areas of the sensor starting the exposure at different times causing issues (why would this happen though?) and people are seeing it with mechanical only too...

I personally have not seen this with my GFX 100s, though might not be looking carefully enough.

I actually dislike IBIS for this high res of a camera in general though, it seems better to have a fully aligned and hard mounted sensor as most of the time you'll be on a tripod or hopefully practicing good handholding technique with a fast shutter speed. IBIS is also a HUGE weak point in many cameras, for example I have an RX1R II where the IBIS mount is cracked and now 75% of shots are slightly blurred because the sensor is just bouncing. Another example are iPhones, where the IBIS can be damaged by too much vibration such as mounting it on a bike.

 

[SrMphoto]

I too lean towards blaming IBIS, I know some bloggers have had issues where the momentum of the shutter _starting_ the exposure causes the IBIS mechanism to shift and results in slightly blurring.

I struggle to figure out why that would occur though only in parts? With Electronic first curtain I could see different areas of the sensor starting the exposure at different times causing issues (why would this happen though?) and people are seeing it with mechanical only too...

I personally have not seen this with my GFX 100s, though might not be looking carefully enough.

I actually dislike IBIS for this high res of a camera in general though, it seems better to have a fully aligned and hard mounted sensor as most of the time you'll be on a tripod or hopefully practicing good handholding technique with a fast shutter speed. IBIS is also a HUGE weak point in many cameras, for example I have an RX1R II where the IBIS mount is cracked and now 75% of shots are slightly blurred because the sensor is just bouncing. Another example are iPhones, where the IBIS can be damaged by too much vibration such as mounting it on a bike.

My anecdotal impression is that I get better detail when using a back on a tripod and without IBIS (CFV100c).
However, if I shoot handheld, IBIS helps quite a bit with IQ.

 

[Ben730]

Dear ones
I have finally carried out extensive tests.
It is clearly heat fibrillation.
The phenomenon occurred with the Fuji GFX 100s and also with the Phase One XF IQ3 100.
I am sorry that I have misled some of you.
Until now I was only aware of this shimmering when it was hot. At the moment, however, it's only 14 degrees Celsius outside, so far from hot. However, clouds of heat are forming on the façade of the building, probably due to the internal heating, or perhaps otherwise.
A phenomenon that I had never seen before. You never stop learning.
Kind regards

 

[rdeloe]

Dear ones
I have finally carried out extensive tests.
It is clearly heat fibrillation.
The phenomenon occurred with the Fuji GFX 100s and also with the Phase One XF IQ3 100.
I am sorry that I have misled some of you.
Until now I was only aware of this shimmering when it was hot. At the moment, however, it's only 14 degrees Celsius outside, so far from hot. However, clouds of heat are forming on the façade of the building, probably due to the internal heating, or perhaps otherwise.
A phenomenon that I had never seen before. You never stop learning.
Kind regards

Thanks for closing the loop on this one Ben. I was confident that was the answer, but it is impossible to know for sure what someone else is seeing and experiencing.

As you explain, it's is entirely about the relative temperature difference.

 

[nazdravanul]

Dear ones
I have finally carried out extensive tests.
It is clearly heat fibrillation.
The phenomenon occurred with the Fuji GFX 100s and also with the Phase One XF IQ3 100.
I am sorry that I have misled some of you.
Until now I was only aware of this shimmering when it was hot. At the moment, however, it's only 14 degrees Celsius outside, so far from hot. However, clouds of heat are forming on the façade of the building, probably due to the internal heating, or perhaps otherwise.
A phenomenon that I had never seen before. You never stop learning.
Kind regards

Wow, very interesting, thank you for that! I may have to re-test myself - x2d vs GFX100, but I only have the 30mm lenses to compare (the 30 TS is my only GF lens, currently). Maybe I’ll run the Rodenstock 120 against the xcd 135 …

 

[Pieter 12]

So it not a defect at all, just the recording of a naturally-occurring phenomenon. So much for too much resolution and detail. And pixel-peeping.

 

[Ben730]

So it not a defect at all, just the recording of a naturally-occurring phenomenon. So much for too much resolution and detail. And pixel-peeping.

....and requesting help from the dealer or the manufacturer.

 

[Ai_Print]

Dear ones
I have finally carried out extensive tests.
It is clearly heat fibrillation.
The phenomenon occurred with the Fuji GFX 100s and also with the Phase One XF IQ3 100.
I am sorry that I have misled some of you.
Until now I was only aware of this shimmering when it was hot. At the moment, however, it's only 14 degrees Celsius outside, so far from hot. However, clouds of heat are forming on the façade of the building, probably due to the internal heating, or perhaps otherwise.
A phenomenon that I had never seen before. You never stop learning.
Kind regards

You have not mislead anyone, this is the process we often engage in to rule out things like optical performance in a given lens, IBIS, etc.
I have seen this on occasion with very sharp lenses longer than 100mm on 50MP+ sensors with subject matter medium to far distance. I was shooting some long distance images with my 350mm SA on my X2D and noticed it once the sun had been up awhile.

We all learn from this, no bad questions...