What is the best headshot lens for the Fujifilm GFX ?

One of the common questions a photographer will face when they start to take headshots and portraits is what is the optimal lens for a headshot.

The best headshot lens for the Fujifilm GFX system is the GF 110mm f2. The 110mm f2 is equivalent to an 86.9mm in full frame. The sweet spot for headshots is between 85-105mm. Some photographers like 92-93mm better but the lenses that are around that focal length in Fujifilm world, are not fast, are too big or they don’t have the best on Image quality.

The best professional headshot photographers will tend to stick to that range of focal lengths. The 110mm is the sharpest at around F4-F5.6, perfect aperture for headshots using constant light like the Flex Kit, without blinding your clients or pushing the iso beyond 200.

Why?

Focal lengths, depending on the sensor size, will cover a similar field of view and provide the same perspective. On the GFX system you need to multiply the focal length by 0.79 to get the equivalent in the full frame world.

A wider field of view produces “less compression” and more “bloated” shapes close to the camera. This mean that taking a headshot with a 50mm, the photographer will need to stay closer to the subject just to obtain a similar composition but when we do that, our subject will look wider.

One of the main objectives when we take headshots, is to make people look better, to mark their facial features, like jawline, cheekbones, etc. Having a lens that widen such features, will make people look unnatural and not flattering at all.

But you said that some photographers prefer the 92-93mm focal length.

Yes, and I agree it will look better. If Fujifilm ever makes a 105mm equivalent (132mm), with the same quality as the 110mm, I will pounce to that lens on release date. I would even consider a 135mm equivalent. I personally like the look on portraits of large telephotos.

The GFX system has two lenses that cover that focal range. Those lenses are the 120mm and the 100-200mm. Let’s start saying that both of those lenses are not as sharp as the 110mm, that is not usually a problem, but if you are spending a couple of thousand dollars, you may want to get the best.

Before giving my opinion about the lenses trying to justify why the 110mm is better, have in mind that the IQ of these lenses, with a GFX camera, is probably better than the majority of other combos you can get out there.

GF 120mm

The 120mm IQ is good but not as good the 110mm and its main problem is focus accuracy. Using eye autofocus, is a not competitive option. Fujifilm is not the best in that technology, but the eye hit with the 120mm lens, drops substantially compared with the 110mm. The focus is slow. Yes, it takes an obscene amount of extra time to focus compared with the 110mm. The lens motors are loud, yes, that lens will create a constant noise that may distract your subjects (or yourself)

A professional headshot photographer will get the best expressions of the subject in front of the camera. You don’t want an out of focus image because of the focus didn’t hit the right point or miss the image because the lens was hunting to find the right spot to focus.

Is the 120mm sharper than the 110mm?

No it is not, I have done some test and I didn’t find it sharper, actually a bit softer on the edges compared with the 110mm. But again, you don’t need to trust me, there are MTF charts that validate my opinion. In that same blog you will find more tests about the lenses.

GF 100-200mm

This could be our next option, the focus is fast, is not as heavy as it looks like and covers a decent range. The problem comes that is a 5.6 lens, making it super slow, not bright and the IQ is so much worst than the 110mm that why would you spend similar money for that lens if you want to focus on portraits and headshots? I personally would not like to use this lens with LED lights.

I just bought a GFX camera and I need a good lens for portraits and headshots, what is the best lens for portraits and headshots?

I would personally still go for the 110mm but for portraits, things may get a bit complicated because of studio space.

45-100mm F4. is probably the best lens for portraits and headshots in the GFX world. It covers from a 35.55mm to a 79mm. It is not in the 85mm to 105mm range that I recommend, but is close. You will save some money and is definitely easier to take portraits with that lens than with the 110mm F2. One good thing of this lens is that it has IS and it focuses as quick as the 110mm.

That lens has its own issues, as it suffers a lot from Chromatic Aberrations, so if you use at F4 it may give you some surprises. The lens is sharp, like really sharp, so you shouldn’t be worried about that.

The only big problem that you may encounter is the speed of the lens. Being an F4 lens, can give some headaches to photographers during a natural light portrait or shoot. Those tend to abuse of the bokeh and you may want to check the primes if you have the budget (especially the 80mm F1.7)