Last update: Aug 19, 2024 Posted in Tutorials 13 min read

Fujifilm GFX Settings for Landscape Photography (2024)

Recommended global settings and custom modes for creating landscape images with the Fujifilm GFX 100S II (and other GFX models)

Fujifilm's GFX cameras are sensational for landscape photography. I've shot thousands of landscape images using the GFX 100S, and now with the newly released 100S II, I'm setting up the camera with a fresh batch of modified settings and custom shooting modes tailored for creating landscape images. I'll be referring to the latest GFX 100S II from this point forward, but if you use the first generation 100S, or a different GFX camera model, most of the menu settings will be the same.

Thanks to Squarespace for sponsoring this video and for their continued support of my work! Head to https://squarespace.com/dominey to sign up for a free 30 day trial, then knock 10% off your first purchase of a website or domain using promo code DOMINEY.

Global settings

Global settings are used across every shooting mode, even custom ones. Assign a value to a global setting, and that value is used at all times. The default values that ship with the GFX 100S II are mostly fine, but there are a few I recommend changing.

Disable bluetooth

I rarely pair my GFX 100S II with my smartphone, so I'd rather not waste battery cycles on something I'm not using. I haven't quantitatively measured and compared battery life with Bluetooth enabled and disabled, but odds are the latter is best. Set the following to "OFF", if not already assigned.

Menu > Network/USB Setting > Bluetooth/Smartphone Setting > Bluetooth ON/OFF > OFF

Auto-rotate portrait images

When using the playback mode to browse saved images on the rear LCD screen, the GFX 100S II will rotate portrait images to fill the screen horizontally. This forces you to turn the camera to properly see them. Change the following setting to "ON", and portraits will be correctly oriented and easier to scroll through and preview.

Menu > Set Up > Screen Set-Up > Autorotate PB > ON

Simplify LCD/viewfinder display settings

By default, the GFX 100S II displays loads of icons, text, and tiny bits of information that get in the way when previewing images on the rear LCD screen and when looking through the viewfinder. Thankfully, Fujifilm provides full control over these screens so we may edit them to our liking. I prefer my screens simple and clean, while still retaining the essentials.

To begin, press the "Menu" button on the back of the camera, then navigate here:

Menu > Set Up > Screen Set-Up > Disp. Custom Setting

I recommend disabling everything, except the following:

[x] Framing Guideline
[x] Focus Frame
[x] Focus Indicator
[x] Histogram
[x] Aperture/S-Speed/ISO
[x] Expo. Comp. (Scale)
[x] Touch Screen Mode
[x] Movie Mode & Rec. Time
[x] Mic Level
[x] No storage media warning
[x] Battery level

The first option, "Framing Guideline", will display a 9-slice grid on top of the LCD screen and inside the viewfinder. I like this for compositional purposes and check how straight my lines are when shooting architecture. The GFX includes two additional framing guides ("Grid 24" and "HD"), which can be selected here:

Menu > Set Up > Screen Set-Up > Framing Guideline

After making these edits, both the LCD screen and viewfinder should be much cleaner, simpler, and nicer to look at. Feel free to enable/disable any other setting to customize the screen to your liking.

Customizing buttons and dials

Pretty much every dial and button on the GFX camera body can be customized to fit your particular shooting style. To do so, head over to the following:

Menu > Set Up > Button/Dial Setting > Function (Fn) Setting
Menu > Set Up > Button/Dial Setting > Command Dial Setting

Because there are no right or wrong answers when modifying these, it's important to spend time with the camera and experiment with different button/dial settings to see what feels most comfortable to you. These settings are global, so if you change the function of a button or dial, that is how they will function in every shooting mode (even custom ones).

The two most important buttons I customized on my GFX are the two unlabeled buttons to the right of top LCD screen. I assigned "Electronic Level" to the top button and "Histogram" to the bottom. The former is very helpful when leveling a camera on a tripod, while the latter is great for viewing a full histogram with all three color channels (red, green and blue). This can be very helpful in environments with a bright, dominant color (like orange and red in the American west, or blue during blue hour) to ensure that color channel isn't overexposed and clipped.

Custom shooting modes

The GFX 100S has six custom shooting modes (C1-C6) selectable through a round mode dial at top left. We can use these custom modes to save settings frequently used for different types of shooting. I much prefer using custom modes to the built-in exposure modes (A, M, S, etc) for then I know exactly how the camera is configured and I can quickly change from one shooting style to another.

Note that the C1-C6 modes can be programmed for both stills and video. This means you have six custom modes for video and six for photography when toggling the "Movie/Still" switch above the mode dial. For this walkthrough I'll be focusing on still photography, but the same process will apply when creating custom modes for video.

Auto update custom settings

By default, GFX cameras automatically save settings to the custom mode currently selected. Meaning, if you have "C1" selected on the mode dial and change any setting (that isn't global) on the camera, that setting will be automatically saved and stored in C1.

This behavior is controlled by "Auto Update Custom Settings", which you'll find here in the menu system:

Menu > I.Q. > Auto Update Custom Setting

This is set to "Enable" by default. When set to "Disabled", custom mode settings are not saved automatically and must be saved manually instead. Note that "Auto Update" is a global setting, so its value will affect every shooting mode.

I like keeping this set to "Enable" when I'm first setting up custom modes, for it allows me to build a custom mode while using and shooting with the camera. I can also power the camera off without worrying about losing my custom mode settings (because they're saved automatically).

But after I'm comfortable with how a custom mode is working, I switch this to "Disable". That way, I get the exact same custom modes every time I power the camera on. I know what I'm getting, and I'm not accidentally re-using weird settings I may have enabled earlier.

If you'd rather setup you custom modes manually, feel free to set this to "Disable" and make whatever edits and changes you want. After doing so, you will see a red dot next to the custom mode, as shown below.

Menu > I.Q. > Edit/Save Custom Setting > C1

Red dot signifying unsaved edits to custom mode

Anytime you see this red dot, it means there are custom mode settings that have yet to be saved and will be lost if the camera is powered off. To check which settings the red dot applies to, select the following:

Menu > I.Q. > Edit/Save Custom Setting > C1 > Edit/Check

This menu looks just like the regular menu, but with "Edit/Check" at top right, as shown below.

To save an unsaved setting, highlight it in the menu, then press the "Q" button on the back of the camera. This will save the setting to the custom mode and remove the setting's red dot. If you have many edits and want to save everything, select this instead:

Menu > I.Q. > Edit/Save Custom Setting > C1 > Save Current Settings

Note that you can also remove all unsaved settings in the same menu, if necessary.

C1: Single landscape images

This mode is for shooting single, 16-bit landscape images with the camera mounted to a tripod. This is the mode I use most often when taking landscape images. If "C1" is not already selected on the shooting mode dial, go ahead and make that change now.

Assign a shooting mode

First step is assigning a shooting mode. To do so, press the "Q" button on the back of the camera body. The first box at top left will display the current shooting mode assigned to C1. Scroll the horizontal wheel above "Q" to view available options.

Aperture Priority shooting mode in the Q menu

Personally, I prefer shooting in Aperture Priority mode ("A"). In this mode, the camera will automatically select an appropriate shutter speed to match my selected aperture and fixed ISO (more on the latter later). And I can still use exposure compensation to override the camera's shutter speed, if need be.

Drive mode

Press the "Drive" button on the back-left of the camera (next to the Trash button above the LCD screen). You will then see a list of available drive modes. Make sure the first "Still Image" option is selected, as shown below.

Press the "Menu" button the back of the camera. The first menu is the "I.Q." (short for "Image Quality"). On the first screen, select the following:

Menu > I.Q. > Image Quality > Raw

All images will then be raw image files, which are the most malleable when editing later in post. If you want to capture JPGs in addition to raw, you can select a different option in this menu that will include those as well.

Next setting is "Raw Recording". Fujifilm cameras provide three types of raw files: "Uncompressed", "Lossless" and "Compressed". Uncompressed raw files are very large and take up more card space, while Compressed consumes less space but can reduce image quality. Lossless is a happy medium, providing the same image quality as Uncompressed, but with smaller files sizes.

Menu > I.Q. > Raw Recording > Lossless

Photographers will argue over whether there's any practical difference between 14 and 16-bit images, but for me, I simply prefer shooting in the highest bit depth possible because the camera supports it.

Menu > I.Q. > Raw Recording > Lossless > 16-bit

Next setting is "White Balance". If you're perfectly happy shooting in "Auto" mode, then by all means, keep the default value. But I recommend using a fixed color temperature of 5600 kelvin. I explained why in my recent 10 Beginner Landscape Photography Mistakes article and video, so feel free to check that out.

Menu > I.Q. > White Balance > K > 5600 kelvin

Next recommended change is "Long Exposure NR", with "NR" standing for noise reduction. I'd rather apply noise reduction myself after-the-fact (especially now with excellent tools like PureRaw and Photo AI), so I set this to "Off" to prevent the camera from applying noise reduction when capturing images.

Menu > I.Q. > Long Exposure NR > Off

Auto Manual Focus settings menu on GFX 100S II

Press the "Menu" button on the back of the camera, press left on the rear joystick, then select "AF/MF" (Auto Focus/Manual Focus) in the sidebar. If you would like the option of manually adjusting focus while using an auto focus mode, set the following setting to "On". You may then use the manual focus ring on the lens to override the autofocusing system.

Menu > AF/MF > AF+MF > On

Next couple of settings will make previewing manual focus better and easier. "Focus Check" zooms-in the LCD preview screen to give you a closer look (press the "DISP/BACK" button to zoom out, if needed) when the camera is set to manual focus, or when pressing the shutter button halfway down in autofocus. "MF Assist" helps you see the sharpest areas of the image by highlighting them. I like the "Red (High)" color most.

Menu > AF/MF > Focus Check > On
Menu > AF/MF > MF Assist > Focus Peak Highlight > Red (High)

Press the "Menu" button on the back of the camera, press left on the rear joystick, then select the third "Shooting Settings" option in the sidebar (icon looks like a camera).

First, we need to enable the self-timer. This will add a short two second timer that counts down each time the shutter button is pressed. I like using self-timers when shooting on a tripod (especially with slow shutter speeds) to mitigate vibrations that might occur after engaging the shutter.

Menu > Shooting Settings > Self-Timer > 2 seconds

Further modifying the self-timer, I also recommend changing the following. "Save Self-Timer Setting" will retain the timer (and not automatically disable it), while "Self-Timer Lamp" will disable the blinking LED light on the front of the camera body (which is unnecessary and annoying, especially for others).

Menu > Shooting Settings > Save Self-Timer Setting > On
Menu > Shooting Settings > Self-Timer Lamp > Off

Further down this menu you'll find "ISO". This should be set to "80" by default (or "100" if using a different GFX camera). Low ISO values help control noise, retain detail, and are well supported when shooting on a tripod, as we're doing with this custom mode.

Menu > Shooting Settings > ISO > 80

Next setting to change is image stabilization (IBIS). The GFX 100S II has an excellent IBIS system, but in practical use it's only needed when shooting handheld. Fujifilm also recommends disabling this when shooting on a tripod to minimize internal shake and vibration. So for both of those reasons, we should disable it for this custom mode. Note that disabiling IS only affects this custom mode for still photography and does not change other shooting modes, including video.

Menu > Shooting Settings > IS Mode > Off

Press the "Menu" button on the back of the camera, press left on the rear joystick, then select the fifth "Setup" option in the sidebar (icon looks like a wrench). This is the same menu we edited at the beginning of this article, but the sound settings are mode specific, not global, so we need to edit them here. I don't like to hear sounds when I'm in a quiet landscape, so I disable all sounds except the shutter.

Menu > Set-Up > Sound Set-Up > (Everything "Off" except electronic shutter volume)

Because we're shooting on a tripod, the focusing system doesn't need quick responsiveness. We can conserve power by downgrading camera performance, and enable power saving to automatically dim the LCD screen when the camera is idle.

Menu > Set-Up > Performance > Normal
Menu > Set-Up > Auto Power Save > On

Naming the C1 custom mode

Alright, now that we have all our settings edited, we can make the C1 mode more descriptive by changing its name. This name will only be visible in the settings menu, but I like renaming them to remember which custom mode is which. Navigate to the custom name menu shown below, and use the on-screen keyboard to name it. I named mine "Tripod Single" so I know this is the mode for capturing single images on a tripod.

Menu > I.Q. > Edit/Save Custom Setting > C1 > Edit Custom Name

Congrats! You just setup your first custom mode on the GFX.

C2: Bracketed landscape images

Now let's setup a second custom mode for shooting bracketed (HDR) images, a popular technique in landscape photography that expands the dynamic range of the camera by creating multiple images of varying exposures (which may then be blended together later in Lightroom or other apps). The dynamic range of the GFX 100S II is already very good (especially when shooting at ISO 80), but this mode can help produce images with less noise in the shadows, better highlight color, and mitigate black/white clipping.

This custom mode is essentially the same as C1, but with a different drive mode. Thankfully, we don't have to create this mode from scratch. We can copy the settings from C1, paste them into C2, then make adjustments! Super simple and easy.

First, switch the mode dial on top of the camera to "C2". Then navigate to the following:

Menu > I.Q. > Edit/Save Custom Setting > C1 > Copy

The camera will then ask which custom mode you want to copy C1's settings to. Select "C2". A confirmation screen will appear (see below) to make sure.

Now we need to make a few adjustments to complete this custom mode for HDR photography.

Drive mode

Press the "Drive" button on the back-left of the camera (next to the Trash button above the LCD screen). You will then see a list of available drive modes. Select the "BKT" option in the sidebar, then select the first "AE BKT" option.

Press the "Menu" button on the back of the camera, press left on the rear joystick, then select the third "Shooting Settings" option in the sidebar (icon looks like a camera). Then select the following in the menu:

Menu > Shooting Settings > AE BKT Setting

These settings control the number of bracketed exposures and how they are sequenced on the SD card. Here are the settings I use:

Menu > Shooting Settings > AE BKT Setting > Frames/Step Setting > ±3 frames, 2 step
Menu > Shooting Settings > AE BKT Setting > 1 Frame/Continuous > Continuous

The first setting controls the number of images that will be captured. Standard HDR practice is shooting one normal exposure, then one under and one over. I do the same by selecting "±3 frames". "Step" controls how far apart in stops the additional exposures are. I recommend either "1" or "2" stops. I prefer "2" for maximum dynamic range.

Naming the C2 custom mode

Yes, our C2 custom mode is now complete! Nice, right? Now all we need to do is rename it, similar to the C1 mode from earlier. To do so, navigate here and use the on-screen keyboard to rename it. I named mine "Tripod Bracket".

Menu > I.Q. > Edit/Save Custom Setting > C2 > Edit Custom Name

Finishing custom modes

With our C1 and C2 modes configured and ready to go, I highly recommend disabling the "Auto Update Custom Setting" mode we enabled at the beginning of this article. Here's where you do that:

Menu > I.Q. > Auto Update Custom Setting > Disable

Now the camera will no longer automatically save exposure and menu settings to the custom modes. Changes must be now be saved manually, as described earlier, and will provide you with consistent settings every time you power on the camera and select a custom mode.

Summary

Those are all my recommended changes for improving usability and performance with the GFX 100S II when creating landscape images. I encourage you to test out other settings on your own, and create additional custom shooting modes that suit your particular workflow and style of photography. If there's a modified setting that has worked well for you, or you spot any mistakes in this article, please let me know.