Fujifilm GFX With Hasselblad V Lenses: Adapting the Zeiss Planar 80mm F2.8 to 100MP Medium Format

Fujifilm’s GFX cameras have a sensor much larger than full frame, and a short mount that will take almost anything with an adapter. That opens a door most systems can’t: the old Carl Zeiss lenses made for Hasselblad’s V-system medium format film cameras. Mount one of these on a GFX and you’re shooting a lens designed for medium format, on a medium format sensor, with modern 100MP resolution.

The classic choice is the Zeiss Planar 80mm f/2.8, the standard lens that shipped on countless Hasselblad 500-series cameras. Used copies are plentiful. So are adapters.

You lose autofocus and every bit of electronic communication. What you get is a look, and a way of shooting, that native lenses don’t offer.

Why the Planar works on GFX

The GFX sensor measures 43.8 by 32.9 millimeters. A Hasselblad V lens was designed to cover a 6x6 centimeter film frame, far bigger than that. So the GFX uses the sharpest middle part of the lens’s image circle, and the corners hold up better than most adapted lenses manage on full frame.

On a GFX, 80mm frames like a lens of about 63mm on full frame. That’s a slightly long normal view, good for half-length portraits, still life and street pictures with a little distance. At f/2.8 on this sensor size, depth of field is shallower than f/2.8 on full frame at the same framing, so you still get real subject separation.

The rendering is softer and lower in contrast than Fujifilm’s own GF lenses, especially wide open. Many people adapt it for exactly that reason. Skin looks gentle and highlights roll off smoothly. Stopped down to f/8 it’s sharp enough for landscape work on a 102MP sensor, though it won’t match a modern GF lens in the corners.

The adapter and how to shoot

Fotodiox makes a Hasselblad V to GFX adapter, plus helicoid and shift versions for people who want closer focus or perspective control. V lenses have their own leaf shutter, and a good adapter keeps it open so the camera’s shutter does the work. Check how your adapter handles this before you buy.

Set the camera to aperture priority, set the aperture on the lens, and focus with magnified live view or focus peaking. The GFX100 II and GFX100S II both have in-body stabilization. Enter 80mm in the camera’s manual focal length setting so it knows how much to correct.

This is slow photography. It suits portraits, still life, travel at a walking pace and landscapes. It doesn’t suit events.

Native GF lenses if you’d rather not adapt

If you want autofocus, Fujifilm’s own GF lenses are the obvious path. The GF 63mm f/2.8 is the small normal lens at about 405 grams. The GF 80mm f/1.7, launched in 2021 at $2,499, is the fastest GF lens and the modern equivalent of the Planar look with autofocus. The GF 110mm f/2 is the portrait specialist. For zooms, the GF 20-35mm f/4, GF 32-64mm f/4 and GF 45-100mm f/4 form Fuji’s medium format trinity.

Fujifilm also sells its own H Mount Adapter G, for the Fujinon HC lenses made for the Hasselblad H system. Those lenses keep their leaf shutters and sync with flash at speeds up to 1/800 sec, which studio photographers value.

Which GFX body

The Fujifilm GFX100S II at $4,999 is the sensible home for an adapted Planar: smaller, lighter and stabilized. The GFX100 II adds speed, video and a better viewfinder, which helps when you’re focusing by eye. Either way, an 80mm Planar costs far less than a native GF prime, and it’s a good way to find out whether slow medium format shooting is for you.