Street Photography with the Fujifilm GFX100RF: A Real-World Test in Valletta, Malta

Valletta in June is a furnace of light, colour, and human energy. It’s the kind of setting that both challenges and rewards a street photographer, especially if you have the right gear. Enter the Fujifilm GFX100RF, a camera that many might not immediately think of when imagining a “street camera,” but which in many ways excels in exactly this role.

In this post I’m going to share with you how using the GFX100RF on a hot June day in Valletta this year taught me new things about candid street photography and how the camera’s features played a big part. If you’re considering using the GFX100RF or wondering whether a medium format-style camera can hold its own on the streets… read on….

Why the GFX100RF is (Surprisingly) Excellent for Street

Before diving into the shoot, a quick refresh of what makes the GFX100RF special:

• Very high resolution (100 megapixels), which means you can capture fine detail, facial expressions from a distance and still crop heavily without losing quality.

• Excellent dynamic range, helping with high-contrast scenes (bright sun, deep shadows) very common in Valletta’s streets.

• Good autofocus and shutter mechanism (relatively fast for a large sensor), not a “mirrorless speed demon”, but capable if you adapt your shooting style.

• Weather sealing and build quality in a compact “carry around as a tourist “camera.

These features offset some of the usual drawbacks of big cameras (size, weight, slower burst rate) when you shoot street. But you adapt, and they pay off.

Techniques & Settings That Helped

Here are some key challenges I encountered — and the strategies I used with the GFX100RF to overcome them:

• Harsh Light / Overexposed Highlights

  
  

  • Strategy: Slightly underexpose and shoot RAW to preserve highlight detail; expose for the brightest areas.

  • Why it worked: The GFX100RF sensor handles highlights well and offers excellent shadow recovery in post.

  
  

• Heavy Contrast Between Alleys and Open Squares

  
  

  • Strategy: Use evaluative/multi-zone metering; sometimes switch to spot metering for bright highlights. Always check the histogram.

  • Why it worked: Helps maintain balance without blown highlights or deep shadows. High resolution means you can crop creatively later.

  
  

• Capturing Candid Shots from a Distance

  
  

  • Strategy: Shoot from farther back and crop in.

  • Why it worked: The GFX100RF’s resolution lets you retain detail even after cropping, perfect for discreet candid moments.

  
  

  Using Subject Detection & Continuous Shooting on the GFX100RF

  
  

  

  

  The Fujifilm GFX100RF isn’t a traditional fast-action camera, but its subject detection and refined continuous shooting give it an unexpected edge in street scenarios — if you know how to use them.

  
  

  Subject Detection (Face/Eye/Body)

  
  

  • Set face and eye detection to ON.

    
    

    The camera can lock on to faces even at a distance — useful when subjects are walking toward or across your frame. The GFX100RF can distinguish people even when they’re partially turned, wearing sunglasses, or partially obscured by crowds.

    
    

  • Choose subject priority wisely.

    
    

    I often set detection to ‘Eye’ priority when shooting individuals in close scenes, and ‘Face’ or ‘Body’ when shooting wider street scenes where a subject might turn or move dynamically.

    
    

  • Great for layering.

    
    

    In crowded scenes (like a busy piazza or alley), subject detection helps maintain sharp focus on the right person even when there’s overlapping movement — ideal for candid frames with depth.

  
  
  
  

  Continuous Shooting (Burst Mode)

  
  
  
  

  • Use Low-Speed Continuous (CL) for a natural feel.

    
    

    The GFX100RF doesn’t fire at 20fps like smaller mirrorless cameras — but in real street photography, that’s rarely needed. I shot in CL mode (around 3–5 fps) to capture expressions evolving without feeling like I was “spraying and praying.”

    
    

  • Shoot in short bursts And stay still, don’t try to shoot while moving.

    
    

  • Set your shutter speed to 1000th sec minimum.

    
    

    One or two short bursts, 3 to 4 frames, was usually enough to catch a gesture mid-air, a fleeting expression, or someone walking cleanly past a background.

    
    

  • Keep the buffer in mind.

    
    

    Since the RAW files are massive, avoid holding down the shutter too long. The GFX100RF writes fast, but conserving bursts keeps you nimble and avoids missing follow-up shots.

    
    

  Pro Tip: Combine the Two

  
  

  One of my favorite techniques was to pre-frame a scene, enable subject detection, and half-press the shutter to let the GFX100RF lock onto a face as someone entered the zone. Then, with CL mode engaged, I’d take a burst the moment the person was fully within the frame, often catching an expressive glance or a moment of interaction with the environment.

  

  

  

• Final Thoughts

  
  

  Street photography is as much about human observation as technical skill, but when your gear can keep up with the rhythm of the street, you free yourself to watch, wait, and react instead of fiddling.

  
  

  With subject detection and continuous shooting, the Fujifilm GFX100RF gives you the tools to do just that, even in a setting as unpredictable and brilliant as Valletta in summer.

  
  

  It’s a dance between intuition and technology and when the timing is right, this camera nails it every time.