Gordon Laing Photographs the Beauty of Iceland With the Fujifilm GFX100RF

May 06, 2025

Jaron Schneider

Gordon Laing, an outstanding camera reviewer from CameraLabs and friend of PetaPixel, just published his review of the Fujifilm GFX100RF which he took to arguably one of the best locations for the compact medium format camera: Iceland.

Buy the Fujifilm GFX100RF new on Amazon.com Buy the Fujifilm GFX100RF used on KEH.com

“In April 2025, I took the Fujifilm GFX100RF on a one-week road trip around Iceland, flying into Akureyi in the North before driving clockwise around the entire island and Western Peninsula, before returning to Akureyi to fly back out again,” Laing tells PetaPixel.

Panoramic view of a coastal landscape with patches of snow on rocky hills, a winding road, flat brown fields, and distant mountains under a cloudy sky by the sea.

Colorful aurora lights in shades of purple, pink, and green spread across a dark night sky with faint stars visible in the background.

A tall, conical mountain rises behind a small waterfall cascading into a rocky stream, surrounded by brown grasslands under a clear sky.

“I thought the GFX100RF would be the perfect camera for this trip, with the flexibility of zooming and cropping into different aspect ratios, not to mention having weather-proofing for the changeable conditions — which saw about a foot of snow fall on us overnight in the east.”

When PetaPixel reviewed the camera earlier this year, it did so with a street photography slant. Laing’s video approaches it from a mainly landscape perspective, which should be helpful to potential buyers who are hoping to hear if it’s ideal for their particular use cases.

“The camera didn’t miss a beat, and under the right conditions, delivered epic landscape images packed with detail. But equally, some other conditions illustrated what the camera was less suited for and why others may be better depending on the subject and your style of shooting,” Laing notes.

A wide, rocky landscape with patches of snow on distant mountains under a cloudy sky, featuring a winding river or lake cutting through the rough terrain.

A blue sign with two cartoon faces about to kiss and hearts above them says “KISS PLEASE" near a road, with a church and mountain in the background.

An old, rusted fishing boat labeled "GK2" rests abandoned on a black sand beach, with mountains and cloudy skies in the background.

A rusty, abandoned fishing boat with the word “SOLIÓS” painted on its cabin sits tilted on a shore, with choppy sea and distant mountains visible under a partly cloudy sky.

Panoramic view of a coastal landscape with patches of snow on rocky hills, a winding road, flat brown fields, and distant mountains under a cloudy sky by the sea.

The GFX100RF was designed with almost a singular focus: keep it compact. In order to achieve this, multiple concessions were made to it compared to the X100VI which was announced the year before, including the exclusion of in-body image stabilization, the speed of the aperture, and the hybrid optical viewfinder. Laing mentions that while the look of the front of the camera isn’t as classy as the X100 series, he doesn’t miss the hybrid nature — he never used the OVF much anyway.

A tall, illuminated church with a pointed, tiered façade and a clock near the top stands against a deep blue sky at dusk. Blurred silhouettes of people are seen walking in front of the entrance.

A tall, modern concrete church with a stepped, symmetrical facade and a central clock tower, lit by warm sunlight against a partly cloudy sky.

Rows of tomato plants grow indoors under artificial lights, with clusters of green and red tomatoes hanging from vines along a narrow walkway in a greenhouse.

“In a street shooting situation, photographers generally use faster shutter speeds anyway so I’m not too concerned in that particular scenario. However, I know I’m going to encounter landscape and architecture situations where I will need to bring a tripod or, alternatively, raise my ISO at the expense of image quality,” Chris Niccolls says in his review. “How much this fact will bother you largely depends on the kind of photography you do. In practice, I was able to hold steady at around 1/30 second which is pretty good without IBIS but I did prefer to keep the shutter speeds around 1/60 to 1/125 to better ensure stability.”

Waves crash against dark, jagged rocks on a coastline, with two towering sea stacks rising from the ocean under a cloudy sky.

A tall, narrow waterfall flows over a cliff of striking hexagonal basalt columns, surrounded by rocky terrain and sparse vegetation under an overcast sky.

A large glacier with jagged ice formations stretches into a murky glacial lake, surrounded by steep, rocky mountains and snow-covered peaks under a partly cloudy sky.

A clear chunk of ice rests on a rocky shoreline, with a blurred background of water and distant mountains under a cloudy sky.

Large chunks of ice float in a glacial lagoon, with snow-capped mountains and a glacier in the background under a cloudy sky.

A winding coastal road runs alongside a snow-dusted mountain slope, with the ocean to the left and low clouds shrouding the peaks, creating a cold, misty atmosphere.

Snow-capped jagged mountains rise above a brown grassy plain with a small cluster of houses near a winding river under a cloudy, overcast sky.

Black and white photo of a waterfall cascading between rugged, rocky cliffs into a pool below, surrounded by jagged rocks and boulders. The water appears silky due to a long exposure.

The lack of IBIS and the speed of the lens are both notes Laing mentions. IBIS is a major point, especially given his subject matter in Iceland. Laing also notes that to get consistently sharp hand-held photos, he required a 1/125 second shutter speed — the top end of what Niccolls notes.

“As I went along I filmed sections in various parts of the island to illustrate the pros and cons of the camera. It was a tough schedule, but an amazing location, while the GFX100RF captured some images I’m really pleased with,” Laing says. “I hope you enjoy my road trip review!”

Buy the Fujifilm GFX100RF new on Amazon.com Buy the Fujifilm GFX100RF used on KEH.com

Image credits: Photographs by Gordon Laing, CameraLabs