Meike 33mm f/1.4 XF Autofocus Lens Now Available

The new Meike 33mm f/1.4 XF APS-C Prime lens is now available at BHphoot here and Meike here.

It should soon be listed also at Amazon here and Adorama here.

This is Meike’s 3rd autofocus lens for Fujifilm X mount.

And yes, I know we usually say “the more, the merrier”, and I agree with that.

But this focal length is already well covered and maybe it would be a good move by third party manufacturer to offer something different and not yet covered by other brands.

And maybe even more importantly: why not offer G mount autofocus lenses?

Meike 33mm f/1.4 vs…

Also promised to come for X mount are the Meike AF 16mm f/1.4 and Meike AF 23mm f/1.4.

All Meike X AF mount lenses

Fujifilm USA Teams Up with Fuji X Weekly to Offer Film Simulation Photowalks in USA

In the recent months, Fujifilm USA has (finally) fully embraced the film simulation recipe community by cooperating with Ritchie Roesch of Fuji X Weekly.

The latest result of this cooperation are the Film Simulation Photowalks that will take place in several cities across the USA in August.

So, if you live in one of the “photowalk cities”, feel free to join the photowalk.

All details can be found at this Fuji X weekly and this Fujifilm USA page.

Fujifilm X-T4 Extended Spectrum Infrared Camera

Wait, a Fujifilm X-T4 infrared camera?

If that sounds new to you, here is recap:

Well, now the Fujifilm X-T4 IR Extended Spectrum is back at BHphoto, this time even more affordable than at its original listing (now $1,899 instead of $2,199).

I find dedicated IR version a great way to give “older” cameras a new life.

I just wish they were made available for the large public, since as of now sales restrictions apply that you can read at the dedicated BHphoto page (click “CONFIDENTIAL DOCUMENT”). Included in the list of people who can purchase it are “professional artists” and “professional qualified Buyers and videographers that intend to use the purchased Infrared and Extended Spectrum Products for the creation of fine art.”

Capture One Adds Reala Ace Support

Capture One has announced that REALA ACE support has been added in Capture One 16.4.4 for the following Fujifilm cameras: GFX100II, GFX100SII, X100VI, X-H2, X-H2s, X-S20, X-T5, X-T50.

You can download the latest Capture One 16.4.4 here and view the release notes here.

Of course I have the perpetual license, so no Reala Ace for me.

At the end I’ll have to give up on the idea to stick with perpetual licenses. I will start to rent my editing software. But I am not sure it will still be Capture One.

Fujifilm GFX50S II Kits Start to be Discontinued – The End of 50MP GFX?

The first stores in Japan are now marking the Fujifilm GFX50SII as discontinued, as reported by the Japanese website asobinet.

In the US we can see the kit version is out of stock at BHphoto (with the “request assistance” note) as well as unavailable at Adorama.

Given that it is now discontinued in Japan, I don’t have high hopes for at least the kit version to be back in stock anywhere else.

The Fujifilm GFX50SII was announced back in September 2021.

Fujifilm did lots of things right with the GFX50SII, but one thing wrong.

They did give us a nice and relatively compact body, with IBIS and 4th generation processor. The price was quite good back than in 2021. But the one thing they got wrong is the sensor. They used the identical 50MP sensor in use in the original Fujifilm GFX50S and also in the even older Pentax 645Z of 2014.

Make no mistake: the sensor itself delivers wonderful files. But the readout is slow. And you can put in the best processor in the world, but in terms of autofocus speed and rolling shutter performance there is only that much you can do when your true bottleneck is in the sensor (non-BSI and contrast detection AF only).

Now, I get it. For many GFX50SII shooters “autofocus speed” might not be the top priority. I think at all those who shoot landscape photography for example. But for many, like me, who also document family life with GFX, a decent autofocus is definitely welcome. That’s why I went for the GFX100S (with BSI and phase detection).

I get it that Fujifilm can only use Sony sensors, and that there is no 44×33 BSI 50MP sensor out there. So Fujifilm has to use what Sony offers. But at the end I think that the life-cycle of that ancient 50MP sensor should have ended with the GFX50R in 2018. Re-proposing it again in 2021 in the GFX50SII was just one iteration too much for that sensor.

Where do we go from here?

Well, I don’t know if this is the end of 50MP GFX. I still hope (not rumor) that somehow a 44x33mm 50MP BSI and Phase Detection sensor will appear one day. Or maybe something in between 50 and 100 megapixel. But that is more in the hands of Sony semiconductors rather than in Fujifilm.