Ok, given the rumor I’ve posted last week here, that said that the X-E2 won’t get Classic Chrome via firmware udpate, I now already hear you say: “This makes no sense, Patrick! Why should the X-E1 get Classic Chrome, and the X-E2 not?” And your doubts are absolutely understandable, but…

… but what would you have thought if, back in June, I’d have said: “You know what guys? Fuji will soon bring out a firmware update that adds direct Instax SHARE Smartphone Printer SP-1 support to the entry level cameras X-A1, XQ1 and X-M1… but not to the X-E2”? Well, you probably would have said, “this makes no sense, Patrick! Why should the cheap Fujifilm cameras get this feature via firmware update, and the superior X-E2 not?” But that’s what happened. The entry level cameras have received this feature via firmware udpate, and the much better X-E2 (still) not. Makes no sense, but that’s it!

I’ve made this little introduction just to let you know that, with Fujifilm, everything is possible, even that the X-E1 gets Classic Chrome, and the X-E2 not.

And here is the rumor: a new source had a talk with a Fuji Rep at the Photoplus in NY. The source, who owns an Fujifilm X-E1, asked if his X-E1 will get Classic Chrome, and the Fujifilm Rep answered that the X-E1 will indeed get the CC Film Simulation via firmware update by the end of this year.

Now, in the past, the Fujifilm X-E1 and Fujifilm X-PRO1 were updated contemporaneously with the same features, so, if the rumor is correct (and the Fuji Rep was well informed and didn’t confuse X-T1 with X-E1), I’m pretty confident that also the X-PRO1 will get Classic Chrome.

That said, please consider that the X-E2 firmware rumor with no Classic Chrome and also the rumor shared with you today, they both come from NEW SOURCES, so please don’t take them as a fact, but as what it is: a rumor… or, as Ernest Hamlin Abbott said: “Rumors are not news; but they sometimes foreshadow news.” So take it with a grain of salt for now.

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THE X DEALS

lenses

XF 56mm f/1.2 (save $150): BHphoto / AmazonUS / Adorama / Pictureline
XF 23mm f/1.4 (save $200): BHphoto / AmazonUS / Adorama / Pictureline
XF 14mm f/2.8 (save $200): BHphoto / AmazonUS / Adorama / Pictureline
XF 35mm f/1.4 (save $100): BHphoto / AmazonUS / Adorama / Pictureline
XF 60mm f/2.4 (save $150): BHphoto / AmazonUS / Adorama / Pictureline
XF 10-24mm (save $200): BHphoto / AmazonUS / Adorama / Pictureline
XF 55-200mm (save $150): BHphoto / AmazonUS / Adorama / Pictureline

cameras

X-T1 body (save $100): BHphoto / AmazonUS / Adorama / Pictureline
X-T1 + XF18-55 (save $100): BHphoto / AmazonUS / Adorama / Pictureline
X100S (save $200): BHphoto / AmazonUS / Adorama /Pictureline
X-PRO1 + 18mm (save $300): BHphoto / AmazonUS / Adorama / Pictureline
X-E1 + 18mm (save $300): BHphoto / AmazonUS / Adorama / Pictureline
X-M1 + 18mm (save $300): BHphoto / AmazonUS / Adorama / Pictureline
X-E2 + XF18-55: AmazonUS / BHphoto / Adorama / Pictureline.

A new source just told me, that the upcoming Fujifilm X-E2 firmware will give us X-E2 shooters WiFi remote control… but no Classic Chrome film simulation.

If I had the choice, I’d prefer to get the WiFi remote control over Classic Chrome via firmware update, but I have to say that I like the Classic Chrome look and it would be a nice addition to the existing film simulations. But, well, I bought the X-E2 when it still had no color focus peaking, no X-T1-alike EVF refresh rate, no possibility to edit image the file names… and now, only one year after, I have all this and will even get the remote WiFi control. That makes me a happy customer, classic chrome or not :-).

Obviously, since it is a new source, take this information with a grain of salt… for my part I still hope to get it with the next firmware.

It was expected for September, its release had been pushed back to mid November, and the latest info we have vom BHphoto, is that the Nissin i40 flash is expected to be available on December 29. The same flash is ready and available on the market for other brands, but not for Fujifilm. I’ve shared rumors in the past, that Nissin is waiting for the proper Fujifilm firmware update to release the flash.

At the German store WexDE the Nissin i40 is said to be ready for shipping “in 1 to 10 weeks“, which basically means “we have no idea when it will be available“.

The Fujifilm X-PRO2 rumor is by far the trickiest rumor I’ve ever worked on (mainly because Fuji often changes plans about it. Release & Specs may have changed 3 or more times until now). Hence, did you take the holy grain of salt? Ok, then let’s sit down talk about the Fujifilm X-PRO2 now.

First off, the rumor comes from a new source. It’s the same source, who shared the Full Size JPEG’s taken with the XF 50-140mm f/2.8 OIS WR (and I posted yesterday here). I have the expressed permission of the source to share this detail with all of you.

So, as proven by the pics, the source attended a Fuji event, where it had the opportunity to take some shots with the upcoming XF 50-140mm f/2.8 OIS WR and XF 56mm f/1.2 APD… and also to talk to a Fuji Rep. At the event, the Rep told to the source, that the Fujifilm X-PRO2 will be announced “in early or first half next year.” The rep also said that Fuji is working on a HSS flash (which confirms rumors shared previously here).

Sure, with all respect to the Fuji Reps, we still have to be careful with this information. Also, consider that this is a new source. So, again, take it cum grano salis. What we know for sure is that at photokina, Fuji Guy Greg said that the Fujifilm X-PRO2 won’t be Full Frame, but “worth the wait”.

Message to sources: you can contact Fujirumors 100% anonymously via rumor box (maybe using a nick name so that I can eventually recognize you in future) or via email at fujirumor [at] gmail.com. Feel free to make my X-PRO2 rumor sleuthing a bit easier ;)

Fujifilm X-PRO2 rumored specs list

(TS= trusted source / NeS =New Source / AS = Anonymous Source / AswN = anonymous source with nick-name / SRP = source who was right in the past, but not yet trusted / ORS = other rumor sites)

– APS-C sensor (TS + ASwN + AS)
– 24MP sensor (ASwN) – More than 16MP (ASwN)
– available early/first half of 2015 (NeS)
– tilt screen (AS)
– WiFi (AS)
– Non organic ASP-C X-Trans sensor (ORS)
– Price about 20% to 30% more expensive than the X-T1 (AS)

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Fuji X100S deal: at BHphoto, AmazonUS, Adorama and Pictureline
Fuji X-E2 deal: at AmazonUS, BHphoto, Adorama and Pictureline

_ _ _

THE RUMOR

As you know, in early June I told you about an updated 35mm f/1.4. It has become quiet around this rumor, so that I thought that Fuji has dropped original plans. But now an anonymous source told me that the 35mmMKII could be announced early 2015.

THE PATENT
[UDPATE: As JoHo said in the comments: The US patent is a (presumably just translated) version of a patent that has been filed in December 2011 in Japan (see priority date). So it is unlikely that it refers to a new design.]

ORIGINAL POST: And this could be another hint: here is a patent (click here) showing a new 35mm f/1.4 lens. So there were/are definitely plans to upgrade it. Early rumors said that the upgrade would basically be just about a faster AF speed (and not weather sealing).

But be careful: a rumor + a patent are still not a fact! So take it with the usual grain of salt for now. Especially since at photokina a manager said that the 35 ver.2 could eventually come after they have released all the other lenses…. but I remember managers denying an update to the X100 just a few months before the X100S was announced, so who knows…

Don’t worry, I’ll do my homeworks and hopefully be able to update you soon with something more reliable.

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