Polaroid Wants Fujifilm to Pay Millions of Dollars in Annual Royalty for Instant Square Film Borders, Reports Say

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Polaroid Vs. Fujifilm

Back in September 2016, at photokina, Fujifilm showed to the world the Instant Square Film. Then, in 2017, Fujifilm started releasing cameras for that type of square film, the hybrid Fujifilm Instax SQ10 and the Instax Share SP-3 printer.

And as you all know, Fujifilm is making tons of money with all those nice Instax products, with expected 7.5 million Instant camera sales in 2017.

Well, now it seems that Polaroid wants a part of that money.

The reason Polaroid asks for royalties is the new Fujifilm Instant Square film. Polaroid apparently claims that the borders of Fujifilm’s square film (where the chamicals are, needed for the development of the film) are “essentially identical” to the ones of Polaroid.

As reported at worldipreview:

“In the suit, the brand licensor and marketer of the IP rights for Polaroid instant cameras—PLR IP—was accused of “turning against Fujifilm by suddenly demanding millions of dollars in annual royalty payments, on threat of a lawsuit”.

“Fujifilm said that Polaroid had alleged trademark and trade dress infringement relating to a border on a photograph (when a photograph is printed onto a plain background to create a “square within a square” effect).”

Polaroid first asked Fujifilm not to launch any square product on the market, and now wants Fujifilm to pay licensing fees for the square format film borders (about 3 million dollar a year).

Earlier this month, a scheduled meeting for a private negotiation has been canceled. Fujifilm claims there is no trademark infrigement, as reported here at Reuters, and filed a lawsuit against Polaroid:

“in a lawsuit filed on Monday that its Instax series of instant cameras and film do not infringe on trademark and trade dress rights owned by the successor to Polaroid Corp.”

I guess this will result in a huge backfire for Polaroid.

Polaroid Originals: AmazonUS, BHphoto,
Polaroid Zip Mobile Printer: AmazonUS, BHphoto, Adorama

Fujifilm Instax Share SP-3: AmazonUS, BHphoto, Adorama
Fujifilm Instax Square Film: AmazonUS, BHphoto, Adorama
Fujifilm Instax Square SQ10: BHphoto, Adorama, AmazonUS

via worldipreview via phoblographer

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Fujifilm X-T20 Vs. Olympus E-M10 III :: X-T20, X-T2 or X-E3 :: X-T20 Stuff.tv Camera of 2017 :: X-T20 Tekiac Eyecup

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Fujifilm X-T20 Success

The launch of the (in many ways superior) Fujifilm X-E3 does not seem to have affected negatively the X-T20 sales. The X-T20 keeps up staying in the high positions of the AmazonUS ranking. In fact it is the best selling Fujifilm camera at AmazonUS at the moment.

X-T20 body or kit (save $100): BHphoto, Adorama, AmazonUS, FocusCamera
Fujifilm X-E3: BHphoto, Adorama, AmazonUS, FocusCamera

So let’s dedicate to the little and successful X-T20 an own roundup… enjoy it :)

Roundup

The mirrorlessons guys are back. This time they compare the Fujifilm X-T20 with the Olympus OM-D E-M10 III. Here are their final conclusions… and make sure to read it all at mirrorlesscomparison:

Choose the OM-D E-M10 mark III if you:

  • want a beginner-friendly interface with lots of extra features
  • want better image stabilisation for stills and video
  • want a wider selection of lenses
  • want to spend less

Choose the Fujifilm X-T20 if you:

  • prefer a camera with simple controls and more customisation
  • want better autofocus for action and video
  • want a little bit extra in terms of image quality (resolution, dynamic range and high ISOs)

And here is more X-T20 content for you guys :)

  • X-T20 – A practical comparison with the X-T2 at andymumford
  • Fujifilm X-T20 declared System Camera of the Year 2017 by stuff.tv
  • Fujifilm Comparison: X-T2 versus X-T20 at macfilos
  • Fujifilm X-E3 vs X-T20 – Which One Should You Get? at digitalrev
  • Tekiac Eyecup for X-T20. See it at instagram
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Pictures of Unreleased Fujifilm Camera Leaked

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Pictures of and unreleased Fujifilm camera leaked online

  • FCCID: W2Z-02100005
  • FUJIFILM Corporation
  • Communication module: TYPE 1 FJ
  • Wireless standard: WLAN 802.11 b / g / n + Bluetooth

Nokishita believes that, due to the button arrangement, it could be the Fujifilm X-A5, a camera rumored here on FujiRumors.

As we reported here, there are totally 3 cameras registered by Fujifilm and that should come next (meaning 2018). One is the Fujifilm X-T2S IBIS camera, scheduled to hit the market in the first half of 2018. The Fujifilm X-A5 is also sure to come. There is one more camera left, and it should be either the Fujifilm X-T100 or the Fujifilm X80. But remember that Fujifilm is having issues with the X80 and the whole project has been delayed.

via nokishita – original document at fccid

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Pentax 645Z Second Best Sensor Ever Tested after Hasselblad X1D… Fujifilm GFX 50S Test Coming Soon?

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Pentax 645Z DxO Sensor Test

Back in October we reported that DxOmark said they will now test medium format cameras… and they kept their word.

The first camera they tested was the Hasselblad X1D, which immediatly jumped to the very top of the DxO Ranking, making it the best sensor they have ever tested (score 102). You can read their X1D report here.

Price and Specs: Pentax 645Z / Fujifilm GFX 50S / Hasselblad X1D

Now the full test of Pentax 645Z is also online and it confirms their preliminary results shared a few years ago. It gets a total score of 101. Check out the Pentax 645Z DxO sensor test here.

“It’s clear from our testing that the Pentax 645Z’s sensor is extremely capable, coming within a whisper of matching the performance of the Hasselblad X1D sensor (our highest-scoring sensor to date). The 645Z’s high dynamic range and color sensitivity make it ideally suited for capturing the types of scenes that are traditionally favored by medium-format photographers — landscapes, weddings, portraits, and still lifes (commercial). Medium-format shooters are interesting capturing images with lots of detail, low noise, and smooth tonal gradations.

In addition, the Pentax 645Z controls noise well, making it suitable for use in relatively low light, and perhaps expanding the range of conditions in which medium-format cameras are traditionally used.

It’s interesting to compare the Pentax 645Z sensor against the Nikon D850’s because although the former is about 1.7x larger, it’s also around three years older. While the 645Z beats the Nikon sensor in our tests, the Nikon comes closer than you might expect, given the size difference. If Sony made a medium-format sensor with the same design as the D850, it would beat the sensors in both the Pentax 645Z and the Hassleblad X1D-50c.”

Now only the Fujifilm GFX 50S is missing, and let’s hope the test follows soon.

Fuji’s Secret Test

As I reported here, before making the final decision to go Medium Format, Fujifilm made a secret test, using a Pentax 645Z file. The results of this test convinced them to go Medium Format. What exactly happened and what did they test? A trusted source told us everything here :)

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