RUMOR: Big Start for Fujifilm in 2024 with Multiple (and Record?) Camera Announcements

Starting Big in 2024

So, we told you that there won’t be any new Fujifilm gear announcement in 2023.

But don’t worry, Fujifilm is working full power right now.

In fact, we have been told that in the “first months of 2024″ Fujifilm will announce more cameras than in the entire year 2023.

Considering that we got a total of 2 cameras in 2023, this means we can expect three or more cameras coming in the first months of 2024.

I have checked back, and as far as I can see, in 13 years of X/GFX series there has been only one year in which Fujifilm launched more than two cameras in the first months of the year (without counting the entry level cameras that were made by Xacti Corporation and not by Fujifilm).

It was back in 2017 when Fujifilm released the Fujifilm GFX 50S, Fujifilm X100F and Fujifilm X-T20.

But even if we would count the Xacti cameras (X-T100, X-T200, X-A5, X-A20 etc), we would get a total of 3 years out of 13 in which Fujifilm kicked off the year with more than two cameras, and also in that case we reach 3 cameras max (as in 2017).

So, by launching three or more Fujifilm cameras (made by Fujfiilm) in the first months of 2024, Fujifilm is out for a record release rate, matching or exceeding the announcements we had only once in 13 years of Fujifilm X/GFX history.

Not bad ;).

One Camera is Sure

Now, thanks to our sources we know already what one of these cameras will be: the replacement of this camera here.

What will the other cameras be?

Well, you know what you have to do: just stay tuned on FujiRumors, and you will know it.

And what about lenses?

Well, we know that the next XF lens to come will be the replacement of this lens here.

But even though I have no further solid lens rumors right now, I do hope to be able to share more soon.

Follow FujiRumors on Patreon, Facebook, Instagram, RSS-feed, Youtube, Flipboard and Twitter

Fujifilm Facebook Groups

Fujifilm CEO Says Cameras Sell Well (if they Are Made), Increased R&D for More New Products and BLACK FRIDAY Sales Opportunity

Recently we shared the second quarter financial results of Fujifilm (in Japan the fiscal year starts in April and ends in March)

The numbers were actually good:

Imaging achievements. The sales of instant photo systems and digital cameras were strong, with revenue up 19.5% YoY to JPY219.2 billion and operating income up 85.5% to JPY49.4 billion.

But despite that, the growth was not as strong as Fujifilm hoped for.

Hence, in a Q&A session discussing the financial results, the Fujifilm CEO (Mr. Goto) and the Vice President (Mr. Higuchi) were asked about the reasons for that.

Shibano [Q]: I would like to ask President Goto about Imaging. Since President Goto took office, I believe you have often expressed your strong belief in the potentials of Imaging. In fact, the strong performance of H1 of the fiscal year indicates this, but the operating income for H1 was JPY49.4 billion, and even though Q4 is usually weak, there is Q3, so H2 of the fiscal year, which includes the sales season, is expected to see a 387% decrease, or even a 17% decrease YoY, which is a little questionable. I would like to ask again if there is any specific reason for such a decline, worse than the previous year, in H2. This is the point what I would like to reconfirm.

Higuchi [A]: Regarding H2 of last year, we closed our U.S. plant in H2 of last year, and there was a one-time profit. One reason is that we don’t have it in this term. Another is that we have increased development costs for new products in H2 in order to continue to introduce new products without interruption, and we have also increased marketing expenses and marketing investment.

Goto [A]: I will continue with my answer. Now, we are looking at Black Friday toward December, the biggest sales season in the U.S. at the end of November, and the purchasing situation, or rather the movement, is on par with the previous year, but the voice from the person in charge is that inflation in the U.S. is high. We have heard that it is not clear whether it will be as good as the previous year. However, in fact, given the tight demand for INSTAX film and the fact that cameras are selling well if they are made, I believe that there is room for a bounce upward, although we are taking a firm stance now. Is that all right?

Good thing first: one reason why the profit was not as strong as hoped, was that Fujifilm has allocated lots of resources to increase development and marketing expenses in order to assure “to continue to introduce new products without interruption“.

Of course the managers talk about R&D money for Instax as well as digital cameras. But it’s great to hear that overall they keep investing more money to push development.

Also worth to note is the comment of Fujifilm CEO Mr. Goto, who says that “cameras are selling well if they are made“. And this is probably Fujifilm’s biggest issue so far, with lots of cameras out of stock and in many cases even a complete suspension of camera sales in certain countries until who knows when.

The CEO says the hope is to “bounce back” thanks to Black Friday sales, although inflation is still high and it is not sure if the holiday season will run as good as last year.

And in this regard, here are the current deals you find on X/GFX gear that should help Fujifilm to show up with better figures by the end of the fiscal year.

GFX Gear

X Cameras

X Lenses

Fujifilm Q&A here

Fujifilm 2024: The Rumors are Coming and How You Won’t Miss Them

We told you:

I am working on many (!!) rumors and of course they will all drop here on FujiRumors.

And you have a new tool available to make sure not to miss them: the revived FujiRumors newsletter (join using the box below).

That’s an excellent way to get your rumors, as you won’t rely on any algorithm that will randomly decide if to show you my rumors or not.

Other two great ways to make sure you don’t miss anything

  • Join our YouTube channel. But you need to subscribe and activate notification to make sure you get the rumors. Only the biggest and most important rumors are shared on YouTube. So don’t expect many videos.
  • Stay in the loop of things by joining us on Twitter/X, where you also have the option to activate notifications

All I can say is that there will be rumors. Lots of them.

All you can do, if you want, is to join the journey by subscribing to the newsletter and our social media.

Subscribe to our newsletter and join 4,649 other subscribers.
*Please also check your spam folder if you don’t get the confirmation mail. And mark the mail as “non-spam” to see the future newsletter.

Fujifilm Q2 FY2023 Financial Results: Significantly Increased Revenue from Digital Cameras Sales

Fujifilm has announced the financial results for the second quarter of the fiscal year 2023 (July to September).

Needless to say that Instax is the goldmine. But there was also a “significantly increased revenue from digital cameras“.

Revenue from digital cameras increased significantly, mainly due to solid sales of X-H2, X-H2S and X-T5 released in the previous fiscal year. Sales of X-S20, which was released in June 2023, also fared well. […] We will continue to offer attractive products by achieving overwhelmingly high image quality with the large format in the GFX Series and the best balance between image quality and size in the X Series.

Instax and Digital Cameras together did give the imaging business a significant boost.

Revenue and operating income increased by 19.5% and 85.5% year-over-year, respectively, due to brisk sales of instant photo systems and digital cameras.

And all this has been achieved despite Fujifilm being incapable of delivering all the cameras mentioned in the report for many months in certain countries (mainly Asia), and some experienced worldwide delivery problems (X100V).

Fujifilm cameras mentioned in the Financial Report:

via Fujifilm

Sony A9III: The Revival of Global Shutter and a Glimpse into the Fujifilm X-H3s?

The “Old” Global Shutter is Back

The Sony A9III has hit the market.

In the headline I wrote that this is the revival of the global shutter, simply because global shutter cameras are nothing new. In fact, cameras with older CCD sensors already featured a global shutter.

But as back in the days of CCD sensor cameras, the global shutter is not the answer to all problems, and as just everything in life it comes with its Pros and Cons. Let’s talk about it.

** CLICK HERE to Read the Rest of the Article **

A Look at Fujifilm 2024 :: It’s Over in 2023 :: Managers Talk Kaizen and X-E Line Future :: Gear Shipping Struggles and More :: Top 10 October Articles

Here are the top 10 articles for October.

  1. Fujifilm 2024: A Look Ahead Between Rumors and Speculations (X-Pro4, X100R, X-E5, X-T40, New XF Lenses, GFX Future)
  2. Fujifilm Manager: The End of Entry Level (X-E line?), X100V Successor, APS-C and GFX Full Frame Alternative, Market Share and More
  3. Fujifilm Manager Talk Kaizen, Telephoto Lenses, Why not Full Frame, X-E series Future, X100 Line and More
  4. RUMOR: Fujifilm X100V Successor Coming with a “New” Lens in Early 2024
  5. It’s Over my Friends: No More X or GFX Related Announcements This Year
  6. Fujifilm Digital Camera Sales Suspension Notice and Fujifilm Japan Apology
  7. SIGMA 10-18mm F2.8 DC DN Contemporary: Ultra Compact Wide Angle Zoom for Fujifilm X
  8. Fujifilm X-E4 Second Hand Price Higher than Original Launch Price
  9. The Latest X Series Reviews: Sigma 10-18mmF2.8, Fujinon XF8mmF3.5, Fujifilm X-S20, X-H2, X-H2S, X-T5
  10. EXCLUSIVE: This is Fujifilm’s Next XF Lens!

For personal reasons I was not able to make videos this month, nor to really work full power on the rumors and the blog in general. Sometimes life has other plans and sets other priorities.

Good news: an important medical check just a few days ago went well, so now it’s time for me to crawl out of my hole and gain back the energy to give you guys what you deserve: rumors!

So stay tuned… I am back ;).

Fujifilm Facebook Groups

Shipping Struggles for GF30mmF5.6 Tilt Shift

The Fujinon GF30mmF5.6 TS was supposed to ship in late October. And in fact, over at our GFX facebook group here we can see some guys already enjoying their sample. So it looks like in some countries the lens started to ship, but it does not seem to run smoothly everywhere.

Adorama says here they are still expecting delivery from manufacturer, Amazon at the moment does not even take pre-orders on it and BHphoto does not give any indication expect for a vague “coming soon”.

In Europe the situation for the GF30mmF5.6 is not much better, with stores like Calumet Germany expect stock in 1 to 3 months.

No problems on the other hand as far as GFX100II and GF55mmF1.7 goes, at least if you live in North America and Europe, where it is easy to find in stock. In other countries, also that gear experiences long delays.

UPDATE: the GF110mmF5.6 TS is supposed to ship sometimes in November according to press releases.

Tilt Shift Lens Stock Check

Latest GFX Gear in Stock

Viltrox TNP-W235 Battery for Fujifilm Coming Soon (and About the Advantage of Using Original Fujifilm Batteries)

Viltrox is going to launch its own NP-W235 third party alternative battery for the Fujifilm X and GFX system, called TNP-W235, as reported at the Chinese Weibo account 独立摄影师联合会.

So far this year the best selling gear on FujiRumors was the new SmallRig NP-W235 (which I own too).

The Viltrox TNP-W235 seems to use the same interface with a built-in USB-C port for direct charging and also the same power (2400 mAh).

The options in terms of third party batteries are substantial and often also of respectable quality.

The two brands I personally use as NP-W235 replacement:

However (and that’s valid also for other companies as far as I know), if you use third party batteries in your Fujifilm cameras, and that third party battery is cause of a problem (for example it swells up and gets stuck in the camera), then, even if your camera is under warranty, you won’t get the problem fixed free of charge. On the other hand, if you use the original battery, for as long your battery is under warranty, every problem caused by the battery itself to the camera will give you access to free warranty repair.

That’s why, if you want to go the 100% safe route during the time you camera is under warranty, you might want to stick with original batteries, so if any problem happens caused by the battery, it will be fixed under warranty.

In all my years using third party batteries, I had my first third party battery fail last year, where my Patona swelled up in my X-E3 and I had to fiddle around to get it out,

Battery Articles

Essential Accessories

Fujifilm Digital Camera Sales Suspension Notice and Fujifilm Japan Apology

Fujifilm Japan has just issued a notice and apology regarding the supply of mirrorless digital cameras in Japan.

This time the affected cameras by the still ongoing shortage in Japan are the Fujifilm X-T5 and the Fujifilm X-S20.

The situation is so bad, that Fujifilm Japan now even decided to suspend orders.

Also the Fujifilm GFX100 II experiences long shipping delays in Asia, as we reported here.

In North America and Europe the situation looks much better, with all the cameras mentioned in this article easily to find in stock.

Official Press Release

** CLICK HERE to Read the Rest of the Article **

Fujifilm X-E4 Second Hand Price Higher than Original Launch Price

I stand to my point: the Fujifilm X-E4 was not a failure.

The true failure was that Fujifilm was not able to manufacture and deliver it.

Fujifilm even discontinued the X-E4 while many still had one on pre-order and were patiently waiting to get it shipped.

So it happens that for all those, who wanted the X-E4, the only option now is to look around at the second hand market, where, as reported by asobinet, the price in some countries can be higher than what the X-E4 did cost brand new. And digitalcameraworld has an article up here, where they explain how they sold their X-E4 for more than what they originally paid for it new.

Now, recently Fujifilm France hinted that there is no market for the X-E line. But if that was the case, I wonder why people are buying it second hand and overpriced, similar to what is happening to the Fujifilm X100V.

Anyway, I strongly hope the X-E line will continue. It’s a great alternative to those who want an X100-alike experience (minus OVF) but with the possibility to change lenses. Although I don’t really change lenses much on my X-E3, where this lens lives glued on it.

I still love using my X-E3, as you can see in my video here, but it starts to show its age, especially now that I also own the X-T5 with a terrific boost in terms of autofocus and features.

I would probably jump on an X-E5 on day one if Fujifilm would ever make one, just to get access to the new autofocus power and more film simulations (Reala included). Better if with 40MP, but I could also live with the Fujifilm X-S20 solution, so the 26MP combined with the new X Processor 5.

So please, dear Fujifilm, don’t axe the X-E line. Give us an X-E5, produce it in decent numbers, and you’ll see you’ll be rewarded for that.

Read also: