When Fujifilm launched the 40MP Fujifilm X-H2, they also published a list of lenses that get the maximum benefit from the new high resolution sensor.
This led quite some folks (also here on FujiRumors) to believe that the lenses not on the list will not profit at all from the increased resolution.
Some even said that because of this, they won’t upgrade to the 40MP Fujifilm X-H2 (and also the upcoming 40MP Fujifilm X-T5)
I did try to explain that you have to see in other terms: the new sensor will finally let all XF lenses express at their best in terms of resolution. it’s just those not on the list won’t go quite up all the way to 40MP.
Finally Fujifilm understood that the message they put out was potentially confusing and now added a note on their official Fujifilm X-H2 page:
*The list specifies our selection of lenses that have high resolution performance from edge to edge at maximum aperture, allowing you to fully experience all that the 40MP sensor has to offer. Lenses not listed will also allow you to experience the improved resolution performance of the 40MP sensor.”
So if you want 40MP resolution from edge to edge at maximum aperture, then only the lenses on the list will deliver (see list below). But Fujifilm now clearly says that lenses not listed will also deliver improved resolution performance when used on the 40MP sensor.
Hence, if you want more resolution, buying a Fujifilm X-H2 or the Fujifilm X-T5 will give you that also by using lenses that are not on the list.
And from how I read it, some might even resolve all the 40MP when stopped down at least in the center of the frame. Would be nice if Fujifilm would be even more specific on that.
Let’s be clear: more or less every single Fujifilm XF lens will perform better on the 40MP sensor. So even if an older lens can’t really resolve all the 40MP, they will still perform better than on the current 26MP sensor. Some might resolve 30MP, others 33MP, others more or less.
In short: the new 40MP sensor will make every single XF lens perform at its best possible in terms of resolution.
And yet, not all take full advantage of the new 40MP sensor. And Fujifilm was kind enough to provide us with a list of lenses, that will get maximum benefit from the X-H2 40MP sensor.
But yeah, I can’t see the future. Nobody can. So Tony’s opinion is just as valid as mine. The future will tell.
Two System, Less Cameras and Lenses for APS-C due to limited R&D
Maybe I am not so much into other brands, but I don’t feel like Fujifilm is releasing less gear than other brands.
The real issue was more that so far not many third party brands released AF lenses for Fujifilm, but that has been solved in the meantime.
But in some way it is true. No GFX system could potentially mean more resources for X mount. But I think this is also why Fujifilm waited so long before offering a second sensor option. They did want to wait that their APS-C lineup is rich in lenses and once well covered, they can free up resources for other projects.
Lack of Fast Lenses
First off, let me say that there are many fast Fujinon XF lenses such as the XF200mmF2, XF8-16mmF2.8, XF50mmF1.0 as well as all the nice f/1.2 and f/1.4 primes.
But what about the f/1.8 zooms he’d wish for the X system? Well, that brings us to the next point.
High ISO
In the past, pushing your digital cameras to high ISO was something we absolutely wanted to avoid, as the performance was so bad. To avoid to go too high with ISO, we did indeed need fast glass for low light photography.
But that was the past. Today, ISO performance on digital cameras is vastly improved, which means you don’t need to try to desperately avoid high ISO with super fast and expensive glass. Nope, you can also push ISO up much higher than you ever could in the past.
What this means is that you can put smaller, lighter and more affordable lenses on your camera, as you can compensate the slower aperture with a higher ISO value.
Down below I will share a video of an extreme low light recovery I made of my wife overlooking the hills of Ronda in Andalusia, Spain (we made our honeymoon there). She basically went from almost invisible black to nicely visible in clean colors (thank you X-Trans for that high color fidelity) and in my eyes also very contained levels of noise, which make the image pleasing and usable.
But what about Bokeh? Let’s talk about it.
Bokeh
Not enough background blur? Well, this one is easy to answer. I’ll just share an image down below. And it’s not even the fastest lens Fujifilm has to offer (you can get even more radical with this one).
Autofocus (and Computational Photography)
True, Sony and Canon have better autofocus. But the point with autofocus is, that once it is near perfect, there is not much to improve anymore. Fujifilm just needs to catch up with Sony and Canon, and then the “autofocus war” will be basically over, since there will be little room for further enhancements.
Where there is much more room for improvement, is computational photography. And this is an area where smaller sensors simply are superior to bigger sensors. In fact, if done wisely, it could be even lead to a Renaissance of the M43 system (as the Panasonic GH6 shows with its terrific high res handheld mode). And certainly APS-C has a potential advantage here over full frame or medium format.
DPRTV published a video with the title: “There’s Nothing Magical About Medium Format Depth Of Field“.
The video could also be perfectly titled “There’s Nothing Magical About Full Frame Depth Of Field“, but given how large their customer base shooting full frame is, I think they made a wise choice to avoid to put “full frame” in the title.
What DPRTV says is basically this: shallow depth of field does not depend on the sensor size, but on how fast your lens is combined with your sensor.
Eureka!!!
This is what we say since many years now here on FujiRumors, and I am happy that DPRTV is finally addressing this, too.
The Nr.1 reason why people think they need Full Frame over APS-C is to get shallower DOF. But by saying that a bigger medium format sensor does not necessarily give you shallower DOF over FF, this implies also that Full Frame does not give you necessarily shallower DOF over APS-C.
Fujifilm has some very fast APS-C glass to offer if you desire shallow DOF. For example you can put the Fujinon XF50mmF1.0 on any Fujifilm APS-C body to get a shallow DOF similar to an f/1.4 lens on full frame. Also the Fujinon XF200mmF2.0 gives you about the shallow DOF of a full frame 300mm f/2.8 lens. And then there is the XF8-16mmF2.8, the XF56mmF1.2 and more.
The reasons to pick APS-C, full frame or Medium Format is not shallow DOF, but others. But we won’t talk about it here today, as we covered this topic already in the past.
if you don’t use the Viltrox 13mm f/1.4 as your main lens, then it is definitely good enough
there is some barrel distortion that you have to fix in post (Fujinon lenses correct internally) and it’s not perfectly sharp from corner to corner but for Mattias needs it is certainly sharp enough
Back in 2015 Andy Mumford, a full time landscape photographer, switched from using a full frame system to the Fuji X system and in this video he talks about what effect it’s had on his photography, both professionally and personally.
The video would be worth to watch also just for the stunning images he shares (including some from around my home in the Dolomites). So go check it out.
I feel he nicely brings to the point what it means to shoot with Fujifilm cameras. And I also agree that if you don’t print enormous images, then 16 or 26 megapixel are more than enough.
I do love to print my images, too, and so far the largest I have hanging at my home is a 90x60cm (35×23 inches) image taken with the 24MP Fujifilm X-E3, which looks absolutely perfect, even when watched in “photographers mode” (meaning not watching from the normal distance as every non-photographer would do, but by going very close to it and basically pixel peeping with the eyes ;))
Also Andy, who rarely prints beyond 1 meter (39 inches) is totally fine with the current resolution Fujifilm cameras offer.
The XF200mmF2 is clearly underperforming on current Fujifilm cameras, and once the high resolution Fujifilm X-H2 drops on the market in 2022, it will finally unlock its full potential.
Considering the image quality and the fact that it comes with a newly designed 1.4x teleconverter, I always thought that 6K is actually a fair price for how it performs. And soon, with such a big rebate, I definitely call it a steal.
The Ridiculous Thing is…
Ok, so Fujifilm is going to drop a massive deal on the Fujinon XF200mmF2 all over the world.
But the ridiculous thing is that Fujifilm is launching a massive rebate on a lens, the XF200mmF2, that right now is mostly out of stock.
I mean, I’d understand if they’d launched a deal on a lens that is getting dust in the warehouses and they can’t get rid of. But adding a huge rebate on a lens that clearly is short on stock, well, I am afraid that will lead to biblical waiting times for those, who order it.
News is news, so I share it. But I wrote a very informative piece about these awards in the past. So, if you want to read how the business around (some of these) awards goes, check out this article.
A little addendum to my earlier article: Fujifilm recently won tons of Red Dot Awards. As you can see from the Red-Dot page itself here, Fujifilm had to pay up to €6,000 to “win” a single prize. I am pretty sure that there is a FR-reader out there, who could have developed a fantastic camera remote App if Fujifilm would have given him/her $6K.
These awards are a mere (and effortless) money machine for those, who run them, and they’d award even a garbage can as top innovation of the year, if somebody paid for that. They are meaningless.
And yet, news is news, so I have to share it. But at least you know what I think about them.
