Lensmate Thumbrest for Fujifilm X-T4

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A few days ago, Lensmate has released the Lensmate Thumbrest for Fujifilm X-T4 cameras.

It will be available in black only, because “the X-T4 is the darker Silver (graphite) which is very difficult to match using our Anodizing process. So rather than have a Silver thumbrest that was a mis-match we thought it best to offer the X-T4 Thumbrest in Black only.”

FR-reader Peter already got his copy, and here is what he thinks about it:

I have the silver x-T4, and the black thumb grip fits perfectly and looks good. The thumb grip raises my hand position on the camera body, lets me rotate my wrist slightly back, opens my hand, and better positions my finger on the shutter button. I also added a soft-release button, which matches the new position of my finger. Overall, an excellent addition to a great camera.

You can find the new X-T4 lensmate thumbrest here.

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Focus On Glass: Fujinon XF 8-16mm F2.8 (no Cheating) and GF 30mm F3.5 Quick Development Insights

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Fujifilm Spain has published very short videos about the Fujinon XF8-16mm F2.8 and the Fujinon GF30mm F3.5, that include some tidbits about its development, that I have extracted for you.

Both videos can be found below, along with a written summary.

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Nikkei: “Japanese Camera Industry Strangles Itself. 88% Decline in 10 Years. On the Brink of Extinction, Unless…”

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Triggered by recent failure of the Olympus imaging division (which FujiRumors dedicated an own – and very personal – article here), Nikkei deputy editor Masamichi Hoshi has published a rather dark overview over the current camera market situation and an even darker forecast.

The article starts by taking into account two rather obvious reasons, why the camera industry struggles, and that surely Japanese camera makers are not responsible for:

  • the rise of smartphones
  • COVID-19 (which lead to only 2.63 million shipments during the first four months of this year, down 44% from the same period last year)

The numbers of the decline are dramatic:

  • 2010: a total of 121 million digital cameras shipped
  • 2019: a total of 15 million digital cameras shipped
  • … this means there was an almost 88% decrease in 10 years only!
  • 2020: a total of 2.63 million digital cameras shipped in the first 4 months

A special mention in regards of struggling companies goes to Nikon, which has photography as a core business (unlike Fujifilm), but also all other brands are having hard times.

Nikon’s imaging unit, which has focused on digital cameras, finished the fiscal year that ended in March with an operating loss of 17.1 billion yen ($158.7 million), down from a profit of 22 billion yen the previous year. In November, the unit drafted a rebuilding plan focused on the “pro-hobby class,” which consumes 3 million interchangeable lenses per year. It aims to cut 50 billion yen from its fiscal 2019 operating costs by the end of fiscal 2022. The cuts will come from a reorganization of production plants, a narrowing of products and a personnel reduction.

The digital camera operations of companies like Ricoh and Panasonic also continue to struggle. The operating profit at Canon’s imaging system units fell by 48.2 billion yen in the year through December, a 62% drop the previous year.

But beyond smartphones and COVID-19, there is a third reason highlighted by Masamichi Hoshi, which is the one we want to focus on here today: excessive competition.

Here is what Masamichi Hoshi writes on Nikkei:

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Meike Cinema Lenses for Fujifilm X: 25mm T2.2, 35mm T2.2, 50mm T2.2, 65mm T2.2, 85mm T2.2

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You might remember the Duclos Veydra Mini Cinema Primes for Fujifilm X-Mount, launched back in 2017.

Well, Veydra went out of business in 2019, but out of that came the birth of the Meike cinema lenses. The Meike cinema primes have:

  • improved coating
  • improved optical and mechanical quality
  • significant increase in production quantity which lowered the cost of the lenses over the Veydra version
  • all cinema primes have a 77mm front thread and 80mm front diameter
  • they all have the same size and aproximately the same weight
  • these are dedicated true cinema lenses

The Meike cinema lenses are available for Fujifilm X mount a in:

They all cover Fujifilm X series cameras in super35 2K and 4K video recording modes.

Some of the Meike Cinema lenses can be found at AmazonUS here, BHphoto here and Adorama here and all of them at revarcine.com, official US distributor for Meike Cinema Primes.

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