FujiRumors has informed you that there will be announcements on September 2.
Surprisingly many FR readers wondered what will come.
Well, first off, it is important that you regularly check our rumor section, so you won’t be that surprised anymore.
Second, down below you find a recap and summary of what will come on September 2, what could come and what will sure not come on September 2.
Every year, Techno System Research, a major marketing research company located in Japan, publishes the worldwide camera market share data.
And while the data is behind a (very expensive) paywall, the main chart is published by Nikkei and we’ve covered it in the past:
Now the data for 2020 has been released by Techno System Research.
So what changed between 2019 and 2020? Let’s compare:
These top 5 camera companies took 93.8% of the global digital camera market.
Keep in mind that this is the overall digital camera market share (DSLR + Mirrorless + Point & Shoot). So no surprise to see Fujifilm behind Nikon. When it comes to mirrorless data only, until 2019 Fujifilm was clearly ahead of Nikon and on the third position after Sony and Canon.
I am a man on a mission: making being a Fujifilm X and GFX shooter even more fun than it already is!
How?
Well, by keeping you guys informed, entertained and possibly even excited about all things Fujifilm X/GFX using this humble blog called FujiRumors.
I hope I was able to do that in July, but I will work even harder in August in trying to make a hot summer even hotter with lots of breaking news and rumors.
And now let’s take a look at what happened in July with the top 10 posts of the past month.
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One of the most intriguing lenses Fujifilm will launch in near future (within 2021), is definitely the Fujinon GF35-70mmF4.5-5.6, a very affordable zoom for the Fujifilm GFX system.
To see which other lenses (and cameras) will be launched this year, but also in 2022, check out our rumored X/GFX 2021/2022 timeline.
But back to the GF35-70mm.
We already told you that the lens will have a collapsible design, similar to the one we find on the Fujinon XC15-45mm F3.5-5.6. This means that when you first turn the lens, you are not already zooming. You are just pushing out the lens. Only once pushed out, you can start zooming.
This sort of design helps to keep lens size smaller.
But how small will the Fujinon GF35-70mmF4.5-5.6 be?
Well, thanks to indication of our sources, we can now share an approximate size comparison between the upcoming Fujinon GF35-70mmF4.5-5.6 and the already existing and quite frankly stellar (and now hugely discounted) Fujinon GF32-64mmF4. You can see the comparison above.
Of course the rendering shows the lens in its smallest size possible.
This is approximate size comparison I made using an imaginary mock-up I made out of the rumors shared so far, so do not expect it to be a 100% super accurate size comparison. But it will help you to get an idea on what is about to come from Fujifilm.
Now, I own the Fujinon GF32-64mmF4 and love it. And I also love the fact that it has an aperture ring, which the Fujinon GF35-70mmF4.5-5.6 won’t have. So no regrets here and I will happily stick with my GF32-64mmF4.
But the Fujinon GF35-70mmF4.5-5.6 has also its strengths: a sensibly smaller size (as you can see above) and a much more affordable price tag.
I can see what Fujifilm is doing here, and as I said in this article, it makes a whole lot of sense, as it finally fixes the true anomaly in the G mount lens lineup.
So guys, that was it for today. But more juicy stuff will come ;).
The GFX Community
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[NOTE: at the event every participant was either vaccinated or had been tested negative in the 48 hours before (the tests are free and fast to make where I live). Most of the guests (me included) were fully vaccinated]
Did you notice it?
For the first time in years, last Saturday I haven’t published something on FujiRumors for an entire day.
And the reason is simple: I was at the wedding of a very close friend (I also served as his best man).
I also was in charge of taking pictures. Not all of them. They had a professional photographer shooting with a Canon DSLR. But the photographer left at dinner, so that’s mostly when I took over.
Now, my buddy told me he does not want to see me stressed running around taking pictures all the time, and that I should enjoy the party. And I promised him he will see me holding more often a glass of good wine rather than a camera. And that’s what I did.
But, despite a bit of pressure to get the job done right, I also enjoyed to take images a lot. In fact I felt honored that I could contribute a little bit to capturing such precious memories for his life.
And now…
brutally honest…
Let’s talk about what went great and what not so with my Fuji X gear during the wedding.
But first…
Any wedding photographer out there reading FujiRumors?
Well, if so, then oh boy, you have all my deepest respect for your job!
I mean, I am a teacher and blogger. And in both cases, if I mess up a lesson or an article, I can fix it later on with another and better lesson or article.
But now that I photographed a wedding for the first time, even though the part in the church and the reception at the restaurant was covered by the official photographer, I did feel quite some pressure knowing that this is a 1 time only moment. I don’t get a second chance to get it right. And having a job where you expose yourself to such a pressure, well, I guess you must have nerves of steel for that.
So if wedding photography is your job, you have my deepest respect. I probably would not have the nerves and strength to do what you do, and I am grateful that there are guys like you out there taking over this job.
The official wedding photographer used a Canon DSLR. Interestingly the glass he used was all from Sigma.
As for me, all I took with was the X-T4, X-E3, XF23/1.4 and XF56/1.2. I also had the XF35/1.4, but at the end for the outside shots I mostly used the XF56/1.2 and inside the restaurant I needed to go with the wider 23/1.4. So the 35/1.4 remained in the camera bag.
And quite frankly, the setup I used was perfect for what I did. Maybe sometimes the XF 18mmF1.4 or the XF16mmF1.4 would have been handy, but shame on me, I don’t own those lenses.
As I said previously, I knew I don’t have to interfere with the official photographer, so whenever he was taking images of the guests, I did enjoy talking with friends and drinking good wine. But in those occasions, where he was away with the bridal couple taking some portraits, I sometimes grabbed the camera and took some snapshots.
So how did it go? Let’s talk about it!
My Fujifilm X gear performed fantastic, except for one thing, where it performed OK but not great. You’ll read about it below.
The probably biggest advantage I had over the official photographer, was that most of the guest were basically also my friends or people I know quite well. And as some of you already predicted in my original article, this allowed me to get close to them with my camera gear without intimidating them.
Look for example at the image below, where a good friend of my childhood, that I haven’t seen in years as he moved to another part of Italy and opened a restaurant there, spotted me taking pictures. He gave me such a genuine smile as he was happy to see me again. I took this image while he was approaching me with his wife.
And there are a couple of images like this, where the guests just wholeheartedly smile into the camera or just keep doing their stuff spontanously while I take some images.
Last but not least, the official photographer probably did not even notice that I am also taking images. I acted stealthy like a ninja as I did not want to interfere with his work and irritate him by standing in his way (you can see an image of me down below).
As for the gear itself…
I came back home with lots of lovely images. Especially the newer processor and faster sensor in the Fujifilm X-T4 performed admirably even in low light, but also the Fujifilm X-E3 was a solid performer throughout the whole event.
Just one thing I wish Fujifilm would improve, and you can read it down below.
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So how the heck am I going to share this one?
I mean, worldwide chip shortage, Fujifilm announcing delays for lots of gear and unable to deliver products they announced many months ago and what not.
So telling you when the Fujifilm GFX50SII will ship is a rumor rocksolid at the moment, but at the same time don’t be mad at me when at the date I’ll give you know there will be like 3 Fujifilm GFX50SII shipping, and then yet another biblical waiting will begin for the rest of the cameras to ship.
With that disclaimer out of the way, here is the rumor:
We haven been informed, that the Fujifilm GFX50SMKII will start shipping in September.
We also confirm once again, the the announcement itself will not take place on August 27.
Make sure to follow FujiRumors, because:
Fujifilm GFX50SMKII Rumor Recap:
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Ok, let me set something right.
BHphoto has completely removed the Fujinon XF200mmF2 R LM WR from their website. You’ll be redirected to a page that says: “The page your requested is no longer available. We have redirected you to a simlar page for your convenience.” I tried to check a google cached version of the page, and when I add the XF200mmF2 to the cart, it then tells me “some item(s) are no longer available at B&H“.
The situation is not much better at other stores. AmazonUS says here “Currently unavailable. We don’t know when or if this item will be back in stock” and Adorama says here that it is “Temporarily On Backorder“.
According to a FR-reader, BHphoto is sending out emails telling customers that the XF200mmF2 is discontinued:
B & H has sent me an email saying that the fuji xf 200 mm f2 has been discontinued and they no longer carry it.
So what is happening? Is it really discontinued?
I did investigated this, and I can 100% safely say that the lens is not at all discontinued. So I do not know why BHphoto is not listing the lens anymore.
What I know is that given the worldwide $/€ 2K discount on the XF200mmF2, as to expect, the lens sold out almost everywhere. And I’ve warned you already back in May that such a discount is ridiculous for a lens that was already short on stock before this epic deal.
Now the inevitable happened: it’s out of stock basically everywhere and who knows when Fujifilm will be able to ship current orders.
So, if you are interested in this lens, place your order. You’ll get it at some point. Fujifilm is still manufacturing it and will for a long time. But you better arm yourself with patience.
The Fujinon XF200mmF2 is arguably one of the very best lenses Fujifilm ever made.
As we reported here, when Fujifilm designed it, they didn’t care about size and price. All they wanted to achieve, was the best image quality and a fast autofocus.
But Fujifilm managers told us that it did not sell well. In fact, given the struggles the XF200mmF2 faced on the market, Fujifilm is wondering if it makes any sense at all to continue to develop and manufacture long prime lenses, that will just result in a loss of money for Fujifilm.
My guess is that people overall tend to prefer zoom lenses that cover that 200mm range, and there are quite some of them in the Fujifilm lineup (and more will come in future).
Sure, none of them is optically on par with the close to perfect Fujinon XF200mmF2, but they are all very decent lenses anyway and deliver an image quality that will be totally satisfactory for the vast majority of Fujifilm X shooters. And they all come for a significantly more affordable price tag.
Speaking of long primes…
Back in March 2020, we reported about two Fujinon XF patents showing a Fujinon XF 300mmF4 and Fujinon XF500mmF5.6.
And although I am aware that some folks gave it as 110% certain that those lenses will come in 2021, we warned you in January 2021 that those lenses won’t come in 2021. And quite frankly I have no idea if they will ever come.
We invite you to check out or latest and most updated 2021/2022 rumored Fujifilm products timeline to see what is coming (and what not).
So what will the future bring?
Well, you might remember how back in 2019, Fujifilm launched a survey on which lenses we’d like to receive in future.
FujiRumors took 1:1 the lens suggestions Fujifilm made and made this poll out of it that saw 20,000+ people voting on it.
Guess what?
All the long telephoto prime lenses ended up at the very bottom of the ranking, showing that there is simply not enough interest for such lenses.
My take?
Well, I think the XF200mmF2 is maybe not long enough (although with the 1.4x TC it is basically an XF300mmF2.8 lens).
What I believe could be worth Fuji’s R&D and become much more successful is a Fujinon XF400mmF4 lens. And with 1.4x TC you’d have a XF560mmF5.6 lens. That lens, I believe, could guarantee Fujifilm decent sales.
So, let’s hope Fujifilm won’t give up on telephoto prime lenses. They are needed. For a niche, sure, but definitely needed.
The Fujinon XF18mmF1.4 keeps up its victory parade.
After getting the Gold Award by DPR, it is now also highly recommended by ePHOTOzine with a long list of virtues and just minor negatives (none of them has to do with image quality).
In fact, in their latest review they write:
The Fujinon XF18mmF1.4 recently got Gold Award.
It is optically close to perfect, with sharpness being definitely its super-power. In fact, Fujifilm itself said that with this lens they did focus on resolution to make it fit for “future higher resolution cameras” (aka Fujifilm X-H2).
I know, some might say that lenses are more than just sharpness. And I get the point. I mean, I totally love my XF35mmF1.4, which probably isn’t the sharpest Fujinon X mount lens out there, but has an overall vibe in the images that some describe as “magical”, and indeed, it took some of my favorite images ever.
But if what you need is the ultimate sharpness, then look no further, as the Fujinon XF18mmF1.4 might just be what you were looking for.
Hold on a second… there was one thing I wanted to say.
Oh, right, the lens itself is now in stock at BHphoto here and AmazonUS here. Still backordered at Adorama here and Focuscamera here.
DPReview published their full field review of the brand new Fujinon XF18mmF1.4 R LM WR lens.
It gets the Gold Award with a long list of Pros and a very short Cons list.
Fujifilm itself explained the lens itself is designed for higher resolutions than currently offered by Fujifilm, and the Fujifilm X-H2 comes to mind here.
You can read more down below.
