Fujifilm Secret Development Story: Talking Fujinon Glass and Why OIS Switch was Removed on Some Lenses

Fujifilm published a new episode of their secret development story.

This time they talk about Fujinon lenses, more precisely about AF motors, lens perfection vs lens character and also about optical image stabilization.

They also explain why they removed the OIS switch on some lenses, and that the notion that you should always turn it off when shooting on a tripod is no longer accurate.

This is something we already said in the past, but Fujifilm goes a bit more in depth about it today. However, this is all automatically Google translated by YouTube, so while I did my best to try to get it summarized for you guys (with my son trying to climb on me while I was reading and typing), if any FR-reader has some skills in Japanese and would like to sum it up better for us, feel free to do so and share your recap in the comments down below or via email at fujirumor@gmail.com.

  • Red Badge lenses: great image quality and fast autofocus. Also weather resistant
  • red badge lenses represent Fujifilm’s highest technical level, flagship lenses
  • first red badge lenses where Fuji’s constant f/2.8 zooms
  • then came the XF200mmF2, and extraordinarily amazing lens
  • XF50mmF1.0 emphasis is on smooth bokeh rather than on ultimate resolution
  • the new 18mmf/1.4, 23mmF1.4 and 33mmF1.4 focus on resolution
  • Fujifilm tries to give lenses a different character, based on their purpose of use [and as the Sigma CEO said, making a perfect lens is way easier than making a lens with character. Which is why I LOVE my good old XF35mmF1.4 R – see it in action here in Barcelona]
  • then Fujifilm explains what the various markings on the lens mean
  • R for aperture ring, LM for linear motor, OIS for optical image stabilization and WR for weather resistance
  • autofocus speed is getting faster and faster
  • there are also other AF motors, like stepping motors, DC motors etc [Fuji Guy Billy elaborated them all very nicely here]
  • you have to place the AF motor in a way that it won’t create shake in the lens
  • linero motor is the smoothest and fastest AF motor option [and of course it has its downsides too, as Fuji Guy Billy explained here]
  • some Fujinon lenses have lost the OIS switch (for example the XF70-300mmF4-5.6 and the the XF16-80mmF4)
  • usually it is recommended to switch off OIS when shooting on a tripod
  • but on some lenses Fujifilm now recommends to keep OIS turned ON when shooting on a tripod
  • but honestly, the time when it’s better to keep OIS on or OFF when shooting on a tripod is not so easy to determinate and it’s actually quite complicated
  • Fujifilm has developed a system where the camera will decide if it is better to keep optical image stabilization ON or OFF
  • please let the camera decide how to deal with OIS
  • Fujifilm did remove the physical OIS switch on the lens to make sure it is the camera to take the decisions [but you can always turn it off in the menu, if you want to have control over it]

You can see the full video down below.

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LAST DAY to Save up to $1,500 on X/GFX Gear and Lightroom Mega Masking Masterclass with Fuji X Photographer Piet

Mega Masking Masterclass

Piet Van den Eynde is an official Fujifilm X Photographer with over 10 years of experience in Lightroom training.

He has now launched his new Lightroom Mega Masking Materclass, a two part live webinar running on February 7 and 9 about the new masking features in Lightroom. For those who can’t watch live (or those who can but want to rewatch it), Piet will also include a downloadable AND streamable recording AND there’s a pack of masking presets as well.

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Top 10 Gear to Look Forward in 2022 and Your Top Wishes for 2022 (Anything Goes – Almost)

Coming 2022 (For Sure)

So what can we look forward to in 2022?

Well, here are the 10 things we can be sure to enjoy this year (even if some of them are “just” rumors until now).

  1. Fujifilm X-H2
  2. Fujifilm X-H2 – no joke, twice
  3. Fujinon XF150-600
  4. XF 56mm f/1.2 MKII
  5. XF 18-120mm
  6. Viltrox 13mm f/1.4 AF X Mount
  7. GF 20-35mm – possible aperture range shared here
  8. Sigma X mount lenses
  9. More AF X mount lenses from Tamron
  10. TTArtisan 32mmF2.8 X autofocus mount lens

Your Fujifilm Wishes for 2022

Ok, I can hear your questions:

Well, some of those questions I think Fujifilm managers quite categorically already answered in the past, such as the monochrome questions and full frame question. But hey, managers also categorically said that X mount is not compatible with IBIS, and look, at the end we got IBIS, and it is even one of the best in the industry.

I am also working on some other of those questions, and I already have first answers that I won’t share just yet as I want to have it not only twice, but multiple confirmed. I can’t go wrong when I share certain things ;).

But we will talk about all that soon enough.

What I would like from you now, is that you share your top wishes for 2022 in the comments. Anything goes, as long as it has something realistic to it. So for example, wishing for an X-E5 when we just got an X-E4 is not very realistic. Also a big and heavy Fujinon XF600mmF2 probably won’t make much sense, unless you would pay any amount for it and train a lot to be able to carry it around.

Other than that, from cameras to firmware or lenses… whatever your heart desires and wishes, feel free to share it in the comments down below.

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Fujifilm X/GFX Deals Extended until January 23 including Huge Rebate GFX50R

Fujifilm has decided to extended the Fujifilm X/GFX deals until January 23. This means you can still save $1,500 on the Fujifilm GFX50R (if it’s not discontinued already).

We remind you that the Fujifilm GFX50R was one of the best sellers back in 2018 here on FujiRumors, actually the first GFX camera to come even close to the top selling X series cameras.

And yet, GFX50R sales still pale compared over what has been achieved by the Fujifilm GFX100S, which was the (by far) best selling camera in 2021 (the data refers to affiliate sales here on FujiRumors).

Of course these days the GFX50R sales struggle also due to the Fujifilm GFX50SII, which adds IBIS and newer processor in an overall more mainstream form factor at lower price than the GFX50R launch price.

And yet, the GFX50R is and remains a lovely camera, and if Fujifilm would have offered a GFX100R along with the GFX100S, I would probably have got the GFX100R, as it comes closer in form and function to another camera series I love, the X-E line.

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These are the Top Sellers 2021 on FujiRumors: GFX100S Rules Them All and Best Selling Lens is…?

While 2020 was tough due to the rise of the pandemic and several lockdowns around the world, in 2021 the industry had to face also the challenge of the parts shortage.

In the Fujifilm world most noticeable of all were (and are) the struggles Fujifilm has to deliver our gear. I consider myself lucky, as I had to wait “only” half a year for my Fujifilm GFX100S and I was able to grab the last XF27mm f/2.8 R WR available at my local store, but others are waiting for almost a year now on certain gear and tons of Fujifilm gear was out of stock for large part of 2021.

So let’s hope that everything will go back to normal during 2022, first of all for us, who would love to go back to our normal lives, and also for Fujifilm, so that they can feed our passion for photography with new and exciting gear without letting us wait to long for it to be delivered at our homes.

With that said, it’s time to look back at what sold most among the FujiRumors community in 2021 (if you are curious to know which gear sold strong in 2020, check out this article).

Top Sellers 2021

TOP SELLING ACCESSORIES

  1. SanDisk 64GB Extreme PRO
  2. Anker PowerCore+ 26800 PD (officially recommended by Fujifilm to charge your X/GFX cameras)
  3. Fujifilm NP-W235 Rechargeable Li-Ion Battery

TOP SELLING CAMERA OVERALL

  1. Fujifilm GFX100S

There was no battle. It outsold them all. No wonder the GFX100S is a rare good on the market these days. Good luck finding one.

TOP SELLING CAMERAS

  1. Fujifilm GFX100S
  2. Fujifilm X-T4 (substantially behind the GFX100S)
  3. Fujifilm X-T3
  4. Fujifilm X-E4
  5. Fujifilm X-S10
  6. Fujifilm X-E3 (pushed by this deal)
  7. Fujifilm GFX50S II
  8. Fujifilm X100V

I bet not even Fujifilm itself saw this massive success for the Fujifilm GFX100S coming. Among the FR community it outsold by a large margin every other camera, even the Fujifilm X-T4. A homerun. And as an owner of the Fujifilm GFX100S myself I can understand that this camera is making many people very happy right now.

Not surprising, the X-T line keeps to be on top of the X series, just beaten by the GFX100S.

However, huge struggles for the X-T30, dethroned by the stellar X-S10. The new X-T30II did not reinvigorate the sales at all. What Fujifilm needs to give us now is a Fujifilm X-T40 with IBIS.

TOP SELLING LENS OVERALL

  1. Fujinon XF70-300mmF4-5.6

Usually this raking is dominated either by some more affordable third party lenses (last year won by the Viltrox 56mm f/1.4 AF or in 2018 by the Laowa 9mm F2.8 Zero-D) or by those lovely small and compact Fujicron lenses (in 2019 won by Fujinon XF35mm f/2).

And while the Fujinon XF50mm f/1.0 came very close to winning it back in 2020, this year there is a clear winner: the Fujinon XF70-300mmF4-5.6!

TOP SELLING FUJINON X/GFX LENSES

  1. Fujinon XF 70-300mm f/4-5.6 R LM OIS WR
  2. Fujinon GF 80mm f/1.7 R WR
  3. Fujinon XF 27mm f/2.8 R WR
  4. Fujinon XF 33mm f/1.4 R LM WR
  5. Fujinon XF 16-80mm f/4 R LM OIS WR
  6. Fujinon XF 23mm f/1.4 R LM WR
  7. Fujinon GF 35-70mm f/4.5-5.6 WR
  8. Fujinon XF 18mm f/1.4 R LM WR
  9. Fujinon XF 50mm f/1.0 R WR
  10. Fujinon XF 35mm f/2 R WR

Sure, the XF70-300mm is the king, but the ultra fast GF80mm f/1.7 sold incredibly well, better than any other Fujinon XF lens that is not the XF70-300mm. Another GF lens in the top seven, with fantastic sales, is the Fujinon GF 35-70mmF4.5-5.6.

As far as I can remember, it is the first time I see any GF lens in the top 10 selling list, and this time we have even two of them. The inevitable signs of a huge rise for the GFX system.

And despite the original XF27mm f/2.8 being one of Fujifilm’s most sold lenses of all time (I am not kidding, until 2016 it was the best seller only behind the original XF35mm f/1.4), the XF 27mm f/2.8 R WR entered the top 3 positions. Surely it helped that it came bundled with the X-E4. Many original XF27mmF2.8 lovers, however, also purchased it (like me) separately, just because it had the one feature that we missed on the first version: an aperture ring (and weather sealing too).

Great sales also for the new f/1.4 trinity of lenses launched this year and the best seller of last year, the Fujinon XF50mm f/1.0, resisted in the top 10 ranking also in 2021.

TOP SELLING THIRD PARTY LENSES

  1. Tamron 18-300mm f/3.5-6.3
  2. Pergear 10mm f/8
  3. Viltrox 23mm f/1.4 AF
  4. TTartisan 50mm f/1.2
  5. Laowa 65mm f/2.8 2x Ultra Macro APO
  6. Samyang 12mm f/2.0 AF

Tamron picked such a smart lens to enter the X system, and the FujiRumors community did reward them with great sales. What I didn’t see coming are the good sales for the super small and super affordable Pergear 10mm f/8.

TOP SELLING SOFTWARE

  1. Capture One
  2. Luminar AI
  3. Topaz Labs
  4. DxO PhotoLab 5 (sale push thanks to new X-Trans support)
  5. ON1 Photo RAW version 2022

Last year Luminar did beat Capture One, but the release of Capture One 22 changed the ranking again, putting the software of my choice back on top of the ranking.

From zero to (almost) hero also for DxO PhotoLab, which thanks to fresh X-Trans support entered the ranking of the top selling software.

TOP SELLING INSTAX

  1. Instax Mini EVO
  2. Instax Link Wide Printer

The closest item in terms of sale to the Fujifilm GFX100S was the Fujifilm Instax Mini EVO. And huge success also for the long awaited Fujifilm Instax Link Wide Printer.

And 2022?

I am pretty confident that the Fujifilm X-H2 and the XF150-600 will enter the ranking. Sigma basically announced already that there will be X mount lenses, so I guess we will see them at some point in 2022, and if they make wise picks (with lenses like this for example), then I can see them crushing into the top seller ranking for 2022.

And of course there will be more. But for that, you will have to follow FujiRumors very closely ;).

For now, feel free to make your guessed/wished top selling ranking for 2022. It will be fun to look back next year at it and see how good your guesses were.

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Last Week to Save up to $1,500 on Fujifilm X/GFX Gear (and it’s Running Out of Stock)

This is the last week to save up to $1,500 on Fujifilm X and GFX gear.

The deals are not valid on backorders, so grab your gear as long as it is in stock.

Keep in mind that the GFX50R is discontinued and there are only a few samples left in stock.

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Deals Ranked from Best to Worst selling on FujiRumors

  1. Fujifilm X-T4: BHphoto / AmazonUS / Adorama / Focuscamera
  2. Fujinon XF 23mmF1.4: BHphoto / AmazonUS / Adorama / Focuscamera
  3. Fujifilm X-T3 body: BHphoto / AmazonUS / Adorama / Focuscamera
  4. Fujinon XF 50mm F1.0: BHphoto / AmazonUS / Adorama / Focuscamera
  5. Fujifilm GFX 50R: BHphoto / Adorama / AmazonUS
  6. Fujifilm X-T30: BHphoto / Adorama / AmazonUS / Focuscamera