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 X Autofocus Lenses Reviews Roundup

Today we are going to share reviews about all kind of autofocus lenses for the Fujifilm X system, from Fujinon to third party lenses.

The lenses we will cover in this roundup are:

If there is any lens you are interested in listed above, then feel free to check out the review about it below.

Review Roundup

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Fujifilm BLACK FRIDAY Starts NOW with Massive Rebates on X and GFX Cameras and Lenses

Before we start with the black Friday Fujifilm deals, maybe some of you will remember Michal Krause.

He is the fellow FR-reader who wrote one of the most successful and appreciated guest posts here on FujiRumors (with LOTS of great images!)

Well, Michal has launched the English version of his book: Capture One Effectively – The Complete Guide to Capture One Pro 23.

You can read more details about the ebook at this page here.

Black Friday

Fujifilm has currently a huge black Friday sale running in USA.

You can check out the full list of deals at B&H here.

The deals include rebates on the X-H2 and X-H2S and lots of lenses.

Probably on their lowest price ever the XF50mmF1.0, the XF150-600mm, the XF200mmF2 as well as other lenses.

X Cameras

BONUS OFFER: Purchase a qualifying X Series body (X-H2, X-H2S, X-S10) or kit product along with a LEXAR 2000X 256GB SD Card and receive $100 off the combined purchase price!

X Lenses

GFX Gear

The Future of Fujifilm in Patents: Full Frame Lenses Coming, X100 with 20mmF2 lens, Foldable Fuji Smartphone and More

The Future of Fujifilm in Patents

Why Fujifilm?

Why?

Why are you doing this?

There is no need for one, totally wasted R&D.

These lenses make no sense!

That’s how some of the comments sounded on my various platforms after I have published the latest patents of the XF56mmF1.7 and re-designed XF18mmF1.4.

And these comments came after I warned you in the article that in 11+ years of blogging I have never seen a patent actually become a real product.

And despite my repeated warnings, some people keep taking those patents as an indication of what’s really coming next from Fujifilm.

But if it was really like this… I mean, if patents would really show us the way that Fujifilm is taking, then where are:

So, even though I feel a bit like Don Quixote fighting the windmills, I will give it another try today.

But I’ll take a different approach this time.

Because, well aware that a good number of people don’t go beyond the headline, I decided to create a headline that shows how absurd it is to put any trust in these patents. And hopefully, this will motivate people to look deeper into this subject.

And how do we look deeper into it?

Well, in this article we look at the 67 patents FujiRumors has shared starting from our first one posted back in 2012 until the latest one here.

Give them a look, and then make up your own mind if you should take patents as solid indications of future products.

All the Patents (Have Fun :))

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New Firmware Released for Fringer EF-GFX (v1.50) and EF-FX (Pro) II (v2.40)

Fringer has released major improvements for the Fringer EF-GFX and the Fringer EF-FX (Pro) II.

Fringer adapters can be ordered at B&H Photo, AmazonUS and Adorama.

List of Smart Adapters

Fujifilm Factory Tour: Meet Fujifilm’s Most Complex Gear to Manufacture and How Adjustment is Key to Image Quality

The French website Phototrend had the opportunity to visit the Fujifilm factory in Taiwa, Japan, which where many premium Fujifilm gear is made, but not only premium. For example, also Fujifim’s oldest X mount lens, the legendary Fujinon XF35mm F1.4 R is assembled here.

In this tour, Fujifilm will also tell you which is the most complex gear to manufacture. Spoiler: it’s this beast here, which consists of over 1,000 pieces!!!

There is lots of interesting stuff to read and see, but I found one sentence particularly interesting: “adjustment is the key to image quality“.

So while the assembly takes time and is indeed complex, all the micro-adjustments made during and after the assembly are crucial to ensure a consistent and high quality product.

Down is a quick summary where you can read all the details as well as some images.

Factory Tour

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Fujifilm Releases Significant Firmware Updates for Many XF/GF Lenses (plus X-A3, X-A10, XA20)

Fujifilm has released firmware updates for plenty of lenses that will make the autofocus more silent, the aperture operate smoother and also give better tracking performance while zooming.

That’s a very nice upgrade especially for video shooters.

Not all lenses will get all these three updates. You can find the full detailed list below.

Firmware Details & Download Links

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Fujifilm X: The Huge Lens Review Roundup

It’s time to share a huge roundup covering all possible third party lenses for the Fujifilm X mount.

The lenses we are going to cover are Fujinon lenses as well as third party lenses.

Down below is the list of covered lenses. If there is any that interests you, check out the full article below.

Fujinon Lenses:

Third Party Lenses:

Roundup

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When my Old XF23mmF1.4 Beat Sony Full Frame and other Wonderful Moments (but now Welcome my New XF23mmF1.4 R LM WR)

It’s Here

It’s never easy to let go gear you used and loved a lot. Gear like my good old Fujinon XF23mm f/1.4 R for example.

But now the time has come.

I’ve just received the new Fujinon XF23mm f/1.4 R LM WR and I’ve explained the reason why I bought it here already.

The Magic of Making Money by Buying Gear ;)

I bought the lens at Amazon IT here, as they had a better price than my local store and are also qualified for the Fujifilm cashback.

Convincing my wife of this investment went like this:

  1. I don’t need to pay for the lens, because I am paying it with the money I made from the X-T4 sale
  2. there is a sweet deal on the new XF23mmF1.4
  3. by buying the new XF23mmF1.4 I can get rid of the old XF23mm and make even more money
  4. I’ve booked a table for 2 for dinner at a fancy restaurant tomorrow. Yes, only for 2! It will be our first dinner without our son after 2+ years. Grandma is informed, she will watch after our son

This tells us one thing: photography is definitely an expensive hobby when you build up your system, but it gets much cheaper once you can fund new gear by selling old one.

Remember the Good

But I don’t let go my good old Fujinon XF23mm f/1.4 with a light heart, as I had many great moments with it. Let me name a few “episodes”.

Beating Sony ;)

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Fujifilm X-T4 ES Extended Spectrum Infrared Camera Removed and “Discontinued”

Just yesterday we reported how B&H Photo was listing the Fujifilm X-T4 ES extended spectrum infrared camera on their website with expected shipping in 2-4 weeks (see article here).

But apparently something went wrong at B&H, as some fellow X shooters have sent me the following notice of BHphoto:

You are receiving this message because you asked to be notified when this item becomes available. We regret to inform you that this item has unfortunately been discontinued. Please check back on our website for similar or possible replacement items. We apologize for this inconvenience and appreciate your understanding.

Given that Fujifilm has already launched IR versions of their X-T cameras (the Fujifilm X-T1 IR), an infrared X-T4 version would definitely be a plausible option.

So either the Fujifilm X-T4 ES infrared camera is indeed coming soon and B&H just put the page up a bit too early, or it is not coming at all and B&H just made an error.

X Camera Deals

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