It’s time for our yearly rumor check, so that you guys can decide if FujiRumors was worth your time or not.
We will also give you an overview over all remaining rumors for 2024 ranked by reliability.
75 rumors shared in 2023
12 rumors still to be verified
60 correct rumors out of 63 verifiable rumors
2 wrong rumors (sort of… not really… but yeah…) NOTE: one rumor instantly corrected (just misunderstood the source)
NOTE: another one is 99% correct, just a small detail is not accurate (how much faster the GFX100II sensor is compared to the GFX100 sensor). Still today this is not clear, but I am brutal to myself and move the entire stuff into the wrong section
1 rumor out of ranking (for reasons I will explain below)
In November we have shared quite some rumors (as you can see here). And not only that! In our previous 2024 outlook, we forgot to add gear that Fujifilm has already pre-announced to come in 2024 as well as give you a look into rumored third party AF lenses.
That’s why we need to update our view into the Fujifilm year 2024.
All the X/GFX rumors come from our sources, whereas the speculations are often based on hints and comments that managers gave in interviews.
The Japanese Nikkei has published an article about the Fujifilm Instax business.
by 2025, Instax sales will have increased more than 3 times compared to 2015
by 2025 Fujifilm will have increased Instax production by 40% compared to 2021 to catch up with the demand
the Instax marketing team has increased by 5 times in the last 10 years
imaging division is Fujifilm’s second largest segment after health care division
The operating profit margin on sales is about 20%, the highest in all sectors
Now these are numbers we can only dream of for the digital camera and lenses segment. But the last report we got from Fujifilm about the X/GFX centric performance was quite positive too.
Below I will just list a few articles about what Fujifilm should do to ensure huge success to the X and GFX series going forward.
In fact, according to our trusted sources, the XF18-55 replacement will be an XF16-50mm lens.
I know what you think.
You think “that sounds more like the replacement to the Fujinon XC 16-50mm“.
But no, it’s not, because the replacement to the Fujinon XC16-50mm is already out and it’s this lens here.
And more importantly, the XF18-55mm production will be stopped once the XF16-50mm is out, making the 16-50mm effectively the replacement to the XF18-55mm as the main kit lens.
Personally I am happy to see it going a bit wider (16mm vs 18mm).
And while some might not be happy about the slightly shorter long end, consider that the XF18-55 is not a lens capable, wide open, to resolve all 40MP of the latest APS-C X series cameras. If the replacement, the XF16-50mm, turns out to be sensibly sharper than the 18-55, then you might lose some zoom range on the long end, but you’ll be able to compensate in part for that by being able to crop in more and still get a nice clean, sharp image.
I have no solid information on the aperture range.
As soon as I have more details on this lens (but also other upcoming XF lenses), I will inform you here on FujiRumors.
All the answers will follow on FujiRumors. But in the meantime I thought it could be fun to vote on which cameras you think will come.
But note a few things:
this is a survey on gear that you THINK will come, not what you wish will come
this is why I stayed rather “conservative” with my poll options and mainly only include successors to current camera lines
Regarding the successors, a very important note:
it is not clear if all current X/GFX the lines will get a successor. Will there ever be a GFX50RII or GFX100RII or GFX100SII or X80 or X-E5 etc?
I will include them anyway in this survey, just to see how much demand there is for such cameras among the FR community
And now a quick explanation on the survey itself.
recently refreshed cameras will not be included in the survey (no Fujifilm X-T6 or Fujifilm X-H3/S)
X100V successor is not included in the list, as that one will come for sure in early 2024
And if you Need to go Wild… ;)
There is always a possibility that Fujifilm will launch something new, hence a new type of camera or new camera line.
And while you can’t vote on it, you can still express your wildest wishes in the comments below. At a later stage we can make a separate survey if it’s something you’d like to vote on.
But don’t worry, Fujifilm is working full power right now.
In fact, we have been told that in the “first monthsof 2024″ Fujifilm will announce more cameras than in the entire year 2023.
Considering that we got a total of 2 cameras in 2023, this means we can expect three or more cameras coming in the first months of 2024.
I have checked back, and as far as I can see, in 13 years of X/GFX series there has been only one year in which Fujifilm launched more than two cameras in the first months of the year (without counting the entry level cameras that were made by Xacti Corporation and not by Fujifilm).
But even if we would count the Xacti cameras (X-T100, X-T200, X-A5, X-A20 etc), we would get a total of 3 years out of 13 in which Fujifilm kicked off the year with more than two cameras, and also in that case we reach 3 cameras max (as in 2017).
So, by launching three or more Fujifilm cameras (made by Fujfiilm) in the first months of 2024, Fujifilm is out for a record release rate, matching or exceeding the announcements we had only once in 13 years of Fujifilm X/GFX history.
In the headline I wrote that this is the revival of the global shutter, simply because global shutter cameras are nothing new. In fact, cameras with older CCD sensors already featured a global shutter.
But as back in the days of CCD sensor cameras, the global shutter is not the answer to all problems, and as just everything in life it comes with its Pros and Cons. Let’s talk about it.
For personal reasons I was not able to make videos this month, nor to really work full power on the rumors and the blog in general. Sometimes life has other plans and sets other priorities.
Good news: an important medical check just a few days ago went well, so now it’s time for me to crawl out of my hole and gain back the energy to give you guys what you deserve: rumors!
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