The first stores in Japan have started to mark the Fujifilm GFX50S II as no longer in production, as reported by the Japanese website asobinet.

No longer in production does not mean you won’t find samples anymore around tomorrow. It is more likely that there will be still stable stock for quite some months ahead.

And yet, this news induces me to share some thoughts about the GFX50SII and the GFX system overall.

The GFX50SII was launched back in September 2021.

During these two years, it was often sold with a $800 discount (as right now), showing that the GFX50SII struggled to sell nearly as well as Fujifilm hoped.

The main drawback: the GFX50SII used the old non BSI sensor of the original GFX50S (and the even older Pentax 645Z)  in times when Fujifilm already offered the GFX100 and GFX100S with modern BSI sensor and 100MP. I guess most people decided to go for the more modern and higher resolution models.

In my opinion, the GFX50SII could have sold much better if only Fujifilm would have kept the retro dials layout of the original GFX50S. It would have differentiated it much more from the rest of the lineup.

And overall, the lack of a proper retro styled cameras in the GFX lineup is one of the big mysteries of our time. It’s Fujifilm’s biggest error and an enormous missed opportunity. Especially in times where there is no significant development on the sensor area, the one thing that can really boost sales for a new camera is offering a different shooting experience, which in the GFX world would mean to offer something different than the usual PSAM layout.

Make no mistake: my Fujifilm GFX100S is giving me great joy and it is extremely easy to operate. That’s not the issue. But if Fujifilm would make the camera with exactly the same GFX100S specs but with an X-T layout, I would sell it and go for the Fujifilm GFX100T (imaginary name).

I hope somebody at the higher ranks of the Fujifilm Japan HQ is reading these lines (and they do, they even use FujiRumors surveys for internal meetings).

I know, Fujifilm, you consider PSAM the “safe” approach, as it is more mainstream. But unless you drop a 150MP GFX or a 100MP stacked sensor GFX, you will keep struggling to sell GFX cameras (or be forced to give them huge rebates).

If you decide to stick with the current 100MP BSI sensor (no matter how much you optimise its circuits, AD converters, microlenses, etc), then the best thing to do to create a camera that sells like hot cakes is to offer a different photographic experience. And that camera is called Fujifilm GFX100T or alternatively also the GFX100R.

Trust me on this Fujifilm. Do it, and we will throw our money at you… and my money will be the first to fly to your bank account.

The Tokina atx-m X mount trinity is starting to get marked as discontinued at overseas stores as spotted by the Japanese website asobinet.

Being basically just clones of these Viltrox lenses just at a higher price, I never really gave those Tokina lenses much chances to sell well.

However, there is one Tokina APS-C mirrorless lens that I believe could be a big hit among the Fujifilm X community: this one!

I hope Tokina won’t be demotivated by the 23/33/56 failure and will try to offer this little beautiful lens also for X mount., although so far there are no rumors about it at all (sadly).

• TOKINA atx-m 23mm F1.4 X: BHphoto, AmazonUS, Adorama
• TOKINA atx-m 33mm F1.4 X: BHphoto, AmazonUS, Adorama
• TOKINA atx-m 56mm F1.4 X: BHphoto, AmazonUS, Adorama

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:

• those patented Full Frame Fujifilm lenses?
• the Fujifilm foldable smartphone?
• the new X-Trans sensor with enlarged green pixels?
• the X100 with 20mmF2 lens?
• the XF16-55mmF2.8 with OIS?
• the XF 85-300mm f/2.7–3.7 patented back in 2014?

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 :))