And to be clear: this does not mean that Fujifilm is discontinuing the Fujifilm X-T4 and that a Fujifilm X-T5 is coming in May at the Fujifilm X Summit (I mean, I don’t know if it is coming in May. So far I only hear of the Fujifilm X-H2 coming in May).
So, don’t panic. The Fujifilm X-T4 is still being manufactured. But if you prefer the silver version, maybe it might be a good thing to buy it sooner rather than later. I expect the first silver kit versions to slowly run out of stock and being discontinued in the next few weeks over several stores.
A move that aligns Fujifilm with other brands, who in most cases don’t offer color variations in their mid and higher end camera range.
One of the most read articles back in 2020 here on FujiRumors was the guest post titled “The X-Pan Rebirth of Fujifilm X-Pro1“, where a reader modified his X-Pro1 into an X-Pan digital camera.
And every now and then the wish of a digital Fujifilm X-Pan camera surfaces again in the Fujifilm community such as here, here and here.
Well, today we have another request for a Fujifilm X-Pan camera coming from Pavel and shared over at his youtube channel SuperSuperka (video below).
He so severely wants a digital XPan Fujifilm camera, that he made a very nice rendering on how he imagines it to be.
He called his rendered X-Pan camera the Fujifilm TX-3, of course inspired by what Jonas Rask called “the most beautiful camera ever created“, the Fujifilm TX-1. He wrote me:
Some notes about the concept. It has GFX sensor cut in half, which gives just perfect match to Xpan proportions
Logarithmic response pixels are not commonly used, but are used in technical tasks. What they can do is to not mimic film but to have native film-like look.
Arca-swiss is the bottom of the body. No additional plates needed. OVF with phase-detect autofocus.
I used 28mm which with this sensor is a bit wider FOV then original 45mm on Xpan. Like, say, 40mm on Xpan.
Quite frankly, at this point, if Fujifilm was to adventure itself in a crafting a unique niche digital camera, then I’d personally find a digital X-Pan much more appealing over let’s say a monochrome Fujifilm X camera.
What about you? Feel free to vote the survey down below.
When Sigma launched their new Fujifilm X mount trinity, we had a huge live blog here on FujiRumors, where we could see that these are very fine lenses.
Down below a summary in case you are in a hurry and can’t watch the video right now (plus a few personal notes).
But yeah, I can’t see the future. Nobody can. So Tony’s opinion is just as valid as mine. The future will tell.
Two System, Less Cameras and Lenses for APS-C due to limited R&D
Maybe I am not so much into other brands, but I don’t feel like Fujifilm is releasing less gear than other brands.
The real issue was more that so far not many third party brands released AF lenses for Fujifilm, but that has been solved in the meantime.
But in some way it is true. No GFX system could potentially mean more resources for X mount. But I think this is also why Fujifilm waited so long before offering a second sensor option. They did want to wait that their APS-C lineup is rich in lenses and once well covered, they can free up resources for other projects.
Lack of Fast Lenses
First off, let me say that there are many fast Fujinon XF lenses such as the XF200mmF2, XF8-16mmF2.8, XF50mmF1.0 as well as all the nice f/1.2 and f/1.4 primes.
But what about the f/1.8 zooms he’d wish for the X system? Well, that brings us to the next point.
High ISO
In the past, pushing your digital cameras to high ISO was something we absolutely wanted to avoid, as the performance was so bad. To avoid to go too high with ISO, we did indeed need fast glass for low light photography.
But that was the past. Today, ISO performance on digital cameras is vastly improved, which means you don’t need to try to desperately avoid high ISO with super fast and expensive glass. Nope, you can also push ISO up much higher than you ever could in the past.
What this means is that you can put smaller, lighter and more affordable lenses on your camera, as you can compensate the slower aperture with a higher ISO value.
Down below I will share a video of an extreme low light recovery I made of my wife overlooking the hills of Ronda in Andalusia, Spain (we made our honeymoon there). She basically went from almost invisible black to nicely visible in clean colors (thank you X-Trans for that high color fidelity) and in my eyes also very contained levels of noise, which make the image pleasing and usable.
But what about Bokeh? Let’s talk about it.
Bokeh
Not enough background blur? Well, this one is easy to answer. I’ll just share an image down below. And it’s not even the fastest lens Fujifilm has to offer (you can get even more radical with this one).
Autofocus (and Computational Photography)
True, Sony and Canon have better autofocus. But the point with autofocus is, that once it is near perfect, there is not much to improve anymore. Fujifilm just needs to catch up with Sony and Canon, and then the “autofocus war” will be basically over, since there will be little room for further enhancements.
Where there is much more room for improvement, is computational photography. And this is an area where smaller sensors simply are superior to bigger sensors. In fact, if done wisely, it could be even lead to a Renaissance of the M43 system (as the Panasonic GH6 shows with its terrific high res handheld mode). And certainly APS-C has a potential advantage here over full frame or medium format.
🤖 Improved face refinement pipeline
Gigapixel AI will now do a much better job detecting human faces more often and delivering more realistic results. Tiny background faces especially should see a noticeable improvement in quality.
🖥️ Significant image quality improvements with Windows GPU
You’ll notice much better image quality across all models in Gigapixel AI when using GPU-powered Windows machines.
🧠 Reduced memory usage We’ve streamlined how we cache and utilize image data through the entire editing pipeline, resulting in less memory usage and faster importing and exporting of image files.
⚙️ Lots of usability improvements and bug fixes
We’ve improved the post-processing resize algorithm, optimized how we compress JPG, PNG, and TIFF files when exporting, and squashed a bunch of annoying bugs.
Now, here in Europe cashback deals are the norm, but I can understand that for a customer getting the rebate instantly makes life a bit easier.
So why is Fujifilm USA following the steps of Europe?
Well, the reason is probably rather simple.
As you know, the Japanese fiscal year ends on March 31. Before that date, Fujifilm wants to show up in front of investors with the best sale figures possible.
One way to “improve” the numbers is to offer cashback deals, because:
Fujifilm launches deals shortly before the fiscal year ends
the deals boost sales
customers initially pay full price for their gear
Fujifilm will show up in front of investors with better sales numbers (it will result as if Fujifilm sold all their gear at full price)
once the yearly financial report is out they will start to refund customers
This is probably also why Fujifilm writes that if you buy your discounted GF lens today, you will need up to 8 weeks to get your refund processed and delivered (hence you’ll get your money back in April, after the Japanese fiscal year is over).
Sure, then, in 2022, they will have to pay back the money and this will influence their next fiscal report. But that’s a problem for the following year. A problem that gear like the Fujifilm X-H2 will take care of, which hopefully for Fujifilm will sell very well. And if not, there is still the option for more cashback deals.
Look, if this helps Fujifilm, I am fine with it.
It’s really not that big of a deal to mail Fuji the invoice and the serial number and then wait a few weeks to get your money back. I literally just mailed them my latest purchase 3 days ago. Easy and smooth process.
Did you ever wonder why Fujifilm cameras are so fun to use?
The short answer could be: because (unlike other brands – as SonyAlphaRumors itself admits) Fujifilm has a massive photographic culture that they cherish and honor also in their newest cameras.
He did not simply pick 10 cameras, but indentified 10 aspects of older Fujifilm cameras that form the basis for the current Fujifilm mirrorless offering.
So, what do our modern X and GFX cameras have in common with older Fujifilm cameras? Patrik will answer this for you down below.
I have had a look at some of the features that make up the DNA of the current X and GFX lines and have tried to pinpoint the Fujifilm cameras that introduced those ideas into the Fuji realm. I decided on these 10 points that together form the basis of what the current Fujifilm mirrorless systems are:
And yes, Kaizen, that’s something the X-Pro1 got lots of. But on the contrary of what many think, still today Fujifilm leads the pack when it comes to updating their cameras. I elaborated it more in depth here.
But most importantly, the joy to use a Fujifilm camera is still the same, also after 10 years. In fact, Chris seems to have loved to shoot the X-Pro1 even more now as opposed to when it came out 10 years ago.
So, with all that said, here is are DPRTV’s impressions after shooting the X-Pro1 again 10 years later.
he enjoys using the optical viewfinder (the X-Pro1 has a hybrid viewfinder
great vintage look
aimed to work best with smaller primes
great for street shooters
compact camera with compact primes
the X-T1 opened the system to lots more people. The whole Fujifilm system grew from there
X-Pro1 was the first camera using an X-Trans sensor
thanks to X-Trans Fujifilm could get rid of the aliasing filter, which would have removed some sharpness to the images
now it is much easier to edit X-Trans files
X-Trans avoided a lot of the problems with moire for photos
but at that time, it was hard to work with X-Trans files. Adobe struggled with X-Trans files and 10 years later people still complain about this
Fujifilm started its reputation for great colors in JPEGs and great details
the X-Pro1 did not have many film simulations
in 10 years we have gained so many more film simulations. The latest Fujifilm cameras have even more vintage film simulations like Nostalgic Negative and Classic Chrome, etc
Chris is impressed but how accurate the optical overlay still is with its frame lines (compensating for parallax)
not great AF controls. Best solution: single AF with focus and recompose. It’s pretty snappy used this way
terrible camera for video
it’s incredible that just 10 years ago Fuji was so bad in video, but now for Jordan Fujifilm cameras are among his favorite cameras to shoot video
Chris had a lot of fun shooting the X-Pro1 again
even if it is 10 years old, it still felt quite current in a lot of ways
X-Pro1 got tons of Kaizen firmware updates
maybe Fujifilm does not do Kaizen so much anymore [admin note: I disagree, and I elaborated why here]
Fujifilm has come a long way and now dominates APS-C and MF market
Fujifilm still holds on on that vintage feel and heritage build up 10 years ago
Chris didn’t appreciate the X-Pro1 when it came out, but for some reason he now enjoyed it shooting again
X-Trans files of X-Pro1 still have very interesting character
I was solo hiking through Eastern Europe. In my bag, a tent, food, water, a few clothes. And my DSLR gear.
One morning I woke up very early at the top of the Popluks mountain in Albania, left my tent and enjoyed the sunrise all alone on the mountain peak. It should have been my last day on one of the best kept secrets in Europe, the Albanian Alps. Next stop: a 12 hours long hike all the way to Montenegro through lonely mountains and valleys of rare beatuy.
And I tell you this: when I arrived at my destination, the town of Gusinje in Montenegro, I was exhausted and I promised myself: I need to travel lighter. I need lighter gear.
And exactly in that moment of my photographic journey, 11+ years ago, Fujifilm launched the Fujifilm X series. Then, 10 years ago, the Fujifilm X-Pro1 was announced, introducing the X mount in the photography world.
And that was it. That was exactly what I was looking for.
The rest is history. I fell in love. I needed to share this love. I started FujiRumors.
So I wondered, how can we sum up this long Fujifilm X journey (which is basically just as long as my personal journey with Fujifilm) best?
Well, since Fujifilm is celebrating 10 years of X mount this year, I thought I could make a list of what I consider the top 10 cameras of this Fuji-decade. But, shall it be allowed to me, I will start with the X100, which is technically older than 10 years. But I think you’ll agree it makes sense to add to this list.
Attention: we are not (only) talking about the most successful cameras, but also about what I consider the most important ones, beyond the success they had (or not).
Fujifilm X100 – the original
That’s the camera that started it all. And it gave us a clear indication on which way Fujifilm would go: great looking cameras with manual controls and overall vintage feel.
Fujifilm X-Pro1
This was Fujifilm’s first mirrorless camera with interchangeable lenses. Iconic. Beautiful. The start of X-mount.
Fujifilm X-T1
If you ask me, my heart, I’d say X-E1 (as I love the X-E series). But that line was never a huge seller. The real first big success for the Fujifilm X mount was the Fujifilm X-T1. It was the first camera that was able to go a bit more mainstream compared to X-Pro1 and X-E1.
Fujifilm X-T10
The X-T10 was a huge hit and helped Fujifilm to break through mid-range market in a way the X-E line could not. A very successful series for Fujifilm, started by X-T10.
Fujifilm X-H1
True, it was not a big success, but it set the base for a platform that will earn lots of success in future. That’s why I put it on the list. Guys, just wait to see what a beast the Fujifilm X-H2 will be, and then you’ll agree with me. Be patient, May isn’t that far anymore.
Fujifilm X-T3
A mega success for Fujifilm that not even the release of the Fujifilm X-T4 could stop. According to my knowledge, Fujifilm’s all time best seller.
Fujifilm X100V
Announced 8 years after the original X100, it was a terrific success for Fujifilm and it brings a much needed redesign of the lens as well as an “invisible” tilt screen. It’s my biggest GAS temptation along with these 2 more Fujifilm items. And please, don’t trigger my GAS further in the comments. I have a marriage to take care of ;)
Fujifilm GFX50S
Enter medium format: Fujifilm’s first digital medium format camera with a sensor about 70% fuller than full frame. Now that we arrived at the Fujifilm GFX100S, which is even smaller than some full frame mirrorless cameras out there, we can say that the GFX50S (hence skipping full frame) was an incredibly smart move by Fujifilm.
Fujifilm GFX100S
It has to be on the list, as it is such a terrific success for Fujifilm. Not even in their best dreams they’d have hoped for as many sales as the GFX100S generated. The only problem: Fujifilm has a hard time producing as many cameras as the market requests, yes, even now, 1 year after its announcement. And please, stop to say nonsense like “it should not have had IBIS” or stuff like that. This nonsense often comes from the same people praising OIS. So aren’t both, OIS and IBIS, serving the very same purpose. And more importantly, can’t you simply turn off both if you don’t like them?
Fujifilm X-Pro3
Arguably the most controversial on the list, as this camera is designed for the niche and therefore was never planed to make massive sales. But here is the thing: while Fujifilm has indeed released the X-S10 and GFX100S with more “mainstream” oriented ergonomics, the Fujifilm X-Pro3 shows that Fujifilm cares also about niche and does not run only after the mainstream. They still want to offer all sorts of different photographic experiences by changing the ergonomics among various camera lines. So don’t panic guys, Fujifilm ain’t dropping retro at all. Whoever creates panic about this, is just out for clickbait. The X-Pro3 is Fuji’s statement for their continuing commitment to retro and vintage controls.
So that’s my list. Feel free to change and modify it as you want in the comments.
Must Read for X100 Lovers – “Don’t Touch that Camera!” the Story About the Inspiration Behind the Fujifilm X100 Series Design
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