Happy Birthday: Fujifilm Turns 86 Years Old Today… and About How Fujifilm Survived the Digital Age

Fujifilm Birthday

FujiRumors had birthday just a few days ago.

Now it’s time to celebrate Fujifilm, as today they turn 86 years old!

In these 86 years, Fujifilm has proven to be an innovative and creative company, that was able to smartly maneuver around some serious crises and find new solutions in a rapidly changing market.

Also, Fujifilm was able to succeed, where other tech giants (Samsung) failed: enter the highly competitive camera market and experience a steady grow, that puts it in the third position of the global mirrorless camera sales ranking.

And while having a glorious history is nice and good, Fujifilm should not rest on its laurels. The camera market is shrinking, and it will require, once again, all the creative and technological energy inside Fujifilm, to remain competitive and profitable.

So, from all my heart, I wish happy birthday to Fujifilm, and I think the best way to celebrate its birthday, is the documentary I share below, about how Fujifilm was able to survive the digital age. Note how at minute 35, the manager says:

I had announced that we would protect the photograph culture. No matter how small it gets…we might downsize production, but we would keep the culture alive and protect it. The culture of photographs is one that mankind can do without…No matter what we will not get rid of photography.

You may say what you want about Fujifilm, but I think we can all agree, that Fujifilm has a massive photographic culture, that one can feel, even when he picks up a digital camera.

This happens, when the top manager responsible for digital cameras inside Fujifilm says he actually does not like digital cameras, but he loves film.

Or when the guy, who designed the original X100, tells the story about his father, his cameras, and how this inspired him to design the first Fujifilm X series camera.

Keep up being creative and inspired, Fujifilm!

All the best, from Patrick and from all other fellow Fujifilm lovers reading this blog.

Documentary: How Fujifilm Survived the Digital Age

video via video.toggle

Fujifilm X-T3 vs Sony A6600, Low Light X-T3 vs A7III Wedding Photography, X-T3 Water Resistance and More – X-T3 Roundup

 

The inevitable will happen: the Fujifilm X-T4 will ship within March, and this means that the time of dedicated Fujifilm X-T3 roundups will soon be over, and the X-T3 content will be moved to the general camera roundups.

But we are not yet there.

The Fujifilm X-T3 is still today the DPReview most recommended camera below $1,500 and at the same time the DPR camera popularity winner.

So, it’s still a beast of a camera, that will soon get even better, thanks to this firmware update.

Hence, here we have one more glorious Fujifilm X-T3 roundup for you.

The Fujifilm X-T4 will have a serious challenge: improve what is already very, very good. Let’s see if it will stand up to this task.

Don’t forget also…

X-T3 Roundup

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Venus Optics Laowa “Argus” Series will Include Widest f/0.95 lens for Fujifilm X Mount

We reported about the Venus Optics Laowa Argus f/0.95 lens series.

Now FujiRumors is able to give you a few more details:

  • coming for Fujifilm X mount
  • it will include the widest f/0.95 lens on the market

Stay tuned on FujiRumors ;).

Venus Optics Laowa “Argus” f/0,95 lens for Mirrorless Systems Coming Soon

During a presentation in China Venus Optics announced a new f/0,95 lens series named “Argus“. Mirrorlessrumros expects this lens to be available for all different mirrorless mounts.

via mirrorlessrumros via CameraBeta

New Fujifilm X Mount Viltrox AF lenses Coming before March 21

Viltrox

Fellow FR-readers have informed me (thanks) that the long awaited Viltrox Fujifilm X Mount trinity will come before March 21.

The screenshot you see below says:

Question: Will the new Viltrox lenses come before or after March 21?

Viltrox answer: Before!

Let’s hope there won’t be any delays anymore.

Documentary: How Fujifilm Creates Our Cameras – X-Pro3 Not a Product of Logic and About Managers Who Don’t Like Digital Cameras ;)

Fujifilm X Photographer Mindi Tan created a 90 minuted documentary, giving us a behind the scenes to the secret process behind the Fujfilm X-Pro3 creation.

It gives us a very close and also intimate look at Fujifilm’s camera creators and managers. The documentary reveals its team dynamics, beliefs and history inside the company with lots of exclusive interviews and footage.

It also features nine popular X-Photographers from all over the world who open up in their home environments to discuss what being a photographer and being connected with Fujifilm means today.

Down below you can find a summary of the video, but before that, I’d like to leave you with quick impressions I had.

It’s clear to see from the documentary, that behind our beloved Fujifilm cameras, there are not cold managers thinking at specs and profits, but really passionate photographers in the first place.

In fact, top manager’s Toshi Ilda first hobby was photography, and when his father asked him, what he wishes for his successful graduation, he said he’d like a camera.

Also, another top manager, Takeshi Ueno, deeply loves film photography, and straight out says he does not like digital cameras.

I guess this passion for the good old photography reflects perfectly in the vintage design and controls of Fujifilm cameras.

However, it comes even more surprising, that Fujifilm completely denied this “manual” DNA on the Fujifilm GFX100, which is the first Fujifilm camera I ever hold in my hands, that was not intuitive (for me) to operate, and required a look in the manual, to understand how it works.

I am sure there will be many, who love the more “modern” layout of the Fujifilm GFX100, and that’s perfect. I can understand. But it’s just not my style, not my preference.

I think Fujifilm should continue to offer what makes them unique, and part of that is not to give up vintage controls. And with the X-Pro3, they pushed this concept to its limits, by even hiding the LCD.

Also interesting:

They say the X-Pro3 is not a product of “logic”, but of instinct. In this case they did not listen to what the market dictates, but their intuition, that it was the right thing to do with the X-Pro3.

And that’s why I love Fujifilm.

If they would be like Sony for example, and just listen to market logic, Fujifilm would just offer one camera body. The same for everybody.

But Fujifilm knows photographers are not all the same, and so they offer niche products, that will never really become that profitable. By doing so, Fujifilm honors its photographic culture and heritage, it’s photo-DNA.

It’s a very lovely documentary, that I invite everybody to watch.

Video and Summary

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Fujifilm X-T4 G.A.S? These Fujifilm X-T3 Images will Help You to Resist to it ;)

Oscar Wilde once said:

The only way to get rid of temptation is to yield to it

But today we will prove him wrong.

We will display a series of stunning X-T3, X-T2 and X-T20 images, and show to Oscar that we don’t need a Fujifilm X-T4 to create stunning imagery.

Because no specs on the world can replace your feeling… and it’s a known fact, that feeling is the origin of your creativity and intuition.

30 Seconds Story of my Favorite Image

In the spirit of this post, do you want to hear the story behind my all time favorite image?

If you have 30 seconds… here it is:

I was in Cambodia (for my fair trade Fuji X T-shirts project), walking through an abandoned Casino in Bokor, with one of my very best friends.

I borrowed her my Fujifilm X-T1 camera, and she took a couple of snapshots.

At some point I saw some kids playing hide and seek in the building.

One of them hide behind a wall, waiting for his little friends to come up the stairs.

I noticed all this, and told to my friend “give me the X-T1, and I’ll grab the killer shot“.

She gave it to me, I placed myself in the right position… and waited.

And then it happened: the hiding kid leaned out beyond the wall, then suddenly watched down the stairs to see where his friends are. In that moment, I was ready and took the image.

I came home, printed it, and now I have it big on my wall.

And it was taken with a Fujifilm X-T1.

Call it luck, call it intuition. Whatever it was. It was nothing you can read on any specs paper.

So yes, let’s be happy about the Fujifilm X-T4, but also not forget, that what we own now, is plenty of good enough.

In the spirit of this post, enjoy the X-T image roundup below.

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Fujifilm X-T200 Coming with X-A7 alike Vari-Angle LCD Screen

Fujifilm X-T200

Now, it’s not a surprise, that the Fujifilm X-T200 will be something like an X-A7 with viewfinder.

So expect sensor and processor of the Fujifilm X-A7.

However, there is something, that might be a bit more surprising.

I just got word (thanks), that the Fujifilm X-T200 will be launched with a vari-angle LCD screen, the one Fujifilm first introduced on the Fujifilm X-A7.

I looks like Fujifilm took note of our big tilt screen survey, where the X-A7 vari-anlge screen turned out to be much more popular than the (smart!) X-T100 screen, which you can see how it works here.

Personally I was always a big fan of the X-T100 screen, as it allows you to tilt the screen up and down and keep the LCD still centered to the camera, and still had a “selfie” position. Now with the X-A7 screen, whenever you want to tilt up and down, you’ll have to flip it out all the way to the side and off-centered to the camera.

But I am aware I am in the minority here. You guys want X-A7 screen, so Fujifilm delivers!

Don’t forget also…

Game Over: the lovely X-T100 LCD screen has been axed in favor of the vari-angle LCD screen?

The Era of Fujifilm X100V is Coming and the Fujifilm X100F Gets its Last Glorious Roundup!

Match Technical EP-2F Thumbs Up Grip for Fujifilm X100F

Here on FujiRumors we have always reserved a special place to what you guys voted the by far most sexy camera in the entire Fujifilm world, the Fujifilm X100 line.

In fact, the Fujifilm X100 lives in a world of its own… a world where specs do not really seem to mean a lot.

Just see our massive Fujifilm X100 group, which, among all our Fujifilm X/GFX groups, is the one with less gear talk of all.

This is a natural consequence of the philosophy behind this camera: keep it simple, focus on creating images.

One camera, one lens. Now go out and shoot.

And yet…

there is a rare time, when even X100 shooters focus a tiny bit more on gear. And that’s when a successor is about to come out. And that’s fully understandable.

FujiRumors already shared a couple of X100V rumors, but that’s not what we talk about today.

Today, just before the X100V hits the market, we dedicated an own article to the beautiful Fujifilm X100F, an extremely successful camera that sold far more than X100/S/T.

X100F (save $200): BHphoto, Adorama, AmazonUS, Focuscamera

Let’s start:

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