ePhotozine published a couple of hands-on photos of the Fujifilm GFX 50R with GF 50mmF3.5.
I am pretty sure ePhotozine just did it just to trigger my GAS even further, because I kind of fell in love with the Fujifilm GFX 50R while trying it out at the Fujifilm booth.
They also shared hands on images of the GF45-100mm and GF 100-200mm here.
And despite all the reviewers make a brilliang job covering the Fujifilm GFX 50R, they have a hard job this time, since it has the exact same performance of the Fujifilm GFX 50S. The only difference is the design, and I strongly invite you to test it out by yourself, because what I loved to handle on the booth, you might hate it.
And in no case I would recommend this camera to left eye shooters, since you are going to cover the screen with your face, and you can forget to swipe the touch screen to access your custom functions while you have your eye on the viewfinder. The swipe function will be used a lot, since there is not D-Pad, where to assign custom functions.
With that said, if you are a rangefinder lover, then you probably already are right eye dominant and the corner viewfinder placement.
does Fujifilm prefer to give the GFX100SII a dedicated launch day, and make a separate announcement for the X-T50 and the new kit lens?
did I share a wrong rumor?
Well… don’t worry. We don’t share wrong rumors here. Everything will happen as we tell you it will.
But I will contact our sources and see what they have to say about it. And as soon as I can I will share an update here on FujiRumors.
And beyond that?
Well, the only gear Fujifilm has pre-announced, is the Fujinon GF500mmF5.6, but that one is listed on the official G mount roadmap as coming sometimes in 2024. So it could be on May 16, but also later on.
Well, I am growing increasingly frustrated by the lack of a new X mount roadmap. I keep asking for a new one since years and Fujifilm keeps ignoring our wishes. So at this point I have no expectations anymore.
Anyway… answers will come. Some of them on May 16, but many other answers will come well before that.
At the last CP+, the French Website Phototrend had the opportunity to talk to Japanese Fujifilm manager Jun Watanabe about the X series and to Japanese Fujifilm manager Makoto Oishi about the GFX series.
Down below you can find a quick summary. For the full French version check out the articles at Phototrend here (X series) and here (GFX series). Plus a little rant at the end.
X series
Fujifilm can not confirm if X-Pro4 will arrive soon or not
X-Pro line is not stopped
X-T and X100 series do not satisfy all customers who want a “pure photography” experience
Fujifilm is studying different possibilities
feedback and expectations are high for the next X-Pro
X-E line is not stopped
sports photography is a difficult market
other brands are long established there and for Fujifilm it’s new terrain
Fujifilm can not confirm anything about eventual future lenses for sport photographers
Fujifilm has received great feedback about the latest autofocus system, but they will continue to improve
renewing older lenses is something that Fujifilm has in mind
XF16-50mmF2.8-4.8 [admin note: will replace the XF18-55mmF2.4.8]
Fujifilm is not considering any option other than X-Trans for their APS-C cameras
its unique matrix offers the advantage of combining high definition and suppression of moiré and chromatic aberrations
for X100VI, Fujifilm has developed the smallest and thinnest IBIS unit to date
the X100VI IBIS wiring has been moved to the side – see here
IBIS system uses data from the image in addition to the gyroscope (motion blur is analyzed from the live-view image)
the grip of the X100VI is a tenth of a millimeter deeper than X100V for a better grip
GFX series
GFX100II market return (sales) is very good, not only among professional photographers, but also filmmakers and directors
GFX100II sales exceed Fujifilm’s expectations
GFX100S is still very popular because Fujifilm has lowered its price
GFX100S still very popular in some markets like China
professionals go for GFX100II, enthusiasts for GFX100S
Fujifilm never looked at its market share in medium format segment
other manufacturers have no announced so many new products, so Fujifilm thinks they are Nr.1
some expect a faster 50MP GFX. But Fujifilm thinks high definition is more popular
there are lots of FF cameras offering 50/60 megapixel, so offering 50MP now has become almost banal
Fujifilm focuses on improving the 100MP sensor performance
for professionals ergonomics are very important
first GFX cameras had dedicated dials but now they switched to a easier to operate PSAM dial layout
normally APS-C lenses are compact than FF and MF (hence also smaller AF motors)
but regarding telephoto lenses, size primarily depends on diameter and aperture. Regardless of whether it’s for APS-C, FF or MF, the fundamental construction of telephoto lenses, particularly on the front lens side, is the same
Fujifilm tries to make the GF500mm as small and light as possible to obtain faster autofocus
tilt-shift lenses are the most difficult to design
why not retro? High end high speed cameras need to be operated quickly, hence PSAM. Also good for hybrid shooters for video
Let me just say that I strongly, vehemently, vigorously and fervidly disagree with Fujifilm in regards to what they said why they stick with PSAM on their GFX lineup.
First: the GFX system is not know to be blazing fast and immensely popular among high end sports photographers. I actually feel the GFX system would be the ideal system to use a retro layout.
They will find out that one can operate their retro styled cameras exactly as any PSAM camera out there. It’s a marvellous and ingenious design that gives us photographer the best of both words: retro if I want to have fun shooting or want to actually operate the camera already before turning it on, and PSAM if one needs to make lots of adjustment all the time on the fly.
Retro Fujifilm cameras offer both options. PSAM cameras force you into one way to operate the camera.
And in my opinion not offering retro styled GFX cameras anymore is one of the all time biggest mistakes Fujifilm is doing.
C’mon Fujifilm, look at what is selling best in your X system. You’ll see that retro X cameras outsell PSAM cameras by very far. And Nikon had a colossal success with the Nikon Zf lately. It’s clear that in times where every camera is just so good, what people really look for is to have a different photographic experience thanks to dedicated vintage dials.
The joy of shooting sells better than any specs boost you can show off on paper.
An example?
The X100VI sells like hot cakes. The revolutionary global shutter ultra modern high speed blazing fast Sony A9III is selling way below Sony’s expectations (you could always find it in stock everywhere all the time because demand is not high… ask your local retailer).
Fujinon XF16-55mm f/2.8 ver.1.31 – download here The firmware update Ver.1.31 from Ver.1.30 incorporates the following issue:
We have found some malfunctions (Phenomenon in which the exposure of a captured image becomes abnormal in combination with a certain focal length and aperture value) in the firmware Ver. 1.30 released on 22 Jan 2024.
Customers who have updated to Ver.1.30 should update to Ver.1.31.
If you update to Ver.1.31, the functions will be the same as Ver.1.20 and the following functions (*) added in Ver.1.30 will no longer be available.
* Improved exposure tracking during zoom operation.
Now THAT was fast. Considering that I would love to update my Fujinon GF50mmF3.5 firmware, but that one is suspended since forever (same thing also for the GF35-70mmF4.5-5.6 WR). Dear Fujifilm, in case you don’t know, we also use your GFX gear. So we’d love a fix for that too.
The news today is that the firmware update for the Fujinon XF16-55mm f/2.8 R LM WR was flawed and has now been suspended from the Fujifilm download page.
Fujifilm is preparing an emergency firmware and FujiRumors will let you know as soon as it goes online.
In Ver. 1.30 released on January 22, 2024, it was confirmed that the exposure of images taken with certain focal length and aperture value combinations became abnormal.
For this reason, the firmware download has been suspended.
We are preparing an emergency firmware for customers who have updated to Ver. 1.30, so please wait for it.
You can access the note about the removed firmware update here.
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.
Anyway, there was another piece of gear on that list, that intrigued people: the Fujinon GF14-20mm.
So let me put it this way:
The best I can say about it for now, is that none of our sources is aware of such a lens.
I don’t call it a “wrong rumor” simply because there is a difference between our sources saying something is fake (GFX25) and our sources saying they are not aware of certain gear.
But the fact that already the GFX25 rumor is wrong (and more on that list will be proven wrong), could be an indication that pretty much anything “leaked” on that list has to be taken with a grain of salt and it’s probably just a compilation of guesses and speculations wrapped into a more tasty rumor package to give it more credibility. I am NOT saying E8M made it up, it is likely that somebody else made it up and passed it to E8M, who then shared it. That’s the way guys try to convince you to publish wrong info.
Anyway, I have to be accurate when I report what our sources say. And they tell me they have no information about such a lens.
For me, this means that I have zero hopes for an eventual GF14-20 to come in 2024 and I am also not overly optimistic to see one in 2025. And if it never comes, I would not be surprised either.
If you need to go wide, your best option for a long time will be the Fujinon GF20-35mm f/4.
DPReview met up with Yuji Igarashi, Professional Imaging Group Manager, and Makoto Oishi, Head of Product Planning in Stockholm for the launch of the Fujifilm GFX100 II.
Here is a recap and below the link to the full interview.
