Instax Film Shootout

If you weren’t hiding under a rock for the last decade, then you will have noticed that the instant film trend, launched back in 1972 with the iconic Polaroid SX-70 and ended in the nineties, is having an impressive revival thanks to Fujifilm Instax products in recent years.

But how was this revival made possible?

Fujifilm was just about to shut down their entire Instax production just like Polaroid did a few years earlier, when an unexpected event breathed new life into the agonizing market. You can find a more in-depth explanation of the several reasons of the boom here.

Since then, the sales numbers have skyrocketed over anything Fujifilm could have hoped and they passed from 100,000 sold cameras in 2004 to 7,500,000 sales in 2017. In the documentary “How Fujifilm survived the digital age”, a Fujifilm Instax employee says they simply can’t keep production up with the high demand.

The market is under firm control of Fujifilm and even more so the instax film market, which, as Polaroid says, is 99% controlled by Fujifilm, and we can now find endless versions of it, such as the Star Wars Instax Film, Comic Instax Film, Hello Kitty film, Candy Pop, Rainbow and so on and so forth.

Now, the instax-revival has motivated other companies to try to get a piece of the cake, too.

Polaroid (now owned by The Impossible Project) is fighting hard to try to regain their old glory, not only by offering their own Polaroid Instant Cameras and Polaroid Instant Printers, but also by bringing Fujifilm to court and accusing them that Fuji’s latest Instax Square Film design is a rip-off of Polaroids’ own film.

Of course as customers we can only be happy that more choices are available on the market now.

Now DPReview TV compared some of the Instant cameras on the market, which all take Fujifilm’s Instax Mini film:

• Fujifilm Instax SQ6
• Fujifilm Instax Mini 90
• Leica Sofort
• Mint Instaflex TL70

Here is what they say:

Today Fujifilm released firmware updates for Fujifilm X-A5, X-A3 and X-A20 cameras.

• X-A3 Firmware Update Ver.2.21 – download here
• X-A5 Firmware Update Ver.1.10 – download here
• X-A20 Firmware Update Ver.1.11 – download here

Full details of the updates below.

I remind you that Fujifilm will release Fujifilm X-Pro2 ver.5.00 and GFX 50S ver.3.10 in July 2018. Full report here.

Fujifilm + Samsung Sensor Cooperation

Many of you guys often said Fujifilm should stop to buy their sensors from Sony and buy them from Samsung, who already had a 28MP BSI sensor back in 2014 with their fantastic Samsung NX1, a camera that sadly didn’t had the success it deserved and that marked the end of Samsung’s attempt to join the high-end camera market.

But we know that Japanese and Korean companies don’t really like to cooperate.

However, this tabu might have been broken now.

Samsung officially said they are developing a new CMOS sensor technology for mobile photography (smartphones) that allows better pixel isolation and hence improves light sensitivity and color fidelity. Samsung calles it the “ISOCELL Plus” technology.

And in order to make this new sensor possible, Samsung needs Fujifilm.

In fact, the new optimized pixel isolation architecture requires the replacement of the metal barrier with an innovative new material developed by Fujifilm, which minimizes optical loss and light reflection.

You can read all the details in the full press-release below. Here are the two statements of the companies:

FUJIFLM SAYS:

“We value our strategic relationship with Samsung and would like to congratulate on the completion of the ISOCELL Plus development,” said Naoto Yanagihara, corporate vice president of Fujifilm. “This development is a remarkable milestone for us as it marks the first commercialization of our new material. Through continuous cooperation with Samsung, we anticipate to bring more meaningful innovation to mobile cameras.”

SAMSUNG SAYS:

“Through close collaboration with Fujifilm, an industry leader in imaging and information technology, we have pushed the boundaries of CMOS image sensor technology even further,” said Ben K. Hur, vice president of System LSI marketing at Samsung Electronics. “The ISOCELL Plus will not only enable the development of ultra-high-resolution sensors with incredibly small pixel dimensions, but also bring performance advancements for sensors with larger pixel designs.”

Let’s hope this is the start of a proficous collaboration between Samsung and Fujifilm, that opens up new possibilities of cooperation for future projects, maybe also some related to high-end photography APS-C and Medium Format sensors.

As of now, Sony is dominant in the sensor business, and we would definitely need more competition in this area. And Samsung is for sure a company that has the know-how, economic power and infrastructure to take away a piece of the large sensor business cake from Sony.

Also consider that Samsung is not a direct competitor of Fujifilm in the high-end camera business, hence Fujifilm could get always the latest and greatest sensor technology quickier and cheaper than they get it now from Sony.

If you want to see how the cooperation continues and be up to date in real time, make sure to follow us on Facebook, RSS-feed, Instagram, Youtube and Twitter

• Fujifilm GFX User Group
• Fujifilm X-H User Group
• Fujifilm X-E User Group
• Fujifilm X-T User Group
• Fujifilm X-Pro User Group
• Fujifilm X100 line Group

have a GREAT day,

Full Samsung Press Release

Fujifilm X-E3 Brown

Las week, here on FujiRumors we broke the news about the brown Fujifilm X-E3. We also shared the first brown X-E3 image.

Now the brown X-E3 is already available for sale in Korea at starcamera.co.kr.

Also the X100F is coming is available in brown. You can find it for example at the Canadian store adencamera here.

Don’t forget to follow FujiRumors on Facebook, RSS-feed, Instagram, Youtube and Twitter

• Fujifilm GFX User Group
• Fujifilm X-H User Group
• Fujifilm X-E User Group
• Fujifilm X-T User Group
• Fujifilm X-Pro User Group
• Fujifilm X100 line Group

cheers,

What have Markus Klinko, Kevin Mullins and Olaf Sztaba in common? You got it: they are Fujifilm shooters.

I know from Markus, that he is completely in love with his Fujifilm GFX and considers it the perfect tool for his professional work.

Kevin Mullins moves stealthy like Ninja capturing great moments on weddings with his Fujifilm X-series cameras.

Olaf walks the streets with his X100F and captures beauty at every corner, that passes unnoticed to so many people.

Today’s roundup is a bit different, dedicated to these 3 Fujifilm X shooters. Markus has a fantastic exhibitions you should visit, Kevin continues to deliver great educational content on his new channel, and Olaf does best what photography is all about, telling stories.

Some great stuff to enjoy :)

Looking beyond the gear

GUEST POST FEATURE
Write Your Articles Directly On FujiRumors!

by Joel Wolfson

I admit to being a bit of a Fuji fanboy. I have to be in order to put up with all the quirks and inconveniences of the Fuji X system. I believe it is this unconventional approach by Fuji that results in their growth and dedicated following.

But there is more to meeting my needs as a professional photographer than just having cameras with the right features and an array of lenses. So here’s why I question Fujifilm’s X-System as meeting my professional needs:

Before I bought my first X-Pro2 or made any commitment to the Fuji system, I called the Fuji service center and asked if they had a professional service program like the excellent ones from Sony and Canon. They said they have had a big demand for it and expect to have it in the next few months. This was 2 ½ years ago and so far there isn’t one, except for the GFX system (even Fuji told me that only a small fraction of pros using Fuji cameras use the GFX system.)

At that time I thought to myself that the X-Pro2 appeared well made and the lenses had a good feel to them and I could probably live without the pro service for a few months. I ultimately bought another X-Pro2 so I could always have two different lenses ready and also to have a backup. In my 33 years of professional shooting I never had a lens fail from normal use so I didn’t worry about that part of it.

I’m disappointed in the failures