Fujifilm recently announced the development of the Fujifilm GFX Eterna.

And look, I have nothing against it.

On the contrary: I know many filmmakers love the GFX 100 megapixel and I am aware that many others asked for a Fujifilm Cinema camera since a long time. So it’s great that Fujifilm now delivers one.

But…

… at the same time I am also a little bit worried.

You see, Fujifilm does not have the largest R&D in the camera industry.

And as we calculated recently, Fujifilm does release about 4 lenses each year (combining X and GF lenses).

• How Many Cameras and Lenses Does Fujifilm Release Every Year? And What it Could Mean for 2025

Now, it’s nice to hear Fujifilm saying that they are committed to their new cinema camera line and that they will release more lenses besides the Fujinon GF32-90mmT3.5 for it That’s important to know for people, who will invest in this system.

But this is also where my concern arises: with the current pace constrained by R&D limitations, Fujifilm is producing a maximum of four lenses annually. Now, with the launch of a new cinema camera system that requires a dedicated range of lenses as quickly as possible, the situation becomes even more challenging.

Unless Fujifilm expands its R&D efforts for the digital camera segment, we might see fewer than four lenses per year for the photo-focused X and GFX systems.

And quite honestly, with 4 still lenses a year we are already at a minimum. Getting even less than that would be a bummer for me.

I hope Fujifilm has considered this and won’t simply divert resources from their photo-centric systems to the cinema camera lineup. Instead, they should expand their overall R&D efforts to maintain at least the current pace of producing four photo-centric lenses per year.

I will try to investigate this with my sources and if I have any updates I will let you know here on FujiRumors.

The French website Phototrend had the opportunity to interview Franck Bernard, Director of the imaging division at Fujifilm France. You can read the full interview here and the summary below.

• Fujifilm is doing very well, both X and GFX series
• the only things Fujifilm suffers from a little is the availability of products
• Based on GFK data (largest German market research company), outside of Full Frame, Fujifilm is market leader with 40% market share thanks to X and GFX system
• X-M5: there was still demand for cameras in this price segment especially among young people
• AI will only bring benefits to the photographic business in general, and especially on the print side. Facilitate the production of a photo album, with a minimum of clicks: AI will be able to help us a lot
• XF16-55mmF2.8 II completely redesigned lens
• next generation linear motors used on XF16-55mmF2.8 II  are smaller than the ones in the older generation
• improvements in ED, Super ED and aspherical lenses has also allowed to reduce weight and gain compactness
• no OIS because most Fujifilm cameras now have IBIS
• X-M5 comes in brown package to reduce Co² emissions (reduce colors, packaging, carton consumption and, if possible, the number of cables)
• film simulation contribute the the “return to film” trend. But while there is a notable resurgence of interest in film photography, especially among younger people, its impact should be viewed with caution, as the market remains limited to specific products like disposable cameras and film
• Fujifilm has no new film camera on the agenda
• success of X100VI was unimaginable. The X100VI is an iconic product
• X100VI production has been increased, but supply is complex and deliveries are not made overnight
• X100VI is not cannibalizing sales of other Fujifilm cameras

I don’t know if the GFK data is for France or Europe only, or if it is about worldwide data. But 40% market share outside of Full Frame might not be a horrible position to be in.

Unfortunately, Fujifilm has been heavily impacted by shipping challenges. Even if I were to underestimate the numbers, it’s likely that if all the X100VI, X-T5, X-E4, and other cameras ordered had been shipped in a timely manner, Fujifilm’s market share outside of full-frame cameras could easily be 60% to 70%.

But it is what it is.

I get that Fujifilm can’t suddenly build four new factories just because they’ve become a trendy brand. There’s the risk that, once the trend fades, they’d be left with four underused factories, turning it into a poor investment.

So they have to increase the production with what they currently have available in terms of manufacturing power.

But then I don’t understand decisions like keeping the old XF16-55mmF2.8 still in production (according to reports at CineD) even though there is now the new XF16-55mmF2.8 II on the market.

Wouldn’t it be better to focus the limited production capacity on making more lenses of the new version? Or stop making the old XF16-55 and free up manufacturing power to make the one lens that has become almost impossible to find all over the world, the Fujinon XF27mmF2.8 R WR.

With a few more strategic decisions, I believe Fujifilm could improve the ongoing supply shortage situation.

FR-reader Wishlist Corner

Recently we published a bunch of gear/hardware related wishes we have received from the Fujifilm community.

Now it is time to share a bunch of firmware wishes.

by Oli

Here is a link to my blog post about my experiences with the X100Vi and the WCL as a “poor man’s Leica Q”.
I guess you might be able to read German: shashindo.de/fuqi/ (google translated).

There is actually ONE reason why the Leica Q3 is “better” than the Fujifilm X100VI: The handling of the metadata!

Leica writes the crop focal length and crop pixel size in the metadata!
It’s too bad that Fujifilm doesn’t also set the crop focal length in the metadata!
It would also be nice to find the name of the custom setting (aka film simulation) here in the EXIF data. Well, you can still have wishes…

Thought you might be interested ;-)
Or in case you do have access to Fuji Development department somehow, maybe you can drop this there… :-D

by Keith

FR-Readers Wishlist Corner

It’s time to dedicate some space here on FujiRumors to your wishes and ideas as far as future Fujifilm cameras goes.

Hence, down below are a few emails with Fujifilm camera wishes I have received.

And yes, I have also received lots of non-camera wishes, which I will share in another future FR-reader wishlist roundup.

As for the rumors… guys, don’t worry… there will be plenty of them. ;)

Oh… and the Fujifilm X-E5, Fujifilm X-M5 and Fujifilm X50 you see above are all just renderings I made. But if somebody out there has the real images (of any upcoming camera or lens) and wants to share the joy with the FR-community, feel free to drop me a message.

Fujifilm US Manager Victor Ha had an interesting interview with CineD.

The interview is 1 hour and 20 minutes long. I strongly recommend you to watch it all. But if you are in a super hurry right now, here are the main takeaways:

X100VI Success

• a lot of the X100VI success has to do with luck and timing
• but also a lot of if has to do with the fact that the camera has gone through 5 generations
• a lot of people want to make high quality images. Sometimes they are not really photographers, but artists in other areas, chefs, or a different profession or something that requires high quality imaging
• in today’s world, no matter which you profession you are in, you do need a certain level of image quality that could exceed the phone
• a large number of people who bought the X100VI are new to the Fujifilm brand
• traditionally the X100 line always was also a camera that was grabbed by people who have other brands
• customer base has expended a lot into first time buyers, first time users, first time camera owners
• the X100VI is also a great product
• all these things came together
• Fujifilm has a great reputation in providing tools that are response to feedback of customers, and also balance it with what the market wants and what’s possible technologically
• X100VI is special because it is a combination between esthetics, design, tactile feel
• photographers (image makers) are moving towards the desire of having dedicated devices. You want to spend a certain amount of time engaging with a device where you can look through a viewfinder and there won’t be notifications popping up
• the job of camera manufacturers is to create devices that offer the best image quality possible in different sensor sizes and from entry level to professional market
• when asked about features like in-camera editing, Victor says the thought of it makes him sick. First, because the JPEG’s coming out of his camera are the best in the business. And there are some options in-camera like push and pull etc (admin note: via the internal RAW converter), so Fujifilm has at some degree on-device editing
• Fujifilm wants to offer users different ways to get images off the camera, and that’s evolved in the last couple of years (Camera to Could, new XApp, etc)
• but Fujifilm’s first mission is to provide the best image quality possible. For that you need a good lens, a sensor, processor, image science etc.
• Fujifilm is very pleased in seeing how Camera to Cloud is being adopted and they see continuous growth and more users try the service
• C2C is used by photographers and videographers
• WiFi congestion interfere and create problems with Camera to Cloud
• internal memory storage? Victor Ha says he would be reluctant to that. He was taught that it’s important to have physical backups. Also, in some cases taking a file from the card can be easier than getting it from the cloud. And taking the files through a cable when you do not have a reader is easier than pulling the card.
• manufacturers must understand that they need to offer different ways to get files off from the camera, not just one
• Victor is currently on a trip through Europe with his GFX100SII (+GF50mm and GF80mm) and shooting also street photography with it is very satisfying
• he did not use GFX so much before, but during this trip he got in deep love for that camera
• [when asked what if Hasselblad, now owned by DJI, comes out with an attractive MF camera] of course Fujifilm pays attention what other competitors are doing. Victor hopes that competitors come out with tools that challenge their tools.
• he believes that Fujifilm’s tools will always win in the end because “we have great fans, we have great image science, great colors, great optics“
• the industry needs to grow and make better tools. Fujifilm needs competition
• Without a vibrant and strong industry, lots of things will go away and nobody wants that

There is more to the interview, so make sure to check it out in full.

Just a few quick comments:

As far as in camera editing goes, for me the internal RAW converter is one of the big reasons why I stick with Fujifilm (Sony for example does not offer it as far as I know). Because truth be spoken: for hard core editing nothing beats the RAW file and a proper editing software. But I am often around with busses and trains to do my day hikes, and one of the things I love is when, on my way back from a long day of shooting, I can sit in the train, go through the images and pass some time having fun editing the images with the internal RAW converter. By the time I am home, I might have already edited enough images to a point that I feel completely happy with it and I can upload them on my phone and share them… and of course without the need of edit them later on with an editing software.

In the interview they talk about having kind of Lightroom like controls directly in camera, like on the Zeiss ZX1, but personally I think that’s an overkill. I’ll just use my computer for more heavy editing. I prefer to have the simplicity and immediacy of the internal Fujifilm RAW converter to do quick adjustments.

As for the internal storage, I think that would be nice to have, if that would allow for even faster writing speeds over a CFexpress Card, but only if there would still be a memory card slot for a backup. I probably would be too scared to go on vacation with internal storage only, and maybe get my files corrupted 1 or 2 weeks into the holiday. So Victor Ha makes a great point when he talks about having a backup solution somehow.

Camera to Cloud on the other hand sounds like a great idea that faces some real life challenges when it comes to the transmission of those files. I don’t know if any of you uses it. If so, please let us know your experience with it.