Fujifilm – The Dark Horse Mirrorless Camera Wars?

Yes I know, it might seem strange to write a pro-Kaizen article right after Fujifilm pulled off the massive X-T2 firmware because it was faulty. Fujifilm did earn quite some attacks becasue of this, and some are making fun out of this situation.

So maybe Fujifilm should do it like any other brand: do not offer any major firmware update at all, only mini bug-fix updates, so they will avoid attacks.

Or maybe not… maybe Fujifilm should continue to deliver huge firmware updates for older cameras like they did over the last 6+ years. And in all these years I remember I think 2 or 3 rollback firmware updates overall.

Well, I gladly accept the remote possibility of a buggy firmware, if what I get is years of excellent support for my cameras via firmware update.

And I know that overall, Fuji’s Kaizen approach is applauded by many, and today we would like to feature a video JCristina. He says about Kaizen:

• Kaizen Firmware updates makes them stand out from Sony, Canon and Nikon. They don’t just fix things, but they give you more that extend the life of their cameras
• Most camera manufacturers want their cameras to be like toilet paper. They want you to use it for a set period of time, throw them in the garbage and they buy another roll

JCristina continues by discussing Fuji’s decision to skip full frame and go directly medium format. Especially the Fujifilm GFX 50R will be a smart move to make Medium Format go mainstream.

• They don’t play the full frame war. They have one of the best APS-C cameras on the market, and they went directly Medium Format
• The Fujifilm GFX 50R will soon give you a medium format mirrorless option at the price of the Sony A9
• Watch Fujifilm, and what happens after photokina, if they rise up to the top with that medium format GFX 50R

The Fujifilm GFX 50R will be announced at photokina at the end September (or shortly before).

The price for the Fujifilm GFX 50R has not yet been set, simply because this is about the last thing Fujifilm decides. Only one thing is sure: it will be significantly more affordable than the Fujifilm GFX 50S.

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DO NOT GET ME WRONG!!!!

THIS IS NOT A RUMOR and NOTHING FUJIFILM HAS OFFICIALLY ANNOUNCED

All the below are my thoughts, guesses and speculations based on an slide Fujifilm showed and on hints dropped in past Fujifilm statements.

At no point Fujifilm said that both lines are 100% axed. And a slide shown by a regional outlet of Fujifilm has less value than what the official Fujifilm headquarter in Japan says.

None… I repeat, NONE of my sources has told me the Fujifilm GFX50R or X70 won’t get a successor.

Fujfiilm Digital Camera Range

You might remember how a few months ago, Fuji Guy Billy explained the digital camera range of Fujifilm.

The list Billy made gave us indication on which lines are very likely to see a successor and which ones not.

However, in the list Billy did GFX cameras and fixed lens cameras were not included.

And this brings us to today’s article.

I have received the slide you can see above that Fujifilm used during a press meeting.

Just like with Billy’s list, also here we see no entry level X series camera anymore.

In addition to that, this slide contains the Fujifilm X100V, which means it’s a solid part of the family and will get a successor at some point.

The new Fujifilm X-H2 is missing, but only because the slide was shown to press before the launch of the Fujifilm X-H2.

Totally missing though are the Fujifilm X70/XF10 and the Fujifilm GFX50R.

So what does this mean?

Well, the fact that neither the GFX50R nor the X70 are in the list certainly shows that those cameras do not play an important role in Fuji’s lineup anymore.

Regarding the Fujiifilm GFX50R, Fujifilm managers made some conflicting statements: the first one said that they see no need for a GFX50R successor due to the reasons we explained here, and the second manager clearly expressed his wish for this line to continue. So I guess not even in Japan the final word on the GFX50R successor has yet been spoken.

As far as the Fujifilm X70 goes, Fujifilm should not blame the camera for its failure. It was destined to fail due to horrible (can I say “stupid”?) decisions Fujifilm made and that we explained in this article. And to make things worst, they tried to fix it with the Fujifilm XF10, which is just another error in planing. I believe this could be a very successful line… if Fujifilm finally decides to treat it with dignity!

But sure, in times where camera companies struggle, I would not be totally surprised if those cameras, that are not vital for the system, get dropped. It would save R&D to focus on other more popular models.

Also, APS-C is marked as “X-Trans”, so this might indicate that there is no space anymore for Bayer in the APS-C lineup (which so far was reserved for lower end models).

• Top 10 Fujifilm X Camera Flops and 10 Errors Fujifilm Should Avoid in Future
• Fujifilm Designer Talks about GFX: “I would Love to Evolve the GFX50R Rangefinder Series” and More on GFX Series Development
• Fujifilm managers say there is less need for GFX50R line now that the GFX100S is so compact

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