In our previous article, based on the statistics made by thephoblographer, we reported how most of this years’s award winners used Fujifilm and Nikon cameras. ThePhoBlographer writes:
The big winners are Fujifilm and Nikon in terms of camera manufacturers.
I was thrilled about it, and reported about it here. And I trusted the great guys over at thephoblographer, who keep delivering great content for the photography community. Honestly I didn’t check it by myself, as today its my birthday, and I have a day planed with my wife at home, cooking and (a bit) drinking ;).
But it turns out, as our fellow FR-readers noticed, the real statistics are a bit different than the one shared at the thephoblographer.
Fujifilm and Nikon are still strongly represented.
In fact, the most prestigious award for the best “General News” image was taken by Yasuyoshi Chiba with his Fujifilm X-H1.
But the most used camera brand overall, was still a Canon.
And yet, year after year, Fujifilm saw a constant rise in terms of awards at the World Press Photo contest. DSLR a constant decline. And yes, it really looks like APS-C is more than enough to take an image worth one of the most prestigious awards on the world.
Maybe, one day, even some popular vlogger like Mr. Jared will be able to take some decent shots with APS-C cameras ;).
Now the ranking:
Camera by brand:
Canon 31,37%
Fuji 17,65%
Nikon 15,69%
Sony 9,80%
DJI 3,92%
Leica 1,96%
Unknown 19,61%
Camera by sensors:
FullFrame 58,82%
APS-C 15,69%
Medium Format 1,96%
Unknown 23,53%
Camera by type:
SLR 43,14%
Mirrorless 33,33%
Drone 3,92%
Unknown 19,61%
Last year Fuji was 10.5%, now is 17.6%, mirrorless was 13% and now is 33%…
This year Fujifilm won the top award. But also in the past years, Fujifilm was well represented. Look at the awards won in the past few years:
Mapcamera interviewed one of Japanese top managers Mr. Takashi Ueno. They talk about Fujifilm X-T4.
The interview is quite long and in Japanese, so for your convenience I have summed it up all in English down below.
And just in case it was needed, he confirms that there will be a Fujifilm X-H2, as FujiRumors always told you and never doubted for a second, even when the whole universe was saying differently.
In fact, I tell you this: at no point in time, Fujifilm ever considered stopping the X-H line. The line they canceled is another one, and we told you here.
Trust me guys… I know what I talk about, and if you want to be the first to know and be guided accurately through the Fujifilm world, all you need to do is to follow FujiRumors.
In fact, I am working on further explosive rumors. Some will totally surprise you, others will probably disappoint you. When time has come, when things are double checked, when green light is given, you will get it all!
I read somewhere, that about 4 billion people are forced to stay at home now to slow down and hopefully stop the spread of the COVID-19 Coronavirus.
In my country, the stunning Dolomites in Italy, we are locked in since over 1 month now. Of course I strictly follow the rules and never leave my apartment, except to buy food 1 or 2 times a week, and to quickly bring out my old dog in the fields just under my home.
Teaching Online
I continue to teach. Just online! With live streaming lessons, videos I upload on youtube [does this qualify me as a vlogger now??? ;) ], material I send to students via email and more. I try to do my best.
But the more I do it, the more I miss it to enter a classroom, write on a blackboard, smell the chalk, but most importantly, interact with my students.
But hey, these days there are people, who live far bigger challenges than me. So no complaint here. Just a wish that everything goes back to normal soon.
Lockdown Photography
The first weeks all went into figuring out how to do this online teaching. Trying different platforms for online live lessons, adapt my material to make it online teaching fit, figure out how to reach the various students best (some have only a smartphone, no computer, no printer, etc), and more practical issues to sort out.
But now that I have some sort of workflow, I can start thinking at my lockdown photography.
In my small rented apartment, I am running out of subjects rather quickly.
my trusty dog is 15+ years old, and sleeps almost all day. Too little action here
my lovely wife does not want to pose for some boudoir photography (yet)… I need to convince her, but I won’t make impossible promises like “I won’t buy new gear this year, if you pose for me” :)
What I did now, is I started to take out my Fujinon XF55-200 lens, a lens I hardly use anymore since I own the Fujinon XF18-135mm (which never stops to surprise me, as you can see here).
The goal?
Get a decent shot of the little birds flying around my balcony, and the XF55-200 is the best lens in my arsenal for that. So it gets its revival now!
So far I have failed, though, not for the limits of the gear, but because of my lack of skills. But I have time to practice, improve, and I will upload an image on my instagram if I get a decent shot.
Inspiration
Another thing I like to do, is to check out all our facebook groups, and see how other fellow Fujifilm X and GFX shooters deal with these lockdown days and what they shoot.
I have picked out some images and shared them below. May them motivate you (and me) to stand up, and do the best out of this situation, also photographically speaking.
News is news, so I share it. But I wrote a very informative piece about these awards in the past. So, if you want to read how the business around (some of these) awards goes, check out this article.
Fujifilm wins the internationally prestigious Red Dot Design Award with 23 products
– In recognition of good design quality and functionality in products of various business fields – High precision lens film for inkjet printing is awarded the “Innovative Product Award,” given to products with outstanding innovation potential
DPReview published a list of 5 reason, why Fujifilm won’t make a full frame X100 camera.
A larger sensor would add size and weight, mitigating a major X100 selling point
Such a product would cost a lot to develop and manufacture
The result would be a very expensive camera – reducing its potential audience
A move to full-frame would annoy and worry existing loyal Fujifilm APS-C customers. Also, if Fujifilm announces any full frame camera, could look like a massive vote of no confidence in APS-C
The risk of cannibalization within existing lineups is too great
And what about a medium format X100 then? DPR writes:
So might Fujifilm build a medium-format X100? There’s an argument to be made that it makes sense in a way that full-frame just doesn’t. Medium format would offer an increase in potential image quality over full-frame (albeit relatively modest – about 2/3EV), a significant leap in image quality over APS-C, it’s a major part of Fujifilm’s brand identity, and the larger format is a key differentiator for Fujifilm compared to competitive manufacturers.
Well, I won’t enter the argument about the “relatively modest” advantage of the Fujifilm GFX over full frame. This is a thesis DPR started pushing back in 2017, and FujiRumors comprehensively answered it in the article “DPReview Recommends 3 Full Frame Cameras Combined over 1 Fujifilm GFX“. Also, in the meantime something called Fujifilm GFX100 hit the market, with the newest sensor technology.
For the rest, the whole 5 reason list makes sense. Check out the full in-depth article at dpreview.
And one could also add one more ;)
full frame offers a “relatively modest” advantage over APS-C, and also has a couple of disadvantages over APS-C, that you can read here
Popular photography industry insiders, claimed that APS-C is the actual sensor size sweet spot. Keep in mind, they said “sweet spot“, not “automatically the best tool for everybody“.
And to be clear: we apply the conversion to the f-stop, only to indicate the equivalent shallow depth of field, and not the light gathering capabilities of the lens itself, which remains the one mentioned on the lens (with the consequences we told you here).
We also find a lovely Fujinon GF 30mm f/3.5 lens, which Fujifilm says is meant for street and landscape photography, be very sharp and also focus fast.
Above you can see a size comparison provided by Fujifilm. The Fujinon GF 80mm f/1.7 is 20% smaller and will weight under 800g, as opposed to the GF110mm f/2, which weights 1010g.
The picture above also shows the GF80mm f/1.7 mounted on the Fujifilm GFX100.
Fujifilm gave us some indications on what the differences between both lenses are.
The Fujinon GF 80mm f/1.7 will have a very creamy and softer bokeh compared to the one on the Fujinon GF 110mm f/2. Different bokeh quality for different tastes.
Also, due to its more compact nature, the Fujinon GF80mm f/1.7 is good for outside and active shooting, whereas the GF110mm f/2 instead is better suited for studio.
I decided to compare the Fujinon GF80mm f/1.7 to its closes in terms of focal length, the Fujinon GF110mm f/2 and the GF63mm f/2.8.
