Major Firmware Updates for X-T5, X-H2, X-H2S, X-S20 (Reala Ace, AF Bug Fix) and X100VI, GF80mmF1.7 Updates Too

Fujifilm has released major firmware updates for 5th generation Fujifilm cameras as well as a minor one for the Fujifilm X100VI and the Fujinon GF80mmF1.7.

It brings Reala Ace to older 5th generation cameras, fixes the autofocus bug and more.

A final note: In recent weeks, numerous videos have surfaced online highlighting issues with Fujifilm’s autofocus. While I covered this topic, I also urged YouTubers to clarify that these problems are limited to a few specific Fujifilm camera models and they are the result of a buggy firmware update.

The problem?

Well, now Fujifilm fixed it, but those videos will remain online forever as they are, with general statements about the overall AF performance of Fujifilm cameras being worst than 10+ years old Sony cameras. And people who watch those videos, will not be aware that this was caused by a bug in a the firmware that has been fixed by Fujifilm within a few weeks.

I mean, I am all in favour of reporting about issues, as long as the proper context is given.

Firmware Details

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The New “Kit” Lens is Now in Stock: Fujinon XF16-50mmF2.8-4.8

The Fujinon XF 16-50mm f/2.8-4.8 is so far in stock almost everywhere such as BHphoto here, Amazon here, Adorama here and Nuzira here.

Fujifilm’s new “kit” lens comes with higher end features like weather sealing and internal zoom. And it’s definitely sharp enough to resolve all 40MP.

So it Begins: Fujifilm’s Latest Gear Starts Shipping (Hopefully Smoothly)

I have received notification (thanks) that the latest and greatest Fujifilm gear started shipping.

In the screenshot above you can see the shipping notification for the Fujinon XF16-50mmF2.8-4.8.

All the gear listed below will be available in store starting tomorrow, June 17.

Latest Firmware Introduces Autofocus Bug to Fujifilm X-T5, X-H2 and X-H2S – Annoying but Easily Fixable

Autofocus Bug

In the past few weeks videos showing the bad tracking AF of Fujifilm cameras surfaced all over the web. And sometimes they come with catchy and clickbaity headlines that might grab attention, but in my opinion do not accurately represent what is going on.

So let’s talk about it in FujiRumors style: boring dry and sober ;).

The reported issues are:

  • when you are in continuous autofocus (not single autofocus) and you have set the camera to face/eye detection, the camera will track the closest thing it finds within the face detection frame and not the eye
  • when you do AF tracking, you get a low hit rate

The headlines that followed were like “Fujifilm AF is a joke” and “this suck” and what not.

But I believe that’s a way too general statement and does not represent the truth. Here is why.

The AF Truth

I have tested it on my X-T5. And yes. The issues are there.

But from here to say “Fuji AF sucks” is just maybe not the most accurate way to describe the issue.

Because the thing is: the issues appeared after the last firmware updates!

So a better headline would be “latest firmware introduces autofocus bugs“.

And also: the issue does not affect all cameras. Probably only X-H2, X-H2S and X-T5.

I have tried to duplicate the issues my X-T5 has with the latest firmware also on my X-E3 and GFX100S, but the X-E3/GFX100S have not the issue at all, and also the Fujifilm X-S20 has not this problem.

So the true realistic headline should be:

“latest firmware updates introduce autofocus bugs to a limited number of Fujifilm cameras“.

But who’d click something with a headline like that, right? ;)

Easy to Fix

All this means just one thing: if Fujifilm is aware of it (and they should be aware of it at least now that we talk about it on FujiRumors), then there should be an easy and quick firmware fix.

An emergency solution could be to offer the previous firmware for download, get the new one right, and once fixed, offer the new firmware for download again.

Thanks for Reporting, but

Don’t get me wrong: if there is an issue, it is great that people on YouTube report about it.

But maybe, in future, try to resist the temptation of clickbait and give a more sober and complete view on the issue.

Because these videos will stay online forever. And once Fujifilm addresses the issue, those older videos that don’t clarify the AF was working much better before and that the problem is limited to the latest firmware will remain online, misleading viewers into thinking that Fuji AF is always bad and there is nothing to do about it.

Also: please do not call out other guys and say they are paid shills if in their past reviews they said the tracking works just fine. They made those statements before the latest firmware update.

Final Word of Fujifilm AF Truth

Final word: besides the bug we have now I also want to say clearly that I believe that, when at its best (hence, not with broken firmware), the Fujifilm AF is not yet on par with the best in class (Sony and Canon).

So I am not saying all is perfect. Fujifilm has to keep working hard to go that little extra step and make its AF just as good if not better than what we get on Sony and Canon cameras.

But from here to say that Fujifilm lags behind 10+ year old cameras in terms of autofocus might be great for views, but it is not true. Bugs can happen, sadly. It happened this time apparently. And I hope Fujifilm is working on a fixing it as soon as possible.

But also in this case: every day the fix is not released, is a day too much. Hurry up Fujifilm!

FujiRumors Independence

And to the guys telling me I ignore such reports because I am paid by Fujifilm: well, here I am, reporting about it.

And not only I report about it, but also tested it on my own cameras and try to give you a more complete report about on which additional cameras might be affected and which ones not.

Look guys: in all these years of blogging about Fujifilm I have received zero money from Fujifilm, zero freebies, zero discounts, zero invitations to events, zero gear rented, zero nothing.

I am 100% free to say what I want and Fujifilm has no power over this blog.

And since I pay full price for my precious gear, I want it to work perfectly. And if there is a potential flaw, I have no problems to report about it, because I want Fujifilm to fix it and my expensive gear to work at its best possible performance.

I am not a Fujifilm employee. I am just like you, a guy shooting with Fujifilm cameras. And I want my X-T5 autofocus to work better than my GFX100S and X-E3, because that is what it is supposed to do.

Videos

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Adobe Can’t Wait and Adds Reala Ace Support for X-T5 & Co Already!

Now, I can’t verify it myself, because I switched 100% to Capture One a long time ago because I did not like the way Adobe was taking (just as I don’t like what’s going with Capture One lately and I am not sure I will stick with Capture One much longer… but that’s off topic).

Anyway, since I don’t own Adobe products, I rely on reports I am getting via email from fellow FR-readers. And those reports say this:

Reala Ace now available in Adobe Camera Raw – I just upgraded to the newest version of Adobe Camera Raw, and I noticed that Reala Ace is now available for the RAW files from my X-T5 when processing them in Adobe Camera Raw.

Fujifilm itself will give us 5th generation X shooters Reala Ace via firmware update this summer. But it’s great to know that, if you are editing your RAW files, you can enjoy that film simulation already on Fujifilm X-T5 and I hear also other 5th generation cameras such as the Fujifilm X-H2.

Fujifilm to Introduce C2PA Content Authenticity to X and GFX Cameras

I did not report about it in a dedicated article, because this was part of what was included in the Fujifilm GFX100S II press release. But given the emails I am getting I thought I dedicate it an own article.

So yes, Fujifilm is going to bring C2PA / CAI content authenticity to X and GFX cameras via firmware update to several cameras in future. C2PA / CAI is an initiative formed to address the widespread issue of digital content manipulation by establishing standards for certifying the source and authenticity of media.

Membership of C2PA*1 and CAI*2 and development of a system*3 to provide context and history for digital media

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A Glimpse Into the Fujifilm Future: X-Pro4, X-E5, Digital XPan, Future XF Lenses (and More) plus 2024 Rumor Check so Far

After the Rumor Storm (and Before the Next One)

So we had 2 X summits so far in 2024 and lots of gear has been announced.

This means we also had lots of rumors about every single one of these items.

But…

A lot more rumors dropped also about gear coming well beyond that.

So, time for the great mid-2024 rumor recap and to rank for you all rumors according to their reliability.

1 millimetre and 3 hours to perfection ;)

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Fujifilm X RAW Studio, Pixel Shift Combiner and Tether Plugin Pro for GFX Software Updates

Fujifilm has updated some of its software to support the new Fujifilm GFX100SII and the Fujifilm X-T50.

Software Updates

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Fujifilm Aims to Become Nr.2 in Terms of Worldwide Camera Sales (Currently 3rd) – REPORT

Andrea Cimini (yes, the guy who explained the advantage of APS-C over FF for low light event photography) was at the Italian launch event for the Fujifilm X-T50, XF16-50mmF2.8-4.8, GFX100SII and GF500mmF5.6 (video below).

The video is Italian and he runs over the latest gear with his usual captivating way.

But there is one sentence said by Andrea that I’d like to highlight today.

During the presentation Fujifilm said that right now they are the 3rd brand in terms of worldwide sales but they want to dethrone the current second best selling brand.

I am not sure how Fujifilm is currently the 3rd best selling brand.

I mean, they might still be the 3rd best selling brand in terms of mirrorless camera sales (but we got no update on this since 2020), but if we include DSLR the last data we have says Fujifilm is 4th.

So as Andrea in the video also suggest, Fujifilm might include their Instax division in this ranking, which I guess technically is still Fujifilm imaging division, but it would be like BMW saying they want to overtake VW car sales, but include their motorbike sales in the equation: you can do it, they are all motorised vehicles, but it’s not really fair.

Anyway, dear Fujifilm, I’d have an idea on how you would become Nr.1 overnight with only your mirrorless gear: how about you ship all gear people can’t currently find in stock?

And I speak not only about the Fujifilm X100VI, but at your own online store in Japan you have marked all your X/GFX cameras as out of stock. The shortages are chronic. There are periodical and prolonged order stops in certain parts of the world. Some of the shortages we had in Asia are now spreading also to the West (see X-T5 bodies at BHphoto).

Anyway, of course the above was a meeting with the Italian press and the marketing tends to fly high during these events. And I am certainly happy to see Fujifilm aiming to grow and take over market positions. But I wonder how this can happen if even gear launched 2+ years ago is mostly out of stock for years.

Oh well, I certainly wish Fujifilm all the best. But I’d be happy also with the 4th spot as long as we get our gear in a reasonable time.

Fujifilm X-E5 in 2025: The Features You Want (and My Wishes)

So we have shared the rumor about the Fujifilm X-E5 coming in 2025.

I guess X-E line lovers now have mixed feelings, between the joy of the line not being axed and the frustration of still having to wait so long.

Personally, the Fujifilm X-E5 camera is the one camera I will instantly pre-order. I mean, my lovely Fujifilm X-E3 starts to show its age compared to the my Fujifilm X-T5.

And I am not really that interested in the specs, as long as it has the 5th generation processor, the latest autofocus goodness and the new Reala Ace film simulations.

The lack of any of the three features I mentioned above would be a dealbreaker for me.

Nice to have would be the 40MP sensor, IBIS and a simple tilt screen, but no dealbreaker if they are not available on X-E5.

One more thing I hope for and would make the X-E5 perfect for me, would be the combined ISO/Shutter dial we find on the Fujifilm X100VI and X-Pro3. That would be beyond awesome if Fujifilm would put that on the X-E5.

Anyway, that’s my quick features wishlists.

Let us know in the comments which features you’d like the Fujifilm X-E5 to offer (and which ones not).