Top 3 Cameras Fujifilm Should Make for Instant Success (X and GFX)

We recently told you that Fujifilm is preparing a huge start in 2024:

Now, of course most of the talk and speculations in our previous articles was gravitating around successors to existing camera lines.

And it makes a whole of sense to focus on refreshes of current cameras, nothing prohibits us to dream big and think and completely different cameras.

So what I will do is to share three cameras that I think would turn out to be an instant and massive success for Fujifilm.

And I am not talking of weird and risky concepts. I am talking of cameras that would sell very well for sure in my opinion.

So, let’s go through them and let me think what you think about.

Also, feel free to drop your own ideas in the comments.

Top 3 Cameras Fujifilm Hasn’t Made Yet

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Meike AF 55mm f/1.4 Autofocus lens for Fujifilm X Coming Second Half of December

We already reported a few months ago about the upcoming Meike 55mm f/1.4 autofocus lens coming for Fujifilm X mount.

You can also see lots of images of the lens shared in that article.

Now a few specs have surfaced (see below) on Japanese and Chinese websites via asobinet and 独立摄影师联合会.

  • images here
  • Meike AF 55mm F1.4 X-mount
  • minimum focus distance 0.61m
  • weight about 290g
  • coming mid-late December

This will be Meike’s second AF X mount lens after the Meike AF 85mm f/1.8 .

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Fujifilm Facebook Groups

Fujifilm to Announce More Cameras in First Months of 2024 than in the Entire Year 2023 – Which Cameras Do You Think will Come? VOTE NOW

Fujifilm Future Poll

INSANE DEAL (only for Black Friday)

We just told you that Fujifilm will announce more cameras in the first months of 2024 than in the entire year of 2023.

All the answers will follow on FujiRumors. But in the meantime I thought it could be fun to vote on which cameras you think will come.

But note a few things:

  • this is a survey on gear that you THINK will come, not what you wish will come
  • this is why I stayed rather “conservative” with my poll options and mainly only include successors to current camera lines

Regarding the successors, a very important note:

  • it is not clear if all current X/GFX the lines will get a successor. Will there ever be a GFX50RII or GFX100RII or GFX100SII or X80 or X-E5 etc?
  • I will include them anyway in this survey, just to see how much demand there is for such cameras among the FR community

And now a quick explanation on the survey itself.

  • recently refreshed cameras will not be included in the survey (no Fujifilm X-T6 or Fujifilm X-H3/S)
  • X100V successor is not included in the list, as that one will come for sure in early 2024

And if you Need to go Wild… ;)

There is always a possibility that Fujifilm will launch something new, hence a new type of camera or new camera line.

And while you can’t vote on it, you can still express your wildest wishes in the comments below. At a later stage we can make a separate survey if it’s something you’d like to vote on.

Which Fujifilm Cameras do You THINK will be Announced in the First Months of 2024 (max 1 pick)

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Fujifilm Facebook Groups

RUMOR: Big Start for Fujifilm in 2024 with Multiple (and Record?) Camera Announcements

Starting Big in 2024

So, we told you that there won’t be any new Fujifilm gear announcement in 2023.

But don’t worry, Fujifilm is working full power right now.

In fact, we have been told that in the “first months of 2024″ Fujifilm will announce more cameras than in the entire year 2023.

Considering that we got a total of 2 cameras in 2023, this means we can expect three or more cameras coming in the first months of 2024.

I have checked back, and as far as I can see, in 13 years of X/GFX series there has been only one year in which Fujifilm launched more than two cameras in the first months of the year (without counting the entry level cameras that were made by Xacti Corporation and not by Fujifilm).

It was back in 2017 when Fujifilm released the Fujifilm GFX 50S, Fujifilm X100F and Fujifilm X-T20.

But even if we would count the Xacti cameras (X-T100, X-T200, X-A5, X-A20 etc), we would get a total of 3 years out of 13 in which Fujifilm kicked off the year with more than two cameras, and also in that case we reach 3 cameras max (as in 2017).

So, by launching three or more Fujifilm cameras (made by Fujfiilm) in the first months of 2024, Fujifilm is out for a record release rate, matching or exceeding the announcements we had only once in 13 years of Fujifilm X/GFX history.

Not bad ;).

One Camera is Sure

Now, thanks to our sources we know already what one of these cameras will be: the replacement of this camera here.

What will the other cameras be?

Well, you know what you have to do: just stay tuned on FujiRumors, and you will know it.

And what about lenses?

Well, we know that the next XF lens to come will be the replacement of this lens here.

But even though I have no further solid lens rumors right now, I do hope to be able to share more soon.

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Fujifilm Facebook Groups

Fujifilm CEO Says Cameras Sell Well (if they Are Made), Increased R&D for More New Products and BLACK FRIDAY Sales Opportunity

Recently we shared the second quarter financial results of Fujifilm (in Japan the fiscal year starts in April and ends in March)

The numbers were actually good:

Imaging achievements. The sales of instant photo systems and digital cameras were strong, with revenue up 19.5% YoY to JPY219.2 billion and operating income up 85.5% to JPY49.4 billion.

But despite that, the growth was not as strong as Fujifilm hoped for.

Hence, in a Q&A session discussing the financial results, the Fujifilm CEO (Mr. Goto) and the Vice President (Mr. Higuchi) were asked about the reasons for that.

Shibano [Q]: I would like to ask President Goto about Imaging. Since President Goto took office, I believe you have often expressed your strong belief in the potentials of Imaging. In fact, the strong performance of H1 of the fiscal year indicates this, but the operating income for H1 was JPY49.4 billion, and even though Q4 is usually weak, there is Q3, so H2 of the fiscal year, which includes the sales season, is expected to see a 387% decrease, or even a 17% decrease YoY, which is a little questionable. I would like to ask again if there is any specific reason for such a decline, worse than the previous year, in H2. This is the point what I would like to reconfirm.

Higuchi [A]: Regarding H2 of last year, we closed our U.S. plant in H2 of last year, and there was a one-time profit. One reason is that we don’t have it in this term. Another is that we have increased development costs for new products in H2 in order to continue to introduce new products without interruption, and we have also increased marketing expenses and marketing investment.

Goto [A]: I will continue with my answer. Now, we are looking at Black Friday toward December, the biggest sales season in the U.S. at the end of November, and the purchasing situation, or rather the movement, is on par with the previous year, but the voice from the person in charge is that inflation in the U.S. is high. We have heard that it is not clear whether it will be as good as the previous year. However, in fact, given the tight demand for INSTAX film and the fact that cameras are selling well if they are made, I believe that there is room for a bounce upward, although we are taking a firm stance now. Is that all right?

Good thing first: one reason why the profit was not as strong as hoped, was that Fujifilm has allocated lots of resources to increase development and marketing expenses in order to assure “to continue to introduce new products without interruption“.

Of course the managers talk about R&D money for Instax as well as digital cameras. But it’s great to hear that overall they keep investing more money to push development.

Also worth to note is the comment of Fujifilm CEO Mr. Goto, who says that “cameras are selling well if they are made“. And this is probably Fujifilm’s biggest issue so far, with lots of cameras out of stock and in many cases even a complete suspension of camera sales in certain countries until who knows when.

The CEO says the hope is to “bounce back” thanks to Black Friday sales, although inflation is still high and it is not sure if the holiday season will run as good as last year.

And in this regard, here are the current deals you find on X/GFX gear that should help Fujifilm to show up with better figures by the end of the fiscal year.

GFX Gear

X Cameras

X Lenses

Fujifilm Q&A here

Fujifilm Q2 FY2023 Financial Results: Significantly Increased Revenue from Digital Cameras Sales

Fujifilm has announced the financial results for the second quarter of the fiscal year 2023 (July to September).

Needless to say that Instax is the goldmine. But there was also a “significantly increased revenue from digital cameras“.

Revenue from digital cameras increased significantly, mainly due to solid sales of X-H2, X-H2S and X-T5 released in the previous fiscal year. Sales of X-S20, which was released in June 2023, also fared well. […] We will continue to offer attractive products by achieving overwhelmingly high image quality with the large format in the GFX Series and the best balance between image quality and size in the X Series.

Instax and Digital Cameras together did give the imaging business a significant boost.

Revenue and operating income increased by 19.5% and 85.5% year-over-year, respectively, due to brisk sales of instant photo systems and digital cameras.

And all this has been achieved despite Fujifilm being incapable of delivering all the cameras mentioned in the report for many months in certain countries (mainly Asia), and some experienced worldwide delivery problems (X100V).

Fujifilm cameras mentioned in the Financial Report:

via Fujifilm

Sony A9III: The Revival of Global Shutter and a Glimpse into the Fujifilm X-H3s?

The “Old” Global Shutter is Back

The Sony A9III has hit the market.

In the headline I wrote that this is the revival of the global shutter, simply because global shutter cameras are nothing new. In fact, cameras with older CCD sensors already featured a global shutter.

But as back in the days of CCD sensor cameras, the global shutter is not the answer to all problems, and as just everything in life it comes with its Pros and Cons. Let’s talk about it.

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Fujifilm GFX50S II No Longer in Production and Fujifilm’s Biggest GFX Error Exposed

The first stores in Japan have started to mark the Fujifilm GFX50S II as no longer in production, as reported by the Japanese website asobinet.

No longer in production does not mean you won’t find samples anymore around tomorrow. It is more likely that there will be still stable stock for quite some months ahead.

And yet, this news induces me to share some thoughts about the GFX50SII and the GFX system overall.

The GFX50SII was launched back in September 2021.

During these two years, it was often sold with a $800 discount (as right now), showing that the GFX50SII struggled to sell nearly as well as Fujifilm hoped.

The main drawback: the GFX50SII used the old non BSI sensor of the original GFX50S (and the even older Pentax 645Z)  in times when Fujifilm already offered the GFX100 and GFX100S with modern BSI sensor and 100MP. I guess most people decided to go for the more modern and higher resolution models.

In my opinion, the GFX50SII could have sold much better if only Fujifilm would have kept the retro dials layout of the original GFX50S. It would have differentiated it much more from the rest of the lineup.

And overall, the lack of a proper retro styled cameras in the GFX lineup is one of the big mysteries of our time. It’s Fujifilm’s biggest error and an enormous missed opportunity. Especially in times where there is no significant development on the sensor area, the one thing that can really boost sales for a new camera is offering a different shooting experience, which in the GFX world would mean to offer something different than the usual PSAM layout.

Make no mistake: my Fujifilm GFX100S is giving me great joy and it is extremely easy to operate. That’s not the issue. But if Fujifilm would make the camera with exactly the same GFX100S specs but with an X-T layout, I would sell it and go for the Fujifilm GFX100T (imaginary name).

I hope somebody at the higher ranks of the Fujifilm Japan HQ is reading these lines (and they do, they even use FujiRumors surveys for internal meetings).

I know, Fujifilm, you consider PSAM the “safe” approach, as it is more mainstream. But unless you drop a 150MP GFX or a 100MP stacked sensor GFX, you will keep struggling to sell GFX cameras (or be forced to give them huge rebates).

If you decide to stick with the current 100MP BSI sensor (no matter how much you optimise its circuits, AD converters, microlenses, etc), then the best thing to do to create a camera that sells like hot cakes is to offer a different photographic experience. And that camera is called Fujifilm GFX100T or alternatively also the GFX100R.

Trust me on this Fujifilm. Do it, and we will throw our money at you… and my money will be the first to fly to your bank account.

Shipping Struggles for GF30mmF5.6 Tilt Shift

The Fujinon GF30mmF5.6 TS was supposed to ship in late October. And in fact, over at our GFX facebook group here we can see some guys already enjoying their sample. So it looks like in some countries the lens started to ship, but it does not seem to run smoothly everywhere.

Adorama says here they are still expecting delivery from manufacturer, Amazon at the moment does not even take pre-orders on it and BHphoto does not give any indication expect for a vague “coming soon”.

In Europe the situation for the GF30mmF5.6 is not much better, with stores like Calumet Germany expect stock in 1 to 3 months.

No problems on the other hand as far as GFX100II and GF55mmF1.7 goes, at least if you live in North America and Europe, where it is easy to find in stock. In other countries, also that gear experiences long delays.

UPDATE: the GF110mmF5.6 TS is supposed to ship sometimes in November according to press releases.

Tilt Shift Lens Stock Check

Latest GFX Gear in Stock

Fujifilm BLACK FRIDAY Starts NOW with Massive Rebates on X and GFX Cameras and Lenses

Before we start with the black Friday Fujifilm deals, maybe some of you will remember Michal Krause.

He is the fellow FR-reader who wrote one of the most successful and appreciated guest posts here on FujiRumors (with LOTS of great images!)

Well, Michal has launched the English version of his book: Capture One Effectively – The Complete Guide to Capture One Pro 23.

You can read more details about the ebook at this page here.

Black Friday

Fujifilm has currently a huge black Friday sale running in USA.

You can check out the full list of deals at B&H here.

The deals include rebates on the X-H2 and X-H2S and lots of lenses.

Probably on their lowest price ever the XF50mmF1.0, the XF150-600mm, the XF200mmF2 as well as other lenses.

X Cameras

BONUS OFFER: Purchase a qualifying X Series body (X-H2, X-H2S, X-S10) or kit product along with a LEXAR 2000X 256GB SD Card and receive $100 off the combined purchase price!

X Lenses

GFX Gear