And here are the June Youtube videos ranked by popularity. The 2nd and 4th video are from the Dolomites… they might be worth to watch just for the scenery ;).
Yep, you read it right: despite all the fantastic and super-hyped and hyper-popular gear Sony, Canon and Nikon have launched, the video that most people watched in all these years on DPRTV was the X100V review.
And not to talk of the great customer reviews it is getting all over the most popular stores:
Unfortunately, our supplier cannot provide an accurate timeframe so we have suspended backorders for this item.
X100V – A Failure?
Given the massive interest for the X100V and the inability for Fujifilm to deliver, the question that I now have is that this can be seen as a success or a failure for Fujifilm.
I mean, clearly Fujifilm can call it a success, as the demand is high. But they could have made so much more money, if only they were able to deliver the X100V.
And while to a certain degree it’s OK to have delays for a very popular camera, coming to a point where you totally block orders for over half a year with no outlook for the situation to improve, also signals a certain failure on Fujifilm’s side to demonstrate flexibility and creativity in adjusting plans and production properly.
Yes, they did try some curious solution like the use of Blockchain to optimize supply network of digital camera parts, but that was done 1 year ago and the results can’t be seen anywhere, with many Fujifilm cameras still not available or in some cases even discontinued, despite people having those cameras on order, as it was for example the case for the X-E4, a camera MANY of you guys ordered, but did not receive because Fujifilm stopped producing it.
And in fact, back in May, Fujifilm candidly admitted that they are still struggling with parts shortage.
So from this point of view we could see all this also as a failure, as Fujifilm can’t capitalize anywhere near to what they could have, if they’d have been able to organize a realiable parts supply for the X100V.
X100V Successor?
I know some will wonder what this means for the Fujifilm X100V successor (however they are going to call it).
I am working on the rumors and as soon as I have something reliable in my hands, I will let you know.
But imagine you are Fujifilm, you have an insanely popular camera in the house and all you have to do is to manufacture as many of them as possible to make lots of money.
If I was Fujifilm, then I would not be in any hurry to come out with a successor and just use every part I can get to make as many X100V as possible for as long as it will remain this popular. I mean, why keep aside parts for an eventual Fujifilm X200 or X100VI or however they are going to call it, if they can make great money with no need of further R&D investments today with the X100V already?
But again… that’s just my personal perception of this situation.
What matters is what our sources tell us in regards to the Fujifilm X100V successor. And for that, my friends, I invite you to stay tuned on FujiRumors.
The rumors… they will… drop… for sure.
Feeling Lucky?
“I feel lucky and will click the links to see if the X100V is in stock*” :)
However, I have excluded all the X-S20 rumors from the list, as at this point it’s not a problem if you missed them, since the real thing is now out and you can get all the details and specs at the dedicated pages.
Interestingly, despite all the rumors and new gear, the most read article was about the new firmware updates, which shows that sometimes we want to get improved what we already have rather than new gear.
May was also my most active month on YouTube so far.
In this case we will include also the rumor related videos, simply because many of them are filmed while I was out on several locations around my home and you might enjoy to watch a bit of the Dolomites, the Road of Wine and so forth.
As reported by Nikkei, the initial monthly production for the Fujifilm X-S20 is planned to be 15,000 units.
I have no idea if that’s a high number or not.
What I know is that so far the Fujifilm X-S20 has not received the almost traditional “shipping delay due to high demand” notice, so let’s hope Fujifilm planed well ahead and they have enough stock to ship out all pre-orders on day 1 and to assure stable stock going forward (a rare thing in the Fujifilm world these days).
Let’s have a weekend chat… and try to give an answer to a question I often get.
The story is this:
Back in March Fujifilm Spain displayed this camera roadmap, where they show two more cameras coming in 2023.
So the question I get often these days is: is this really all we will get in 2023? Two cameras and no more?
I can understand your skepticism, especially considering that even during the Covid pandemic Fujifilm has launched an average of 3 to 4 cameras a year, as we calculated in this article.
And if Fujifilm really was to launch two cameras only, then FujiRumors readers already know which ones these will be:
First off: it is not clear if the roadmap displayed by Fujifilm Spain refers to X series cameras only (hence APS-C cameras) or if it includes also GFX cameras.
If it was for X series only, then it we would get 2 X series cameras (one of them being the X-S20) and at least one GFX camera (as we rumored here).
The Spanish website Fujistas, who shared the roadmap and was present at the event, actually reported on them as being “two X series cameras“. So that would mean two APS-C cameras. So there is one I never rumored before that would still come in 2023.
But even if Fujifilm Spain’s roadmap would include the GFX cameras, than I’d not be 100% sure that all we get are really only 2 cameras.
Why?
Because internal roadmaps get regular updates and are often changed depending on the need of the moment. Fujifilm might postpone a camera launch, but can also anticipate its announcement. This depends on lots of things such as their own state in terms of development of new models, but Fuji can also look at what competitors are doing and in case step on the gas and work on releasing new gear faster.
Same happens with lens roadmaps, which are public. Fujifilm can announce and even show mockups of roadmap lens (remember the XF33mmF1.0?) and then cancel or change it. Other lenses get delayed, other never appeared on any roadmap, but suddenly hit the market (lots of the MKII lenses for example).
That’s why I personally would take any camera or lens roadmap with a grain of salt.
If it really was the most up to date roadmap and it would include also GFX cameras, then FujiRumors basically already told you which cameras will come in 2023.
But if’s only for X series or not the most up to date roadmap, then this means I have still some work to do to find out which other cameras could come in 2023.
In any case, stay tuned on FujiRumors. As soon as I can tell you something reliable, I will post updates here on the blog and on my YouTube channel.
When I shared my video (and partially rant) about the Fujifilm X-E4 being discontinued and what that could mean for the Fujifilm X-E line going forward, I quickly mentioned in that video that I believe one line Fujifilm will never drop is the Fujifilm X-Pro line.
Why?
Because the X-Pro line is a very prestigious line for Fujifilm. It was Fujifilm’s first mirrorless interchangeable lens camera and as such it is symbolically very important for Fujifilm.
Sure, Fujifilm won’t refresh it as often as they do with other lines, but it will continue (in my opinion).
But I said something else in the video.
I said that the Fujifilm X-Pro line will become a more “experimental” line for Fujifilm, and we can see that happening already now with the hidden LCD of the Fujifilm X-Pro3.
And you know what? I am good with it.
The Fujifilm X-Pro is a niche camera and I find it OK if the they try niche stuff with it.
So assuming Fujifilm will continue to experiment around with that line, what would you like to get with the Fujifilm X-Pro4?
An X-Pan X-Pro? Or maybe a monochrome X-Pro? Or why not get rid of the LCD entirely? Or keep the LCD, but put a stacked sensor in it and get rid of the mechanical shutter instead? Any other ideas?
Feel free to drop your wish in the comments. I might collect them in future and make a survey out it.