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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A Look at Fujifilm 2024 :: It’s Over in 2023 :: Managers Talk Kaizen and X-E Line Future :: Gear Shipping Struggles and More :: Top 10 October Articles

Here are the top 10 articles for October.

  1. Fujifilm 2024: A Look Ahead Between Rumors and Speculations (X-Pro4, X100R, X-E5, X-T40, New XF Lenses, GFX Future)
  2. Fujifilm Manager: The End of Entry Level (X-E line?), X100V Successor, APS-C and GFX Full Frame Alternative, Market Share and More
  3. Fujifilm Manager Talk Kaizen, Telephoto Lenses, Why not Full Frame, X-E series Future, X100 Line and More
  4. RUMOR: Fujifilm X100V Successor Coming with a “New” Lens in Early 2024
  5. It’s Over my Friends: No More X or GFX Related Announcements This Year
  6. Fujifilm Digital Camera Sales Suspension Notice and Fujifilm Japan Apology
  7. SIGMA 10-18mm F2.8 DC DN Contemporary: Ultra Compact Wide Angle Zoom for Fujifilm X
  8. Fujifilm X-E4 Second Hand Price Higher than Original Launch Price
  9. The Latest X Series Reviews: Sigma 10-18mmF2.8, Fujinon XF8mmF3.5, Fujifilm X-S20, X-H2, X-H2S, X-T5
  10. EXCLUSIVE: This is Fujifilm’s Next XF Lens!

For personal reasons I was not able to make videos this month, nor to really work full power on the rumors and the blog in general. Sometimes life has other plans and sets other priorities.

Good news: an important medical check just a few days ago went well, so now it’s time for me to crawl out of my hole and gain back the energy to give you guys what you deserve: rumors!

So stay tuned… I am back ;).

Fujifilm Facebook Groups

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

Fujifilm Manager: The End of Entry Level (X-E line?), X100V Successor, APS-C and GFX Full Frame Alternative, Market Share and More

image courtesy: Phototrend
image courtesy: Phototrend

The French website Phototrend had the opportunity to interview Franck Bernard, Director of the imaging division at Fujifilm France. You can read the full interview here and the summary below.

  • Fujifilm GFX100II and the new GF lenses were well received
  • Fujifilm’s strategy is to grip full frame between their APS-C and Medium Format bodies
  • When asked if X-H2S is popular among sports photographers, the manager said that the road is long. It’s not only a question of having the best product, but also of having the entire ecosystem
  • Overall market share in France? As far as hybrid cameras goes (full frame excluded), Fujifilm is market leader with 26% over the last 12 months
  • X-T5 is the best seller followed by X-T30II and X-S20/X-S10
  • the photo market is sustainable and will always remain so
  • smartphones accelerate the demand for cameras because at some point people will want to use a real camera for better quality
  • it’s too early to talk about an X100V successor
  • It has now been 3 years since the X100V was released and Fujifilm does not have a fixed renewal cycle forcing them to change bodies every three years
  • the demand for X100V is still high
  • “If we have decided to stop entry-level products such as X-T200 or X-E4, it is because it is not promising as a market“
  • but Fujifilm wants to keep more affordable models in the lineup (see X-T30)
  • third party lenses can have negative effect on Fujinon lens sales, but Fujifilm thinks they have the quality to compete with Sigma, Tamron and Co
  • Fujifilm is neutral in regards to third party lenses. They don’t oppose nor push them and they respect them

I’d like to make some considerations.

Fujifilm X-E Line

The French manager hinted that they dropped the X-E line, but that pretty much does not fit with the hints recently a Japanese Fujifilm manager gave us here. And also Fuji Guy Billy mentioned here the X-E line as a line that would continue (unlike X-T***, X-A* lines, which btw were just Fujifilm branded Xacti cameras since a long time anyway, as we reported here).

Fujifilm X100V successor

No, it’s not too early to talk about it.

Third party Lenses

The French Fujifilm manager said they are neutral towards third party lenses. Although I remember Fujifilm managers inviting Sigma managers and talking about Sigma lenses for example here. So this gives me the impression Fujifilm is quite positive overall towards third party lenses.

The French manager said they think they have the quality to compete with third party lenses. This depends. The newest third party lenses from Viltrox & Co are quite phenomenal for the price. Maybe here and there they might not match the quality of the top of the line most modern Fujinon XF lenses, but there are quality options also from third parties.

The real and most important factors, for me, to use as much as possible native Fujinon lenses are two:

  • lots of third party lenses do not have an aperture ring
  • color consistency among Fujinon glass. And since a Film Simulation are a big deal for me, I like Velvia & Co to look consistent across the various lenses I use. There are for example third party lenses, like my manual focus Samyang 12mmF2, that are very lovely, but the colors they give me are not the ones I consistently get with my Fujinon lenses.

These are for me the two main reasons why I mostly stick with Fujinon XF and GF glass, although I own third party lenses for both systems, too.

My Personal Gear

Voigtländer NOKTON 50mm f/1.2 Available for Pre-Order

The Cosina Voigtländer 50mm f/1.2 is now available for pre-order at BHphoto here.

The Fujifilm cameras that support the electronic contacts with this lens are:

  • X-H2S
  • X-H2
  • X-Pro3
  • X-T5
  • X-S20
  • X-S10
  • X-H1
  • X-T4
  • X-T3
  • X-T2*
    *When using the X-T2, the aperture value can be displayed in Fno by changing the aperture value display setting from TNo to FNo in the body settings.
  • X-T30
  • X-T30II
  • X-E4

Not Supported Cameras

  • X-T1
  • X-T20
  • X-T10
  • X-T200
  • X-T100
  • X-Pro2
  • X-Pro1
  • X-E3
  • X-E2
  • X-E1
  • X-M1
  • X-A7
  • X-A5
  • X-A3
  • X-A2
  • X-A1

List of Voigtländer lenses for Fujifilm:

Additional Details

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Fujifilm 2024: A Look Ahead Between Rumors and Speculations (X-Pro4, X100R, X-E5, X-T40, New XF Lenses, GFX Future)

2023 is Done

We just told you that there will be no more Fujifilm announcements in 2023.

And since in terms of new gear we are done for this year, lots of people started asking me what is coming in 2024.

Now, I am working on it, and we have shared already something.

For example we told you that the next XF lens to come is the replacement of this lens here.

More rumors will follow.

But as you know, on FujiRumors we will not make up a single rumor just to make traffic, nor share anonymous rumors we receive in which I don’t trust.

We prefer to share less rumors, generate less traffic, make less money, and value your time with less, but accurate rumors.

But until more rumors drop, I thought we could also make one single article where we talk about the current state of the rumors and also make speculation on what could or we would like to come in 2024.

2024 – A Look Into the Future

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It’s Over my Friends: No More X or GFX Related Announcements This Year

Yes I know.

I am aware that in the first half of 2023 Fujifilm has registered a camera with the code name FF230002.

And I am aware that never before Fujifilm needed more than 4/6 months to release a camera after its registration has been spotted.

This is why 99,9% of people out there are so sure there will be another Fujifilm announcement this year.

Maybe in November, as that’s a great month to launch new gear (Fuji’s most important camera has been launched November last year for example).

But this ain’t gonna happen, according to our sources.

In fact, we have been told (thanks!!!), that as far as 2023 goes, this was it. There is no new gear coming in 2023.

I mean, yes, the two GF tilt shift lenses still have to hit the market. But of course our sources mean that there won’t be any further announcements this year.

This means that we will also NOT get the next Fujinon XF lens that we already rumored a couple of weeks ago, in 2023.

So all we got (and will get) in 2023 is:

  • Fujifilm X-S20
  • Fujifilm GFX100II
  • Fujinon XF8mmF3.5
  • Fujinon GF55mmF1.7
  • Fujinon GF30mmF5.6 Tilt Shift
  • Fujinon GF110mmF5.6 Tilt Shift

Some great stuff dropped in 2023 for both systems, but certainly there was more to rejoice for GFX users rather than X series users this year.

But before the X series users start moaning, just a quick reminder on what we got in 2022:

  • Fujifilm X-T5
  • Fujifilm X-H2
  • Fujifilm X-H2s
  • Fujinon XF 30mmF2.8 Macro
  • Fujinon XF 56mm f/1.2 R WR
  • Fujinon XF 150-600mm f/5.6-8
  • Fujinon XF 18-120mm f/4

Sure, we always wish for more. But over the last 2 years I think we can agree that there has been quite some decent stuff for both systems.

And what about 2024?

Well, for that, my friends, you’ll have to follow FujiRumors.

Rumors, that will be shared exclusively for you here on FujiRumors.

Fujifilm Facebook Groups

40 Fujifilm Products Win Good Design Award

40 Fujifilm products won the Good Design Award.

In terms of X and GFX photography gear, these are the winners.

40 products in a wide range of business areas win Good Design Award

– Mirrorless digital camera “FUJIFILM GFX100 II” and “Structural color inkjet technology” chosen as one of the Good Design Best 100

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Nikon Zf: Well Done Nikon, Retro is the “Innovation” that Will Boost Your Sales, but…

So, the Nikon Zf is out and originally I did not want to make any article about it.

But since the buzz is big and many headlines compare it to Fujifilm’s retro approach (like our Italian friends at Promirrolress here that gave it the headline: “the Nikon Zf makes Fujifilm tremble“), I thought to launch a dedicated article mainly so that you guys can discuss about it in the comments.

My comment?

In short: I love what Nikon did with the Nikon Zf, even though there are reasons I still consider Fujifilm the better pick.

What Nikon did right

The problem is this:

Pretty much all mid and higher end mirrorless cameras you can buy today are excellent.

At the same time, there is not much innovation anymore in terms of sensors. The last big jump was achieved with the stacked sensor. Since then, we are still waiting for the next big thing (global shutter?), but that “big thing” seems to be still far away.

So the question is: what could motivate people to buy a new camera, if what they have is already so good and the new gear does not really bring groundbreaking new specs to the table?

Is a 20% faster sensor readout or a 10% higher autofocus accuracy really a reason to upgrade gear?

I don’t think so.

But what could work as a much bigger motivation to upgrade than a slightly faster sensor readout is to offer a completely different photographic experience over the mainstream thanks to dedicated dials, retro look and feel, vintage manual controls.

Because even if the camera might be identical in terms of specs to many other cameras, it will still be able to offer something completely different thanks to the retro approach.

Also, in times where camera companies have to find ways to draw younger generations into their systems, the retro style could be paradoxically something that achieves exactly that goal, as we can see from the terrific success of the Fujifilm X100V.

That’s why I believe the Nikon Zf will become a terrific success. It is the one thing that sets it apart from all other Nikon Z cameras (except for the Nikon Zfc of course).

Nikon Zf or Fujifilm?

The Nikon Zf uses the same 24MP sensor of the Nikon Z6II. And we know from Photons to Photos dynamic range measurements data, that it is marginally better in terms of dynamic range over the 40MP Fujifilm X-H2 with X-Trans sensor (Z6II has a PDR of 11.26 vs X-H2 a PDR of 10.75).

But that’s actually not the point.

Other aspects are more relevant. The Nikon Zf has:

  • no joystick
  • no dual UHS-II card slot
  • no awesome film simulations
  • lenses without aperture ring
  • less megapixel than X-T5
  • more than 30% heavier than my X-T5 (plus the bigger full frame lenses, without aperture ring)
  • overall the X-T5 has better specs for stills and video (full specs comparison here)
  • fully articulating screen (I am not a fan of it)
  • more expensive than X-T5

Now these are just a few things that make the Nikon Zf not a temptation for me. But for many others these might not be an issue at all.

I am not bashing on the Nikon Zf. On the contrary, I applaud and welcome it, and it is the first camera from another brand that actually grabs my interest for more than just 5 minutes. ;).

I believe the Nikon Zf will become a terrific success. And I certainly wish it to Nikon. More vintage cameras on the market are always welcome and refreshing over the plethora of PSAM dial cameras out there.

Well done Nikon!