Fujifilm June Announcements: New Firmware Updates (Reala Ace), New Tether Software and New GFX Challenge Grant Program 2024

Fujifilm is back with three announcements:

You can see all details in the video above.

Usually Fujifilm also teases new X summits in these videos, but this time they did not say or hint anything about future X summit.

Personally I am so excited to finally be able to shoot in Reala Ace. Will it be able to dethrone Astia as my favorite allrounder film simulation? I will let you know here on FujiRumors. :)

New Fujifilm Tether App Launched and X RAW Studio Updated

It’s Update Day

Fujifilm just released major firmware updates for several cameras and also for a lens.

But that’s not all.

There are updates also for Fujifilm X RAW Studio and also a brand new software has been launched, the Fujifilm Tether App.

So let’s look at what happened.

Fujifilm X RAW Studio

Fujifilm has released an update for the Fujifilm X RAW Studio software.

Fujifilm X RAW Studio Ver.1.24.0 – download here
The software update Ver.1.24.0 incorporates the following issues:

  1. “REALA ACE” RAW development is now supported.
  2. A software bug is fixed that the “COLOR TEMPERATURE” of “WHITE BALANCE” set in “Profile” is not reflected to the preview and recorded image correctly with macOS 14.

Fujifilm Tether App

We told you something new would happen also on the software front, and here it is: the brand new “Fujifilm Tether App”.

”FUJIFILM TETHER APP” provides functions to utilize digital cameras (GFX/X series) by connecting them to a computer. Even if your camera does not support the tethered shooting function, you can use the function to save/load camera settings.

You can read all the details below and download it here.

Compatibility Chart

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Fujifilm Says Firmware Autofocus Bug Fix and Reala Ace are Coming End of June

Fujifilm USA manager Victor Ha was a guest at the latest Adorama live show.

When asked about the autofocus bug fix on a few Fujifilm cameras, the manager says first of all thanks to the Fujifilm community for reporting about it, but especially he says there will be a firmware fix coming on the end of June.

Also, the Fujifilm X-T5 & Co will finally get Reala Ace film simulation with this update on the end of June.

That’s in contrast to what Fujifilm China said, who announced the Reala Ace firmware coming in August.

Fujifilm X-H2S Firmware 6.01 Fixes Bug for Selfie Lovers

Fujifilm has released a new firmware update for the Fujifilm X-H2S.

It is not the bug fix firmware we are waiting for, but it might be a very important update for those who love to take selfies with their X-H2S. :)

Firmware Update Details

Fujifilm X-H2S ver. 6.01 – download here
The firmware update Ver.6.01 from Ver.6.00 incorporates the following issue:

  1. The firmware bug is fixed that the AF frame for tracking moves in the opposite direction when taking a selfie.

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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Building a DIY Spectroscope with Fujifilm X-Trans Cameras (and Why Not with Bayer Sensor)

When we talk X-Trans virtues, we often talk about the more film like looking grain, the less color noise at high ISO, less moiré, sharpness boost etc.

But the X-Trans array might have some other advantages most of us would not think of. For example, in today’s case we see how ideal X-Trans is to create a DIY Spectorscope to measure the wavelengths of light.

In fact, when comparing the X-Trans vs Bayer sensor for this project, mpr decided to go for X-Trans, because each column of the X-Trans sensor contains all three colors (red, blue, green), whereas each column of the Bayer sensor only has 2 colors.

This makes it a lot easier to use the X-Trans data for the spectorscope.

From there, mpr will guide you through the process and if you are interested definitely watch his video.

Nice to see yet another creative and useful application of the X-Trans sensor.

Newest X-Trans Cameras

X-Trans Articles

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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Is the Fujifilm X-T50 the Best Looking Fujifilm Camera? – VOTE NOW

Somewhere in the comments somebody claimed: the Fujifilm X-T50 is now the best looking camera among X series cameras.

And while I totally agree that Fujifilm X-T50 has gained in sexiness with its new rounded design over the more boxy design of its predecessors, I am not sure if I’d call it the best looking one.

It would certainly be very high in the ranking for my taste, but I believe the Fujifilm X100VI still holds the throne as best looking Fujifilm camera.

Is this essential to know which X series camera is the best looking one?

Nope

Does it change the fate of the photography universe?

I don’t think so.

But it adds a bit of uplifting lightness into a discussion that is often way to heated in the photography forums, where we battle about the curve quality of the bokeh balls in the top right corner of the image and where we count the number of false color pixels after a 27 stops shadow recovery.

So, feel free to add lightness to this world by telling us in the survey and in the comments which camera you consider the most beautiful one.

The cameras you can vote on are:

The Best Looking Fujifilm X Series Camera is...

View Results

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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).

Introducing FUJINON Lens XF16-50mmF2.8-4.8 R LM WR

Fujifilm Launches “FUJINON Lens XF16-50mmF2.8-4.8 R LM WR”

– The new standard in the “XF Lens” lineup
– Combining high resolution performance with a compact and lightweight body that can be used in various situations.

Press Release

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