Today’s roundup is entirely dedicated to the Fujifilm GFX system.
And you know what? I can proudly call myself a convinced GFX owner too — I actually own this camera along with these two lenses!
Of course, every system, every camera, and every lens involves some level of compromise.
But if the one area where you refuse to make any compromise is image quality, then the Fujifilm GFX system is the way to go.
And yet, as much as I admire the sheer power of the GFX, I can’t help but wonder why Fujifilm never gave us the ultimate GFX camera — the one they already teased back in 2019 with that X-T–style GFX mock-up. That camera would have instantly become Fujifilm’s best-selling GFX ever and a serious threat to full frame.
With that said, what we have today is already much loved and highly appreciated by many. So time to dedicate it an own roundup.
Some used it for weedings. Other for bike races. Others scanned film and other used it with the Laowa 100mm F2.8 tilt shift.
I have this little habit: whenever I’m tidying up the chaos my two kids leave behind in the apartment, I put on a podcast.
Today, I came across one that I found particularly fascinating and wanted to share with you.
In the Double Exposure Podcast, Hugo Burnand talks about creating his portrait of King Charles—covering everything from location scouting and preparations, to the actual shoot, the lighting setup, his interactions with the king, the post-processing, and more.
Interestingly, Hugo drew inspiration from a painting of Prince Philip by Ralph Heymans. The painting depicted the Prince in the very same corridor where Hugo would later photograph King Charles.
The catch? That corridor is notoriously dark, making it a real challenge for Hugo and his team.
For this challenge, he chose just one camera: the Fujifilm GFX100 II—the camera he always turns to when he needs to capture a truly important image.
You can watch the video to see the clever techniques and setups his team used to overcome the challenges. The result is a portrait with a striking, almost painterly quality.
Of course Huge credits his team for the amazing results, but at some point he says:
full praise to my team […] because I think it looks like natural daylight thourghout and it also has a painterly feel to the photography.
Now, I warmly invite you to listen to the full podcast. But since I know many of you are particularly interested in what Hugo had to say about the Fujifilm GFX100 II in this context, I’ve extracted the key points below:
painterly feel in the image
fantastic dynamic range
great tonal gradation
if he’d have taken the image on a phone, it would be quite contrasty and harsher
it’s not about reproducing the image in big prints that he needs GFX, because even when reproduced small it has a greater quality intensity
the image was shot at ISO 3200
in a regular Canon he might risk shooting at ISO 800, and then he starts losing comfort
the Fujifilm GFX is amazing in low light
you can see the details of the king’s eyelashes in the image, even at ISO 3200
(Quick pause: some “smart” commenters will argue he used the wrong ISO and should have gone lower with flashes. I strongly suggest they actually watch the video before making that judgment)
the image looked like a painting by someone like Velázquez (personal note: I never thought I’d stand mesmerized in front of a painting for 15 minutes, but it happened to me in Madrid with Las Meninas of Velazquez… what a masterpiece)
And when Hugo saw the finished portrait of King Charles, he admitted that, for the first time, he felt intensely proud of his own work
(Another pause for the quick critics: some might say there is too much space above the king’s head. That’s intentional. There’s actually a rule in royal portraiture: you must leave enough room above the head to fit a crown.)
Editing?
no photoshop
Hugo explained that his adjustments were no different than what could have been done in the darkroom on a wet print
Finally, if you’d like to see this portrait (and others), Hugo has set up a dedicated website: crownportraits.co.uk.
Earlier today we reported how Fujifilm said to some news outlets that prices for certain Fujifilm gear will go up on August 30.
Well, I think we can now share the full list of price increases that will come into effect August 30.
Not all X cameras and lenses will get a price increase. What’s not in the list below is safe.
On the GFX front, pretty much everything will get a price bump.
The biggest price jump (+30%) will go to all sorts of Fujifilm accessories, which I guess are still all made in China.
Of course that’s for now just a rumor. All I can say is that last time we were spot on with the list of price increases. It does not mean that we will be also this time, but it might explain why I am confident enough to share it.
Also interesting: professional imaging (mainly X and GFX) is growing much stronger than consumer imaging (mainly Instax).
In the latest report, consumer imaging sales (mainly Instax) reached ¥77.3 billion, while professional imaging sales (mainly X and GFX) brought in ¥68 billion.
It’s quite astonishing that X/GFX sales are now making Fujifilm almost as much money as Instax sales, which the Fujifilm CEO called their new goldmine. I guess that’s a promising trend for our beloved X/GFX series.
In short:
Strong demand for instant photo systems and digital cameras drove revenue by 11.2% year-over-year to JPY145.3 billion and operating income surged by 28.4% year-over-year to JPY41.8 billion.
In the Consumer Imaging business, consistent demand for instax™ instant photo systems contributed to higher revenue.
In the Professional Imaging business, revenue growth was supported by the strong performance of the X Series and GFX Series cameras.
Fujifilm’s imaging forecast remains the same as the one issued in May 2025, with no updates in the latest report.
Fujifilm Announces Financial Results for the First Quarter Ended June 30, 2025
We told you that Fujifilm will soon increase prices.
We have now additional details (not yet official, so take it as a rumor).
Price increase should start August 1st (same day when the new tariff-wave comes to effect).
Good news: the Fujifilm X-E5 seems to be safe from any price increase (despite our reader getting a notice about the X-E5 price increase). According to first info shared to us by FR-reader readers, this is because the note from Fujifilm came before the trade deal with Japan (thanks).
Bad News: the list might not be complete yet, though, because there are for example only 9 GF lenses on the list, but I suspect all 20 of them will get a price increase of about 10%. So let’s hope the X-E5 is so far not on the list, because no increase is planed.
Please keep in mind that everything below is still a rumor until Fujifilm makes an official announcement. That said, I wouldn’t share this if I weren’t confident that the price increases are indeed coming on August 1.
Hopefully, this gives some of you the chance to save a few bucks by buying your gear before the deadline.
With that said, here are the new prices starting August 1st (roughly about 10% price increase – some more, some less):
NOTE: all GF lenses will likely get a price increase. I just don’t have the details, so I won’t share them below. But if you are interested in other GF lenses, grab them now too, as price will very likely go up also for those.
Down below is the list for the UHS-II type memory cards validated by Fujifilm for the Fujifilm GFX100RF (as well as for GFX100II, GFX100SII, X-H2S and X-H2).
*1 Model name could be different depending on the market.
*2 Where xxxx is “JNJIP/GHJIN” in Japan, “ANCIN” in the U.S.A., “CNCIN” in Canada, “ZN4IN” in China, and “GN4IN” for Global.
There are GFX Trade-In offers spreading in Europe with the purchase of a Fujifilm GFX100S II or GFX100 II. Down below I will share the Trade-In conditions for UK. But make sure to check the conditions in your country.
Maybe even more interestingly, now Fujifilm is offering also a Fujifilm GFX100S II with GF35-70mm kit in Europe. Maybe I’ve missed it so far, but if I am correct, previously you could purchase the GFX100SII only as body only and not bundled with a lens.
There are no kit versions still in USA for the GFX100SII and GFX100II. I hope such an offering will come to the US too at some point.
It’s time to dedicate some space here on FujiRumors to your wishes and ideas as far as future Fujifilm cameras goes.
Hence, down below are a few emails with Fujifilm camera wishes I have received.
And yes, I have also received lots of non-camera wishes, which I will share in another future FR-reader wishlist roundup.
As for the rumors… guys, don’t worry… there will be plenty of them. ;)
Oh… and the Fujifilm X-E5, Fujifilm X-M5 and Fujifilm X50 you see above are all just renderings I made. But if somebody out there has the real images (of any upcoming camera or lens) and wants to share the joy with the FR-community, feel free to drop me a message.
