It’s the night when ghosts rise from their crypts — and it reminded me that Fujifilm, too, has (or had?) a rather unnatural power: the power to bring its cameras back from the dead with a little bit of firmware Kaizen magic.
Cameras that refused to die.
Or better yet: cameras that Fujifilm simply did not allow to die — resurrected again and again through firmware updates that breathed new life into them.
Scary times in which those who wrote excellent Fujifilm camera manuals were doomed to rewrite them over and over again — slowly driven to madness by Fujifilm’s relentless Kaizen spirit, as they struggled to keep up with all the new features added to cameras that refused to stay dead.
So let’s talk about those times.
And let’s talk about where we are now and what has changed (if anything).
We were going on a 4-day trip with my classmates to Siena.
And I remember how I cherished those 27 shots — how intentional I tried to make every single one of them. Every frame mattered so much to me.
The photos might have been flawed — soft, overexposed, touched by grain and blur. But the moments were flawless. I waited for them, guarded each frame, and only pressed the shutter when I felt that it truly mattered.
But somehow all of that went lost with the arrival of digital.
That sense of loss — of meaning, of connection — is exactly what YouTuber Gerald explores in his video “What We Lost When Cameras Got Better”. He looks back at what we unknowingly traded away when photography became effortless, and how we might get those things back.
We thought we were upgrading to digital.
But we weren’t — we were trading.
And this is what we lost in the exchange, according to Gerald.
Intentionality –
Film forced us to think before shooting because every frame was limited and costly.
Digital made shooting cheap and endless, which made each photo mean less.
Presence –
With film, you stayed in the moment.
With digital, we’re constantly checking screens, pulled out of the experience.
Anticipation –
Waiting to see developed photos made us value them more.
Instant previews make us forget instantly — memories don’t have time to form.
Imperfection –
Film had character: grain, light leaks, and “happy accidents.”
Digital and AI perfection removed uniqueness; everything looks the same.
Mindfulness –
Shooting film is a tactile, focused ritual.
You set ISO once, advance manually, and truly participate in the process.
Digital gives results; film teaches discipline.
Conclusion
Technology didn’t just upgrade photography — it also caused a trade-off.
We gained convenience but lost meaning.
Unlimited shots led to unlimited forgetting, while limitations gave us value.
How to Get It Back
You don’t need to abandon digital. Instead, adopt the film mindset.
By slowing down and paying attention, you’ll remember your photos — and the moments — again.
But to be fair, it didn’t flop because it was a bad camera. Far from it. It was compact, stylish, and wonderfully portable, earning praise from many photographers for its looks and design.
What really doomed it was its overly complicated manual lens ring — that pull, twist, click dance nobody really wanted to perform every time they turned the camera on. Elegant design met awkward usability… and sadly, usability lost.
So, in less than 1 month, the Fujifilm X-E5 has already surpassed legends like the Fujifilm X-T4 and caught up with one of Fujifilm’s most sold cameras ever, the Fujifilm X-T2. And right now it is just 2% points away from catching up with the Fujifilm X-T3 and X100VI.
If we were to group it in lines, these are the results.
X-T* = 32.21%
X100* = 15.20%
X-E* = 14.61%
X-H* = 9.98%
X-Pro* = 8.56%
X-T** = 8.41%
X-S** = 4.18%
X-M* = 2.25%
X70 / XF10 = 1.24%
X10/X20/X30 = 1.18%
X half = 0.64%
X-A* = 0.56%
Other = 0.51%
X-T100/200 = 0.47%
The Fujifilm X-E5 has pushed the X line close to the X100 line on the 3rd spot of the most owned Fujifilm camera lines by FR-readers.
Is this a success?
That’s too early to say. But it is a solid start, actually the best start of any X-E camera so far (and by far). And this makes me confident in the future of this camera line.
Yes, also the Fujifilm X-T50 is a “new line”, because as we told you in this rumor, it does not belong to the X-T10, X-T20, X-T30 line since Fujifilm will launch a dedicated successor for that line (X-T40/X-T30III) in 2025.
In short: Fujifilm has axed more lines than it has created new ones.
With all that said, I think launching the Fujifilm X-T40/X-T30III makes totally sense.
Why?
Well, because Fujifilm’s entry level line has basically been axed (except X-M line) and their other lower-end to mid-range models got an overall specs upgrade with a consequantial significant price increase (X-E5 and X-T50).
At this point in time, Fujifilm has no true entry level camera with viewfinder and that’s a problem if you ask me.
But how could a Fujifilm X-T30III/X-T40 look like?
Speculations (NOT RUMOR)
my realistic scenario: X-T30 II body with 5th generation processor and latest firmware
my hope scenario: X-T30 II body but with X-T100 alike unique screen mechanism – we reported here
my dream scenario: X-T50 body with 4th generation 26MP sensor
Since I think that price matters when it comes to the Fujifilm X-T40 or X-T30 III, I believe they’ll go for the first scenario I mentioned above.
But feel free to let us know in the comments what you think about all of this.
And since I love this lens here, I picked as my favorite future lens the Fujinon XF16-200mm superzoom.
Now, I know it would make me look more “Pro” if I’d advocate for red-badge fast lenses.
But hey, if Melinda Sue Gordon shoots the official backstage images of the Dunkirk blockbuster with the XF18-135mm lens – we reported here – then I guess the lens is plenty of good enough also for my much more humble needs.
With that said, I decided to take a closer look at the potential XF16-200mm, based on specs given to us by Fujifilm (and turned into the above silhouette by FR-reader Hiergeist), to see if the XF16-200mm could really be a potential replacement for the XF18-135mm.
Fujinon XF 18-135mm – length 97.8mm at minium extension and 156mm at maximum extension
– diameter 75.7
– weight 490g
We can see: especially on the shorter side of the range given to us by Fujifilm, the XF16-200 would be quite close in size to the current XF18-135mm (just about 22mm longer and 110g heavier).
If Fujifilm would launch the Fujinon XF16-200mm, then I would surely buy it to replace the XF18-135mm.
In fact, after I bought the XF18-135mm I sold both my XF18-55mm and XF55-200mm. But having again the option to go all the way at 200mm and also to go wider at 16mm would be very welcome, especially if the overall size and weight increase are contained as suggested by the specs shared by Fujifilm.
So, I stand by my wish: if I have to pick one, I would like the Fujinon XF 16-200mm.
But again, feel free to drop your wish and vote here.
There was a time, when Fujifilm was only offering rangefinder X series cameras.
Well, that’s if you don’t consider this camera here, which I guess we’ll never know why Fujifilm called it an X series camera.
But anyway, rangefinder was Fujifilm’s quiet re-entry in the mid-higher end digital camera market (their previous attempt was this one).
And silently, on tiptoes, Fujifilm carved out its very small niche of truly passionate photographers.
The X-E1 is Born
The Fujifilm X-E1 was definitely one of the best expressions of this understated approach into the mirrorless camera market: no thunders, no specs brags, just beauty and joy encapsulated in a wonderful camera body.
But the Fujifilm X-E1 would become the last X-E camera with a relatively quiet and tranquil life.
Because Fujifilm’s priorities started to shift, their ambitions to grow, and the X-E line started to be on the edge of survival.
Fujifilm had the brilliant idea to launch the Fujifilm X-E2 just 3 months before they announced the Fujifilm X-T1, which came in the more popular SLR styled package and offered superior specs like weather sealing, UHS-II card slot and the largest EVF on any mirrorless camera.
The X-T1 was Fujifilm’s statement to the photography world: we want to go more mainstream now! And as a consequence it stole the show (and sales) to the X-E2.
The Fujifilm X-E2 was followed by the Fujifilm X-E2S, which is basically an X-E2 with an auto button. So we can ignore that one.
And what has the Fujifilm X70 to do with the rumor we share today?
Well, the X70 is the prime example on why rumors about the price of upcoming gear are the trickiest to share.
Because not only Fujifilm can change the price of new gear until just a few days ahead of its announcement. But as we could see with the Fujifilm X70, Fujifilm can change the retail price on gear also just a few days after its announcement. Because that’s what happened with the Fujifilm X70, which was launched at $799 but just a few days later, while it was still on pre-order, Fujifilm lowered the price to $699 as we reported here.
So should FujiRumors never share price rumors ever again?
Nope… but we give you this important disclaimer. And with that said, we can share the rumor.
According to information we have received from our sources, the price for the Fujifilm GFX100RF should be “around 5,000 USD“.
That’s more affordable than what I consider to be its closest competitor, the Leica Q3.
