Just a few days ago Fujifilm issued a firmware update for the Fujinon XC15-45mmF3.5-5.6. Well, now we have another one. All details below.
Fujinon XC15-45mmF3.5-5.6 ver.1.12 – download here The firmware update Ver.1.12 from Ver.1.11 incorporates the following issue:
The following software issue is supposed to be fixed with Ver.1.11, but it is observed that the same issue is still occurs in rare cases under some shooting conditions. This is the revised firmware to fix the bug even in the above conditions.
“The lens initializes itself unintentionally and automatically retracts once and back to the original position frequently when using the latest X-T50 and X-M5 cameras.”
Fujifilm has launched new Fujifilm X deals in Europe. They pretty much match the deals in USA, although there are some differences.
The deals are instant rebates in UK and I think also in France, but they are cashback deals in Germany, which means in Germany, after your purchase, go to this page and claim your money back.
If you buy at Amazon, make sure to buy gear shipped and sold by Amazon to access the Cashback. But attention: Amazon Germany is listed among the official retailers, but not Amazon France. In UK its an instant rebate and that works also on Amazon UK.
I have not yet found the deals listed in Italy and other countries, so make sure to check out the conditions in your country before purchasing. Select the promotion in your country on this page here. And you can always give your local retailer a call, they also know all the details of the deals.
Fujinon XC15-45mmF3.5-5.6 ver.1.11 – download here The firmware update Ver.1.11 from Ver.1.10 incorporates the following issue
A software issue is improved that the lens Improved the phenomenon of the lens automatically sinking and ejecting unintentionally when used with X-M5 or X-T50.
It’s still not easy to find proper autofocus test regarding the Fujifilm X-M5.
So all we have for now are little tidbits here and there, mainly coming from Asian countries, which are traditionally the main market for the X-M (or perviously the X-A) line.
I will share two videos below.
The first is (I think) a Chinese video. Click the play button below to start the video right at the AF section. Here is what we can notice and what the guy said:
cat tracking seems to work fine also when the cat moves in a busy space and behind some obstacles
the guy runs towards the camera and says (if the translation is accurate), that the accuracy is 80-90%, with most of the images out of focus only when the subject was very close to the camera
it seems that the entire episode is filmed on X-M5
The second video comes from Brazil. I share it because the reviewer covers half of his face with the hand, but the X-M5 does not get distracted and keeps focus on the eye. In fact, you can see the eye box jump to the left eye as soon as the right eye is covered by the hand. So at least this issue seems to be solved.
In a third video below we see the AF tracking in video, which does not look very convincing. Or, as the autor of the video, Matt, said: “Personally think [autofocus] it’s not as bad as some people were worried about, but definitely still not perfect.”
First conclusion: it’s better in tracking cats than humans :)
Of course I am kidding. We really do not have many elements in our hands to make a proper judgement. But the Fujifilm X-M5 should ship in about 10 days (November 21 according to stores), so I guess soon enough we will have a much better understanding of its AF performance.
And maybe we will get the promised autofocus firmware update before that, so that we can judge the new AF on our own 5th generation cameras.
The Fujifilm Q2 Financial Results (July-September 2024) have just been shared.
It’s yet another great report for Fujifilm’s imaging division.
Imaging:
Strong sales of instant photo systems and digital cameras boosted revenue by 11.0% year-over-year to JPY126.5 billion and operating income by 29.2% year-over-year to JPY33.7 billion.
In the Consumer Imaging business, steady sales of the “instax™” instant photo systems drove revenue higher.
In the Professional Imaging business, revenue rose due to the strong sales of the latest models in the GFX and X series of digital cameras, which were released in June 2024, as well as the models released in the previous year.
In the Imaging segment, consolidated revenue amounted to ¥257.2 billion (up 17.4% year-over-year). Consolidated operating income amounted to ¥66.2 billion (up 33.8% year-over-year).
In the consumer imaging business, steady sales of the instax instant photo systems drove revenue higher. In September 2024, we launched the smartphone printer instax mini Link 3, which can print smartphone images on card-sized instax film. We will continue to expand the world of the instax instant photo system that allows people to enjoy on-the-spot photo printing.
In the professional imaging business, strong sales of digital cameras contributed to higher revenue. In June 2024, we launched the latest mirrorless digital camera models, FUJIFILM GFX100S II of the GFX series and FUJIFILM X-T50 of the X series, and two new lenses. We will continue to deliver products that appeal to digital camera users and the film industry with the GFX series, which offers overwhelmingly high image quality in a large format, and the X series, which offers the best balance between image quality and size. In addition, in September 2024 we launched the FUJINON HZK14-100mm, the third lineup in the Duvo lens series and the first wide-zoom lens in the series, which produces cinematic looks with beautiful bokeh and offers broadcast lens operation.
Back in 2018, FujiRumors made a simple request to Fujifilm: give us the option to change the color of the focus frame (the little square you move around on the screen to indicate where the camera should focus).
This request came from a common issue — while the default white box works fine most of the time, there are situations where it blends into the background, making it hard to spot. I sometimes end up moving it randomly around the screen until I can locate it again.
Six years later, that request has yet to be fulfilled.
Over time, we made peace with it and moved on. But with the release of the Fujifilm X-M5, our wish for a focus frame color change has resurfaced.
Why?
The Fujifilm X-M5 offers the usual red frame box when recording video. But when switching to slow motion mode, that red box turns green to avoid confusion — something we reported earlier. This got us thinking: if Fujifilm can adjust the frame color for video modes, surely their talented software engineers could implement a similar option for focus frames.
So, Fujifilm, if you can change video frame colors, why not give us the option to customize the focus frame color? It’s a simple tweak that could improve the user experience.
A couple of weeks have now passed since the announcement of the Fujifilm X-M5.
And so far the big controversy has not yet received a final answer: how good is the autofocus on the Fujifilm X-M5?
Now a new Fujifilm X-M5 hands-on review has been published by PavSZ (see above).
In his video, he says the X-M5 autofocus is much better than the one on the Fujifilm X-S20.
And when asked about it in the comments to his video, he says multiple times that he shoots also Sony cameras, and that the X-M5 is just as good as Sony in terms of autofocus.
Koji Matsumoto, the president of Fujifilm Imaging, age an interview in Japanese to phileweb here.
In summary:
X100VI, X-T50 and GFX100S II sales are strong
The balance between supply and demand has collapsed, but it has recovered this year
X100VI and others are still in a difficult situation “but we are gradually loosening back orders”
Fujifilm’s CEO notes that smartphone ease-of-use has increased global demand for instant and mirrorless cameras [admin note: I guess he means that more people take pictures now than ever and now many smartphone users aspire to take even better pictures using a proper camera]
the fact that demand has increased dramatically globally is the root of the problem of product supply. The supply is not keeping up. Fujifilm apologizes for the inconvenience
