Fujifilm: The Current State and the Future Challenges

Comeback of an Old Friend

For us long time Fujifilm lovers, Fujifilm manager Toshihisa Iida (the manager who said Fujifilm will NEVER go Full Frame) was arguably the most representative face of the Fujiflm X/GFX series of the last 10 years.

Sadly for us (but congratulations to him), Toshi left the electronic imaging division once he got promoted to President and Managing Director at Fujifilm Europe back in 2020.

I must admit I was a bit worried when the Toshi left, as I felt that the Fujifilm X/GFX series was in safe hands as long as he was in charge.

He did run the business with huge dedication, passion and vision, as can also be seen in this in this brilliant documentary (MUST WATCH !!!), that gives an intimate look into his life and work as imaging director.

I honestly thought it would be hard to replace a manager like Toshihisa Iida.

But if I look at all the crazy stuff Fujifilm has released in 2022, all my worries dissipate.

Under the new management, Fujifilm has not only continued to work hard and believe in its imaging division, but they also gave us the most release intense year I can remember, with three higher end cameras, four XF lenses and one GF lens. Plus some accessories, such as the legendary cooling fan and the TG-BT1 Tripod Grip.

The Future Seen Through Fujifilm Managers Statements

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Fujifilm GFX100 Discontinued at Some Stores in Japan

Fujifilm GFX100 Discontinued

In Japan, the first stores are marking the Fujifilm GFX100 as discontinued, as reported by the Japanese website asobinet.

The Fujifilm GFX100 was launched back in 2019 and it was definitely revolutionary for its time, with a backside illuminated 102 megapixel sensor and IBIS, giving medium format speed and flexibility unseen until then in the digital medium format world.

But then…

… on January 27, 2021…

… just one day after the birth of my son…

… Fujifilm launched the glorious Fujifilm GFX100S: much smaller, much cheaper, much better ergonomics (in my opinion) than the GFX100.

The GFX100S was pretty much superior under every aspect to the GFX100, so much so that Fujifilm USA launched arguably their all time best advertising about the GFX100S with the subtle admission that there is almost not point in buying the GFX100 anymore (in addition to give FujiRumors a shout-out ;))

Sales for the Fujifilm GFX100 plummeted after the GFX100S announcement and since 2+ years it hardly sells anymore.

Miraculously, though, Fujifilm still kept producing it (albeit in very limited numbers) and in fact you can find it still in stock pretty much everywhere in USA and Europe. But it seems that this is going to change soon, as Japanese stores are starting to inform their customers that there won’t be any new shipments for this camera.

Fujifilm Managers Talk X-Pro4 :: Firmware Updates :: Good, Bad, Struggling Stock :: Roadmap Lenses Displayed :: & More – Top 10 February

Here are the top 10 articles for February grouped in two categories:

  • most clicked articles
  • most commented articles

In the second category, only those articles will by linked, that were not already in the first list.

Most Clicked Articles for February

  1. Fujifilm Managers Interview: Talking Fujifilm X-Pro4, Autofocus, Fujifilm X-T5 Sales, 5th Generation GFX, X100V Demand and More
  2. Good Bye Fujifilm X-T4: My Best X-T4 Experience and the Lens I’ll Buy with Money Earned from its Sale
  3. Fujifilm Firmware Update for X-T5, X-H2 and X-H2s
  4. Fujifilm X100V Stock in Fall 2023? The Bad (X100V, X-E4, X-Pro3), the Good (X-T5, X-H2S, GFX) and the Struggling (X-H2)
  5. Cosina Announces Voigtländer NOKTON 35mm F0.9 and Voigtländer ULTRON 27mm F2 for Fujifilm X Mount
  6. When my Old XF23mmF1.4 Beat Sony Full Frame and other Wonderful Moments (but now Welcome my New XF23mmF1.4 R LM WR)
  7. BREAKING: New Third Party Autofocus X Mount Lens Coming Soon
  8. Surprising Price Drops on Selected Fujinon XF Lenses (Not Listed on New Official Fujifilm Deals)
  9. Viltrox 75mm f/1.2 Reviews – The Praise Continues!
  10. Tamron 11-20mm f/2.8 for Fujifilm X Mount Development Announcement

Most Commented Articles for February

  1. Fujifilm Firmware Update for X-T5, X-H2 and X-H2s
  2. Fujifilm Managers Interview: Talking Fujifilm X-Pro4, Autofocus, Fujifilm X-T5 Sales, 5th Generation GFX, X100V Demand and More
  3. BREAKING: New Third Party Autofocus X Mount Lens Coming Soon
  4. Tamron 11-20mm f/2.8 for Fujifilm X Mount Development Announcement
  5. Cosina Announces Voigtländer NOKTON 35mm F0.9 and Voigtländer ULTRON 27mm F2 for Fujifilm X Mount
  6. Fujifilm Patents Fujinon XF 200-600mm F5.6-8 and XF 100-600mm F5.6-6.3
  7. Leaked Specs: Sigma 23mm F1.4 DC DN for Fujifilm X
  8. RUMOR UPDATE: Upcoming Third Party Autofocus X Mount Lens is NOT from Chinese Manufacturer
  9. First leaked image of the new Samyang AF 75mm f/1.8 X lens
  10. CP+ Images: Fujinon GF30mmF5.6 Tilt Shift and GF/XF Roadmap Lenses, Tamron 11-20mmF2.8, Voigtländer 35mmF0.9 and 27mmF2

Fujifilm RAW File Converter EX 3.0 Software Update

RAW FILE CONVERTER EX 3.0 powered by SILKYPIX

Windows Version: 8.1.12.1Last Updated: 03.02.2023
Mac Version: 8.1.12.1Last Updated: 03.02.2023

Detail of the software update

Ver.8.1.12.1 – download here
The software update Ver.8.1.12.1 incorporates the following issue:

The software bug has been fixed, which caused that the color adjustment with “Color temperature” for “White balance’ did not work well with some Raw data taken by the following models.

  • FUJIFILM X-H2S
  • FUJIFILM X-H2
  • FUJIFILM X-T5

5th Generation Gear

Samyang AF 75mm f/1.8 X Series Cameras Compatibility List (Not for All X Cameras)

Samyang has announced the lovely and compact Samyang AF 75mm f/1.8 X earlier today

But attention: while it is an X mount autofocus lens, it won’t work with all X series cameras.

Samyang says it is will work with X-Trans cameras, but not with Fuji’s Bayer cameras (X-T***, X-A*, X-A** lines).

But that’s not entirely correct, as not all X-Trans cameras are actually compatible. In fact, the X-Trans Fujifilm X-M1 is also not on the list of compatible cameras.

Maybe it would be more correct to say: all the cameras not made by Fujifilm (hence the ones outsourced to the Xacti Corporation), will not worked with the new Samyang.

Coming Soon

Full List of Supported Fujifilm Cameras

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CP+ Images: Fujinon GF30mmF5.6 Tilt Shift and GF/XF Roadmap Lenses, Tamron 11-20mmF2.8, Voigtländer 35mmF0.9 and 27mmF2

Fujifilm Digesting 2022

CP+ started today.

Fujifilm has not announced anything, but I guess we still have to digest all the stuff they launched last year, which was:

It’s fair to give Fujifilm a little break, given how busy they were in 2022.

Fujifilm 2023 Teasers

GFX SYSTEM

What Fujifilm did for CP+, is to tease upcoming products for 2023.

They showcase a mock-up of the upcoming Fujinon GF30mm f/5.6 Tilt Shift lens, but not of the Fujinon GF110mmF5.6 Tilt Shift, which, according to the statements Fujifilm managers did during the September X summit, should also come in 2023.

They also show a silhouette of the Fujinon GF55mm f/1.7, which personally is the lens I am looking forward the most. We already shared hands-on images of the GF55mmF1.7 here.

X SYSTEM

For the X system, we get a silhouette of the Fujinon XF8mmF3.5.

The Fujinon XF8mmF3.5 became part of the Fujifilm X mount roadmap and during the X summit in May 2022.

Fujifilm did share technical sketches of the lens in May already, and we used them to compare the size of the Fujinon XF8mmF3.5 to other wide angle lenses such as the Fujinon XF14mmF2.8, the Zeiss Touit 12mmF2.8 and the Laowa 9mm f/2.8 (but the Laowa has no autofocus.

Third Party Lenses

But if Fujifilm did not launch anything at CP+, to make the beginning of 2023 interesting for Fujifilm shooters are third party lens manufacturers.

We have the lovely Tamron 11-20mm f/2.8, a couple of new Voigtländer lenses, the Samyang 75mm f/1.8 as well as Sigma 23mm f/1.4 coming soon and even a couple of new AF Yongnuo lenses.

Some of those lenses are at display at the CP+ in Japan right now and you can find the images below in this article.

I will share all images in this article and below you can find the link to the sources.

& More

Not only autofocus lenses. Also the recently announced Tokina SZ 300mm PRO Reflex F7.1 MF CF is displayed at CP+,.

Gallery

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Fujifilm X-H2 Will Also Get Frame.io Camera to Cloud Integration with New Firmware in Spring 2023

Fujifilm has announced that it will add native Adobe Frame.io also to the Fujifilm X-H2 (in addition to the already announced support for the Fujifilm X-H2S).

Both cameras will get a firmware update in Spring 2023.

In order to work, you’ll need to have the Fujifilm FT-XH File Transmitter grip.

Previous Coverage

Press Release

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When my Old XF23mmF1.4 Beat Sony Full Frame and other Wonderful Moments (but now Welcome my New XF23mmF1.4 R LM WR)

It’s Here

It’s never easy to let go gear you used and loved a lot. Gear like my good old Fujinon XF23mm f/1.4 R for example.

But now the time has come.

I’ve just received the new Fujinon XF23mm f/1.4 R LM WR and I’ve explained the reason why I bought it here already.

The Magic of Making Money by Buying Gear ;)

I bought the lens at Amazon IT here, as they had a better price than my local store and are also qualified for the Fujifilm cashback.

Convincing my wife of this investment went like this:

  1. I don’t need to pay for the lens, because I am paying it with the money I made from the X-T4 sale
  2. there is a sweet deal on the new XF23mmF1.4
  3. by buying the new XF23mmF1.4 I can get rid of the old XF23mm and make even more money
  4. I’ve booked a table for 2 for dinner at a fancy restaurant tomorrow. Yes, only for 2! It will be our first dinner without our son after 2+ years. Grandma is informed, she will watch after our son

This tells us one thing: photography is definitely an expensive hobby when you build up your system, but it gets much cheaper once you can fund new gear by selling old one.

Remember the Good

But I don’t let go my good old Fujinon XF23mm f/1.4 with a light heart, as I had many great moments with it. Let me name a few “episodes”.

Beating Sony ;)

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Fujifilm X-T4 ES Extended Spectrum Infrared Camera Removed and “Discontinued”

Just yesterday we reported how B&H Photo was listing the Fujifilm X-T4 ES extended spectrum infrared camera on their website with expected shipping in 2-4 weeks (see article here).

But apparently something went wrong at B&H, as some fellow X shooters have sent me the following notice of BHphoto:

You are receiving this message because you asked to be notified when this item becomes available. We regret to inform you that this item has unfortunately been discontinued. Please check back on our website for similar or possible replacement items. We apologize for this inconvenience and appreciate your understanding.

Given that Fujifilm has already launched IR versions of their X-T cameras (the Fujifilm X-T1 IR), an infrared X-T4 version would definitely be a plausible option.

So either the Fujifilm X-T4 ES infrared camera is indeed coming soon and B&H just put the page up a bit too early, or it is not coming at all and B&H just made an error.

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