Fujifilm Manager Talks Full Frame Market Shift (and Why Fuji Sticks with APS-C), WR Versions of Older Lenses, Market Situation & More

As we reported here, Toshihisa Iida has just been promoted to new President and Managing Director at Fujifilm Europe.

He is also the guy who said in the past that Fujifilm will NEVER go Full Frame.

Now he gave an interview to the amateurphotographer. Here are some excerpts:

COVID-19 affects on Fujifilm

  • Before the pandemic struck, there were more than 8,000 professional photography businesses operating in the UK alone
  • global demand for digital cameras has dropped by 40% since the start of April 2020 according to CIPA, but thanks to the performance of products like the X-T4 and X100V, Fujifilm is performing significantly better than that
  • Fujifilm also worked hard to supply medical imaging technologies to those on the front line, as well as working to realize the manufacture of COVID-19 vaccines and therapies at scale with pharmaceutical partners

Biggest Industry Future Challenges for Fuji: the drift towards full frame or the rise of smartphones?

  • biggest challenge is to ensure to keep innovating in R&D
  • Finding a real consumer demand’ is a key
  • provide a better experience of taking photos and videos
  • Customers don’t buy a sensor, but an experience
  • Fujifilm is not a company to simply follow the same path as others
  • Consumers demand more and are no longer wanting to invest in a product; they want a service and an experience.

The Market Differences over the Globe

  • X-T4, X-T3 and X-T30 are all popular around the world, and the X100V has been the bestselling high-end compact globally.
  • GFX is almost evenly split except in the Chinese market [admin note: I have been told the GFX100 sells extraordinary well in China]
  • piqued popularly of the X-A series in some Asian countries
  • Globally, instax is one of Fujifilm’s biggest consumer success stories

And Full Frame?

  • in the last two years the market shifted strongly towards full frame
  • for Fujifilm, APS-C is the best-balanced system
  • APS-C is the best answer for those downsizing due to the smaller, lighter lenses, as well as the camera body
  • GFX provides the best image quality without requiring a high level of investment.

Fujifilm X-S10

  • It was demand coming from customers used to DSLR cameras and from those who prefer to have more usability for video shooting
  • very rich features such as IBIS, 4K30p video with long recording time – but with a small weight of just 465g
  • X-S10 offers a very smooth transition for DSLR customers to enjoy the latest mirrorless technologies with the advantage of a smaller, handy size.

Weather Resistant Versions of older lenses?

  • WR versions of older lenses requires to completely re-design the inside structure, hence in some cases needs R&D from scratch

Should Fujifilm work closer with Sigma and Tamron?

  • I cannot be specific about our working relationships with other companies but we have received and understand our customers’ request.

You can read the full interview at amateurphotographer.

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Fringer EX-FX (Pro) II Smart Autofocus Adapter Firmware 1.90 Released

Fringer has released firmware 1.80 for the Fringer EF-FX Pro II and Fringer EF-FX II smart autofocus adapters.

Fringer EX-FX (Pro) II – Version 1.90

  1. Added following lenses to the tested and optimized lens list:
    – EF 400mm f/2.8L IS II USM
    – EF 400mm f/2.8L IS II USM + 1.4X
    – EF 400mm f/2.8L IS II USM + 2X
    – EF 70-210/3.5-4.5 USM
  2. Fixed PDAF issues for some lens of the following models: Lens didn’t get recognized by the adapter due to different lens firmware version.
    – Sigma 24-105/4 ART
  3. Fixed a compatibility issue with X-T3 firmware 4.0: under certain circumstances, contrast AF may fail. This issue may also affect other cameras like X-T4 and X-S10.
  4. Fixed camera freeze issue on cameras equipped with X-Trans IV CMOS. When
    – In bright environment,
    – Adapting telephoto, ultra-fast or macro lenses,
    – Aperture is NOT wide open,
    – Subject is far away from current focus point and is so blur that phase detection doesn’t work,

Auto focus may fail. Sometimes, especially when using AF-ON button or touch screen to AF, it may freeze the camera. Even the power switch doesn’t work. This problem has been fixed. Affected cameras include X-T3 (firmware 2.0 or later), X-T30, X-T4, X-Pro3, X-S10.

As the bug fixes are important, upgrading is highly suggested.

Please visit the Fringer website here to download the new firmware and its release notes. Follow the instructions in the release notes to upgrade your adapter.

Top 10 October Posts: New Fujifilm GFX100 Rumors, New Firmware, Fujifilm X-E4 Rumors, X-S10 Attack on SONY, New Roadmap & More

Phew… that was a buy month!

Alone in October, here on FujiRumors we published 101 articles. That’s probably more articles than the hours of sleep I had the entire month!

But I hope all this mega-effort was worth it and you had a fun time reading FujiRumors.

What kept me so busy?

Well, surely the huge buzz around the big announcements, which culminated in the Fujifilm X summit and the official announcement of the Fujifilm X-S10, the XF10-24mmF4 MK II, the new X mount roadmap and the X-T3 firmware.

It was so busy, that making a Top 10 list is kind of limiting.

In fact, many in the top 10 were rumors about the Fujifilm X-S10. Hence, in order to avoid the X-S10 dominance in the list, and give space also to other relevant and interesting news, I will sum X-S10 rumors into one point.

So, here are the top 10 posts for October.

  1. Fujifilm X-S10 rumors (several posts with the top 3 being the leaked images, the layout explanation and the press release)
  2. New Firmware for Fujifilm X-T3 and X-H1 Released
  3. RUMOR: New Fujifilm X Lens Roadmap Coming Soon
  4. Next Fujinon X Mount Roadmap to Include Fujinon XF 18mmF1.4 WR
  5. Fujifilm X-E4 Coming in First Quarter 2021
  6. Fujifilm X-S10: Attack on SONY (& Co), Why it is NOT an X-T40/X-H10
  7. Fujifilm Digital Camera Range: Making Sense of the Line-Up, What Should be Dropped, What Should Stay… and Where is the X-H Line?
  8. Next Fujifilm GFX with 102 Megapixel (not Monochrome) and Much Smaller than Fujifilm GFX100
  9. IBIS COMPARISON: Fujifilm X-S10 vs X-H1 vs X-T4 – Smarter Wiring, 30% Smaller Side by Side with Older IBIS Units
  10. New Fujifilm Camera FF200003 Registered: Fujifilm X-E4, New Fujifilm GFX or Surprise Camera X-T40 or X80?

Bonus Posts You Should not Have missed:

  1. Fujinon XF70-300mmF4-5.6 vs XF55-200mmF3.5-4.8 vs XF100-400mmF4.5-5.6 vs XC50-230mmF4.5-6.7
  2. SIZE COMPARISON: Fujinon XF18mmF1.4 vs XF16mmF1.4 vs XF23mmF1.4
  3. Fujinon XF Wildlife Photography Lenses Needed, Base ISO 100, Firmware Wishes and More
  4. Good Bye, X-T1: I Sold my Fujifilm X-T1 Today – About Love for Dials and the Story Behind my Favorite X-T1 Image
  5. The X-Pan Rebirth of Fujifilm X-Pro1

Stay tuned for more fun coming in November ;).

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Laowa 15mm f/4.5 Zero-D Shift Lens Announced – Works on Fujiflm GFX with ± 8mm Shift

As we reported already back in back in March here that Laowa will launch a new Laowa 15mm f/4.5 Zero-D shift lens.

Now the lens has been officially announced. It works also on Fujfilm GFX with the ability to shift ± 8mm with no vignetting. Keep in mind you’ll need an adapter to make it work on the GFX.

You can access the official product page here, where you can check price, specs see sample images and more.

Some key features:

  • World’s widest shift lens
  • ±11mm shift amount (± 8mm on Fujifilm GFX with no vignetting as you can see from samples on official product page)
  • Large image circle
  • Zero-Distortion
  • High Image Quality
  • Extremely close focusing distance
  • 10-pin sunstars

Pre-order options:

  • Laowa 15mm f/4.5 Zero-D Shift:
    – Venus Optics (available for pre-order with fastest shipping)
    – BHphoto (coming soon)
    – AmazonUS (coming soon)
    – Adorama (coming soon)

Down below a few more details:

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Fujifilm Digital Camera Range: Making Sense of the Line-Up, What Should be Dropped, What Should Stay… and Where is the X-H Line?

Fujifilm shared this Pyramid explaining their Current Camera Line-up
Fujifilm shared this Pyramid explaining their Current Camera Line-up

I already said it in my X-S10, Attack on Sony article: the Fujifilm X-S10 makes a whole lot of sense.

And yet, I do understand one of the critiques made to Fujifilm: their line-up is huge and potentially confusing.

There are indeed some lines, that in some occasions do not not differentiated themselves enough from each other.

But this is an issue Fujifilm realized and I feel that they are taking care of it, for example:

  • the Fujifilm X-Pro3 is a unique machine, with a concept, so far nowhere to find
  • Fujifilm is aware that the the Fujifilm X-H2 must differentiate stronger from the X-T* line in order to continue to evolve separately

Fujifilm understands the problem and is finding ways to separate the lines better.

And yet… there are some lines that should be dropped, in my opinion.

Let’s take a look it at, by using an official Fujifilm media sheet that has been sent to me, which shows a pyramid with all Fujifilm X series cameras listed and ordered by Fujifilm itself.

The Red Zone

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