Fujifilm X Photographer Shares Fujinon XF 33mm f/1.0 Image on Instagram. Beta Testing Started?

Fujinon XF 33mm f/1.0

Russian wedding photographer and official Fujifilm X photographer Alexey Malyshev (instagram – fujifilm profile) just shared this instagram story, where he publicy asks people to guess which lens is mounted on his Fujifilm X-T3 (or maybe X-T2).

He gave us a hint: it’s not for sale yet.

Easy, this is definitely the Fujifilm Fujinon XF 33mm f/1.0 R WR lens, which is scheduled for 2020 release.

I am not sure, but Alexey posts could indicate that the beta testing program just started, but it could also be just a dummy*. In any case I will follow his instagram now, and in case I see images with razor thing DOF, I will let you know ;).

*UPDATE: Jonas Rask said in the comments to this post it is just a dummy, since it does not mount properly

Would be great if any Russian FR-reader could entirely translate what Alexey wrote in his instagram story [UPDATE: translation came in, thanks. Read below].

“Who can guess what lens it is? If lens will be guessed, I gonna show some new super gun. Hint: It’s not even for sale yet.“

Here on FujiRumors we have discussed the Fujinon XF33mm f/1.0 R WR extensively, for example:

  • read here: Czech store lists Fujifilm Fujinon XF33mm f/1.0 for $3,100
  • read here: Fujinon XF33mm F1.0 R WR: Clutch Focus? Price? AF-speed? and More – Multiple POLLS
  • read here: Fujifilm X-H1 with XF 33mm f/1.0 vs Panasonic S1 with Lumix S PRO 50mm f/1.4 size comparison
  • read here: Fuji Guy Billy explains the Fujinon XF 33mm f/1.0 development challenge
  • read here: Fujinon XF 33mm F1.0 vs XF 35mm F1.4 vs XF 35mm F2 size comparison
  • read here: Is the Fujinon XF 33mmF1.0 too Big? POLL
  • read here: Side by side – Fujinon XF33mm F1.0 vs Fujinon XF16-80mm F4 vs Fujinon XF16mmF2.8
  • read here: tell us why we should buy the Fujinon XF 33mmf1.0

That lens can’t come soon enough!!!

stay tuned on FujiRumors… hot rumors are coming soon ;)

Follow FujiRumors on Facebook, Instagram, RSS-feed and Twitter

Our Owners Groups

Our Facebook Pages

Fujifilm Manager: “Full Frame? Users Want Choice, and We Chose APS-C and MF. Smaller IBIS Needed”

Fujifilm Manager Interview

Just yesterday DPReview published their Fujifilm CP+ interview, with lots of interesting topics to discuss. Make sure to check it out here (including the hundreds of comments).

Now the Thai youtube channel กล้องกล้วยกล้วย interviewed Fujifilm manager Mr. Makoto Oishi.

It’s a 49 minutes interview in Thai and constantly translated into English. Too cumbersome and no time? Don’t worry, it’s all summed up down below for you :)

** CLICK HERE to Read the Rest of the Article **

Fujifilm Managers Q&A: Canon is Wrong, Full Frame only 1/3 of Market, X-T3 sold 40% Better than X-T2, Fast Lenses for GFX and More

Fujifilm Managers Interview

Just yesterday we shared a CP+ interview with Fujifilm managers here. Today it’s already time for another one, this time with Toshihisa Iida (the manager who said Fujifilm will never go full frame) and Makoto Oishi.

It’s again an interesting one, that also becomes very technical when it comes to analyzing the autofocus system and lets imaging-resource conclude that Fujifilm’s PDAF technology is arguably the most advanced on the market.

Down below you can find the key points and some images of the interview. The complete one can be checked out at imaging-resource here.

Market Future & Canon Predictions

  • Fujifilm totally disagrees with Canon’s prediction, that ILC business is going to contract by half over the next two years
  • Market will depend on innovation that will come
  • Fujifilm believes there is room for further grow
  • Some markets will decline, but other markets have still potential to grow (Asian market)

Full Frame

  • Customers should have different options
  • Currently full frame has 1/3 of the market by value
  • 2/3 of market is predominantly APS-C, Micro Four Thirds, and some medium-format
  • other manufacturers focus on full frame, this might open opportunities for Fujifilm as long as they keep up innovating APS-C and MF
  • mainly X-T3 and GFX 50R helped Fujifilm to grow by 10% total volume growth
  • APS-C vs FF is not just about sensor size, but also the lens size, lens weight, overall cost, or the speed, the 4K movies
  • people judge the system more on the overall package

Fujifilm X-T3 vs X-H line

  • sold better than expected
  • Fujifilm X-T3 sold 40% better than X-T2 if you compare to same period since launch
  • X-T3 and X-H1 have cannibalized each other
  • with the new lower X-H1 price tag, X-T3 and X-H1 sit nicely next to each other
  • H-series and T-series will coexist for the future, but we need to clearly differentiate the lineup without confusing customers

Lenses

  • XF200mmF2 is not only for sports, but also for portraits for very creamy bokeh and concerts for example

GFX System

  • Fujifilm GFX 50R sales are above expectation and factory is very busy
  • Fujifilm GFX 100 design is almost final, very early firmware, and IBIS still does not work
  • GFX 100 megapixel autofocus: same sensor structure as the X-T3
  • GFX 100 has almost zero competition, because FF is only at 50MP and other medium format cameras are very expensive
  • Fujifilm thinks at multi-shot high-res shooting mode for GFX100, but has not decided yet
  • designing IBIS is a real challenge for big MF sensor
  • Fujifilm has no idea about how many stops IBIS they will achieve [FujiRumors leaked internal press sheets that show they aim at 5 stops]
  • Fujifilm is still improving image quality via firmware
  • GFX100 launch in first half 2019 for around $10,000
  • Fujifilm GFX 50S most popular lens is the GF 32-64mmF4
  • Fujifilm GFX 50R most popular lens is the GF 45mmF2.8
  • GFX 50S owners have more lenses than GFX 50R owners
  • GFX owners complaint about the lack of more fast lenses for the system and Fujifilm is taking into consideration their feedback
  • Fujifilm listens to customers and tries to make their wishes happen, but sometimes their wishes become reality is very difficult and challenging
  • As bright as possible, as small as possible, as affordable as possible…
  • same team works on GFX and X. One R&D budget and depending on needs they are flexible to shift their focus

Autofocus

  • X-T30 has improved algorithm which will come to X-T3
  • CMOS sensor is always reading by lines. So it isn’t very suitable for horizontal phase-difference […] technically we can make a cross-type system but normally, subjects are more… and horizontally-arranged PDAF pixels support them better
  • Fujifilm could do vertical AF correlation, but hasn’t felt the need to do it
  • 8% of pixels are phase detection pixels (high density), good for low-light and high-frequency subjects
  • signal and phase pixel are read separately
  • we used to have like 60 regions within each AF point, but now 240
  • depending on the light level, the X-T3 can “bin” PDAF pixels together (basically just adding their contents) to get a better signal/noise ratio, and so be able to determine focus even in very dim lighting. Depending on how you do this, you’ll trade-off some ability to see the finest details, but it can really help in very low-light conditions

DON’T FORGET TO FOLLOW and JOIN:

Fujifilm Managers Interview: IBIS in Smaller X-T Body is Necessary, XF Video Lenses, Why No Full Frame, XF 33mm f/1.0 and More

Fujifilm Managers Interview

The French site Phototrend interviewed Fujifilm Managers Shinichiro Udono, Jun Watanabe and Takuya Noguchi at CP+ in Japan. Here are the key points of the interview. For the full interview check out phototrend (google translated).

Hybrid Market

  • hybrid market had already reached 48% of annual sales (in value)
  • in the second half of 2019, the hybrid market has already exceeded the 50% mark
  • the managers think in 2020 year it we will be around 55 or 60%
  • Fujifilm launched first hybrid in 2012
  • now Fuji has already has 31 XF lenses + 10 GF lenses (roadmap lenses included), so the Fuji system is well established in relation to new entrants, both in terms of lenses and a very wide range of products

Why many lenses close or same in focal length (for example XF35mmF1.4, XF35mmF2 and XF33mmF1.0)

  • we want to offer different options to photographers, not only in terms of focal length, but also according to the shooting style. That’s why we have many fixed focal lengths with different focal lengths and apertures. It’s our concept

XF Cine Lenses

  • when Fuji launched X-Pro1 seven years ago, focus was on still images, hence lenses for stills
  • Fujinon XF 16-55mm f/2.8 R LM WR and Fujinon XF 50-140mm f/2.8 R LM OIS WR zoom lenses are very good lenses for video
  • maybe in the future Fujifilm will offer XF zoom and prime lenses with a mechanism optimized for video shooting
  • The current Fujinon MKX lenses cover alreary most of the needs of professional videographers
  • Fujifilm thinks of making XF lenses with better video performance, and not more MK lenses

Fujifilm X-H2, IBIS in Fujifilm X-T3

  • with the XH series, Fujifilm targets professional users, while with the XT series they focus on enthusiasts
  • IBIS: Fuji does not want to compromise on image quality so they need a bigger package for now to get excellent image quality and image stabilization
  • IBIS is currently not possible in cameras of size of Fujifilm X-T3
  • But in the future, Fujifilm believes that it is necessary to offer IBIS technology on more compact cameras (X-T line).
  • Fuji X-H1 size is not only due to IBIS, but because Fujifilm wanted to create larger body with better grip and ergonomics for Pros. Even without IBIS, the X-H1 would have the same size/style

Full Frame Fujifilm?

  • we do not really know what’s in our customers’ heads (laughs). But in our case, we also have the GFX medium format camera system
  • we believe that the combination of medium format and APS-C is the best option
  • Canon, Nikon or Sony offer great full format products
  • Fujifilm had an internal discussion on the sensor format they had to use
  • they did a lot of simulations with engineers. They decided not to go FF, because APS-C allows for a smaller system, also lenses are smaller and lighter
  • Fujifilm is a photography company and they really want customers to take more photos. If the camera is bigger and heavier, they will not necessarily want to take it all the time with them and we do not want that
  • we want our customers to take their camera everyday and enjoy photography. This is the concept of our APS-C system
  • but Fujifilm knows that some customers want a system with a higher resolution and a larger sensor. For them, we have a system with a larger sensor than the full format and it’s the GFX

Fujifilm X-T30

  • Fuji does not intend to stop X-T20 production. The X-T20 will be sold cheaper than the X-T30

Fujinon XF33mm f/1.0

  • the goal is to deliver a lens with the most beautiful bokeh effect
  • at f/1.0, the manual focus is very difficult and that’s why we made this lens with autofocus
  • we already had this idea in mind, but we needed the technology to integrate an autofocus system on such a bright lens

Fujifilm GFX 100 Megapixel and GFX50R

  • the GFX100 will have much faster autofocus than current GFX50S and GFX50R
  • it will have IBIS
  • Our development team is working very hard on IBIS, because the sensor is much larger and it is very difficult to control the movements of the sensor
  • 4K 30p without cropping
  • GFX100 target are professional photographers, especially in the world of fashion, advertising and portraiture. But since this camera is faster, we may be able to extend the audience
  • Fujifilm GFX 50R sales are bigger than expected. Many advanced amateur photographers are buying the GFX 50r, especially for landscape or street photography

Modular GFX (Report & Images & Videos Here)

  • The modular GFX body was of course only an idea, there was no technical research on how we could achieve this result
  • For the moment, we have no plan to develop a modular GFX. But once we have the right technology to produce this type of device, maybe we will consider that option
  • Fujifilm was surprised by the huge reaction there was about the modular GFX. Some customer misunderstood, and thought it’s an actual prototype and future product

Kaizen Firmware

  • software technologies evolve on a daily basis, and new features are developed
  • we are always looking for the benefit for the consumer, it’s our way of thinking
  • when a new feature is developed for latest sensor/processor, it is very hard to bring it to cameras with older sensor/processor. It requires much more complex work. It’s not impossible, but it depends on situatuin and development resources

Market Trend

  • SLR market, each year this market will shrink, by 10 to 20%
  • Fujifilm is in the hybrid market for 6 to 7 years, it’s a good thing more manufacturers are coming up with more products because it creates a strong message for the hybrid with customers

A few product images from the interview below.

 

Czech Store Lists Fujifilm Fujinon XF33mm f/1.0 for $3,100 and XF16-80mm f/4 for $1,100

Fujinon Roadmap Lenses

The Czech store Oehling has already added to their database the Fujinon XF33mm f/1.0 and the XF 16-80mm f/4.

It is not unusual that stores add upcoming lenses into their database. For example, the Dutch store Cameranu has both lenses listed since August 2018, hence just 1 month after Fujifilm added them to the official roadmap.

But where Cameranu just says “price not known yet”, the Czech store Oehling hazards a guess on the price:

  • Fujinon XF33mm f/1.0 = $3,100 (converted from czech crown)
  • Fujinon XF16-80mm f/4 = $1,100 (converted from czech crown)

But before you freak out and panic, I must tell you that, when stores don’t know the final price but want to place an item up already for people to see and get interest, they can add a random pricing to them.

We have covered such “price-holders” in the past here on FujiRumors, such as the Fujifilm X-M1 for $9,999. Although in today’s case it does look more like a “guessed” price than a completely random one, since both lenses have a very different price tag.

So let’s hope this Czech store will keep up making terribly wrong guesses, like they did with the brand new Fujinon XF16mm f/2.8, which in their not yet updated product page has a price tag of $887 (19,990 czech crown), when in truth it costs $399.

For us, this is a welcome opportunity to discuss if $3,000 would be an acceptable price tag for a radical fast autofocus lens like the Fujinon XF33mm f/1.0 and at which point you would call the price a deal breaker.

JOIN US for Breaking News and Rumors on…

Check the Oehling store here for the 33/1 and here for the 16-80 and here for the 16/2.8

** CLICK HERE to Read the Rest of the Article **