I’ll share the deals listed by categaroy below, but make your own research too, as you might stumble on specific deals that might interest you, such as:
If you haven’t yet, please make sure to check it out that before continuing to read this article.
Anyway, I did get a reply via email from an anonymous reader, that I’d like to address in this article, because:
A) I can’t reply to that guy, since he contacted me anonymously
B) it’s a critique I sometimes read around and I think needs to be addressed once for all
Well, here is the core excerpt of this email:
Now when I am reading in your blog that colors from a brand X camera have anything special to it, some kind of “heritage” … it tells me you are hell bent on selling things. […] “Color profiles”, “film simulations” and all other methods, in or out of camera, are only adjustments to the source file. […] There is no such a thing like a “Fuji color heritage”. And by using marketing lingo you are loosing some long term readers.
The FujiRumors Critique
First things first: a critique towards FujiRumors is never a problem. You have all the right to say and think about my work whatever you want.
But just so you know: this blog is run by a guy with zero connections to Fujifilm. Fujifilm does not pay me, does not send me free gear, does not invite me to events, does not request specific articles, does not give me early access to new products, does not offer me discounts, does not send me ever any press material and does not lend me equipment.
I will admit though that I once got an X-T30II “little giant” T-shirt for free. But that was while I was anonymously attending an X-T30II event at a store, and every person there got that T-shirt.
The truth is: if this blog is still running, then it is only because of the support of the community, of you, who read this blog.
I have gained this freedom thanks to you… and I cherish and honor it by trying to give you the best I can.
The Color Critique – Disrespectful
But now back to the color critique to Fujifilm.
It’s a critique that I think is highly disrespectful towards Fujifilm.
Why?
First of all it is disrespectful towards Minami-San, a person working for Fujifilm, who has literally dedicated his life to the art of colors, first on film, then on digital – we reported about Minami-San here.
I wish those who dismiss Fujifilm colors as ‘just profiles‘ could spend a single evening with Minami-San. After three or four hours of listening to a man with such deep wisdom speak about his life’s work, they would leave stunned. They’d realize just how much profound thought and artistry truly goes into the art of creating colors. Perhaps they’d even feel a touch of humility, realizing that their skepticism was based on merely a lack knowledge about the art of colors.
If you want to get a little “taste” of Minami-San, read this article and check out the video below.
And then it’s also disrespectful towards Fujifilm in general, who puts lots of effort into creating the best possible colors.
I know…. in the era of the internet, the opinion of a person, who has quietly devoted half a century of his life into perfecting the art of colors, means nothing. If it’s not packed into a provocative, attention-seeking and controversial 10 seconds viral video, it’s destined to remain invisible and forgotten.
Hence, I am well aware that if someone is determined to dismiss Fujifilm’s work as ‘cheap profiles’ without maybe ever even picking up a Fujifilm camera, they likely won’t change their mind.
The only real cure for that cynicism would be a seat across from Minami-san—and to leave that meeting with the quiet, humbling realization of just how little they actually know about the soul of color.
So, while I am disillusioned about the fact that anyone will change its mind, I also don’t want the legacy of Minami-San and in general of Fujifilm color history to be forgotten and discredited by the noise of the internet. And this is why I share this article and Minami-San’s story again with you.
Thanks to the X-E5, now the Fujifilm X-Pro4 has to the freedom to experiment and come up with something truly special. But in this freedom there are also lots of choices to be done. And I think it’s these choices that slowed down the release of the Fujifilm X-Pro4.
One choice Fujifilm obviously already did was to wait for the new sensor and processor, which is why we never got a 5th gen X-Pro4.
Then there are open questions on certain design choices.
What about implementing the GFX100RF aspect ratio dial or even the super-sleek hidden X-E5 dial, maybe with other functions than on GFX100RF and X-E5?
You know, designing and X-T6, X-H3 or X100VI is pretty straightforward. in terms of camera body, there are not really many relevant choices to make.
But things are different with the X-Pro4. The Fujifilm design team can go much more creative, and I’d argue at this point, with this X-E5 on the market, they also have to. And all these choices, these decisions, need time.
And to be clear: if the X-Pro4 comes shortly after the X-T6, then all these decisions have already been made. But if it takes a bit longer, then Fujifilm might have still some freedom to make certain choices. And in any case, all of this explains why it is taking so long.
So yes, we have to be patient.
But the time Fujifilm is taking shows us that they are thinking it through like never before.
And I believe that the day the X-Pro4 drops, it will truly be something special and it will an iconic camera for many years to come.