Is the Fujifilm GFX100R Really Under Development? Our Sources Reveal the Truth!
GFX100R under Development?
Recently Fujifilm hosted an event for 200 journalists in Yokohama during CP+.
It’s the famous event in which Fujifilm displayed 10 X mount lenses under study.
The French website LesNumerique was present at the event and reported that they had been told that the Fujifilm GFX50R successor is currently “under development”.
Add to that that “rumors” about the imminent arrival of the Fujifilm GFX100R are popping up ahead of every X summit of the last 2 years, and it’s understandable why many have high hopes for a GFX50R replacement to come soon.
But what have our sources to say about it?
Well, here it is:
Whoever told LesNumerique that the GFX50R successor is under development was 100% wrong. And whoever shared any GFX50R successor rumor ever was willingly misleading you with fake clickbait rumors.
Phew, luckily FujiRumors never shared a single GFX50R replacement rumor ;).
The truth is this: according to our trusted sources (multiple trusted sources), Fujifilm is currently investing the staggering amount of zero dollars/euro/yen/whatever into the development of the Fujifilm GFX50R successor.
FujiRumors Must be Wrong, because…
I know what many of you must be thinking right now: FujiRumors must be wrong!
I mean, those guys where actually at a Fuji event chatting with lots of Fuji people. They are reputable journalists and they must certainly know more than a guy who hardly ever leaves his minuscule village in the Italian Alps.
But here is the thing: LesNumerique wrote that the information was coming from “several people we were able to talk to or who spoke on stage“.
And that’s exactly the problem!
Who are these “people”? Fujifilm managers? Regional Fujifilm representatives? Some guys that are somehow connected and affiliated to Fujifilm? People who make sponsored cooperations or paid stage talks for Fujifilm?
This distinction is crucial to establish, as the statement of a high-ranking Fujifilm executive carries more weight than that of a regional employee or someone engaged in a cooperative arrangement with Fujifilm.
Furthermore, these remarks were made in the rather chaotic context of a big busy room with 200 journalists and lots of people chatting with each other, rather than within a more formal setting such as an interview.
And you know what happens in these occasions: information circulates from one person to another, where someone heard from somebody else that a certain individual was informed by someone that Fujifilm is in the process of developing certain products.
So this it’s not the most reliable context to consider any information reported under such circumstances as unequivocally solid. And in fact, LesNumerique was told wrong information.
This means, take simply everything that LesNumerique told us in that article with a grain of salt: the most “solid” info they gave us already turned out to be wrong. So don’t take any of the rest all too seriously too.
What’s Really Going on with GFX50R Successor
The most optimistic thing I can tell you about the Fujifilm GFX50R successor is what I already said back in December: given the reports we got so far from Fujifilm Japan managers, we can assume that there is a debate inside Fujifilm whether to continue this line (as this Japanese manager would like) or not (as another Japanese manager hinted).
So, the next GFX-R is not in development at all. But it is maybe debated inside Fujifilm if the line should continue or not.
Personally I hope it will continue and axing the line would be one of Fuji’s biggest mistakes.