I love particularly one category this time: “best Polaroid camera”, won by…. the Polaroid I-2. Must have been very though for Polaroid to win that one!
At the last CP+, the French Website Phototrend had the opportunity to talk to Japanese Fujifilm manager Jun Watanabe about the X series and to Japanese Fujifilm manager Makoto Oishi about the GFX series.
Down below you can find a quick summary. For the full French version check out the articles at Phototrend here (X series) and here (GFX series). Plus a little rant at the end.
X series
Fujifilm can not confirm if X-Pro4 will arrive soon or not
X-Pro line is not stopped
X-T and X100 series do not satisfy all customers who want a “pure photography” experience
Fujifilm is studying different possibilities
feedback and expectations are high for the next X-Pro
X-E line is not stopped
sports photography is a difficult market
other brands are long established there and for Fujifilm it’s new terrain
Fujifilm can not confirm anything about eventual future lenses for sport photographers
Fujifilm has received great feedback about the latest autofocus system, but they will continue to improve
renewing older lenses is something that Fujifilm has in mind
XF16-50mmF2.8-4.8 [admin note: will replace the XF18-55mmF2.4.8]
Fujifilm is not considering any option other than X-Trans for their APS-C cameras
its unique matrix offers the advantage of combining high definition and suppression of moiré and chromatic aberrations
for X100VI, Fujifilm has developed the smallest and thinnest IBIS unit to date
the X100VI IBIS wiring has been moved to the side – see here
IBIS system uses data from the image in addition to the gyroscope (motion blur is analyzed from the live-view image)
the grip of the X100VI is a tenth of a millimeter deeper than X100V for a better grip
GFX series
GFX100II market return (sales) is very good, not only among professional photographers, but also filmmakers and directors
GFX100II sales exceed Fujifilm’s expectations
GFX100S is still very popular because Fujifilm has lowered its price
GFX100S still very popular in some markets like China
professionals go for GFX100II, enthusiasts for GFX100S
Fujifilm never looked at its market share in medium format segment
other manufacturers have no announced so many new products, so Fujifilm thinks they are Nr.1
some expect a faster 50MP GFX. But Fujifilm thinks high definition is more popular
there are lots of FF cameras offering 50/60 megapixel, so offering 50MP now has become almost banal
Fujifilm focuses on improving the 100MP sensor performance
for professionals ergonomics are very important
first GFX cameras had dedicated dials but now they switched to a easier to operate PSAM dial layout
normally APS-C lenses are compact than FF and MF (hence also smaller AF motors)
but regarding telephoto lenses, size primarily depends on diameter and aperture. Regardless of whether it’s for APS-C, FF or MF, the fundamental construction of telephoto lenses, particularly on the front lens side, is the same
Fujifilm tries to make the GF500mm as small and light as possible to obtain faster autofocus
tilt-shift lenses are the most difficult to design
why not retro? High end high speed cameras need to be operated quickly, hence PSAM. Also good for hybrid shooters for video
Let me just say that I strongly, vehemently, vigorously and fervidly disagree with Fujifilm in regards to what they said why they stick with PSAM on their GFX lineup.
First: the GFX system is not know to be blazing fast and immensely popular among high end sports photographers. I actually feel the GFX system would be the ideal system to use a retro layout.
They will find out that one can operate their retro styled cameras exactly as any PSAM camera out there. It’s a marvellous and ingenious design that gives us photographer the best of both words: retro if I want to have fun shooting or want to actually operate the camera already before turning it on, and PSAM if one needs to make lots of adjustment all the time on the fly.
Retro Fujifilm cameras offer both options. PSAM cameras force you into one way to operate the camera.
And in my opinion not offering retro styled GFX cameras anymore is one of the all time biggest mistakes Fujifilm is doing.
C’mon Fujifilm, look at what is selling best in your X system. You’ll see that retro X cameras outsell PSAM cameras by very far. And Nikon had a colossal success with the Nikon Zf lately. It’s clear that in times where every camera is just so good, what people really look for is to have a different photographic experience thanks to dedicated vintage dials.
The joy of shooting sells better than any specs boost you can show off on paper.
An example?
The X100VI sells like hot cakes. The revolutionary global shutter ultra modern high speed blazing fast Sony A9III is selling way below Sony’s expectations (you could always find it in stock everywhere all the time because demand is not high… ask your local retailer).
I recently published the usual top 10 articles of the month article (for February), and I believe three news are missing in there, that should have gained much more attention than what they did.
But I really think you guys should not miss out on them, hence we are going to share them in this dedicated article
Huge possible news for GFX
As a GFX shooter myself, this is one bit of news that I have waited for many years: the possibility expressed by Sigma CEO to offer autofocus lenses for the GFX system.
Fujifilm has officially listed 10 lenses that they are currently considering to eventually make in future. No all can come, but maybe some. And they did ask 200 journalists to vote their favorite lenses.
Well, FujiRumors thought that 200 votes might not be enough. So we launched a survey and asked you guys which lenses you’d like to get.
We are currently at 6K+ votes, but ideally we should break the 10K+ mark.
The more vote, the more Fujifilm will take our results seriously.
Fujifilm has shared their Fujifilm GFX100 II centric X Lab episodes.
All Japanese. Google struggles to translate. It’s a pain…
A pain you don’t have to go through. It’s enough if I went through it and summed it up for you.
X Lab Episode 40
after using the GFX100S (small and lightweight compared to the original GFX100), the developers knew they wanted also the new flagship GFX100II to be smaller and lighter
usually flagship cameras have an integrated battery grip. Fujifilm wanted to make sure that it does not “lose its dignity” as flagship camera even if it has no integrated battery grip
the original GFX100 being bigger also gave more design freedom
Fujfiilm designed the optional grip in a way that, when attached, it sticks very rigidly to the body (it has a little hook on the border of the grip that snaps into the camera body for solid integration)
main target are professionals
when designing, 3 Fujifilm designer held a design competition to develop and 3D print several concepts
they also interviewed photographers to ask about the various concepts
11 degree tilted top plate
Bishamon-Tex texture with tradition Japanese pattern inspired by Bishamon tortoise shell
people in the factory initially had problems to apply the new Bishamon texture to the camera
coating that does not scratch
larger top screen that displays differently if you are in video or stills. Especially the video display has been significantly revised
X Lab Episode 41
9.44mDot and 1.0x magnification EVF
designed in a way that even if you move the eye away from viewfinder, the image will not get distorted. That’s not mentioned in the specs, but is something engineers have put lots of effort into creating
if for users the EVF is too big, you can make the EVF image smaller in the settings. Might be useful for example for people who wear glasses
initially they designed the GFX100II with fixed EVF to keep it more compact, but they listened to people and realized it was quite loved by photographers to have the tilt EVF option
full size HDMI and Ethernet port
Ethernet port has quite an impact on the internal design of the GFX100II. It would be complicated to implement it on the X-H cameras.
The IBIS Unit had to be redesigned in order to fit in the Ethernet port
they struggled until the end to decide where to put the headphone jack, at the end due to space constraints they decided to put it on the grip side
grip is designed slightly more inwards towards the top
they needed to redesign the tilt mechanism of the screen to make it compatible with the cooling fan
created as a piece of equipment to be used by professionals
refinements on the buttons, the mode dial etc.
better placement of the MCS focus switch (easier to reach and operate with thumb and also with gloves)
X Lab Episode 42
First Fujifilm GFX50S was a mid-range machine and it took long to arrive to that shape (admin note: remember the protruding back)
they decided for medium format sensor (admin note: the true story on how they decided to go medium format instead of full frame can be read here)
medium format cameras up until then were very expensive and for business use
Fujifilm wanted to create a camera that can be used also by the general public
biggest factor was size and weight of GFX50S
Fujifilm wanted to make it as small as a full frame DSLR
the most important thing about designing the GFX50S was how to make it easy to hold in the hands, so they spent a lot of time talking about the grip
they argued also on how wide it should be to assure enough space between grip and a large lens, so that you can still handle it nicely without a large lens getting in the ways of your fingers
so they cut the side of the GFX50S and inserted several thin plates to make it larger and saw how much wider it had to be (see image here)
GFX100 there were a lot of challenges to overcome
First GFX with IBIS (and X-H1 was first X series with IBIS)
integrated battery grip allowed to put batteries on the bottom
once the GFX100 was done, Fujifilm thought they needed a way to make it smaller, and to make the shutter mechanism smaller (admin note: that takes a lot of space in the camera)
they created the GFX100S
smaller motors (see GFX100S shutter vs GFX50R shutter in this image)
smaller shutter allowed it to keep IBIS, a smaller IBIS unit
they also used a smaller and yet powerful battery, the NP-W235
smaller shutter, smaller IBIS and smaller battery made the GFX100S possible
GFX100II is undoubtedly a flagship model
optional battery grip allows for 3 batteries total
Fujifilm wanted to offer a great photographic experience
3 function buttons placed conveniently behind the shutter release button
top LCD has evolved to match the needs of photographers: larger, more pixels, changed shape to match the UI and just overall improved ease of use
X Lab Episode 43
they talk about the design of the grip again across various GFX models
they talk about the amazing resolution starting from the original GFX50S
initially models didn’t like it, because too much resolution, but then Fujifilm added the Skin Smooth Effect
The French website Phototrend had the opportunity to interview Franck Bernard, Director of the imaging division at Fujifilm France. You can read the full interview here and the summary below.
Fujifilm’s strategy is to grip full frame between their APS-C and Medium Format bodies
When asked if X-H2S is popular among sports photographers, the manager said that the road is long. It’s not only a question of having the best product, but also of having the entire ecosystem
Overall market share in France? As far as hybrid cameras goes (full frame excluded), Fujifilm is market leader with 26% over the last 12 months
X-T5 is the best seller followed by X-T30II and X-S20/X-S10
the photo market is sustainable and will always remain so
smartphones accelerate the demand for cameras because at some point people will want to use a real camera for better quality
it’s too early to talk about an X100V successor
It has now been 3 years since the X100V was released and Fujifilm does not have a fixed renewal cycle forcing them to change bodies every three years
the demand for X100V is still high
“If we have decided to stop entry-level products such as X-T200 or X-E4, it is because it is not promising as a market“
but Fujifilm wants to keep more affordable models in the lineup (see X-T30)
third party lenses can have negative effect on Fujinon lens sales, but Fujifilm thinks they have the quality to compete with Sigma, Tamron and Co
Fujifilm is neutral in regards to third party lenses. They don’t oppose nor push them and they respect them
I’d like to make some considerations.
Fujifilm X-E Line
The French manager hinted that they dropped the X-E line, but that pretty much does not fit with the hints recently a Japanese Fujifilm manager gave us here. And also Fuji Guy Billy mentioned here the X-E line as a line that would continue (unlike X-T***, X-A* lines, which btw were just Fujifilm branded Xacti cameras since a long time anyway, as we reported here).
The French Fujifilm manager said they are neutral towards third party lenses. Although I remember Fujifilm managers inviting Sigma managers and talking about Sigma lenses for example here. So this gives me the impression Fujifilm is quite positive overall towards third party lenses.
The French manager said they think they have the quality to compete with third party lenses. This depends. The newest third party lenses from Viltrox & Co are quite phenomenal for the price. Maybe here and there they might not match the quality of the top of the line most modern Fujinon XF lenses, but there are quality options also from third parties.
The real and most important factors, for me, to use as much as possible native Fujinon lenses are two:
lots of third party lenses do not have an aperture ring
color consistency among Fujinon glass. And since a Film Simulation are a big deal for me, I like Velvia & Co to look consistent across the various lenses I use. There are for example third party lenses, like my manual focus Samyang 12mmF2, that are very lovely, but the colors they give me are not the ones I consistently get with my Fujinon lenses.
These are for me the two main reasons why I mostly stick with Fujinon XF and GF glass, although I own third party lenses for both systems, too.
Josselin Cornou, member of our gigantic Fujifilm GFX group and “heavy Sony user” (as he called himself), was able to test the Fujifilm GFX100II for two weeks.
He shared his impressions in this post, where he answers also questions members have.
He was very impressed by the Fujifilm GFX100 II, so much so that he says:
I finally come to the conclusion that the GFX can fully suits my photo + video needs
The GFX100 II behaved similarly to an A7r5, offering a very similar same type of specs – and similar shutter lag.
I ended up preordering the camera. While this is still 100MP, this is the first Medium Format camera which is bridging the gap with Full Frame in terms of Autofocus and video capabilities
When asked by members about autofocus accuracy, he says in the comments:
For portrait, it’s on par with the A7r5. I am sharing a video below to show you how it focuses on the 55mm f1.7 (which is not a Linear Motor lens, so slower AF than 20-35mm lenses). I was quite impressed – and results looked on part with Sony.
This is just an excerpt. You can read his full post below and check out the full comment section in the original post here.
CineD sat down with product planning manager Makoto Oishi-san and product planner Taiji Yoneda-san to talk about the GFX line and what makes the Fujifilm GFX100 II special.
You can and should watch the 24 minutes video above. But if you are in a hurry, I will provide also a quick summary below.
There is also a little section about firmware udpates, where Johnnie from CineD asks for one feature available on X-S20 to come via firmware update to GFX100II, and one available on GFX100II to come to X-H2, X-H2S, X-T5 and X-S20.
In short: if the request from users is strong, Fujifilm might make it happen. So guys, you know what you have to do in the comments now ;).
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