Rangefinder Digital Cameras with “Digital Dials” – Concept

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As to expect, the concept of a future Fujifilm X-T* camera with e-ink dials made by FR-reader Luigi has raised strong and various opinions.

Some saw some potential in the concept, others did not like it. I will refer to that article so you can check out the debate there.

Well, you can see the article today as a sort of follow up to that article.

First off: the camera you see above is just a rendering based on the Voigtlander Bessa. It has been created by Vladimir M. and shared at behance here.

The concept is almost the same as the one we discussed in an earlier article, just with a digital display on the dials instead of e-ink.

And as opposed to the in-depth thought out concept of Luigi specifically designed for SLR-styled cameras with three dials, Vladimir’s concept focuses more on a possible solution for rangefinder cameras.

Overall I think to should be a concept that camera manufacturers should explore, even though I personally would still go with dedicated engraved dials on my beloved retro styled cameras.

But for certain camera models this could be an interesting solution.

And btw, I also like the tilt EVF in that concept, similar to the one we find on the Panasonic GX9. More companies should adopt this solution.

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Fujifilm X-M5 Registration Spotted: not Made by Xacti but by Fujifilm in China

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The registration for the Fujifilm X-M5 has been spotted by the Japanese website asobinet at sertifikasi.

The interesting thing is that the registration shows the Fujifilm X-M5 is made in China, which means it is no longer a model made by Xacti, which has its manufacturing in Indonesia, as rightfully pointed out by asobinet.

We remind you that back in 2016/2017 Fujifilm outsourced the development of its entry level line to the Xacti corporation to save R&D costs.

Now the development and production is back in Fujifilm’s hand.

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The Perfect Dials for Future X-Tx Cameras? – Concept

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In response to my article The perfect dial is…?, FR-reader Luigi replied to me with an idea: what if Fujifilm would still use the dial, but instead of printed markings they would consist in ink-displays?

So how would it work?

Well, you can read more about below.

Guest Post by Luigi – LuicaPhoto Flickr

My Fujifilm history began 2012 with X-E1, 2, 3 and X-T1, 2, 5 and I belong to the group of enthusiast photographers. And I started already in the film era of the 70-90-ties. Therefore I like the Fujifilm vintage design with dedicated dials. But I am also aware of PASM design advantages.

Here I propose a dial design which could combine the advantages of both design worlds:

Dedicated rotating mechanical dials, same size and with central lock button as known from the X-T series. But instead of the small engraved numbers for shutter speed or ISO – which looks crowded and have poor readability – the dial top plate should become a circle shaped ink display. And each dial would always display two assigned settings (at 12 and 6 o’clock), but now in much larger figures.

Circle shaped displays can show their their settings when rotating the dial as we are used.

The dial itself consists therefore of an outside ring, rotating around the circle shaped display inside .The existing levers of the X-T could be transformed into push levers: when pressed, the upper or bottom halve of the display becomes the active section.

The Dials Explained

You can see the PDF below or download the PDF at my Dropbox here.

Before the PDF, I will share it also in JPEG format as gallery for you to quickly scroll through.

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