On their website they say that estimated delivery for the Fujifilm X mount version is end of October.
It definitely looks vintage and aesthetically would be a good match for our Fujifilm cameras. However, I do not have any experience with Artralab lenses, so I recommend you to check out reviews of their other lenses (list of X mount lenses below) to see how they overall perform. And of course, if anybody out there has experience with Artralab lenses, feel free to let us know in the comments what you think about it.
Lenses Specification
Product Name ARTRA LAB Nocty 50mm F1.2
Focal Length 50mm
Maximum Aperture F1.2
Minimum Aperture F16
Optical Design 8 Element in 6 Groups
Angle of View 46°
Diaphragm Blades 11 Blades
Nearest focusing distance 0.35m
Filter Thread Φ 52mm
Lens Diameter 72mm
Lens Height 83mm
Weight 560g
Lens Mount Sony E , Nikon Z, Fuji X
Full Frame Full Frame
Lenses Material Body Aluminium Alloy
Lens Mount Brass
Lens Coating Low Reflective Multilayer Coating
ArtraLab lenses can be found also at Amazon here, but currently the selection is much more limited than on the ArtraLab page here.
A firmware update was released, and after some users installed it, they noticed the firmware was flawed and the camera is now buggy. So far, nothing new. This just happens.
But when one of these photographers contacted customer service, the representatives acknowledged that the issue could have been potentially caused by the firmware update. Despite this, they are asking customers to send in their cameras for repairs, which will cost (at least) $700.
That’s a shame and should not happen.
And luckily it does not happen to Fujifilm shooters, because this is what happened to a Sony shooter, whose Sony FX3 got apparently broken by firmware 5.00 (see video below).
The video made by Camera Nerds Media runs you through this unreal experience (including recorded calls with customer service).
Camera Nerds Media also went on various Sony forums and he saw that many other FX3 users got the same issue with firmware 5.00. He ends up saying:
I don’t think users should be responsible for faulty firmware updates. That is crazy. […] Now my camera does not work and I lost lots of functionality and I am required to pay for that.
[…]
I posted about this on a bunch of Sony Forums, and the overall theme is that nobody updates the firmware on their Sony cameras because it is historically unreliable and a lot of problems can happen”
To be clear: Camera Nerds Media is a Sony shooter and not a secret agent paid by Fujifilm or Canon or whoever to trashtalk Sony.
Sh*t Happens
Why this intro?
Well, it’s simple: we are used to look at our own garden (the Fujifilm world) and we rightfully moan when something goes wrong there.
But here is the thing: we are so focused on our own world, that we don’t see what’s going on elsewhere.
The Sony issue we reported about today is just one of many. I saw posts with freezes on Sony camera and users have to remove the battery to make the camera work again.
So yes, it’s good to moan, when something goes wrong in the Fujifilm world. But we should be at least aware that modern cameras are high tech computers with lots of complicated coding inside, and that every brand stumbles on that. That’s just normal.
What really matters is how brands react to those issues.
Fujifilm releases free firmware updates to fix errors, whereas in the story we shared today, we can see that this is not always the case with Sony cameras.
Fujifilm Bug Reports
But let’s go back to our little Fujifilm garden.
When I posted the article about a rare bug that drives me nuts, other fellow Fujifilm X shooters wrote me with their own bug reports.
And because I pay full price for my gear and have no connections to Fujifilm, I can freely report about those bugs here on FujiRumors, in the hope Fujifilm Japan will read this (they will), and possibly even release a fix in the near future (of course for free ;) ).
If you have your own bugs to report about, feel free to drop it in the comments.
I have the GFX 100S II and it happened to me it froze too a couple of times in the past month and yesterday I found when it happens:
Using the camera in portrait mode, but turning it 90 clockwise, not counter clockwise (as natural it is)
I know it happened in other models like the GFX 100 II, do you know if that bug has been resolved?
UPDATE: I took the camera to the store where I bought it and the seller said he would contact the Fuji rep about that. Then he sent the camera to be repaired. It Looks like there is an electronic problem, that is what he said to me a few days later. Hopefully the camera will be back soon.
by Cipulot – The Disappearing Indicators
I am sharing with you a pretty interesting thing that is happening with my X100VI with the latest 1.11 fw.
In particular, out of nowhere, in the OVF mode, the indicators stopped being shown even if I had them selected in the settings (video below).
Funnily enough, though, if I enable large indicators, they still do not show up, but if I half-press the shutter, they pop up and then go away as soon as I take a shot/release it.
I tried disabling them, re-enabling, power cycle, and even removing the battery, but the issue persists.
I forgot to mention that even when pressing the DISP BACK button multiple times, the issue persists, even tho that should fix it usually.
UPDATE: As a last effort I reinitialized the camera and it went back to working order. [if you encounter this issue too, reset your camera]
by Alan – the Silent Focus Priority Override in AF-MF
Your July 10, 2024 post entitled “This (Rare) Fujifilm Bug Drives Me Nuts…” got me thinking about the one Fujifilm bug that most bothers me. Actually, mine is more than a bug… because mine interacts with a known Fujifilm autofocus issue that can produce more out-of-focus images than expected. Combined, the bug and issue have the potential to badly effect the AF experience of users and, I expect, reviewers.
The Bug: With AF+MF* enabled, the camera will, without warning, override FOCUS/RELEASE PRIORITY** if it has been set to FOCUS.
Potential Bug Remedy: At the very least, Fuji should grey-out the RELEASE/FOCUS PRIORITY menu option when AF+MF is enabled.
The Issue and its Importance: The potential advantage of AF+MF* is paradoxically counterbalanced by the potential disadvantage of RELEASE PRIORITY**.
Fujifilm’s competitors allow their users to manually fine tune autofocus (with focus aids such as peaking and magnification), while maintaining control of when the shutter will release in AF-C or AF-S modes (ie, with or without autofocus confirmation/acquisition).
For example, if AF-C loses a bird amongst leaves, manual override will be necessary to regain focus. The rest of the time, when manual override isn’t necessary, the camera should be allowed to acquire focus before releasing shutter, should the user so desire.
Please feel free to post my note on FujiRumors if you think that it would be of interest.
* XT-5: MENU > AF/MF SETTINGS > AF+MF = “OFF
** XT-5: MENU > AF/MF SETTINGS > RELEASE/FOCUS PRIORITY
When yesterday we published the comments of Fujifilm CEO, who said that it is very difficult to mass-produce Fujifilm cameras with retro dials, there were some who said that making a retro dial is just as quick and easy as making a PSAM dial.
Is it true?
Well, the CEO was referring to the production struggles of the Fujifilm X100VI, which uses the combined ISO/Shutter dial first introduced on the Fujifilm X-Pro2.
So let’s look at that dial. Is it really as easy as making a PSAM dial? Here is what Fujifilm writes about it:
Realizing the [dial] mechanism and manufacturing process were not easy.
Firstly, […] there are 22 positions in total, quite a lot of number for an internal dial. […]
Secondly, the dial is electronically linked. The analog dial operation is converted digitally to know exactly what the setting is.
And Lastly, this mechanism has to be weather-resistant.
In order to meet the requirement, the Shutter speed / ISO dial required 38 parts for its composition. This number is the fourth largest after the finder, shutter unit, and mount.
This is not only about number of pieces, some parts required highly tech solution to manufacture the piece.
For example, in order to achieve the accurate 22 positions, the piece needed to be very precise and durable regardless of its complicated form. This piece is realized by a method called Metal Injection Molding (MIM). It is not cost friendly, but the this method realizes the metal part to be durable even in its complicated form.
Why do we spend so much time on this one dial?
Unfortunately there is no economic and rational answer to that question. But it was something that the developing team of X-Pro camera had always dreamed of achieving. And it was also something that the passionate X-Pro users strongly wished for.
So please, don’t go around saying that making a dial like the one on the Fujifilm X100VI is just the same as making one for any PSAM dialed camera.
There is no other digital vintage-looking camera out there that uses that dial. And the reason why is explained above: it’s complicated, it’s expensive, and it makes no sense from a manufacturing efficiency point of view.
But we are lucky that Fujifilm thinks differently.
Fujifilm does not think that niche products with niche ergonomic solutions are just a waste of R&D. Fujifilm has such a massive photographic culture that they understand that cultivating a niche means cultivating the true passion for photography.
And speaking of Fujifilm X-E5, personally I hope it will have such a dial too, although I have little hopes since it is so expensive to make, and I guess Fujifilm does not want that camera to become too expensive.
Now they have also published the Q&A sheet, where the Fujifilm CEO answers to a range of questions, including the production issues with Fujifilm cameras.
In short: there are the usual struggles with semiconductors, but in addition to that, he also explains that mass-producing retro-styled cameras is difficult, because the process of creating a classy design “is close to handmade“. Also, they misjudged the demand for Fujifilm X100VI. They doubled the production capacity, but that’s not enough. They are working to match the huge demand (as we already reported, production increase should be achieved by the end of this summer).
I find the part of the challenges with retro camera production particularly interesting. And I guess also why most brand either do not offer vintage styled cameras at all, or, if they do, they release them in significantly lower numbers compared to their more mainstream PSAM models.
And of course: what takes more time to produce is also more expensive to produce. So, from that point of view, it makes little sense for companies to release retro-styled cameras.
But what I love of Fujifilm is that not only they do offer them, but they offer quite a few of them.
In fact, as we could already see, Fujifilm offers more X series camera lines with Retro dials than with PSAM dials. The only problem is that some of them (X-E and X-Pro) do not get refreshed as often as the PSAM models, which therefore gives the impression that Fujifilm is offering more PSAM styled cameras.
Anogeissus Limited has developed a new app called Camera RawX.
Camera RawX provides support for Quick Look and thumbnails generations for Fujifilm compressed RAW files in Finder that are not natively supported by macOS.
I have purchased and installed the software on my Mac, and now, on my compressed RAW files, I can see thumbnails in Finder instead of just a generic icon and I can get a larger Quick Look at the RAW image by pressing the space bar.
Of course it does not just provide support for Fuji compressed RAWs, but also Nikon HE/HE* compressed RAWs, and many other RAW formats not supported by macOS.
Disclaimer: I am not affiliated with Camera RawX and I have paid full price for the software. I do not earn commissions if you purchase this software nor will I be compensated in any shape or form for reporting about it on FujiRumors. It’s just a nice little software that I think some of you might be interested in. Once installed, follow the simple set-up instructions. Done that, I had to restart my computer for the software to work.
