I know, other rumor sites reported rumors of an X30 with a 1“ sensor (or bigger). But according to our top trusted Japanese source, that’s not correct. The sensor will remain a 2/3 one. I have no reason to doubt what the trusted Japanese source told me.

Let’s start it again, the rumored specs list:

(TS= trusted source / NeS =New Source / AS = Anonymous Source / SRP = source who was right in the past, but not yet trusted / ORS = other rumor sites)

• 2/3 sensor (TS)
• announcement at photokina (ORS)

Reminder: the rumor of a release on July 3rd was spread by a forum member of dpreview. FR just reported about it.

well Robert, I’m working on it ;-)

If you can help me to find out more, feel free to contact me completely anonymously via rumor box (and maybe give yourself a nick-name, so that I can eventually identify you in future if you decide to share some more rumors) or drop me an email at fujirumor [at] gmail.com.

P.S.: if you click the “READ MORE” button, you’ll see a list with all the rumors spread in 2014 arranged by reliability. You’ll also be able to check what turned out to be correct and what was wrong this year.

Let’s start with little rumor summary about the X100S successor.

February: Back in February (click here) I’ve spread the first rumors (of a new source) about the X100S successor giving the following specs: 24MP X-Trans sensor, faster AF than X100S, tilt screen, new fixed lens, new EVF, better than X100S, but not as much as X-T1, wider detection area.

May: Then, in May, mirrorlessrumors confirmed that the camera will feature an APS-C X-TRANS sensor and also said that it will be announced at photokina (September).

July: Now, also the usually well informed xjurmo confirms the specs: 24MP ASP-C sensor, better EVF and faster AF.

The Name: If you remember, I told you here that a new source shared a rumor with FR that I couldn’t publish because it said: “Please confirm it with your other sources first as marketing department might change the plans“. I did my homework and had a talk with our top trusted Japanese source. And it confirms: Fuji has plans to call the X100S successor X100T. So I shared the rumor. Now xjurmo’s source said that the name could be X100T or X200. So maybe the final word has not yet been spoken? However, he confirms that both option are/were on Fuji’s table.

The rumored specs list so far is the following:

(TS= trusted source / NeS =New Source / ASwN = Anonymous source with nick-name / AS = Anonymous Source / SRP = source who was right in the past, but not yet trusted / ORS = other rumor sites)

• X100T (TS + NeS)
• 24MP (NeS + ORS)
• X-Trans Sensor (NeS + ORS)
• faster AF than X100S (NeS + ORS)
• tilt screen (NeS)
• new fixed lens (NeS)
• new and better EVF (NeS + ORS)
• wider phase detection area (NeS)
• announcement at photokina (ORS)

cheers,
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Hi all,

as you may remember, a forum member at dpreview said that the small and powerful Nissin i40 for Fujifilm X cameras will be available in October. Well, according to a FR-source, it will happen earlier.

The actual availability date will be various between countries, but the first lot of flashes will be in stock at authorized dealers around early September. 

The Nissin i40 is a new great super compact powerful and flexible flash with ergonomics of the Fujifilm EF-X20. It recently won the TIPA Award 2014 for the“Best Portable Lighting System”.

“The small (3.35 x 2.4 x 3.35 inches) and lightweight (203g, without battery and soft box) Nissin i40 is available in models dedicated (TTL) to Canon, Nikon, Sony, Four thirds and Fujifilm models, and can cover a lens angle of view from 24-105mm, with additional coverage to 16mm with the supplied diffuser. The Guide Number is 40 at the 105mm setting (meters/ISO 100) and 27 at 35mm. An innovative LED illuminator sits where smaller fill flash modules were in the past, and the light can be used for both still and video recording with 9 steps of output. The i40 offers rear, front curtain and high-speed sync, wireless slave and can be swivelled up to 180 degrees right and left and 90 degrees vertical.”

I wish you a great weekend,
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P.S.: if you click the “READ MORE” button, you’ll see a list with all the rumors spread in 2014 arranged by reliability. You’ll also be able to check what turned out to be correct and what was wrong this year.

This is one of the (many) Fujifilm patents you can check out at freepatentsonline here (PDF file here). It was published back in April (04/29/2014), Filing Date or the Patent: 01/02/2014

It seems to be an evolution of the “Real-image zoom viewfinder” already present in the X20 viewfinder. There is plenty of technical stuff to read at freepatentsonline, but petapixel sums it up saying that “the viewfinder would be able to optically zoom in synchronization with the varying focal length of a zoom lens.” And, at least looking at the image of the patent, this viewfinder should find its way into future compact Fuji Point&Shoot cameras.

But what’s the advantage of this specific “real-image viewfinder” compared to the one of the X20 (which delivers 85% coverage and a 20° horizontal apparent field of view)? Well, I do not know, and it must be hidden somewhere in the very complicated description of the patent.

So will maybe the X30 feature an upgraded “real-image zoom optical viewfinder”? That’s the question I’ll now send directly to our sources ;-)

But it’s good to see that Fuji continues to work on the OVF technology. It’s definitely a good news for OVF lovers. However, no OVF in the world will give you the possibility to see in real-time how your final shot will be (WYSIWYG), which is very useful, especially when you have to act fast and there is not the time to take a shot, check the result on the LCD, change the exposure, take another shot, check the image again, make adjustments and so on. With an EVF you look through the viewfinder, turn the dial, see immediately the result in the EVF… and “click“.

But what do you think? Do you prefer the EVF or the OVF? 2 alternatives, one answer. And feel free to list your PROS and CONS for a OVF or EVF in the comments.

Oh, and I know, a hybrid viewfinder would make us all happy. So, dear Fuji, don’t forget it in the X-PRO2 :-)

And just for fun. Here is how Fuji explains the “real-image zoom viewfinder“. It’s all one sentence, so be concentrated:

“A real-image zoom viewfinder substantially consisting of, in order from an object side, a variable-magnification objective lens system having a positive refractive power, an erect optical system, and an eyepiece lens system having a positive refractive power, wherein the variable-magnification objective lens system substantially consisting of, in order from the object side, a first lens group that includes a first lens having a negative refractive power and a reflective member arranged in this order from the object side and is fixed during magnification change, a second lens group that has a positive refractive power and is moved during magnification change, and a third lens group that has a positive refractive power and is moved during magnification change, the erect optical system has at least one reflective surface for converting an inverted image formed by the variable-magnification objective lens system into an erect image and is fixed during magnification change, the eyepiece lens system has a positive refractive power and is fixed during magnification change, and conditional expressions (1), (2A) and (3) below are satisfied at the same time:
1.5<U2/U1<3.0 (1),
1.76≦|f2/f1|<2.0 (2A) and
1.0<f3/f2<5.0 (3), where U1 is a distance from an object-side lens surface of the first lens to a most object-side lens surface in the second lens group along an optical axis in a state where zoom setting is set at a telephoto end, U2 is a difference between the distance from the object-side lens surface of the first lens to the most object-side lens surface in the second lens group along the optical axis in a state where the zoom setting is set at the telephoto end and a distance from the object-side lens surface of the first lens to a most image-side lens surface in the third lens group along the optical axis in a state where the zoom setting is set at a wide-angle end, f1 is a focal length of the first lens group, f2 is a focal length of the second lens group, and f3 is a focal length of the third lens group.”

via freepatentsonline / photographybay / petapixel

Hi there,

2014 is almost 6 months old, and I thought it’s time to check back the rumors I’ve published in order to see what turned out to be correct, what was wrong, and especially to tell you how reliable the remaining rumors are.

For me, this is a good opportunity to make a rumor overview of the past half year and to answer to all those readers who dropped me an email asking me how reliable rumors published in the past months are.

Rumors NOT included: rumors from other sites and blogs, as I simply reported about them and never confirmed them with my sources (like digicame-info saying the X30 would come in February/March, the 18-135 price [it was published by a store], Fujifilm Bangladesh announcing a new X-mount camera, the freepatentsonline stuff, Dominik Fusina publishing his fake X-W1 and a few more).

And here they are. I added very low, low, medium or high rating to the rumors. I hope this helps you to get an orientation in the rumor jungle.

enjoy your day,
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HIGH RATING

– X100T successor of X100S

– XF16mm 1.4

– XF120-400

– X-PRO2 with APS-C sensor

– No more X-PRO1S, all R&D placed into the X-PRO2

– X30 coming in summer (so there is time until September 20)

MEDIUM RATING

– XF 35mm MKII (As Fuji has first to complete its lens lineup, it could take a while before the 35 MKII hits the market… and Fuji can change plans in any moment regarding this lens.) PLEASE NOTE: This rumor was not reported accurately by other sites (as petapixel and mirrorlessrumors). They quote FR, but say that the lens is “coming soon”. Which I never said. None of my sources ever told me a release date. In fact I said on May 5th: “I do not know when it will be launched nor which improvements we can expect, but, as you may guess, I’m restlessly working on it.”

– Faster AF for the 35mm MKII (This rumor is separated from the first 35MKII rumor, as it comes from another source and was posted in another article)

– X200 with 24MP, tilt screen, improved AF and wider detection area (Medium rating as I think that some, but not all the specs will be correct. The name has changed almost for sure to X100T).

– Button Upgrade for the early produced X-T1’s with mushy buttons.

– X-PRO2 available in 2015

LOW RATING

– X-T1P release with 4K viewfinder in July [An upgrade (or special/limited edition) is possible, but not anytime soon. And, as soon as also drphotorumor says that this rumor is not correct, I’ll downgrade it to “very low rating”. As soon as/if the top trusted Japanese source and/or the good old source tells me that this is wrong, I’ll move it into the wrong rumors 2014 list]

– XF 90mm (same as the 35 MKII here, the release of this lens is everything else but imminent, so a lot can change. Plus: I do not have any confirmation until now about it from trusted sources or sources who were right in the past)

VERY LOW RATING

– Sigma X-mount coming at photokina

– Medium Format Fuji (there are several anonymous sources telling me that this rumor is wrong. But I will post an update only when a trusted source speaks. And if they say, as to expect, that it is not correct, I’ll move it into the “wrong rumors” list)

_ _ _

And now let’s check the 2014 rumors

NOTE: You will see for example some X-T1 rumors (and others) listed sepratately. This is due the fact that there was, for example, a source telling me of a tilt screen, while another told me at a different time about the price and so on.

It’s fair towards my sources not to put everything together in the same pot and simply say “X-T1”, as every rumor listed here comes from a different source and was posted in different articles and could have been right or wrong.

Obviously the same goes for the wrong rumors. I don’t simply say “18-135 announcement”, but shared all 3 wrong release dates separately, so that they result as 3 errors and not as one.

CORRECT RUMORS IN 2014

– XF 18-135 coming June 16^th

– X-E2 deal

– X-E2 firmware update with X-T1 EVF refresh rate coming soon (correct, it came a few days later)

– TCL-X100 will be out end of May (correct. It’s available since then in Japan, now also in Europe. Still out of stock in USA)

– TCL-X100 will cost €250 and be a bit cheaper than the WCL (correct. AmazonDE sells the silver version for €249, while the discounted WCL still costs €269)

– TCL-X100 will cost $350/400 (correct, it costs $350 at Bhphot & Co)

– TCL-X100 coming second half of April (correct, announced April 22)

– Lightroom 5.4 coming next week

– February/March lens deals with confidential Fuji document

– With the next update, Adobe will support X-Trans film simulation

– X30 won’t come in February/March as rumored by digicame-info

– Image and size comparison of the 10-24 with a protype 18-135 (real image)

– XF 16-55 and 50-140 will be weather sealed

– X-T1 announcement in January 28th at 4:30 AM London Time

– Improved WiFi for the X-T1

– UHS-II SD card slot, but no double SD-card slot + 8fps with AF tracking (Fuji originally planed a dual SD-card slot. When the first X-T1 image leaked here on FR, it even looked like a dual SD-card slot, but the Japanese source said it has just a single SD-card slot)

– X-T1 will cost $1300 / €1200

– First images of a prototype X-T1

– Firmware update for Zeiss will add PDAF support

– Tilt screen for the X-T1

– The name of the weather sealed X will be X-T1

– X-T1 will have the best EVF on the market

– black X100S will have a retail price of about £1000, about the same as silver version (the final retail price in UK is RRP £1099.99 for the black and £1049 for the silver version, according to wexUK. But now both are sold cheaper).

– XF56mm announcement at January 6th

– black X100S will be the only “new” X-camera presented at CES

WRONG RUMORS IN 2014

– XF 18-135 announcement on Memorial Day (wrong, but, as Rico said in his first look, the announcement has been postponed at least two times, so actually the date could have been origianlly correct, but the source did not know about the updated release date. NOTE: I excluded the rumor of an 18-135 f/3.5-4.8, as this was a typo by Fujifilm at the CP+ (see this image), and I just reported about it.

– XF 18-135 will come in May (I’ve shared this in Janaury. But what was right in Janaury, is wrong now. As we know from Rico, the release has been pushed back at least two times. Announcements are a very tricky part of rumors).

– XF 18-135 in stores in February

– X-PRO2 with FF sensor (wrong, and corrected a few weeks later by the top trusted Japanese source)

Tell me, why go “just” Full Frame? According to a new and also an anonymous source, Fujifilm will launch a digital medium format mirrorless camera.

Of course, for now, be very careful with this information and take it with the usual grain of salt. That said, here is what the 2 sources told me:

New Source

Fuji will launch a digital Medium Format camera by the end of summer.

Anonymous Source

Fuji is working on a digital medium format mirrorless camera. The prototype is said to look like a [shoplink 12882 ebay]X-PRO1[/shoplink], with hybrid viewfinder, but more of a size of the Fuji GF670. The prototype is using the same Sony CMOS sensor present in the Pentax 645z.

_ _ _

It’s a tough battle in the fiercly contested mirrorless market! Latest rumors suggest that also Sony will launch a Mamiya 7 style MF camera (source-SAR). But, as the saying goes, when the going gets tough, the tough get going! And Fuji seems to be ready to face the challenge.

Keep in mind that the Sony and the Fuji rumor are both still NOT confirmed by trusted sources.

However, if the rumors are true, then also Fujifilm has some trump cards to pull out of its sleeve. A Medium Format digital mirrorless camera, the rumored X200, X30 and the X-PRO2. (OMG, lots of rumors I have to work on! ;-) )

Ok, I’ll put my best also into this rumor and see if I can confirm the MF Fuji ASAP. Of course, feel free to help me and to make my work a bit easier. If you decide to share some information, you can do it completely anonymously via rumor box (if you don’t mind, use a nickname, so that I can eventually recognize you in future), or contact me via email at fujirumor [at] gmail.com.

stay tuned for more
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The innovation continues. Fujifilm is working hard on the new organic sensor. Will this be the sensor of the X-PRO2? I still don’t know it. In the meantime check out the patent for new color filters giving better color reproducibility and less noise, applicable also to the organic sensor, at freepatentsonline.com.

Organic sensor or not, looking at the various polls shared here on FR, the majority of you prefer an APS-C sensor over a Full Frame sensor.