Fujifilm has won awards. But not so many this time.
Maybe Fujifilm finally came to reason and understood that it does not make sense to waste lots of money into paying for winning nonsense awards.
We remind you: using the RedDot award logo for one product and one year costs thousands of dollars (something between 4K and 8K). You can actually check out yourself how much each RedDot award costs here (in addition to the registrations fees that have to be paid upfront).
There were times in which Fujifilm won 23 RedDot Awards. That’s an expensive price to pay to brag with meaningless awards.
And my hope is that, instead of using the same screen we find on the X-S20/X-H2 etc, Fujifilm will give a comeback to the unique tilt/flip screen of the Fujifilm X-T100. I will never understand why Fujifilm dropped that concept as it allows to go in “selfie mode” but still retain the option of a simple tilt-screen function, with the screen remaining nicely centered to the camera.
I think that screen it would have made the X-S20, X-H2 and X-H2S an even more appealing camera to many. So I think Fujifilm missed an opportunity there.
But again, that’s not a rumor, just a hope of mine.
Another curiosity: the Fujifilm X-A and X-M line, as well as the X-T*** line, where Fujifilm branded cameras, but actually manufactured by the Xacti Corporation. And as it is well known, all Xacti made cameras have all been discontinued.
Now, I have not heard that Xacti is back, so I suppose (not rumor) that this time the camera will be made by Fujifilm. But that’s not a rumor, just a speculation. Maybe it will be another Xacti made but Fujifilm branded camera. We will soon see.
Nikkei has published the global sales number and market share of digital stills and video cameras sold in 2023. The numbers are based on data from CIPA and JEITA and have been reported by the Japanese website dclife.
Here are the numbers for 2023:
Canon … 3.34 million units (46.5%)
Sony … 2 million units (27.9%)
Nikon … 810,000 units (11.3%)
Fujifilm … 430,000 units (6.0%)
Panasonic … 260,000 units (3.6%)
OM Digital … 180,000 units (2.5%)
Ricoh Imaging … 60,000 units (0.8%)
Nikkei writes that the decline in the global market share of digital cameras is slower than before, and the demand for high-performance mirrorless cameras is increasing. Nikkei says “high-performance mirrorless is strong, and the market is recovering“.
Considering that Fujifilm has no dedicated video camera, nor DSLRs in offering, it is safe to assume that the vast majority of the 430,000 units are X and GFX camera sales. Not sure if the (almost dead) Fujifilm Finepix line is included in the list, but even if it would, it would be a negligable number.
X-E4 shipping debacle, discontinued in 2023 with harldy ever being in stock due to Fuji’s incompetence to produce what people actually ordered
The list could go on forever, but bare with me if I stop it here to avoid to turn this article into a rant.
All I’ll say is that the number, 430K, is way below of what Fujifilm could have shipped if only they figured out a proper way to produce more gear rather than relying on creative, flawed and no-cost solution like using blockchain to improve parts procurement.
They did not increase production (except now for the X100VI). They did not hire more workers. They did not expand factories. They just accepted things as they are and so we got to absurd situation like the one of the X-E4, which was launched in January 2021. I noticed the X-E4 in stock only once in October 2021 and then it was mainly out of stock everywhere until it got discontinued in 2023 while tons of people still had one on pre-order.
The Fujifilm CEO calls this a “normal” situation, but I have not seen other brands struggle as much with deliver as Fujifilm. Sure, it’s not all Fuji’s fault, as nobody could have thought that Fujifilm’s popularity would expload like this. But the years passed, and Fujifilm failed to adjust to the new high demand.
Anyway… it is what it is.
Fujifilm sold 430,000 cameras in 2023. But it could have been easily twice as much if they’d have been able to ship their gear properly worldwide.
It’s time to dedicate some space here on FujiRumors to your wishes and ideas as far as future Fujifilm cameras goes.
Hence, down below are a few emails with Fujifilm camera wishes I have received.
And yes, I have also received lots of non-camera wishes, which I will share in another future FR-reader wishlist roundup.
As for the rumors… guys, don’t worry… there will be plenty of them. ;)
Oh… and the Fujifilm X-E5, Fujifilm X-M5 and Fujifilm X50 you see above are all just renderings I made. But if somebody out there has the real images (of any upcoming camera or lens) and wants to share the joy with the FR-community, feel free to drop me a message.
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
I guess it is a bit normal that we are drawn to the latest and greatest, the newest and most shiny stuff.
But truth is: there is PLENTY of wonderful gear out there that has its age, but still delivers wonderfully.
And look guys, I know what I talk about, because I did just photograph a family day trip on the mountains with my X-E3 today ;).
So I thought about making a roundup of a different kind: include all the latest and greatest stuff (the 5th generation cameras and the newest lenses), but also the older gear we hardly ever talk about now (4th gen. cameras or older and older lenses).
I hope there will be something among it that you’ll appreciate as much as I did.
Capture One has announced that REALA ACE support has been added in Capture One 16.4.4 for the following Fujifilm cameras: GFX100II, GFX100SII, X100VI, X-H2, X-H2s, X-S20, X-T5, X-T50.
You can download the latest Capture One 16.4.4 here and view the release notes here.
Of course I have the perpetual license, so no Reala Ace for me.
At the end I’ll have to give up on the idea to stick with perpetual licenses. I will start to rent my editing software. But I am not sure it will still be Capture One.
While things have improved with the latest firmware, there are still some issues.
In a nutshell we could say: the older firmware of Fujifilm’s 5th generation gear is superior to the newer firmware.
Andrea Cimini for example explains how with firmware 1.00 in his X-H2S he got awesome results compared to the ones he is getting now with firmware 7.00.
Same goes for Thierry Gibralta, who compared X-H2S firmware 1.03 vs 7.00, and you can clearly see that, side by side, the 1.03 firmware is much more solid, with great tracking, little to no pulsing and definitely a very solid autofocus that can be easily trusted.
And it’s also this initially solid autofocus, that convinced Andrea Cimini to buy the Fujifilm X-H2S for his sports photography.
The Problem in Depth
Here is a summary:
in the last year, the firmware updates of Fujifilm were not reliable
when he tested the X-H2S with firmware 1.00, he was stunned and thought Fujifilm finally caught up with the best
he tried the X-H2S at several sport events and in one bicycle race with 400 people participating
he took 2,300 pictures and only 27 were out of focus (98.8% in focus)
over time, the more he updated the firmware, the more the autofocus got worst
with eye detection, some times the eye detection says the eye is in focus, but it is not
the hit rate at 10-15 fps drops a lot
in sports photography, when in 5 to 8 fps, the hit rate is between 80% to 95%
in sports photography, when in 10 to 15 fps, the hit rate is between 30% to 50%
if the situation in sports photography are particularly difficult (backlight, inside a forest, etc), the hit rate drops further
linear motor lenses don’t focus so “linear” in video. He compares the 16-55mm with LM vs the 18mm with LM and the 16-55 is smooth, but the 18mm is jerky
firmware 7.00 improved things and the hit rate went up. But it’s still not where it was with the initial firmware
So why does he still stick with Fujifilm?
best value for money ratio
he shares a chart where he compares a Sony and Fujifilm system, and a Sony system would cost him 5,000 Euro more than a Fujifilm system
moreover, he grabbed the flagship Fujifilm X-H2S vs the non-flagship Sony A7IV
The X-H2S has better EVF, better LCD, faster bursts, better video specs, etc.
With Sony A7IV he would make an upgrade in terms of Autofocus, but a downgrade on pretty much all the rest
He ends up saying that Fujifilm Italy contacted him asking all the details about the problems he is encountering, the settings etc, and that they would forward everything to Fujifilm Japan.
He still believes in the brand, there are lots of reasons he wants to stay with it (which he quickly lists in the video). So please Fujifilm, do something about the autofocus.
The Easy Solution
So, Andrea Cimini and Thierry Gibralta have shown that the first iterations of Fujifilm’s 5th generation autofocus was solid and significantly superior to what we have now.
Solid tracking, incredibly high hit rates at fast fps, smooth focus transitions with little to no pulsing and so forth.
So the solution could be actually a pretty easy one: Fujifilm should take that older AF algorithm and just put it back into their 5th generation cameras.
But as of now, the choice users have is: should I upgrade to the latest firmware to get all the other goodness that Fujifilm has generously given us for free (Reala Ace, red frame indicator, etc), or downgrade at my own risk, give up on Reala Ace & Co, but have again the great autofocus of almost 2 years ago?
I made the choice for myself already. I upgraded. But I don’t really shoot critical sports photography. And for my use, the latest X-T5 June firmware has fixed the issues that arose with the April firmware. In fact, I used it for a family travel in Rome and Tuscany and it worked just great for me. So I rather keep Reala & Co, as the autofocus is good for my type of use.
And honestly, I do not recommend anyone to make DIY downgrades. If anything goes wrong, you won’t be covered by warranty.
The way to go is to ask Fujifilm to give us the autofocus solidity they once already had. Take that older algorithm and give it to us. And then, build up even better from there.
