Voigtlander NOKTON 35mm F1.2 X Price Leaked and Pre-Order Start this Week (also for Tokina 56mmF1.4)

According to nokishita, the price for the Voigtlander NOKTON 35mm F1.2 for Fujifilm X-mount will be of 76,800 yen (converted to $696).

Pre-orders should start this week.

And also the Tokina 56mmF1.4 pre-orders should start later this week.

Availability is expected for August.

The mass retailer price of Voigtlander “NOKTON 35mm F1.2 X-mount” seems to be 76,800 yen including tax. The planned release date is August 2021. Both Tokina 56mm and Nokton 35mm should be available for pre-order later this week

via nokishita

The Fastest Growing Fujifilm Group

Follow FujiRumors on Patreon, Facebook, Instagram, RSS-feed, Youtube, Flipboard and Twitter

Join Our Owners Groups

Join Our Facebook Pages

Cosina to Launch NOKTON 35mm F1.2 for Fujifilm X mount Soon

Cosina is soon going to announce the Nokton 35mm f/1.2 for Fujifilm X mount.

It seems that Cosina will announce the NOKTON 35mm F1.2 for Fujifilm X mount in the near future – via nokishita

In the image above you see the Voigtländer Nokton 35mm f/1.2 for Sony E mount.

The Fastest Growing Fujifilm Group

Follow FujiRumors on Patreon, Facebook, Instagram, RSS-feed, Youtube, Flipboard and Twitter

Join Our Owners Groups

Join Our Facebook Pages

via nokishita

My First Wedding Photography Adventure is Coming and This is the Fujifilm Gear I’ll Use

Maybe you remember.

Back in January 19, 2020, a very dear friend asked me if I can photograph part of his wedding and I accepted. You can read the story here. But we all know what happened in 2020, and the wedding had to be postponed.

But now time has come. In just a few days, I will grab my gear and photograph his wedding.

  • Risking my Friendship?

When I initially accepted, I was pumped and excited about it and I reported about it on FujiRumors. But as soon as I did, some of you guys warned me that I am putting my friendship at risk, which caused a little bit of panic in me.

But then I thought back at what we lived together. Lots of great moments, but we also crossed the darkest hours together, which are too sad to touch on in this article, but I briefly mentioned something in the comments here and here.

What binds us is too strong to be put in danger by some eventually not so fantastic pictures.

And also, I have been very clear to him and his wife: I’ve never photographed an event like this.

I mean, I know I have excellent cameras and lenses, I know how to use them, I understand photography, but this does not make me a wedding photographer. So do not expect anything near to the professional results of the official photographer.

And speaking of the official wedding photographer…

  • The Official Photographer is the Boss – Don’t Stand in His Way!

One more thing gives me huge confidence: they do have an official photographer. He will be the boss and under no circumstance I will interfere with his work. He is the Pro, he has the skills and experience.

So whatever I shoot, however my images turn out, the most important moments of the day will be captured by him.

What I have been asked for is to just photograph the preparations to the wedding of the husband. Hence i will go to his home, take a few pictures how he gets ready for the wedding etc. And then, after dinner, the official photographer will leave and I will be taking some pictures of the people chilling, talking, dancing etc.

Plus, without interfering in no way with the work of the official photographer, during the day I want to try to get some candid shots of the guest interacting with each other and so forth.

  • The Gear I’ll Use – The Power of X
** CLICK HERE to Read the Rest of the Article **

Fujifilm’s New CEO Mr. Goto: “Camera is Culture and Contribution to Society, We Won’t Stop Photography Business”

For decades, Fujifilm was lead by Shigetaka Komori, the CEO who overcome the film crisis by massively innovating the company and saving it from bankruptcy.

  • ebook suggestions: Innovating Out of Crisis: How Fujifilm Survived (and Thrived) As Its Core Business Was Vanishing

And yet, despite all the diversification, Shigetaka Komori was also the guy who said they won’t give up the photography business.

So, as long as he was in charge, I felt like we are in safe hands.

However, Shigetaka Komori left Fujifilm in March 2021 and the new top CEO became Teiichi Goto, and it was unclear how he would handle Fujifilm’s camera business.

Now we know a little bit more about it, or maybe not, as I have read two reports that are conflicting.

Let’s start with the shocker, the report at bloomberg.

Fujifilm Holdings Corp.’s tough decision to accept the demise of its film and digital photography businesses and embrace the health care and semiconductor sectors was validated last year during the pandemic, the company’s new chief executive officer said.

“Health care and semiconductor materials will be our future earnings drivers,” Teiichi Goto, who took the top post at Fujifilm last month, said in an interview Wednesday.

[…] While almost half of Fujifilm’s 2.2 trillion yen ($20 billion) in sales in the latest fiscal year through March came from those two segments [medical diagnostics, pharmaceutical manufacturing and supplying materials to chipmakers], they generate about two-thirds of the Tokyo-based company’s operating income.

Asked whether there was any chance that Fujifilm would change its name, given its evolution, Goto ruled it out. “Film isn’t just about photos,” Goto said. “There’s polarizer film for displays, medical dry film, antibacterial film. Ours is a logo that sticks all that together.”

And now comes the part, that can assure us that also the new CEO will keep the photography business going, as reported in an interview by asahi.com (google translated).

Regarding the film and camera business, he [Mr. Goto] stated that the he would continue without selling the business. “It is also a succession of culture and will continue. In ESG terms [Environmental, Social and Corporate Governance], it is “S” (contribution to society).”

That’s a pretty clear statement, that leaves little doubts that Fujifilm is committed to photography, even if other branches of the company are much more profitable.

Sure, some things will change in the camera industry. Many of the good old film stocks have to go in favor of instax film. And surely all what is entry level point and shoot digital compact cameras is long dead, and the focus will shift to higher end X and GFX cameras.

So, surely changes are happening and more will come. But if there is one company that can smartly maneuver around difficulties, then it’s Fujifilm.

via bloomberg via asahi via digicame-info

The Fastest Growing Fujifilm Group

Join Our Owners Groups

Join Our Facebook Pages

 

Fujichrome VELVIA 100 Discontinued in USA as it Contains Prohibited Toxic Substances

The very popular and still strong selling Fujichrome Velvia 100 film is now discontinued, but only in USA.

The film is now back-ordered at BHphoto. You can still find a few rolls on AmazonUS here and Adorama here.

The reason is that it contains toxic substances inside the layers of the film, that Fujifilm says poses no risk for your health.

In short: don’t eat it, ok?

On March 8, 2021, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) finalized a rule regarding the chemical phenol, isopropylated phosphate (3:1) (PIP (3:1)) (CASRN 68937-41-7) under the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA), which prohibited the processing and distribution in commerce, including sales, of the chemical and products containing the chemical. EPA also issued an enforcement policy on the same day stating that it will not enforce the ban on processing and distribution until September 5, 2021.

A miniscule amount (less than 0.0003%) of PIP (3:1) is present within the layers of FUJICHROME Velvia 100 Professional films. Fujifilm believes that the trace amount of PIP (3:1) in the FUJICHROME Velvia 100 Professional films pose no risk to the environment.

As a global leader in imaging, Fujifilm is committed to acting sustainably, and complying with all country regulations. As such, Fujifilm will discontinue FUJICHROME Velvia 100 Professional film in the U.S. effective immediately (July 6, 2021).

If you’ve purchased FUJICHROME Velvia 100 Professional films please read the accompanying Safety Data Sheet carefully.

You can read the official Fujifilm statement at this Fujifilm page (via phoblographer)

The Fastest Growing Fujifilm Group

Follow FujiRumors on Patreon, Facebook, Instagram, RSS-feed, Youtube, Flipboard and Twitter

Join Our Owners Groups

Join Our Facebook Pages

Fujinon XF200mmF2 Lens Removed from BHphoto but NOT Discontinued

Fujinon XF200mmF2 – Discounted but Not Discontinued

Ok, let me set something right.

BHphoto has completely removed the Fujinon XF200mmF2 R LM WR from their website. You’ll be redirected to a page that says: “The page your requested is no longer available. We have redirected you to a simlar page for your convenience.” I tried to check a google cached version of the page, and when I add the XF200mmF2 to the cart, it then tells me “some item(s) are no longer available at B&H“.

The situation is not much better at other stores. AmazonUS says here “Currently unavailable. We don’t know when or if this item will be back in stock” and Adorama says here that it is “Temporarily On Backorder“.

According to a FR-reader, BHphoto is sending out emails telling customers that the XF200mmF2 is discontinued:

B & H has sent me an email saying that the fuji xf 200 mm f2 has been discontinued and they no longer carry it.

So what is happening? Is it really discontinued?

I did investigated this, and I can 100% safely say that the lens is not at all discontinued. So I do not know why BHphoto is not listing the lens anymore.

What I know is that given the worldwide $/€ 2K discount on the XF200mmF2, as to expect, the lens sold out almost everywhere. And I’ve warned you already back in May that such a discount is ridiculous for a lens that was already short on stock before this epic deal.

Now the inevitable happened: it’s out of stock basically everywhere and who knows when Fujifilm will be able to ship current orders.

So, if you are interested in this lens, place your order. You’ll get it at some point. Fujifilm is still manufacturing it and will for a long time. But you better arm yourself with patience.

The XF200mmF2 Problem

The Fujinon XF200mmF2 is arguably one of the very best lenses Fujifilm ever made.

As we reported here, when Fujifilm designed it, they didn’t care about size and price. All they wanted to achieve, was the best image quality and a fast autofocus.

But Fujifilm managers told us that it did not sell well. In fact, given the struggles the XF200mmF2 faced on the market, Fujifilm is wondering if it makes any sense at all to continue to develop and manufacture long prime lenses, that will just result in a loss of money for Fujifilm.

My guess is that people overall tend to prefer zoom lenses that cover that 200mm range, and there are quite some of them in the Fujifilm lineup (and more will come in future).

Sure, none of them is optically on par with the close to perfect Fujinon XF200mmF2, but they are all very decent lenses anyway and deliver an image quality that will be totally satisfactory for the vast majority of Fujifilm X shooters. And they all come for a significantly more affordable price tag.

What About the XF300mmF4 and XF500mmF5.6?

Speaking of long primes…

Back in March 2020, we reported about two Fujinon XF patents showing a Fujinon XF 300mmF4 and Fujinon XF500mmF5.6.

And although I am aware that some folks gave it as 110% certain that those lenses will come in 2021, we warned you in January 2021 that those lenses won’t come in 2021. And quite frankly I have no idea if they will ever come.

We invite you to check out or latest and most updated 2021/2022 rumored Fujifilm products timeline to see what is coming (and what not).

The Future Needs…

So what will the future bring?

Well, you might remember how back in 2019, Fujifilm launched a survey on which lenses we’d like to receive in future.

FujiRumors took 1:1 the lens suggestions Fujifilm made and made this poll out of it that saw 20,000+ people voting on it.

Guess what?

All the long telephoto prime lenses ended up at the very bottom of the ranking, showing that there is simply not enough interest for such lenses.

My take?

Well, I think the XF200mmF2 is maybe not long enough (although with the 1.4x TC it is basically an XF300mmF2.8 lens).

What  I believe could be worth Fuji’s R&D and become much more successful is a Fujinon XF400mmF4 lens. And with 1.4x TC you’d have a XF560mmF5.6 lens. That lens, I believe, could guarantee Fujifilm decent sales.

So, let’s hope Fujifilm won’t give up on telephoto prime lenses. They are needed. For a niche, sure, but definitely needed.

New Tokina Lens Roadmap for Fujifilm X: Ultra Wide Prime, Standard Prime and 56mmF1.4x coming This Summer

Tokina has updated its lens roadmap, which includes new lenses also for Fujifilm x mount.

First off, in addition to the already exisiting autofocus lenses TOKINA atx-m 23mm F1.4 X and TOKINA atx-m 33mm F1.4 X, they finally gave us a release date for the TOKINA atx-m 56mm F1.4 X, which will come as soon as this summer.

These are basically all rebranded Viltrox lenses.

New to the roadmap are the following APS-C lenses for Fujifilm X mount to come in Winter 2021.

  • SZ Ultra Wide Prime Lens (APS-C lens)
  • SZ Standard Prime Lens (APS-C lens)
  • SZ 500mm F8 Reflex MF Lens (Full Frame Lens – Universal mount System)

Tokina has been explicitly mentioned by Fujifilm as getting official support (they have Fuji’s AF protocols). That’s always better than relying solely on reverse engineering.

And now, Sigma, it’s your turn!

Press Release

** CLICK HERE to Read the Rest of the Article **

Fujinon XF70-300mmF4-5.6 in Stock – Limited Number (4)

Due to the shortage in parts announced by Fujifilm (an issue that every electronic company in the world has right now), lots of Fujifilm gear is hard to find in stock.

Especially the most recently announced gear is widely unavailable.

Little curiosity: a long time and good friend of mine owns a little company that makes graphite components for the ovens needed to make silicon wafers, and he told me he has so much work right now that semiconductor facotries worldwide are tring to match the chip-demand.

With that said, one of the gear that is hard to find in stock, is the Fujinon XF70-300mmF4-5.6, which is not available at BHphoto here and Adorama here, but a limited number (4) is available at the time of this post at AmazonUS here.

In the last few weeks, I see more and more images taken with this lens at our facebook groups. And I must say what probably most impressed me, are its macro capabilities. Just go to any of our X series facebook groups linked below, search inside the group for “70-300 macro” and be amazed by what you’ll see,

And just overall, the XF70-300mm seems to be a great performer. Down below you can see some customer review ratings.

Gosh, I spend all my holiday/tavel/free time/restaurants money saved in 2020/2021 in gear already (GFX100S, GF64-32, XF80 macro, XF27mmF2.8MKII), and I am trying to save my marriage by not purchasing any new gear this year, but the XF70-300mm is one of my top temptations of 2021 along with the GF100-200, the GF50mmF3.5 and also my Nr.1 temptation, the X-E4.

Follow FujiRumors on Patreon, Facebook, Instagram, RSS-feed, Youtube, Flipboard and Twitter

Join Our Owners Groups

Join Our Facebook Pages