Fujifilm X-T200 Discontinued After Just 9 Months at Some Stores – is This The End of Fujifilm’s Entry Level Line?

 

Fujifilm X-T200 Discontinued

The Fujifilm X-T200 was announced on January 23, 2020 and started shipping in February 2020.

Now, just about 9 month after its release, some stores marked it as discontinued (see image above for example – google translated)

To my knowledge, this is not happening because an X-T300 is on the way (at least I have not heard about it). The reason is probably very simple: it did not sell well at all.

The Fujifilm X-T200 is a very fine camera for its price, but it failed in its purpose: attack the best selling camera in this price segment, the rather old and yet still strong selling Sony A6000, which was released in 2014 and is still in top selling raking at AmazonUS (currently 22th).

In the entry level segment, the Sony A6*** line is apparently unbeatable, and Fujifilm was not able to break through with excellent products like the Fujifilm X-T200 or even the X-A7.

That’s unfortunate.

The Unbeatable Sony A6000

But what could be the reason for the failure of the X-T200 and the ongoing success of the Sony A6000?

Well, in part it could be quite simple: people in the market for such a camera are usually not big photography enthusiasts and have not a huge photographic culture. They mostly just buy a camera because they want to have something that takes better pictures than their smartphones.

Those people know the Sony brand very well from their TV’s, their PlayStation’s and other electronic products that they use in their daily lives already. It’s a brand they know and associate with quality electronic products, and they therefore grab a Sony A6*** rather than a Fujifilm, which is for them a rather unknown brand they can’t relate to at all.

The Future for Fuji’s Entry Leve Line

Is this the end of the entry level line-up of Fujifilm?

Well, as we discussed in an earlier article, that shows Fujifilm’s own 2020 Fujifilm camera range pyramid, I believe that sooner rather than later the whole entry level line of Fujifilm will be dropped. It’s not a rumor, to be clear, but just my evaluation after seeing how this segment has developed over the last few years.

The only entry level line that did sell strong for a while, was the X-A line. But it looks like also that one is suffering, forcing Fujifilm to discontinue the X-A7 just 11 months after its release.

I am very pessimistic about Fuji’s entry level line, which, as we also told you already back in 2017 here, is no longer developed by Fujifilm anymore, but by the Xacti corporation. This means that already in 2017 Fujifilm struggled to justify that line any longer, and outsourcing its development was a last move to try to safe the line.

With the Fujifilm X-T200 and X-A7 failing to meet their sales targets, I am just becoming even more pessimistic about the future of those lines.

It’s a pity, I have personally recommended the X-T200 to a few of my friends, and they are all happy with it. But the market is not rewarding the best cameras for the reasons we told you above.

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Fujifilm Camera Remote 4.6.1 Released

Fujifilm Camera Remote App

Fujifilm Camera Remote 4.6.1 update has been released.

  • Support for iOS14
  • Bug Fixes and performance improvements
    *Above feature varies depending on what camera you use

You can download the iOS version at the AppStore and the Android version here.

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Fujinon XF10-24mm F4 R OIS WR Shipping November 26

Fujifilm has issued a press release, where they announce that the new Fujinon XF10-24mmF4 R OIS WR will be released on November 26.

The release date of the “FUJINON LENS XF10-24mmF4 R OIS WR”, which was announced recently as “scheduled to be released late November 2020”, has been decided.

Release date: Thursday, November 26, 2020

Looking at the XF10-24 page of BHphoto, they still mark the lens as shipping on November 19, but I guess the date will be changed soon now that Fujifilm has released an official date.

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New Fujifilm Financial Results: COVID-19 Can’t Stop X-T4 and X100V, Instax Rises Again but Pandemic Still a Serious Issue

The latest Fujifilm financial results for the 2nd quarter 2021 (1 July 2020 to 30 September 2020) have been released.

Of course COVID-19 had a terrific impact, but there are some signs of recovery and hope.

First of all, after a couple of rather negative reports in the past, Instax seems to be growing strong again, which is, as we know, the real money machine of the imaging division.

But also sales of the Fujifilm X-T4 and X100V were “brisk” and there is a recovery trend in the when it comes to digital camera sales.

And yet, overall the numbers are still negative due to COVID-19, but Fujifilm writes:

Operating income was down, but if COVID-19 impacts are excluded, the segment secured income of a similar level to last year

Overall Fujifilm writes:

In the Imaging Solutions segment, consolidated revenue amounted to ¥113.9 billion (down 26.1% from the same period of the previous fiscal year). Sales of products and services in general decreased due to the impacts of stay-at-home orders, temporary closure of retailers, and a variety of events not being held, or being cancelled, in many cities worldwide due to the spread of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Consolidated operating loss amounted to ¥2.1 billion.

[…]

In the electronic imaging field of the optical device and electronic imaging business, temporary closure of retailers and fewer opportunities to take photos due to the COVID-19 pandemic resulted in a decline in revenue. The digital camera market as a whole faced severe challenges and overall demand declined far below the previous year’s level. Nonetheless, sales increased steadily for FUJIFILM X100V, a high-end, compact digital camera launched in February 2020, and FUJIFILM X-T4, a mirrorless digital camera highly regarded for its high-speed AF and advanced video performance, launched in April 2020. In July 2020 we launched the FUJINON Lens GF30mmF3.5 R WR as a new interchangeable lens for the GFXSeries, providing a compact wide-angle prime lens that delivers ultra-high resolution. Then, in September 2020, we launched a new addition to our lineup of interchangeable lenses for the X Series in the form of the FUJINON Lens XF50mmF1.0 R WR, a large-diameter mid-telephoto prime lens, thereby enhancing the appeal of our products as systems through a generous lineup of lenses. Going forward, we will continue providing value-added products and revitalizing the market, along with sharing the joy of taking photos.

In the optical device field, revenue decreased, reflecting reduced sales of broadcast and cinema lenses due to cancellation of sports events, and suspended filming of television dramas and movies, as well as reduced sales of vehicle-mounted lenses due to lower demand in the automotive industry worldwide. Demand for lenses for security purposes held firm, and revenue for the second quarter was higher than the same period of the previous fiscal year. Aiming to achieve business growth in this field, we are expanding our business domains and developing innovative products that satisfy the diverse needs of the market, including developing and launching ultra-short-throw projectors and long-throw security cameras, and developing new multispectral camera systems.

Here are the various documents:

Fujinon XF70-300mm F4-5.6 Possibly with 67mm Filter Size

We recently published a size comparison here between the upcoming Fujinon XF70-300mm f/4-5.6 and other longer Fujinon X telephoto zooms.

In that article, we reported how FR-reader Fujiste calculated a filter size of 72mm.

Now FR-reader Xandros contacted me with his own calculations of the filter size, and according to him the filter size should be of 67mm. You can see his measurements in the image above.

As for its overall size, here on FujiRumors we calculated the length of the Fujinon XF70-300mm f/4-5.6, and we saw that it is roughly 1.5 cm longer than the Fujinon XF55-200mm f/3.5-4.8.

I guess the very compact size of the XF70-300mm f/4-5.6 will make it the strongest competitor to the good old XF55-200mm, and that’s probably the reason why Fujifilm is now heavily discounting the XF55-200mm.

What a nice lens Fujifilm gave us here!

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My Cat and my XF18-135

Sigma Says DC DN Lenses for Fujifilm X Mount will Hopefully Come in 2021

Here on FujiRumors we often discussed the wish for Sigma to make Fujifilm X mount lenses.

However, up until today Sigma has officially always kept a rather pessimistic position on that.

In fact, here are some of Sigma’s past statements:

Sigma CEO said here:

Fujifilm Customers Would be Our Ideal Customer, but Fujifilm Does Not Disclose Their Protocols

Sigma CEO said here:

Our Mission is to Support as Many Systems as Possible, but our engineering resources are limited, so we need to prioritize projects, depending on the demand from the customer

On Fujifilm’s side, initially top managers said this here:

Fujifilm does not need to share X mount protocols with third-parties, since we offer already lots of glass

But I guess the pressure coming from the Fujifilm community was big enough, to make them change opinion later on:

We Open X Mount to Third Parties […] Kenko Tokina actually already announced three lenses for X-mount, with autofocus […] Many customers want more lenses, and we want to satisfy that need

Last but not least, here is one of the rumors we shared back in 2018:

SIGMA Will Make FUJIFILM X Mount lenses if X series Camera Sales Increase by 20%

Well, today, for the first time, we have an official Sigma statement that allows us for the first time to have hope Sigma X mount lenses could come.

In fact, when fellow FR-reader Rob (thanks for letting me know) wrote to Sigma that he can’t wait for X mount DC DN lenses, and there is no excuses not to make them since Fujifilm released their AF protocols, Sigma answered publicly on their official social media channels:

Hopefully we’ll see such in 2021.

But still be careful: they say “hopefully”, so nothing is yet set in stone.

In the past we did launch a massive survey, where we listed all Sigma lenses and did let you vote on which one you’d like to get also for Fujifilm X mount. Your top 10 Sigma-wishes turned out to be the following ones:

  1. Sigma 18-35mm f/1.8 DC HSM
  2. Sigma 50-100mm f/1.8 DC HSM
  3. Sigma 56mm f/1.4 DC DN Contemporary
  4. Sigma 16mm f/1.4 DC DN Contemporary
  5. Sigma 35mm f/1.2 DG DN Art
  6. Sigma 150-600mm f/5-6.3 DG OS HSM
  7. Sigma 10-20mm f/3.5 EX DC HSM
  8. Sigma 30mm f/1.4 DC DN Contemporary
  9. Sigma 500mm f/4 DG OS HSM
  10. Sigma 85mm f/1.4 DG HSM Art

If you want, you can check out and still vote the full survey here.

Crossing fingers some of the them will come also for Fuji X mount in 2021!

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This Guy Designed Fujifilm Film Simulation Recipe Cards to Download and Print

One of facebook group I enjoy most lately is our fast growing Fujifilm film simulation group (8.6K members already!!).

What’s special about it?

Well, images shared in this group can be edited in all their parts (sharpening, shadow/highlight recovery etc), except for colors, which must come purely out of the Fujifilm camera (or the film simulation can applied in post in Capture One / Lightroom).

Navigating through the group shows that film simulations are not a marketing gimmik, but a powerful tool available to all Fujifilm X and GFX shooters.

And that Fujifilm takes colors seriously is also shown by the fact that the guy, who developed the original Velvia film, is now in charge of bringing the magic of film colors into Fuji’s digital cameras. We reported about Minami-San here. A life devoted to colors.

But here is the thing.

While Fujifilm currently offers many film simulations (and is always developing new ones), the Fujifilm X/GFX community often loves to fine-tune them to taste.

On the internet you can find all possible receipts. For example, here you can find 80+ film simulation receipts to download in form of PDF.

Now, many X shooters like to save the various film simulations receipts in their 7 available custom presets. But what if 7 is not enough, because the receipts you like to use regulary are more than that?

Well, an answer could be the “Fujifilm Film Simulation Recipe Cards” developed by Oleksii Prytuhin (instagram).

Print them in credit card size (as fellow FS-member Mick did here), put them in your wallet and keep them always with you. When needed, take them out, check the settings, adjust the camera settings and you are good to shoot again.

For now the receipts available in form of flash cards are still limited, but let’s hope Oleksii will slowly extend the number of cards available.

You can check out the Film simulation receipt cards at Fuji X Weekly here.

Of course, if any FR-reader would like to continue Oleskii’s work, feel free to do so, and to share with FujiRumors. I’d be happy to dedicate it another article here on FujiRumors.

Thanks to Kiattikool for sharing this information at our Film simulation group here, to Richie for writing this article and making the PDF available, and of course to Oleksii for the nice idea and the work.

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Fujifilm Manager Talks Full Frame Market Shift (and Why Fuji Sticks with APS-C), WR Versions of Older Lenses, Market Situation & More

As we reported here, Toshihisa Iida has just been promoted to new President and Managing Director at Fujifilm Europe.

He is also the guy who said in the past that Fujifilm will NEVER go Full Frame.

Now he gave an interview to the amateurphotographer. Here are some excerpts:

COVID-19 affects on Fujifilm

  • Before the pandemic struck, there were more than 8,000 professional photography businesses operating in the UK alone
  • global demand for digital cameras has dropped by 40% since the start of April 2020 according to CIPA, but thanks to the performance of products like the X-T4 and X100V, Fujifilm is performing significantly better than that
  • Fujifilm also worked hard to supply medical imaging technologies to those on the front line, as well as working to realize the manufacture of COVID-19 vaccines and therapies at scale with pharmaceutical partners

Biggest Industry Future Challenges for Fuji: the drift towards full frame or the rise of smartphones?

  • biggest challenge is to ensure to keep innovating in R&D
  • Finding a real consumer demand’ is a key
  • provide a better experience of taking photos and videos
  • Customers don’t buy a sensor, but an experience
  • Fujifilm is not a company to simply follow the same path as others
  • Consumers demand more and are no longer wanting to invest in a product; they want a service and an experience.

The Market Differences over the Globe

  • X-T4, X-T3 and X-T30 are all popular around the world, and the X100V has been the bestselling high-end compact globally.
  • GFX is almost evenly split except in the Chinese market [admin note: I have been told the GFX100 sells extraordinary well in China]
  • piqued popularly of the X-A series in some Asian countries
  • Globally, instax is one of Fujifilm’s biggest consumer success stories

And Full Frame?

  • in the last two years the market shifted strongly towards full frame
  • for Fujifilm, APS-C is the best-balanced system
  • APS-C is the best answer for those downsizing due to the smaller, lighter lenses, as well as the camera body
  • GFX provides the best image quality without requiring a high level of investment.

Fujifilm X-S10

  • It was demand coming from customers used to DSLR cameras and from those who prefer to have more usability for video shooting
  • very rich features such as IBIS, 4K30p video with long recording time – but with a small weight of just 465g
  • X-S10 offers a very smooth transition for DSLR customers to enjoy the latest mirrorless technologies with the advantage of a smaller, handy size.

Weather Resistant Versions of older lenses?

  • WR versions of older lenses requires to completely re-design the inside structure, hence in some cases needs R&D from scratch

Should Fujifilm work closer with Sigma and Tamron?

  • I cannot be specific about our working relationships with other companies but we have received and understand our customers’ request.

You can read the full interview at amateurphotographer.

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Fringer Nikon F to Fujifilm X Smart AF Adapter Coming Soon and Autofocus Tracking Video Demo

Fringer has just uploaded a video showing the autofocus tracking performance of a prototype Nikon F to Fujifilm X Smart Adapter.

The gear used was the Nikon AF S200-500mm f/5.6 mounted on a Fujifilm X-T3 with latest firmware 4.00.

The results:

  • 90 images taken in 9 seconds (10fps)
  • 77% of images sharp (69 out of 90)

Fringer says the adapter will be released soon.

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Fujifilm X-T3 New Features Guide for Firmware 4.00

Fujifilm has just released firmware 4.00 for Fujifilm X-T3.

It’s a major update, and hence it requires an update to the manual.

You can download the new features guide in several languages:

For more details about the firmware and the download link, check out our previous article here.

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