For personal reasons I was not able to make videos this month, nor to really work full power on the rumors and the blog in general. Sometimes life has other plans and sets other priorities.
Good news: an important medical check just a few days ago went well, so now it’s time for me to crawl out of my hole and gain back the energy to give you guys what you deserve: rumors!
So it happens that for all those, who wanted the X-E4, the only option now is to look around at the second hand market, where, as reported by asobinet, the price in some countries can be higher than what the X-E4 did cost brand new. And digitalcameraworld has an article up here, where they explain how they sold their X-E4 for more than what they originally paid for it new.
Now, recently Fujifilm France hinted that there is no market for the X-E line. But if that was the case, I wonder why people are buying it second hand and overpriced, similar to what is happening to the Fujifilm X100V.
Anyway, I strongly hope the X-E line will continue. It’s a great alternative to those who want an X100-alike experience (minus OVF) but with the possibility to change lenses. Although I don’t really change lenses much on my X-E3, where this lens lives glued on it.
I still love using my X-E3, as you can see in my video here, but it starts to show its age, especially now that I also own the X-T5 with a terrific boost in terms of autofocus and features.
I would probably jump on an X-E5 on day one if Fujifilm would ever make one, just to get access to the new autofocus power and more film simulations (Reala included). Better if with 40MP, but I could also live with the Fujifilm X-S20 solution, so the 26MP combined with the new X Processor 5.
So please, dear Fujifilm, don’t axe the X-E line. Give us an X-E5, produce it in decent numbers, and you’ll see you’ll be rewarded for that.
But as you know, on FujiRumors we will not make up a single rumor just to make traffic, nor share anonymous rumors we receive in which I don’t trust.
We prefer to share less rumors, generate less traffic, make less money, and value your time with less, but accurate rumors.
But until more rumors drop, I thought we could also make one single article where we talk about the current state of the rumors and also make speculation on what could or we would like to come in 2024.
And I am aware that never before Fujifilm needed more than 4/6 months to release a camera after its registration has been spotted.
This is why 99,9% of people out there are so sure there will be another Fujifilm announcement this year.
Maybe in November, as that’s a great month to launch new gear (Fuji’s most important camera has been launched November last year for example).
But this ain’t gonna happen, according to our sources.
In fact, we have been told (thanks!!!), that as far as 2023 goes, this was it. There is no new gear coming in 2023.
I mean, yes, the two GF tilt shift lenses still have to hit the market. But of course our sources mean that there won’t be any further announcements this year.
This means that we will also NOT get the next Fujinon XF lens that we already rumored a couple of weeks ago, in 2023.
So all we got (and will get) in 2023 is:
Fujifilm X-S20
Fujifilm GFX100II
Fujinon XF8mmF3.5
Fujinon GF55mmF1.7
Fujinon GF30mmF5.6 Tilt Shift
Fujinon GF110mmF5.6 Tilt Shift
Some great stuff dropped in 2023 for both systems, but certainly there was more to rejoice for GFX users rather than X series users this year.
But before the X series users start moaning, just a quick reminder on what we got in 2022:
Fujifilm X-T5
Fujifilm X-H2
Fujifilm X-H2s
Fujinon XF 30mmF2.8 Macro
Fujinon XF 56mm f/1.2 R WR
Fujinon XF 150-600mm f/5.6-8
Fujinon XF 18-120mm f/4
Sure, we always wish for more. But over the last 2 years I think we can agree that there has been quite some decent stuff for both systems.
And what about 2024?
Well, for that, my friends, you’ll have to follow FujiRumors.
Rumors, that will be shared exclusively for you here on FujiRumors.
DPReview met up with Yuji Igarashi, Professional Imaging Group Manager, and Makoto Oishi, Head of Product Planning in Stockholm for the launch of the Fujifilm GFX100 II.
Here is a recap and below the link to the full interview.
But since the buzz is big and many headlines compare it to Fujifilm’s retro approach (like our Italian friends at Promirrolress here that gave it the headline: “the Nikon Zf makes Fujifilm tremble“), I thought to launch a dedicated article mainly so that you guys can discuss about it in the comments.
My comment?
In short: I love what Nikon did with the Nikon Zf, even though there are reasons I still consider Fujifilm the better pick.
What Nikon did right
The problem is this:
Pretty much all mid and higher end mirrorless cameras you can buy today are excellent.
At the same time, there is not much innovation anymore in terms of sensors. The last big jump was achieved with the stacked sensor. Since then, we are still waiting for the next big thing (global shutter?), but that “big thing” seems to be still far away.
So the question is: what could motivate people to buy a new camera, if what they have is already so good and the new gear does not really bring groundbreaking new specs to the table?
Is a 20% faster sensor readout or a 10% higher autofocus accuracy really a reason to upgrade gear?
I don’t think so.
But what could work as a much bigger motivation to upgrade than a slightly faster sensor readout is to offer a completely different photographic experience over the mainstream thanks to dedicated dials, retro look and feel, vintage manual controls.
Because even if the camera might be identical in terms of specs to many other cameras, it will still be able to offer something completely different thanks to the retro approach.
Also, in times where camera companies have to find ways to draw younger generations into their systems, the retro style could be paradoxically something that achieves exactly that goal, as we can see from the terrific success of the Fujifilm X100V.
That’s why I believe the Nikon Zf will become a terrific success. It is the one thing that sets it apart from all other Nikon Z cameras (except for the Nikon Zfc of course).
Nikon Zf or Fujifilm?
The Nikon Zf uses the same 24MP sensor of the Nikon Z6II. And we know from Photons to Photos dynamic range measurements data, that it is marginally better in terms of dynamic range over the 40MP Fujifilm X-H2 with X-Trans sensor (Z6II has a PDR of 11.26 vs X-H2 a PDR of 10.75).
But that’s actually not the point.
Other aspects are more relevant. The Nikon Zf has:
no joystick
no dual UHS-II card slot
no awesome film simulations
lenses without aperture ring
less megapixel than X-T5
more than 30% heavier than my X-T5 (plus the bigger full frame lenses, without aperture ring)
Now these are just a few things that make the Nikon Zf not a temptation for me. But for many others these might not be an issue at all.
I am not bashing on the Nikon Zf. On the contrary, I applaud and welcome it, and it is the first camera from another brand that actually grabs my interest for more than just 5 minutes. ;).
I believe the Nikon Zf will become a terrific success. And I certainly wish it to Nikon. More vintage cameras on the market are always welcome and refreshing over the plethora of PSAM dial cameras out there.
This LUT file and IDT file is to edit the movie data below when the data is edited by a movie editor on your PC or Mac.
<F-Log 3D-LUT file / F-Log IDT file>
* F-Log movie data recorded with GFX100 II, GFX100S, GFX100, X-E4, X-S10, X-S20, X-T30 II, X-T30, X-T2, X-T3, X-T4, X-T5, X-Pro3, X-H1, X-H2S, X-H2 and X100V
<F-Log2 3D-LUT file / F-Log2 IDT file >
* F-Log2 movie data recorded with GFX100 II, X-H2S, X-H2, X-T5 and X-S20.
In 2023 we have so far spotted three Fujifilm registrations, with 2 items still to come
FF220002 = Fujifilm X-S20
FF230001 = very likely Fujifilm GFX100II
FF230002 = yet unknown
We know for sure that one of the yet to be released items will be the Fujifilm GFX100II.
So what could be the second one?
I’ve read all sorts of speculations, from the Fujifilm GFX50R successor, the Fujifilm X-Pro4, Fujifilm X-E5, Fujifilm X-T6, Fujifilm X-T40, Fujifilm X80, Fujifilm X-H3, Fujifilm X-H3S, Fujifilm X100VI or X200 and more.
But those “rumors” appeared also ahead of the X Summit on May 24, and of course none of it materialized.
Here on FujiRumors we avoid to share fakes for traffic and SEO. That’s why all we rumored so far for 2023 were the X-S20 (code name FF220002) and the Fujifilm GFX100II (probably the FF230001).
So yes, there is still one piece of gear, the FF230002, that should come this year. But which camera will it be?
Again, I have absolutely no rumors about other cameras coming in 2023, so an idea came to me:
What if it’s not a camera?
What if it’s something else?
Because keep in mind that these registrations don’t say anything about “cameras”, but about gear that uses some sort of WiFi/Bluetooth frequencies.
So, with that in mind, and given the lack of rumors for another camera coming in 2023, I see three options:
Fujifilm will launch a new camera with the code name FF230002 in 2023, but FujiRumors simply does not know about it yet
Fujifilm will launch a new camera with the code name FF230002 in 2024
Fujifilm will launch an X-H alike file transmitter grip along with the GFX100II on September 12, and the grip has the code FF230002
Now, I don’t have rumors about any GFX100II file transmitter grip, but I have rumors about the GFX100II having an optional (and not integrated) battery grip, which could make option 3 likely.
Sure, also option 1 and 2 are still open. Especially if on September 12 the GFX100 II will come without any file transmitter grip.
But as we documented here it usually takes Fujifilm not more than 4 months (in two cases only it took them 6 months) to launch a camera after the registration has been spotted. And since the FF230002 registration appeared back in June here, the likelihood of a 2023 launch is very high.
And sure, there can always be a surprise camera. Maybe scheduled for launch later this year, maybe in November (X-T5 was launched in November too). I am just a rumor site and don’t claim to always know everything that will happen in the Fujifilm world. But maybe you remember the famous Fujifilm camera roadmap shared by Fuji Spain, in which they displayed two “disruptive” cameras coming for 2023. Well, if that roadmap was accurate, then the X-S20 and GFX100II would be those cameras and we can’t expect anything else coming this year.
But if that was the case, if nothing else would not come in 2023, then don’t worry, because as we already told you, the start into 2024 will be bombastic ;).
As soon as the video was up, I extracted the tags of the video and saw that the full tag-list included terms like “GFX100 II”, “tilt shift” and more (see screenshot above). I tried again now, and the tags that unveil what’s coming are no longer there.
So luckily I was fast enough to grab them for you. ;)
Now let’s go over them.
Let’s start with the tags that 100% tell us what’s coming September 12.
Fujifilm GFX100 II
Tilt Shift
According to my knowledge, also the Fujinon GF55mm f/1.7 should come on September 12.
Looking at the other tags gives us a sense on what the main focus of the event will be:
Now, there are no specific tags for Fujifilm X-Pro4, X-E5, X-S30, X-T6, X-T40, X-H3, X-H3S, X80, X100VI (X200) or whatever. So little hopes for any X series camera to come, otherwise they would have tagged it just like they tagged the GFX100 II.
But I’d already be very happy if behind that “X series” and “fujinon” would hide for example the unveil of a new X series lens roadmap, which is long overdue.
Anyway, overall a very GFX-centric event, with hope for X series tidbits too.
Every year, Techno System Research, a major marketing research company located in Japan, publishes the worldwide camera market share data.
And while the data is behind a (very expensive) paywall, the main chart (see above) for this year has been published by the Japanese Nikkei.
Digital camera 2022 global market share (compared to 2021)*Techno System Research
Canon 46.5% (+0.7%)
Sony 26.1% (-0.9%)
Nikon 11.7% (+0.4%)
Fujifilm 5.8% (-0.1%)
Panasonic 4.2% (-0.2%)
This is the data for the entire digital camera market.
I find the mirrorless ranking more interesting, as it is free of all those DSLRs Canon and Nikon still sells.
And I wonder where Fujifilm would rank, if they just would have been able to ship the X100V and pretty much any other camera that was basically never in stock even if just recently announced (see X-E4).
For mirrorless only, sadly no data had been published so far and not even in 2021, but this is the data we had for 2020
Sony: about 35%
Canon: about 30%
Fujifilm: about 12%
Nikon: about 7%
I hope they will offer again a separate ranking for mirrorless cameras.
