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
There are some images of the Fujifilm X-H2 floating around on social media which are erroneously reported as the possibly first leaked images of the Fujifilm X-H2.
Well, here on FujiRumors we kept a cool head and did what we can do best: verify and check.
So it turns out that these are not leaked X-H2 images but renderings made by Fujifilm X shooter Steven.
And while not the real deal, Steven’s renderings could be a nice way to start a discussion on how we’d like the Fujifilm X-H2 to be in terms of handling and ergonomics.
Which design choices made by Steven do you particularly like? And what other suggestions do you have? Feel free to contribute down below in the comments.
Steven shared his renderings on his instagram here and writes:
How do you think Fujifilm X-H2 would look like?
I imagine it would be a crossover between X-T4 and GFX 100s. As a video-centric camera, being in a less retro form factor makes sense. Adding more dials and buttons will be awesome too.
Also, it’s my first foray into 3D hard surface modeling, so it’s been quite a rough but fun ride.
Since X-H2 is going to be more video-centric, I figured the record button should be prominent, coupled with more function buttons around it. Or is it too many?
That rounded concave thing? It’s meant to be a joystick, so you can move the focus area without touching the LCD nor using the back joystick. That way your right hand doesn’t have to change position while holding the camera.
It would be awesome to have a screen with similar articulation as X-T100. That way the distance between the sub-monitor and the LCD screen is not far. I’m not smart enough to figure out how it works practically, but a man can dream hehe.
As far as solid Fujifilm X-H2 rumor goes, you can find the updated list down below.
But also Jim Kasson is covering the Fujinon GF80mmF1.7 brilliantly in his technical tests, which we will share down below.
I did play around with the Fujinon GF80mmF1.7 too (and so did my son) when I met my friend, who sold all his Nikon Z mirrorless gear for the GFX system. So far he does not regret it at all and he is totally thrilled about his switch.
DPReivew just published the interview they had with top Fujifilm manager Toshihisa Iida at photokina 2018, which includes the clearest statement I have ever heard so far if Fujifilm will go full frame or not. It’s a clear “No, never!”
He also opens to the possiblity of an interchangeable lens Instax camera and maybe even cine lenses for the GFX system.
Here some excerpts of the interview.
Q: Will Fujifilm ever enter the full-frame market? A: No, never. Because we don’t have that legacy – luckily or unluckily. We don’t see any point in Fujifilm entering that market, particularly since we have good APS-C and medium format systems. If we entered full-frame [our systems] would just start cannibalizing each other. We’re happy to stay with two completely independent systems.
Q: Do you see many of your users upgrading from X to GFX? A: Not quite yet. Because they’re totally different systems. […] I hope that in near future more X Series customers will step up to GFX.
Q: GFX 50R and GFX 100S A: All GFX 50R controls must be reachable with one hand, that was our concept for usability. We wanted the camera to be more suited to street, reportage and portrait photography. The forthcoming 100MP camera is more SLR style, with a detachable viewfinder, more similar to the 50S, but with an integrated battery grip for greater battery capacity. The sensor and the image stabilization system need more power. The biggest challenge was image stabilization.
Q: Will the viewfinder experience of the 100MP camera be better to the current GFX 50S and 50R? A: It should be a lot better, yes, because the readout speed of the new sensor is a lot quicker. The sensor and the processor itself are both upgraded. The processor is much more powerful.
Q: Video features on Fujifilm cameras? A: The forthcoming 100MP camera will be the first 4K/30p GFX camera. […] With the X Series we have a plan, for example to extend recording time, and make the menus more usable for still and video shooting.
Q: 100MP and 4K/30p represent a huge amount of data – is SD media still appropriate? A: I think that SD media and HDMI output are enough for now
Q: Do you welcome third-party lens manufacturers that want to create lenses for XF and GF? A: They’re not open standards as yet, but of course our customers want choice. We’re always considering what would benefit our customers, and more lenses are generally beneficial for customers.
Q: Should we expect to see more smaller, compact lenses for GF mount, like the forthcoming 50mm pancake? A: Yes, in the future we’d like to expand our lineup of compact lenses for GF.
Q: In the past we’ve spoken about software corrections for some lenses. Do you see a future where your high-quality lenses could be made smaller using software? A: We always prioritize optical quality first, minimizing software correction. That’s our policy at the moment, and I don’t think it will change. That’s why the APS-C format is important to us. We make the lenses as small as possible, without [a lot of] software correction.
Q: What are the challenges of designing fast focusing large-aperture lenses? A: A brighter lens means that each element is heavier. So we need to build in more powerful focus actuators, but there’s limited space. So it’s always a tradeoff of lens brightness, focus speed, and how heavy the lens is.
Today I decided to take a look at the refresh rate of the top/mid range Fujifilm cameras and tried to make a guess (NOT A RUMOR) about when the Fujifilm X-H2, Fujifilm X-Pro3, Fujifilm X-E4, Fujifilm X-T4, Fujifilm X-T30 and Fujifilm X200 (or X100V) can be expected.
Overall we can see how the Fujifilm X-E and X-Pro line are gravitating towards a 4 years refresh time, whereas X-T and X100 line are close to a 2 years refresh time.
WARNING
This is not based on rumors, and it’s not said that Fujifilm will always keep the same product refresh rate. Everything can change anytime.
All 2/3 sensor cameras are not included, since the won’t ever get any successor (not even 1 inch sensor cameras, no matter what old patents say)
X70/XF10: XF10 is not the X70 successor. It’s unclear if there will be a Fujifilm X80 at some point
X-A line has a high refresh rate, but the FR community is for the most part not interested in this camera line
GFX 50S, GFX 100S, GFX 50R: According to our rumors, the GFX 100 comes 2 years and 3 months after the GFX 50S. It’s unclear if the Fuji GFX 50R will also get a 2 year refresh rate or a 4 year refresh rate like its rangefinder brothers the X-Pro and X-E
This years’ photokina will probably the most exciting of the last 20 years.
We will assist to the death of DSLR’s (that’s it my friends, just accept it), and open the new era of mirrorless.
Paraphrasing the famous sentence from the movie Deadline we could say “that’s technology, baby, there is nothing you can do about it, nothing“.
Sure, the transition from DSLR to mirrorless won’t happen overnight. But that’s the trend. And that’s why Canon and Nikon are starting to get serious about mirrorless, too.
On this years photokina we will see the following new mirrorless cameras from Fujifilm:
In 2016, the by far busiest booth was the one of Fujifilm, but, between me and you, the most beautiful one was without a doubt the one of Leica (don’t tell Fuji, but I’ve spend hours (!!!) there).
This year, Fujifilm won’t have such an easy game to play like in 2016. The competition is strong, and that’s good for us customers.
The biggest problem?
Well, on the same Photokina days, there is also worlds largest beer festival, the Oktoberfest in Munich (I’ve never been there). So I stand in front of tough decisions: Oktoberfest or Photokina? Life can be so cruel!!!