We did talk about the top 10 most important cameras of Fujifilm in the last 10 years.
But not all was successful that Fujifilm did.
So why did some cameras fail? Bad timing? Bad specs? Too strong competition? Killed by Kaizen? Complicated usability?
Let’s look into it today, because knowing the errors of the past, will help to avoid to make the same errors in future.
Let’s start!
Fujifilm has released a couple of new firmware updates. Down below all details and download links.
Fujifilm X-T200 firmware 1.11 has been released – download here
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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.
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.
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 has announced that the release of the Fujifilm X-T200 has been pushed back from February 27 to March 2020.
At the time of this post, BHphoto & Co still show February 27 for delivery, but I guess they will change that soon.
Feel free to:
