If I should pick my all time favorite dial on Fujifilm cameras, then it would be the combined shutter/ISO dial we find on the Fujifilm X100VI and X-Pro3 for example.
In fact, I would be willing to pay more for a Fujifilm X-E5, just to get that dial also there.
Now, I don’t think (speculation, not rumor) that Fujifilm will put that dial also on the X-E5, because the combined shutter/ISO dial is complicated to manufacture and hence raises the price of the camera. And I guess Fujifilm does not want to make the X-E5 too expensive, nor make it too complicated (and therefore much slower) to manufacture.
In fact, the Fujifilm GFX100RF might be the one Fujifilm camera with the most dedicated manual controls ever made, as in addition to the combined shutter/ISO dial, it will also feature:
I understand that dedicated manual controls aren’t for everyone. However, if you’re someone (like me) who enjoys having as many dials and levers as possible, if that’s what adds to your enjoyment and sparks your inspiration, then the GFX100RF could be an outstanding choice.
Judging from the comments here on FujiRumors, many are still doubting that there will ever be a Fujifilm X-E5.
But trust me guys, it is coming in 2025.
And today we can be more precise.
The Fujifilm X-E5 will come* in summer of 2025.
*NOTE: the source said “come” in summer 2025. So I do not know exactly if this means “announced” or “released”. This means it could be that it will be announced and released in summer, but it could also be announced in late spring and ship in summer, or announced in late summer and ship in autumn. But it won’t come in early 2025, nor in late 2025.
I say this just to be as precise as possible for now.
If I figure out month, day and time of the announcement, you’ll read it here on FujiRumors.
Sell your Current X-E Camera?
The Fujifilm X-E5 will be one of Fujifilm’s most exciting announcements of 2025 and probably another epic failure due to Fujifilm incompetence in production and delivery, just as it happened with the X-E4.
I am sorry guys for this rant at the end of the article, but the Fujifilm X-E4 was the most disastrous announcement I can remember. The camera itself was great, but if you think the X100VI is a shipping disaster, then look at what happened to the X-E4:
discontinued in March 2023 while tons of people still had one on pre-order, probably to reserve parts to other cameras with higher profit margins
Not even the Fujifilm X100VI has such a bad shipping record as the X-E4.
You know, normally I’d now sell my X-E3 before the X-E5 arrives, and then just buy the X-E5. But looking at Fujifilm’s failure with the X-E4, I think this time I’ll keep my X-E3 until the day I actually own the X-E5. I don’t want to sell it and then find myself without an X-E camera because of Fujifilm’s bad production planing.
Dear Fujifilm: the Fujifilm X-E5 could potentially be a massive best seller for you. Don’t mess it up like with the X-E4. If you bother to announce an X-E5, then please also make sure to produce it in sufficient numbers.
If you thought the film simulation dial of the Fujifilm X-T50 was a one-time experiment by Fujifilm, then forget about it.
Hate it or love it, it is here to stay and it will be used also on the upcoming Fujifilm X-M5.
Of course the question now is: will there be also other future Fujifilm cameras that will use that dial?
Well, we can safely assume that higher end cameras won’t use the film simulation dial. I simply can’t believe Fujifilm would put one on the Fujifilm X-Pro5 or Fujifilm X-T6 or Fujifilm X-H3 or Fujifilm X-H3S.
But as we can see on X-T50/X-M5, on mid-low end cameras Fujifilm might as well use that dial.
So now the question comes up: will maybe the Fujifilm X-E5 have a film simulation dial, too?
I do not have the answer to that question.
But what I can do until I find the answer, is to ask you which dial you’d like on the Fujifilm X-E5.
I guess the most realistic options are either a shutter speed dial or a film simulation dial.
Fujifilm must make sure the errors of the X-E4 are not repeated. The X-E5 must be produced in sufficient numbers. And that dial is just too cumbersome to make.
And yet, out of curiosity, I will give you also that dial option to vote on. Just to see if I am the only one who’s in love with that dial or if there are also others who’d pay a bit more for an X-E5 just to get that dial.
When yesterday we published the comments of Fujifilm CEO, who said that it is very difficult to mass-produce Fujifilm cameras with retro dials, there were some who said that making a retro dial is just as quick and easy as making a PSAM dial.
Is it true?
Well, the CEO was referring to the production struggles of the Fujifilm X100VI, which uses the combined ISO/Shutter dial first introduced on the Fujifilm X-Pro2.
So let’s look at that dial. Is it really as easy as making a PSAM dial? Here is what Fujifilm writes about it:
Realizing the [dial] mechanism and manufacturing process were not easy.
Firstly, […] there are 22 positions in total, quite a lot of number for an internal dial. […]
Secondly, the dial is electronically linked. The analog dial operation is converted digitally to know exactly what the setting is.
And Lastly, this mechanism has to be weather-resistant.
In order to meet the requirement, the Shutter speed / ISO dial required 38 parts for its composition. This number is the fourth largest after the finder, shutter unit, and mount.
This is not only about number of pieces, some parts required highly tech solution to manufacture the piece.
For example, in order to achieve the accurate 22 positions, the piece needed to be very precise and durable regardless of its complicated form. This piece is realized by a method called Metal Injection Molding (MIM). It is not cost friendly, but the this method realizes the metal part to be durable even in its complicated form.
Why do we spend so much time on this one dial?
Unfortunately there is no economic and rational answer to that question. But it was something that the developing team of X-Pro camera had always dreamed of achieving. And it was also something that the passionate X-Pro users strongly wished for.
So please, don’t go around saying that making a dial like the one on the Fujifilm X100VI is just the same as making one for any PSAM dialed camera.
There is no other digital vintage-looking camera out there that uses that dial. And the reason why is explained above: it’s complicated, it’s expensive, and it makes no sense from a manufacturing efficiency point of view.
But we are lucky that Fujifilm thinks differently.
Fujifilm does not think that niche products with niche ergonomic solutions are just a waste of R&D. Fujifilm has such a massive photographic culture that they understand that cultivating a niche means cultivating the true passion for photography.
And speaking of Fujifilm X-E5, personally I hope it will have such a dial too, although I have little hopes since it is so expensive to make, and I guess Fujifilm does not want that camera to become too expensive.
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