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.
Kaizen & Customer Feedback
In 2023 we have so far spotted three Fujifilm registrations, with 2 items still to come
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 here is the thing.
One of the gear registered in the past was the FF210004, which is not a camera, but the vertical file transmitter grip FT-XH, which unlocks the camera-to-cloud feature on these Fujifilm X-H cameras.
So, with that in mind, and given the lack of rumors for another camera coming in 2023, I see three options:
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 ;).
Fujifilm has just put their countdown for the X summit on September 12 on their YouTube page.
Of course the video can’t yet be watched (will start Sept. 12 at 5AM New York time).
But here is the thing.
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.
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:
It’s interesting to see so much emphasis on the video side of things. And we already told you that the GFX100 II will bring several new features, such as Video touch-to-track Autofocus, Waveforms Monitor and Anamorphic Mode.
A tag that gives X series users hopes:
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.
Fujifilm X Summit September 12 at 5 AM New York Time
GFX100II Rumors & More
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Fujifilm Facebook Groups
Fujifilm has registered the FF230002, so we now have a total of 2 registrations:
One of them will certainly be the Fujifilm GFX100 successor, which we already rumored months ago here.
Now, I can see the “rumors” about 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 pop up. But those “rumors” appeared also ahead of the X Summit on May 24, and of course none of it materialized. But I guess misleading readers for traffic and good SEO is a great deal for them.
FujiRumors will let you know what the real deal is… clickbait and misleading free as usual ;).
The patent has been found at cmiitid by the Japanese website asobinet.
Fujifilm Facebook Groups
Fellow FR-readers saw it coming already.
The Fujifilm X-T4 had been removed from the Japanese Fujifilm store back in September 2022 and also stores overseas started to mark it as discontinued.
Well, now it’s also time for BHphoto & Co to remove the Fujifilm X-T4 from their store, hence it’s now marked as discontinued also there.
The Fujifilm X-T4 joins lots of other Fujifilm cameras that are already marked as discontinued, such as the Fujifilm X-E4 (we reported back in March here), the X-T30II (we reported here), the Fujifilm X-Pro3 (we reported here), as well as the Fujifilm GFX50R and the Fujifilm GFX100.
But, trust me guys, don’t expect a Fujifilm X-Pro4, Fujifilm X-T40, Fujifilm X-E5, Fujifilm GFX50R replacement and Fujifilm GFX100 replacement to drop all on May 24, just because they are now discontinued.
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