Top Fujifilm Manager Toshihisa Iida: “We will NEVER go Full Frame”

Fujifilm Manager Interview

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.

Read the whole interview at dpreview here.

Fujifilm GFX 50S Upcoming Firmware Update Features Disclosed plus Fuji GFX 50R and GF Lens Details

Fujifilm GFX

Fujifilm is launching the Fujifilm GFX 50R and Fujifilm GFX 100 all over the world and today’s media slides come from China (via camerabeta). The launch event is covered in this article (translation).

The link has been sent to me by FR-reader Sam (instagram hermeneuticlens here).

For the most part they don’t unveil anything new, but there are some little new tidbits, translated for us by FR-reader Sam (thanks).

Fujifilm GFX 50R weight compared to GFX 50S:

  • by using a 2-way tilt screen instead of 3-way, Fujifilm reduces the weight by 35g
  • other 60g over the GFX 50S are saved with the EVF
  • 30g are saved by using lightweight material and optimizing thickness

GF Lenses

  • GF 100-200mm will work with 1.4x teleconverter (effectively 140-280mm)
  • GF 45-100mm not sure if it will work with 1.4x TC (slide does not mention that it will support TC, so it is likely that it won’t.)
  • GF 100-200mm will have internal zoom design (so lens’ length won’t change when zooming. Again, probably not the case for GF45-100mm)
  • GF 50mm F3.5 R will have linear motor

Fujifilm GFX 50S future firmware update:

Not everything is clear what’s written in the slides, but that’s what’s written

  • faster eye sensor reaction time
  • delete RAW and JPG together (that’s what’s written in the slide) – (by FR-readers: when choose to take jpeg+raw mode, so deleting photo will be in-sync)
  • 35mm format crop mode will support GF lenses and FUJINON HC lenses
  • The slide also says “EVF/LCD adds white indicator point(s) – color customization”. FR-readers say “Usually refer to exposure clipping of the white point, i.e. the white Blinky when everything look white, so the color customization mostly refer to the white Blinky color, like what u can set in Adobe Raw or LR”

Camera Remote App / Camera Update

As we reported here already, version 3.2.0 of the camera remote app allows you to update your camera firmware via remote app, provided your camera has bluetooth. The Fujifilm GFX 50R has bluetooth, so it supports this feature.

FujiRumors at Photokina: About Japanese Fujifilm Managers, Touch and Try the X-T3 and GFX 50R, Tapping 33 Articles in 3 days

Jonas Rask Live Talk at Photokina 2018

FujiRumors @ Photokina 2018

I am not that kind of guy, who breaks into a place bypassing security checks…

I broke into photokina bypassing security checks 1 day ahead of the official opening, because I could not wait to deliver you the first images side by side of the XF33mmF1.0, XF16-80mmF4 and XF16mmF2.9 and first hands on video of the Fujifilm GFX 50R.

But let’s talk about it later and start with the Fujifilm managers.

FujiRumors Meets Japanese Managers

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Fujifilm GFX 50R with GF50mm Hands on Photos, Lab Test Shots, First Looks and FUJI GUYS Photokina 2018 Wrap Up

Fujifilm GFX 50R

ePhotozine published a couple of hands-on photos of the Fujifilm GFX 50R with GF 50mmF3.5.

I am pretty sure ePhotozine just did it just to trigger my GAS even further, because I kind of fell in love with the Fujifilm GFX 50R while trying it out at the Fujifilm booth.

They also shared hands on images of the GF45-100mm and GF 100-200mm here.

Down below Lok’s Fujifilm GFX 50R first look and here are the dpreview sample images.

And despite all the reviewers make a brilliang job covering the Fujifilm GFX 50R, they have a hard job this time, since it has the exact same performance of the Fujifilm GFX 50S. The only difference is the design, and I strongly invite you to test it out by yourself, because what I loved to handle on the booth, you might hate it.

And in no case I would recommend this camera to left eye shooters, since you are going to cover the screen with your face, and you can forget to swipe the touch screen to access your custom functions while you have your eye on the viewfinder. The swipe function will be used a lot, since there is not D-Pad, where to assign custom functions.

With that said, if you are a rangefinder lover, then you probably already are right eye dominant and the corner viewfinder placement.

Fujifilm GFX 50R: BHphoto (save up to $2,800), Adorama, AmazonUS

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RUMOR, NEWS and COMMUNITY
Fujifilm GFX facebook group
Fujifilm GFX facebook page

Hands On Thoughts and Fuji Guys

Fujinon GF Lens Roadmap Timeline 2019/2020 and More Fujifilm GFX 100 Details with Image Sample Super Crop

Fujifilm GFX System

Fujifilm has recently announced a new GF lens mount roadmap. The official roadmap, though, didn’t gave any timeline about when the future GF50mmF3.5 pancake, GF100-200mmF5.6 and GF45-100mmF4 will hit the market.

Now the Japanese site dc.watch has shared a couple of media slides, including one that shows the roadmap for the various lenses. We can see:

  • 2019
    – GF100-200mmF5.6 R LM OIS WR
    – GF50mmF3.5 R LM WR
  • 2020
     – GF45-100mmF4 R LM OIS WR

As we told you back in December 2017, Fujifilm plans to release 2/3 lenses for each of their systems (X and GFX) a year. This means that we might see one more lens coming n 2019 for the GFX 50S as well as 1 or 2 more lenses in 2020. Check out our big rumor timeline to see what could come.

The slides also give us some basic details about these lenses, which I have all listed at the bottom of this article.

Other media slides (also below) show some more details the Fujifilm GFX 100. So we discover that (unsurprisingly) it will feature the X Processor 4 and we can see a first crop made out an image taken with the GFX 100.

You find everything down below:

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Fujifilm GFX 100 media slides

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