Fujifilm posted a video announcing an upcoming X Summit in Tokyo on October 14th. Most likely, they will introduce one camera and two lenses. There could be other surprises, who knows. It will be at 6:00 AM Pacific Time, 9:00 AM Eastern. If you are possibly interested in the products that are expected to be announced, you might want to tune in and preorder as soon as that goes online, which is usually immediately afterwards.
Fujifilm also announced that they are planning to release a firmware update for the X-H2s, X-H2, and GFX100 II in November. This upcoming firmware update seems to be video-centric, but will also likely include some improvements and fixes for still photography. I wouldn’t be surprised to see firmware updates for some other cameras at or around that same time, but since it won’t include all of the video stuff, my guess is that they’re not making a big deal about it.
It’s been widely reported that earlier this year Fujifilm released a buggy firmware update that negatively affected autofocus on some models. While they largely fixed the issues from that buggy update (it’s always a good idea to wait a couple weeks before updating the firmware, in case there is a problem, no matter your brand of camera), there are still some persistent problems that people are reporting. Fujifilm has been working on it, and I believe that they’re about to get it all sorted out.
There has been a lot of unnecessary hysteria around this topic. In my opinion, it has been largely overblown with a lot of unfair exaggerations and even some downright lying. That is not to say issues haven’t or don’t exist, because obviously they do, or that they shouldn’t be addressed—they should be, and they are. I think some of the feedback has indeed been quite helpful to Fujifilm, providing a better understanding of exactly what is going on and how to fix it; however, some other feedback has just been an embarrassment to the community at large, with chronic complainers, haters, and trolls fanning the flames with anger and hate. The comments sections of many Fujifilm related websites and videos have become unbearable. Some trolls have been posting multiple times under various aliases, so as to make it seem like the outcry is bigger and louder than it actually is (shameful behavior, for those doing it). Petapixel has even deleted some comments, something they don’t do all that often (but should do much more, in my opinion), that’s how bad it has become—a few bad apples will spoil a whole bunch, as the saying goes. I cannot tell you how many people have emailed or DMed me, expressing how tired they are of it, but they don’t want to speak up publicly for fear of being bullied by the trolls. That behavior needs to stop—no excuses—it’s unacceptable.
I, personally, have not experienced any AF issues on my Fujifilm cameras (and I have many, and I use them all of the time). Within the last two months I have spoken with many of you in person. Just last week I spoke to some who use the affected cameras for their livelihood (very successful and talented creators), and asked them directly about this. In all of the circles that I’ve been in lately, this has not been seen as a big problem by anyone who I spoke to. That’s not to say issues weren’t noticed by some, only that they were able to work around it and get the job done without any problems whatsoever. All of this is to say, I think that those who are actually actively out there creating content with their Fujifilm cameras are doing just fine right now, and the issues have been largely overblown on the internet. Still, it’s good to see that very soon Fujifilm will have it all sorted out, so no worries for those who have been losing sleep over this.
Now, of course, I will get some angry comments about what I just said. That’s fine. Because the Fuji X Weekly community is so amazing, this website has largely been immune from the trolls that are all too common elsewhere. I have not been inundated by those over-the-top comments you see on other websites, and it’s thanks to all the good folks who regularly visit this page (that’s you!). But I’m sure I will still get some. The point of this article is simply to mention that a few new products are about to be announced, and that some firmware updates won’t be far behind. I really wish the rest didn’t need to be said, but unfortunately (and sadly) that’s the state of things right now.
Well stated Ritchie,thanks. I was beginning to doubt my Fuji gear (XT4 & XS20, ex XT3 & XE4) with all of the Fuji trash talk. As a retired hobby photographer , I am enjoying my gear, but it’s getting to the point that I was thinking about going to my previous brand . Time will tell.
In Pentax spaces, there’s this one dude, utter sack of garbage, who constantly trash talks Pentax. On DPReview, Reddit, PetaPixel–anywhere this scum can put down the brand–he does. I’m not saying the name, but I bet anyone who’s spent some time around Pentax comments threads already knows.
Want to talk about how an old film autofocus lens is kinda fun? Not very sharp and rather glow-y wide open, but sometimes you just want to take the IQ hit because shooting a 50/1.4 is still special. And this filth will show up, talk shit about the lens, how it’s not even remotely acceptable. It’s like his goal is to make sure no one enjoys the camera system. You can be honest about the flaws and weaknesses and he’ll still try to heap shit on top of it. And it’s just such a bummer, and he’ll do it when folks are new Pentax users and excited about the quirky little system. I’ve sometimes been caught up in doubt spirals because of this little slimeball.
I’m not caught up in the Fuji autofocus drama (AF-S in my X-Pro3 and XF60/2.4 is good enough for me!), but I get it. The best I can say is: if you think you’re having fun, you probably are. Getting away from those trolls, tuning them out, it’s worth it. Particularly as a hobbyist, the differences in AF between the absolute peak and something else aren’t nearly as large as the doomsayers claim. Being not-as-good as the best doesn’t make something utterly unusable or garbage.
Anyhow, I hope you enjoy your Fuji gear. It really is a sweet system for so many things.
The other thing is that the people who do that sort of thing can also have multiple aliases that they post under. They may even have a conversation with themselves or gang up on someone using different accounts. I just caught someone doing that here, and I know for certain it happens elsewhere, too. So the negativity might be significantly overstated because one person is seen as two or three or more individuals, when they are all the same troll.
I think all of the “trash talk” has caused a type of hysteria. There’s an excellent podcast that I believe is related to this topic: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SNri_pAq-mc
I think a lot of people have become hyper aware of a problem that only affects some people (and not most), but it has everyone on edge and questioning everything. What’s most important is if you personally are enjoying your gear and are creating with it. The rest is just useless noise.
Keep up the good work, Ritchie; I’m just a hobby photographer but I know a couple of pro / wedding / sport / reportage photographers who swear by their Fujifilm AF and performance in general; and also have never had ANY of their Fujifilm bodies go wrong or let them down — apart from occasional user error.
Thank you! I bet a good deal of the AF complaints can indeed be boiled down to user error. That’s not to say it is all of the complaints, or that real issues haven’t or don’t exist. Only that it’s much easier to blame the gear, especially when everyone else is doing it. Sadly, it is socially ok right now to say “Fujifilm autofocus sucks and I’m quitting the brand if they don’t fix it right now!” In all likelihood, the person saying that has never encountered the actual bug, and it’s just them. Seriously, you can look up the people saying that, and notice that the content they’ve posted on the internet is almost always unimpressive (to put it nicely). But if you dare to suggest that, you’re a mean person who is a part of the problem somehow. Go figure. I appreciate your comment!
Let us hope one update will be X-Pan on 40 Mp bodies.
That seems like such an easy and obvious thing for Fujifilm to do… I don’t understand why the haven’t yet. I hope they do. It would make a lot of people happy, I think.
Excellent post and good points about the autofocus issue. I’ve seen a lot on YouTube and did seem overblown.
Some of those videos were made with the buggy firmware update that has largely been fixed (but the videos are still there). I think some are just jumping on the bandwagon for the views, so they’re trying really hard to find a problem that wouldn’t normally be a problem for them. I think some are clearly user-error. Others show an actual problem that affects some (but not most), which Fujifilm is in the process of fixing right now. So, for the most part, indeed overblown, but obviously not all of it. Soon it will all be fixed, but everything posted about it will be on the web for years and years to come, and will be a type of misinformation, unfortunately.
Hrm. I wonder if the X-M5 is just a better idea for Fuji than an X-E5. Skipping the EVF and advanced features that folks might expect like IBIS keeps the price lower. Seems like folks expect an X-E camera to be small and cheap and powerful, but I’m not sure Fuji can really deliver on folks goals for it at the price folks want it to be. An X-M camera would have slightly lower expectations, and probably would come in at a lower price. It also leaves more room, more of a difference for the X-Pro line.
I think the X-M5 and X-E5 can coexist. My take (without knowing much at all about either camera, it’s more a hunch) is that the X-M5 will serve as Fujifilm’s budget entry-level model, in a similar role that the X-T200 and X-A7 did before they were both discontinued. I wouldn’t be surprised if the X-M5 was a little more video-centric (even without IBIS) than stills. The X-E5 will likely increase in price a little, perhaps become slightly more premium (not by much, though), and be stills-centric. But I have no idea how it all might shake out, I’ve never been invited to share my ideas 🤣