After yesterday’s post, Thoughts on the Upcoming Fujifilm Camera, someone reached out to me on Instagram and proposed a question about the upcoming sixth-generation cameras: if I could ask Fujifilm three things about it, what would those questions be? It was an unusual message, but it did get some cogs turning in my brain. How might X-Trans VI look different than X-Trans V? While this seemingly should be pretty predictable, each X-series generation is actually unique in many ways. No two generations are alike, and so what will be different with the upcoming X-Trans VI cameras? Well, I came up with three questions, so let’s jump right in.

Will AF improve a little or a lot?

I’m one of those people who are completely satisfied with the autofocus performance of my Fujifilm cameras, going back all the way to X-Trans III. Even X-Trans I & II aren’t bad in daylight. Fujifilm’s current cameras are in the top 2% best autofocus cameras ever made (it’s very true, I did the math—feel free to double check it). Outside of some extreme use-cases, the cameras are very capable, and there seems to be a general lack of appreciation for just how good we have it today. Seriously, if the top 2% is not good enough for you, is it that you have some crazy unusual circumstances (which maybe you do), or is the issue something else? Of course, nobody wants to look in the mirror, but most of the AF woes on Fujifilm cameras are easily overcome if one really wishes to overcome them. The majority of the complaints are hyperbole, trolls, user-error, and things like that. With all of that said, Fujifilm has more room for improvement than any other major brand, as they’re clearly a step behind the Canikony brands (for logical reasons that I’ve talked about at length many times). There’s no doubt the sixth-generation will bring with it AF improvements, so will it be a small step forward, a large leap, or something in-between?

In my opinion, the best thing Fujifilm could do to improve autofocus has nothing to do with hardware, software, or algorithms. Fujifilm could do absolutely nothing to technically improve AF, but if they made it much more intuitive and automatic, it would be seen as a major improvement. Many people seem to be unaware that Fujifilm expects that their users will fine-tune the AF for their specific use-cases; even if they are aware, they may not know how to do it, or what a fine-tuned camera setting might look like for them. Fujifilm tried to offer some clarity on this a couple years ago, but instead of listening, people heavily mocked them for it online (sad). I cannot tell you how many times someone has complained to me how the AF on their X-series model “sucks” and how it’s totally not user-error, but then I suggest a settings change and (like magic) the AF is suddenly working well for them and it’s no longer garbage. Of course, what specific settings work well for you depends on how you use the camera and your subject and situation, so there’s no one quick fix. However, if on future models Fujifilm removed their fine-tuning expectation and just “made it work” no matter the user, that would go a long ways toward making people believe that their AF is actually good, because it’s currently much better than some people think, if only they dialed in the “right” settings for their individual situation. In other words, if user-error is the largest problem (and it is, even though nobody wants to hear or accept it), then Fujifilm should find a workaround for that, and the obvious answer is intuitiveness. If Fujifilm’s approach isn’t working well for a group of people because it expects more of them than they realize (and even if they do realize, they may not know what to do with it), then maybe it’s time adjust the approach.

What models will be included in the sixth generation?

Each generation has had its own set of X-series models—no two generations have had identical sets. I suspect that this trend will continue. But how will it look different? It’s hard to guess, but I believe it will include an X-Pro, it might not include two X-H models (only one), it could potentially have an X30-like pocketable zoom, and it’s possible that there will be only one successor to the X-T30 III and X-T50 (and not one for each). There could be an Eterna 28 (APS-C version of the Eterna 55). I would love to see an X70 successor. Maybe there will be an X half II? Perhaps the X100VII will have multiple focal-length versions? Could we finally get a monochrome-only camera? The only thing that’s certain is that it won’t be identical to the fifth generation, or any other previous generation. I would love to know the exact models that Fujifilm plans to produce for X-Trans VI, but perhaps they haven’t even thought that far in advance yet.

What new Film Simulations and/or JPEG options will come?

Over the years, Fujifilm has continuously sporadically added new Film Simulations and other JPEG options. For example, within the fourth-generation, Fujifilm added two new Film Simulations (Classic Negative and Eterna Bleach Bypass), Color Chrome Effect, Color Chrome FX Blue, Clarity, half-step Tone Curve adjustments, and a much more robust Monochromatic Color tool. It didn’t all come at once. In fact, fourth-gen can be divided into three groups (actually, more than that if you want to really parse things): X-T3 & X-T30, X-Pro3 & X100V, and X-T4, X-S10, X-E4, and X-T30 II. Fifth-generation saw two new Film Simulations (Nostalgic Neg. and Reala Ace, the latter retroactively given to previous models via firmware), but no other JPEG options. While it’s impossible to know what Fujifilm will do on future models, I think it’s safe to say that there will be some new features. And I cannot wait to find out what those will be.

Now it’s your turn! What questions would you like answered regarding the upcoming sixth-generation cameras? I would love to hear them in the comments below!