Fujifilm interview

Fujifilm said WHAT?!

Posted on by Ritchie Roesch

Cheers – Scottsdale, AZ – Fujifilm X-E5 – FRGMT B&W Recipe

PetaPixel published a couple of articles recently detailing an interview with Fujifilm at CP+. Phototrend also interviewed Fujifilm at this event, which resulted in some interesting answers. PetaPixel’s conversation was much different, so let’s talk about what was said and what it means.

For one article, PetaPixel asked, “How will Fujifilm fix its video autofocus woes?” Fujifilm answered, “There are two improvements we can make, one based on the algorithm and then one based on the device itself. So we have the fifth-generation device now, and so to make an improvement here, we just need to improve the algorithm. That’s the maximum we can do.”

The basic takeaway from the interview is that for fifth-generation cameras, which are the current models, Fujifilm is working on potential firmware updates for autofocus improvement. My guess is that they are taking their time to ensure there are no issues. They want to avoid something like a couple of years ago when the firmware update had a significant AF bug. Maybe this update will be released soon or maybe it will never see the light of day, who knows? Fujifilm did say, though, that they are actively working on it. Also, they are planning to improve autofocus through hardware (think faster readouts, quicker processing, increased memory buffers, better heat dispersion, etc.), which will benefit sixth-generation cameras, which will be here before you know it.

I’m really tired of talking about Fujifilm’s autofocus. For the majority of the last 10 years, this wasn’t a top topic within the community. It’s really only over the last few years that it’s become a big deal, and I find that very odd and quite telling. I’ve discussed this all at length numerous times, so I want to avoid rehashing everything, but some things need to be re-said, I suppose. I’m sure you’ve seen the hyperbolic, troll-like statements that flood the comments section of any article or video even slightly related to this topic.

Camera Conversations – Ann Arbor, MI – Fujifilm X-T50 – Superia Negative Recipe

It’s important to keep expectations realistic. Let’s ground ourselves in reality. The Canikony brands had a major head start in developing AF (going back to the 1970’s), have a much larger R&D budget, can better attract the best and most experienced experts in the field, and have put the majority of their eggs in the AF basket, ignoring image quality improvements or even sometimes to the detriment of IQ (as reported by PetaPixel). Those who expect Fujifilm to have “class leading” autofocus, or at least to have it be on par with the big three camera makers, are living in a fantasy land. It’s not going to happen outside of a major paradigm shift (perhaps AI is that paradigm shift). When you buy a Fujifilm camera, it’s important to know that it’s not going to have AF as good as the Canikony brands—that should be your expectation, because it’s the truth, and it only makes sense if you think about it for a mere moment.

That doesn’t mean Fujifilm’s autofocus is bad. Of course it isn’t bad! If you were to take the lowest-end, bottom-rung, entry-level X-M5, which costs only $900, and hop into your DeLorean, blast some Huey Lewis, go back in time 10 years, and show people that this is what Fujifilm’s autofocus will be in a decade, the camera would impress a whole lot of people. The community would be all excited for the eventual autofocus performance that the X-M5 demonstrated. Hurray for Fujifilm’s future AF! For some reason, the perspective that a lot of people who complain about Fujifilm’s autofocus seem to have is that photography has only been around for a few years. Do we not remember autofocus from any brand 20 years ago? 30? 50? I guess we don’t, because we lack an appreciation for how incredibly awesome even so-called “bad” autofocus is today. That AF system that you call garbage can run circles around the best AF from not terribly long ago, and yet our photography and cinematography isn’t any better than it was back then. I think a lot of people just don’t appreciate how good they have it today.

With that said, there is certainly room for Fujifilm to improve autofocus. I think all of the Canikony brands have reached a point of diminishing returns. They are quickly approaching, are at, or are maybe just beyond the peak of an inverted U-curve. The practical benefit of an AF improvement from (say) Sony helps a tiny fraction of their customers, while for 99.99%, the AF capabilities are already beyond what they need. Now for Fujifilm, who isn’t quite as far along, an AF improvement might have a practical benefit for (say) 15% of their customers, and maybe the next improvement benefits 12%, perhaps 7% for the following one, and so forth, as they climb the inverted-U. They are working on this right now. For the majority of people, though, Fujifilm’s AF is already plenty good enough for most subjects and situations.

Fujifilm’s autofocus is nowhere near as bad as some on the internet would have you believe—not even close—but there is something that Fujifilm could do that would have an immediate major impact on this perception: intuitiveness. It took me awhile to figure out that this is likely the number one issue. People apparently want to take their camera out of the box, throw in a freshly charged battery, and shoot amazing pictures, without ever setting it up. Some of this might be explained by beginners who just purchased their first camera, but I believe the majority are not beginners. In fact, I think (quite ironically) that most are the same people who would tell you that you must shoot RAW, and only amateurs shoot JPEGs. Perhaps this is because those who use Film Simulations and Recipes are constantly in their camera’s menu, so making adjustments and customizations is normal and no big deal. Whatever the reason, there are those who just want the AF to “work” without setting any of it up first. So if Fujifilm were to make a major stride in how intuitive their AF is without improving any other aspect, it would be seen as a big upgrade.

Hello, I am at Disneyland – Anaheim, CA – Fujifilm X100VI – Fujicolor Superia 800 Recipe

Fujifilm allows you to customize how autofocus works on your camera; however, I think a lot of people don’t realize that not only can they do this, but they’re expected to do so. Even if someone does realize, they probably don’t know how, or what the most ideal settings are for their use case. This is something Fujifilm could have done a much better job communicating to their customers; sadly, in recent times when they have tried, they were heavily mocked for doing so. Far too often, people would rather blame something else than take any sort of responsibility for a failure. Telling people that they’re the problem is never well received. But the truth is that those who complain about Fujifilm’s AF have the power to fix most—if not all—of their woes, and they’ve had this power the whole time. An example of this is Camera Conspiracies, who constantly mocked Fujifilm’s AF until he figured out the right settings for his needs. I think there are merits to Fujifilm’s approach, but either they need to do a much better job getting the word out on how to best use their system, or they need to make it work well for everyone—no matter someone’s individual needs—as factory-default settings.

In the next PetaPixel article, Fujifilm stated, “What we want to do as a company is make sure the photography culture remains for the foreseeable future. If we don’t continue to offer something exciting, fun for the users, then people won’t be really interested in photography itself. That would be a nightmare for us, we believe photography is such an important part of everyone’s lives. We think that’s our mission, to make sure everybody understands and knows that if they ever want to try something related to photography, we’d be there to offer as many options as possible.”

I find that fascinating. If camera makers don’t offer exciting and fun-to-use gear, photography itself is in jeopardy, says Fujifilm. And that makes sense. If the pros and hobbyists get burned out because photography is no longer enjoyable, they’ll quit. If potential newcomers are satisfied with their cellphones and AI-generated images, and no “real” camera seems interesting or fun to them, they’ll never even explore photography in the first place. It’s possible that cameras like the X100VI, X half, X-E5, and GFX100RF are actually saving photography, and are not just gear existing within the industry. It’s interesting to think about, and maybe something that other camera makers should pay more attention to.

This article is already longer than I wanted it to be, so let me wrap this up real quick. The way these two topics relate is that Fujifilm could make a variety of the most exciting gear ever released, but if a bunch of trolls and Negative Nancies (my apologies to anyone named Nancy) complain about it, will those products actually save photography? Maybe, maybe not. I think it’s important for Fujifilm to address the first topic aggressively—not because their AF is bad, but because people can’t accept that it is good just because it isn’t quite as good as the Canikony brands (which apparently makes it trash). Fujifilm’s two options are to better communicate how to best use their AF, or to make it more intuitive and work better out-of-the-box at factory-default settings. The latter is the path that will be best received. The firmware and hardware refinements that Fujifilm mentioned to PetaPixel I’m sure will be welcomed and appreciated, but it doesn’t address what I think is the largest problem, which is intuitiveness. Once fixed, when the fun gear is announced, there will be fewer negative comments that unfairly scare away potential buyers. Or maybe trolls will be trolls, and none of it matters.

Phototrend Interview with Fujifilm at CP+

Posted on by Ritchie Roesch

Phototrend interviewed some Fujifilm managers at CP+ this year, as apparently they do every year. Most of the answers were vague and didn’t really reveal anything significant, but a few were interesting. I encourage you to read the whole article. Let’s dive in.

Phototrend: “Last year, you launched the GFX100RF, your first compact camera with a medium format sensor. Was it a commercial success? What do you say to those who would have preferred a brighter lens or a stabilized sensor?”

Fujifilm: “The GFX100RF received excellent feedback from the market because it’s compact and lightweight, making it a practical everyday camera, even for a GFX. We know that many users wanted a faster lens or in-body image stabilization (IBIS). However, from a technical standpoint at that time, this was the best configuration to achieve the smallest and lightest possible GFX.”

Phototrend: “I agree, but some users always want the best possible specifications.”

Fujifilm: “Since the launch of the GFX100RF, many users have expressed additional requests. It’s the first product in the RF line, and we’re taking them into account. The GFX100RF was a real commercial success. It attracted not only existing Fujifilm users but also many new customers to the GFX system. Since they didn’t need to invest in lenses separately, they could enter the GFX world directly. This greatly contributed to the success of this model. In fact, users who have purchased the GFX100RF find that it works so well for them that they no longer worry about the maximum aperture or the lack of stabilization.”

There’s a lot to unpack in that short exchange about the GFX100RF. First, the camera is a big success by whatever metrics Fujifilm uses, which is good to know. All those who said it would flop were wrong. Anyone actually surprised? Second, it’s not going to be the last RF model. I’m not sure if Fujifilm is committing to a future Mark II successor, or if they have plans for another model in the “RF” line that is different than the GFX100RF, or both, or something else entirely. But it sounds like there are plans for some new RF camera(s) sometime in the future. The GFX100RF is more like a medium-format X70; I would love for them to make an X100VI-like version, with a 45mm (35mm-equivalent) f/2.8 lens and IBIS, which would be notably larger, heavier, and more expensive, if for no other reason than those who insist on those things can have the opportunity to buy it. Third, Fujifilm is right: the whole maximum-aperture and lack of IBIS complaints are way overblown, and those who have actually used the camera don’t worry much about those things. The complaints are almost exclusively from those who have never tried the camera, and mostly from those who have no experience with GFX in general.

Ghost Train – Flagstaff, AZ – Fujifilm GFX100RF – Fluorescent Night

Phototrend: “Do you have any productions made with the Eterna GFX?”

Fujifilm: “Yes, several projects are already underway. For example, the camera is currently being used in Japan this season for a major television series called Aibou: Tokyo Detective Duo. It’s a very prestigious series, broadcast for over 24 years, one of the longest-running on Japanese television.”

I suspect that a number of television shows, broadcasts, short films, and feature-length movies will be made using the GFX Eterna 55. I wouldn’t be surprised if a few IMAX films are being produced right now. This camera is for a whole different crowd than would typically use Fujifilm gear. Fujifilm has made motion picture film for a long time, and are pretty renown for their broadcast lenses, so it shouldn’t surprise anyone that they would have an interest in making a professional cinema camera. The feedback seems to be that the Eterna 55 is a great start; however, with anything that is brand-new, there is room for adjustments and improvements, some of which will come via firmware updates, and some will have to wait for a future model.

Phototrend: “One of the major advantages of the APS-C system is its compactness, but Fujifilm currently only offers two true pancake lenses: the 27mm f/2.8 and the recently released 23mm f/2.8. With the success of the X-E5, has the demand for ultra-compact lenses surged? Can we expect more pancake lenses?”

Fujifilm: In addition to the consistently strong sales of the 27mm, the new 23mm is also selling well. The combination of a pancake lens and the camera body creates a very elegant package. We therefore believe there is potential for a future range of pancake lenses. I think that to maintain a compact format, a shorter focal length is more suitable. Therefore, there is potential to develop a new lens in the wide-angle range.”

What caught my attention was the “future range of pancake lenses” statement. I’ve been advocating for that for many years. Now that we have the 23mm f/2.8 to go along with the 27mm f/2.8, I think a Mark II of the 18mm f/2 is next. While more of a Japanese pancake than an American flapjack, it is still quite compact, and close enough to a pancake to be considered in the pancake range. I would like to see something wider, maybe somewhere in the 12-15mm range, and something longer, maybe 40mm-ish. Additionally, an XF version of the 13-33mm lens would be a nice pancake-ish zoom, as well as the proposed 18/30mm dual focal-length semi-pancake that Fujifilm recently suggested. So, yes, more pancakes please!

D Y – Grapevine, TX – Fujifilm X-E5 & Fujinon 23mm f/2.8 – Reggie’s Superia

Phototrend: “Are you limited to renderings of existing film stock, or are you open to going beyond that?”

Fujifilm: “We have two directions. The first is to expand our collection of film and recipe simulations. The second is to use future technologies to update and refine our existing simulations as hardware and sensors evolve. So we see these two paths as distinct possibilities for the future.”

Phototrend: “So you’re suggesting that a simulation like Classic Chrome could be updated with new technologies to get even closer to the original creative vision, to the ‘ideal’ of this rendering?”

Fujifilm: “Yes, that’s always a possibility.”

Phototrend: I think some people will say, ‘No, don’t change anything.'”

Fujifilm: “Yes, perhaps. But the film simulation is only applied to JPEG at the moment. However, I think that could change in the future.”

I have a couple of things to unpack from this real quick. First, Film Simulation do evolve, and have been evolving from the beginning. That’s nothing new and shouldn’t surprise anyone. In fact, last year someone at Fujifilm told me that this is quite intentional, so that each era of the X-series has its own unique charm. By designing the JPEG output to be slightly unique to each generation, the older cameras are never obsolete, because some people will prefer the charm of those cameras. That’s why you hear people say that X-Trans II is magical, or X-Trans I is special, or there’s nothing like the original X100, or that X-Trans IV is best, etc., etc.. There’s a charm to each, and you might prefer one over the other, something Fujifilm purposefully intended. They will continue to do this with future releases. But the big revelation is at the very end. What is meant by film simulations could be applied differently in the future? I would have had a few followup questions, but that’s where the interview ended. It’s a big mystery, but apparently Fujifilm has something perhaps groundbreaking up their sleeve, and it will be fascinating to find out what it is.

Is the X-E Line Done? Fujifilm seems to think so….

Posted on by Ritchie Roesch

“If we decided to stop entry-level products such as X-T200 or X-E4,” Franck Bernard, Fujifilm France Photo Division Director, stated in a recent Phototrend interview, “it is because it is not a promising market. Today, competitors are also deciding to abandon certain more accessible product lines.”

Wow. This seems to be confirmation that the X-E line is done. The X-T200 was discontinued back in 2020, and with that the X-T000 line was abandoned. The Fujifilm X-E4 was discontinued back in March. This appears to be an indication that, in 2023, the X-E series has succumbed to the same fate that the X-T000 line did three years ago.

Of course, in other interviews, Fujifilm has kind of tiptoed around this topic and even hinted that the X-E line hasn’t been axed. They never expressly communicated one way or the other with certainty, but now they have. Sort of. They used fuzzy language—“if we decided”—and Mr. Bernard isn’t a corporate manager (he’s regional), so perhaps he didn’t have the authority to state what he said and it might not be exactly what HQ wanted made public. In other words, this might not be the official position of Fujifilm.

I think that his comment is factual and simultaneously must be taken with a large grain of salt. He’s likely saying something that’s largely understood within the company, but also something that Fujifilm doesn’t want to outright state, because they want to reserve the right to change their mind in a quickly shifting market and with dynamic corporate directives. They don’t want to officially kill off the X-E line, only to discover that they should have made an X-E5; instead, if they quietly cancel it, then it’s a bit easier to bring back at a later date if market conditions allow.

Pacific Poppies – Montaña de Oro SP, CA – Fujifilm X-E4 – Pacific Blues Recipe

Franck Bernard goes on to provide a little context to his comment: “I believe that Fujifilm has made the industrial choice for more than 5 years now to turn to high-end products and we will not return to entry-level products.”

I’ve heard this said a few times from Fujifilm managers. They believe the future of the brand is not with low-end models, or even with what we once thought of as the mid-range bodies, but with the higher-tier cameras. The X-H line, the X-T0 line, the X100 series, X-S00 line (which was made slightly more higher-end with the X-S20), and X-Pro, along with GFX. That’s where Fujifilm wants to focus their efforts. That’s where Fujifilm sees the future of their digital camera brand. The X-E series just doesn’t fit in, no matter how in-demand the X-E4 was at the time of its discontinuance. Camera brands don’t axe a line that has a lot of demand and a waitlist to buy—unless it was simply impossible to secure the necessary parts to manufacture more, or the higher-ups shifted priorities to other things. I think the latter explains the X-E4’s sudden and inexplicable discontinuation. Fujifilm doesn’t want to offer models in the X-E class. It’s beneath them now. Or, perhaps, for whatever reason, they believe the market is about to dry up for it, despite the demand (which, by the way, still exists more than six months after its discontinuation).

“Logically,” Mr. Bernard continued, “there should be a successor to the X-T30. We would like to maintain older, affordable products that correspond to a certain purchasing power. But we have no visibility on future ranges.” This is a bit after he stated that, “…our flagship product remains the X-T5, the standard model of the range. Comes behind the X-T30 II, and then follows the X-S10/X-S20.”

I think he was saying that, in France, the X-T5 is Fujifilm’s top selling model, followed by the X-T30 II, then the X-S00 series. Because of the demand for the X-T30 II, there should logically be a successor. Fujifilm France wants to be able to offer products that those with a more limited budget can afford. But, Fujifilm Japan has not provided them with a timeline when such a camera will come, if at all. That’s my interpretation, but I don’t know if that’s what he really meant. It’s a bit confusing.

As best as I can tell from all of this, the X-E line is done (but Fujifilm wants to reserve the right to change their minds) and an X-T30 II successor is desired by certain people within Fujifilm (and they believe logically it should happen) but HQ hasn’t provided any information to them on when or if that will happen. This is because—beginning five years ago—Fujifilm began to shift away from lower-end gear and towards higher-end products. This is all a part of the long-term plan, more or less.

Evening Charge – Santa Rosa, NM – Fujifilm X-E4 – Kodak Portra 400 v2 Recipe

Will an X-T40 (perhaps it will be called X-T30 III or X-T50) happen? It sounds like eventually it will happen, but not necessarily soon. Don’t be surprised if it is given new features (IBIS? 40mp?) and a higher price tag. Will an X-E5 happen? Probably not. If a lot of people speak up and state that they’d buy one, maybe. But still probably not. There’s been a large vocal desire for an X80, but that hasn’t happened, nor will it—technically, though, it is still possible, just highly unlikely. I think that’s the unfortunate state of the X-E line.

In a seemingly-unrelated-but-at-closer-look-completely-related article, PetaPixel says that young people are finding digital cameras to be more difficult to use and more time-consuming than cellphone cameras (imagine that!). While it’s easy to dismiss this, I think there are a few points worth considering. First, it’s great that Fujifilm introduced the X App, which is better than their rather mediocre (being kind) Cam Remote App, but the new app is years late and not compatible with older models. If Fujifilm wants to sell cameras to younger folks (which, presumably, generally have a tighter budget and aren’t buying flagship models), having an intuitive and reliable way to transfer the images is a necessity. Unfortunately, Fujifilm has fantastically failed at this, which undoubtedly affects sales of lower-end models. Think about this: film simulations (and especially Film Simulation Recipes) are highly desirable among those who want great results without fuss and without spending a lot of time achieving it. But getting those pictures off the camera can be a pain.

What Fujifilm (and the other camera makers) should have done is create a way to upload directly from the camera to Instagram, X, Facebook, Flickr, text, email, cloud, etc.. Maybe have an Android-like operating system with apps. As it is now, the step in-between that’s time-consuming, frustrating, and unintuitive is one reason why the cellphone is constantly eating away the bottom end of the camera market. Instead of innovating, camera makers just throw their hands up and say “Oh, well.” They blame the cellphone, but really they just concede the fight without trying all that hard to compete with it. Oh, and why did Fujifilm abandon the concept of connecting the camera directly with their Instax printers? That’s another missed opportunity, in a similar vein.

So if Fujifilm were to release an X-E5, but with a whole new way to get the pictures off of the camera and shared wherever the photographer wishes—something that’s easy, fast, and intuitive—I have zero doubts that it would sell well. Yes, there’s the X App, which is a step in the right direction, but ideally there would be no need for an app. It should be a one-step process from the camera itself. As the PetaPixel article illustrates, the hassle of using a digital camera—hassles that don’t need to exist but do, and hassles that aren’t found on the cellphone—is notable enough to go viral. Don’t doubt that the opposite is also viral-worthy. For example, the reason why the X100V suddenly became popular is because it went viral on social media, and a big reason why it went viral is because it could produce analog-looking pictures that didn’t require editing (yes, Recipes!). It produced wonderful results easily, and that caught the attention of so many that the camera is historically long-backordered. Now imagine if those results could be more quickly and intuitively available for sharing. Yes, that’s notable enough to go viral.