Fujifilm X-Pro4

Report: We Now Know What 2 (of the 3) upcoming Fujifilm cameras will be

Posted on by Ritchie Roesch

Fujifilm will announce three upcoming cameras in the first part of 2024. Fujirumors is reporting what the second upcoming Fujifilm camera will be. We already know what the first one will be, so now the first two are known. There will be a third camera announced, which we don’t know anything about, and we’ll get to that in a moment.

The first upcoming camera will be the X100V successor, which has been rumored for some time now. Not much is known about it, other than it will have a new lens. A lot of people think that Fujifilm will name it X100R (a.k.a. X100Roku), but I think they’ll steer clear of any association with the video streaming service, and name it X100Z instead.

The “new lens” part of the upcoming X100-series model is curious, because the X100V, which was the fifth iteration of the series, was the first with a new lens. So why will the X100Z (or whatever Fujifilm names it) have a new lens? The leading theories are:

  • The current lens cannot fully resolve 40mp, and the new camera will have the 40mp X-Trans V sensor, so a new lens is necessary to take full advantage of the high-resolution sensor. In my opinion, this makes the most sense, although (if it is the reason) I would be slightly surprised that the current lens cannot resolve 40mp.
  • Fujifilm will increase the maximum aperture to f/1.8 or f/1.7 to better compete against the Leica Q3.
  • The new camera will have IBIS, and a lens redesign is necessary to accommodate.
  • Fujifilm has improved the leaf shutter, which requires a redesign of the lens.
  • Fujifilm will eliminate the IR hotspot on the lens, and in turn will sell a full-spectrum version.

There could be some other reasons, but those are the ones I have heard. I highly doubt it will be the last one, although it would be cool if it was. Most likely it is to resolve more resolution, but nobody knows at this point, so it could be anything.

The second upcoming camera will be the GFX100S II. Wait, what? Seriously?!

So, yeah, the GFX lineup will have the 100 II and 100S II. I’m not sure what will be different about the two models, other than the 100S II will be less expensive than the 100 II, so perhaps a little less feature-rich and slightly smaller. Honestly, I couldn’t be less excited about this, but it’s probably because I’m not in the GFX system.

I’m not entirely shocked that the upcoming camera will be the GFX100S II, but it is still a head-scratcher. First, once released, it will mean that 8 out of the last 12 Fujifilm cameras will have been PASM models (2/3rds of them). The only four non-PASM cameras will have been the X-E4 (which has been discontinued and is selling for ridiculous prices), the X-T30 II (which was basically just a firmware update and has been discontinued, although you can still find it if you search hard enough for it), the X-T5, and the X100Z (or whatever Fujifilm calls it). It will also mean that 4 out of the last 11 Fujifilm releases will have been GFX models; however, the GFX50S II has already been discontinued, and presumably the GFX100S will be discontinued very soon. I do think that the GFX system needs a divergent option, as it would seem like the GFX100 II and GFX100S II will be pretty similar to each other. A GFX100R, which would be the successor to the long-discontinued GFX50R, seems like the most obvious choice, but I don’t think Fujifilm plans to release another GFX camera with traditional tactile controls.

My best guess is that the third camera will be the X-Pro4, and that it will be announced sometime in May. I have no inside information (I never do, I get it from Fujirumors like everyone else…), but based on past releases, this makes the most sense to me. I hope that I’m right, because there’s a lot of pent-up demand and eagerness for this camera. If it’s not an X-Pro4, a lot of people will be disappointed.

So where does that leave the X-T40 (or X-T30 III or X-T50 or whatever Fujifilm will name it)? It could and should still happen, but I think Fujifilm is trying to move out of that market segment. They’re focusing more on premium products, and less on lower-tier, as they believe the bottom of the market is continuously drying up. Either Fujifilm makes that series more premium (and in turn more expensive)—kind of like what they did with the X-S20—or they do a very modest update, and it might be the last model in the series. Or it could be that the X-T30 II was the last one. My hunch is that there will be at least one more, perhaps released sometime in the second half of 2024. It certainly could be the third camera and not the X-Pro4—I think a lot of people would be shocked (in a negative way) if that were the case.

Where does this leave the X-E5? I think this line is done. The X-E4 was the last. I truly hope I’m wrong about this, though, because I love the X-E cameras. If one does come, most likely it will be in 2025 and not 2024. Since there’s so much demand for the X-E4 and not much supply, it would make a lot of sense to expedite a successor, but I don’t think that Fujifilm is currently doing so.

What about the X80? The Fujifilm X70 was discontinued in December of 2016, and there has been demand for a successor ever since. I’ve noticed that the demand for an X80 has been building recently, growing larger and more vocal. Certainly the recent sales success of the Ricoh GR III should cause Fujifilm to consider it. I don’t, however, believe that Fujifilm has any current plans to release an X80. If they did, I’d be first in line to buy one!

Report: 3 Fujifilm Cameras coming Early 2024

Posted on by Ritchie Roesch

Will a new X-Pro model be announced soon?

According to Fujirumors, Fujifilm will announce at least three new cameras in the “first months of” 2024. Let’s take a look at what that might mean.

First, thanks to Fujirumors, we already know what one of the cameras will be: the X100V successor. We’ve known this for awhile, but we don’t know anything about it other than it will have a new lens. We don’t even know what it will be named. But it will be the first of the upcoming three models, most likely announced at the end of January or the beginning of February.

Second, the rest is a mystery. We don’t know anything. And I certainly don’t have any inside information. Zero. I learn the same way that you do. I can only speculate. But looking at trends (both past and current) it’s not too difficult to make some reasonable guesses. Whether these guesses turn out to be correct is something that only time will tell. I’m wrong about these things often enough that whatever I speculate should be taken with a large grain of salt. This is just for fun.

I think it’s a very safe guess that one of the two remaining models will be the much-anticipated and much-hoped-for X-Pro4. When the X-H2s and the X-S20 were announced, it was at the end of May (of 2022 and 2023, respectively). Don’t be surprised if the X-Pro4 is announced next year in the second half of May. I know the phrase “first months of” makes it seem like it will be sooner than May, but I think it simply means first half of the year. While this is all speculation, I think it’s a fairly safe guess, as far as guesses go.

XPan aspect ratio crop — Fujifilm X-T5 — CineStill 400D v1 Recipe

I don’t know what will be different on the X-Pro4 and what will be the same as the X-Pro3, but I do expect there will be one or two surprises. Fujifilm will do something that is both compelling and perhaps even controversial. I hope that it has the 40mp X-Trans V sensor, plus the XPan aspect ratio as an in-camera option. If Fujifilm were to really think outside the box, they’d throw a 50mp APS-H 4:3 aspect ratio sensor inside of it, which would allow for 25mp XPan pictures. I think most Fujinon lenses would cover APS-H, and Fujifilm could do an auto-crop to 40mp 3:2 for those lenses that can’t. I highly doubt they’ll do this, but it would certainly make headlines if they did.

A lot of people are speculating that the third camera will be an X-E5, but I don’t think it will be. Shockingly, the X-E4 was inexplicably discontinued when there was a lot of demand for it, and as a result the used market for that model has gone crazy. It would make a lot of sense for Fujifilm to rush a successor out ASAP, so as to capitalize on the demand. Still, Fujifilm has suggested that the X-E line might done, plus X-E successors typically doesn’t come out until the end of a sensor generation, which means that an X-E5 won’t likely happen until 2025 (if ever). So I would be pretty surprised if this is the third camera.

The most logical option in my opinion is the X-T30 II successor. This line has been a good seller for Fujifilm, and I think they desperately need a budget-friendly model in the lineup. If you look hard enough it is still possible to buy a brand-new X-T30 II, but it’s sold out at a lot of places, and has been for awhile. My guess is that the successor will be largely identical to the X-T30 II, with the same X-Trans IV sensor but with the X-Trans V processor (like the X-S20). It will have some autofocus and video spec improvements, but will be mostly the same exact camera as the X-T30 II. I bet they call it the X-T30 III, and not X-T40 or X-T50. I suspect it will be announced in late-March or early-April, and it doesn’t even get an X-Summit… or if it does, it’s not the headline product.

Since we don’t know for certain what the second and third upcoming cameras will be, what do you hope Fujifilm will announce next year? Really, at this point it could be anything. Let me know in the comments!