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Please Fuji, come back...


Herco

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Let me first introduce myself. 57 years and amateur photographer since the age of 12, although with intervals. My passion lies with portrait, fashion, street and urban landscape. All stills photography, almost no video.

I started with an Olympus OM1 (which I still have and occasionally use) but have been around the block: from Olympus to Nikon to Pentax to Minolta to Canon and Leica. I took a few years off of photography, until someone lend me his X-Pro1 for a day. It reminded me of my M6 and M8. The X-Pro1 was far from perfect. However the camera grew on me and the image quality was so beautiful that it kept me wanting to shoot more.

When the X-Pro2 came along I immediately upgraded and after a year or so I added an X-T2, which later on I swapped for an X-H1. The X-H1 is a bit big for Fuji standards, but after the EOS 5D its a breeze. In the meanwhile I own 9 XF lenses. Mostly primes, but also the 16-55 (hence the X-H1 for its IBIS). 90mm is the longest focal length I need (and have).

For me the X-H1 also marks the transition point of Fujifilm. From this point onwards Fuji started to lose me. Let me explain.

First of all next to the X-T10/20/30 Fuji launched the X-T100/200 line rendering the beautiful X-E line redundant and from what I hear, repealed soon. I understand the commercial viability of video capabilities and a DSLR-style over a rangefinder-style, but speaking of crowded market segments...

Next to that Fuji launched the X-T3 only a few months after introducing the X-H1. I would have understood this if the hybrid X-H1 had the 26Mp sensor soon followed by the X-T3 with a similar sensor. But cannibalizing a flagship model within half a year or so, dramatically drop its price and discard of any meaningful firmware update for more than 1.5 years, is an insult to buyers. That kind of corporate behaviour is what we previously accused Nikon, Canon and Sony for, but they’ve bettered their lifes. 

It seems that history is repeating itself with the new X-T4 versus the X-T3. In a few years Fuji went from “video as an after-thougth” to “video-first”. There’s little progress in the X-T4 when it comes to stills. You could even say some degress: the fully articulating screen is not for stills photographers. Occasionally ‘killing your darlings’ is part of progress, but this almost feels like leaving a group of customers behind.

In the meanwhile Fuji also launched the X-Pro3. I can dig dropping the d-pad and the reversed tilted screen. The titanium top- and bottom plates are a nice touch, but add little to the quality of the camera. What I can’t understand is getting rid of the dual magnification for the OVF. That renders any lens wider than 23mm or longer than 50mm useless in combination with the OVF, which is the main attraction of the X-Pro3. Leica already understood this decades ago...

Probably Fuji’s best matured camera is the X100V. The style, new lens and tilted screen has defined today’s ultimate street camera. In fact I even consider swapping my beloved X-Pro2 for an X100V. The X100V shows that clearly defining a product line and improve and innovate on a regular basis is a better strategy than creating new and mixing existing product lines. It also makes it easier to maintain a stable pricing strategy.

My hope is now on the X-H2 to restore ratio in Fuji’s product line-up and break with the recent ‘video-first’ mantra. However, considering the X-H was meant to be the hybrid stills/video camera, I fear the worst. I guess I’m part of a dying breed but Fuji please don’t make me want to buy an A7R...

Edited by Herco
removed the 35mm comment
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Wow, this is what I have been thinking for sometime.

The earlier cameras were photography tool's, mostly everything in front of you, cameras for taking photos.

Unfortunately I don't believe there will be a H2 as they have ignored the H1 after taking people's hard earned money.

It's a shame my love affair with Fuji is fading.

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  • 1 month later...

Welcome to the forum, Herco.  I'm replying because I'm much older, yet your concerns are mine, and better stated than I might have been able to write.  A couple of your phrases might be a clue as to what could be happening to Fujifilm cameras:

"All stills photography, almost no video."  Me too, but I think there are only two or three other Fujifilm stills shooters left in Western civilization, and a half-dozen traditional photographers will not sustain any camera company.  I believe the camera-market fashion has moved to "video", and cell-phone features (i.e.;selfie touch-screen).  

You also give your age at 57 years.  I've read that the historic success of the X-100 and X-Pro1 was because they were designed and marketed by "photographers".  I believe that most post-modern companies are now run by people under 35, and I've got to believe that if they happen to be photographers, "camera" means cell-phone, "view-finder" means selfie, and "photography" means video ~ and their plan is to market their products to their own demographic market (under 35 years of age).

Edited by le boecere
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i think there are still many more pure photographers out there (only interested in photos, that is) than hybrid shooters

however, the latter are quite vocal and the platform they're on - youtube - is encouraging video rather than photo shooting whereas photographers have many platforms on which to show their work but none are even at half the level youtube is at, meaning monetisation, encouraging originality, dealing with fraud and so on

that is why, in my opinion, all camera companies have to and will embrace video features to be able to sell their products (forget leica, they are too niche)...we who don't care about video just have to suck it up

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16 minutes ago, andrei89 said:

i think there are still many more pure photographers out there (only interested in photos, that is) than hybrid shooters

however, the latter are quite vocal and the platform they're on - youtube - is encouraging video rather than photo shooting whereas photographers have many platforms on which to show their work but none are even at half the level youtube is at, meaning monetisation, encouraging originality, dealing with fraud and so on

that is why, in my opinion, all camera companies have to and will embrace video features to be able to sell their products (forget leica, they are too niche)...we who don't care about video just have to suck it up

So, are you saying that even though the larger market is "pure photographers", Fujifilm (and the other camera companies) are not identifying who those customers are and what they want ~ being swayed by the vocal (youtube) photography culture?

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On 5/2/2020 at 7:48 PM, le boecere said:

So, are you saying that even though the larger market is "pure photographers", Fujifilm (and the other camera companies) are not identifying who those customers are and what they want ~ being swayed by the vocal (youtube) photography culture?

yes and no :)

IMO, sony started this craze for video specs in photo cameras - yes, canon 5d2 was the first to have decent video specs but sony kept pushing more and more outrageous specs. if a camera doesn't film 4k now it a POS, although the processing power needed to edit 4k is out of the reach of many people, not to mention that most people (including me) watch content in 1080

remaining competitive and relevant on the market now requires manufacturers to make, basically, hybrid video/photo cameras. reviews matter, if only a little bit, in a company's stock value. i really believe the widespread appreciation of fuji's x100v, for example, resulted in a stock price increase, and that's what matters ultimately

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  • 4 weeks later...

I've shot Fuji since 2012, and before that Nikon.  I've been all digital since 2002.  I can count on ONE HAND the number of times I've shot video with a camera.  And, maybe TWO hands with my iPhone.  And I have to ask as a GFX50R owner who in their right mind would want to shoot video with that, and why Fuji did you even add that feature to a medium format camera!!??  If Fuji had instead added an articulating screen like the 50S to the 50R, and cut out the video I would have much more use for that feature than video.

Unless a UFO, or a Bigfoot stood between me and my landscape I would not shoot video - even if you paid me to.

 

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  • 4 weeks later...

Also not a video shooter here.

I think a lot of the push on video is just to get new features that justify an update, triggering sales from updaters.

Fuji is one of the very few systems that has not seen a drop in sales as the overall ILC market imploded since 2012.

Adding video adds sales from the video guys and serial updaters, as well as getting attention from the Youtube and IG influencers. It's simply a solid investment from the price/performance standpoint.

And at the end of the day, where else are we going to go, Sony?

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I shoot photographs. That's what I buy a camera for and being nearly 70 I sold my X-T1's as soon as IBIS was available. I wish there was a smaller, lighter body with IBIS and much simpler menus. I like to go out with one or two bodies each with a prime. If I miss a shot ... so what? Sure, I have some zooms - I like toys and I can afford a few. My only long lens is the XC 50-230. The people designing cameras with 800 options are the same kind of people who've decided that they don't want to sell a rear wheel drive four door sedan with an upright seating position. Have I told you about my stupidphone yet? Press the modifier key and press for a capital letter. Press 5 three times and you have a capital L. No web, no pictures, no problem.

Edited by Ben Bishop
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