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Chance of a new firmware update for X100T?


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  • 1 month later...

I bought, in order: an X-E2, X100S, X100T, and X-T10. The X100S turned out to be a step backwards from the X-E2 in usability, but Fuji announced they would not upgrade it any more at that time.  So I bought an X100T (somewhat irritatedly). Fuji then went off and updated the X-T1 multiple times, but nothing for the X-E2 (more irritation).  I finally gave up on the X-E2 and bought an X-T10 fairly recently for the current set of 16MP features, whereupon Fuji finally updated the X-E2 to also have that exact set of features after what, an 18 month wait?  So I hope they do the same upgrade to the X100T, or I will probably never use it again, and it will go sit in a box just like my X100S.  It's very frustrating to have three very similar expensive cameras in the same system with operating controls just different enough that you have to think about how to use them while trying to "capture the moment".  At least two of the three are the same now, but the X100T is the odd man out.  Sorry, don't give a hoot about ACROS.  (Don't give a hoot about the X-Pro2, either, until the price comes down toward $1000 and they are through with the three or four firmware updates that X-T1 history indicates will be needed to get it sorted out and working right.  I like the Fuji system, love the lenses, the JPEGs are terrific, but my experience with the body firmware - not so much.)

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I bought, in order: an X-E2, X100S, X100T, and X-T10. The X100S turned out to be a step backwards from the X-E2 in usability, but Fuji announced they would not upgrade it any more at that time.  So I bought an X100T (somewhat irritatedly). Fuji then went off and updated the X-T1 multiple times, but nothing for the X-E2 (more irritation).  I finally gave up on the X-E2 and bought an X-T10 fairly recently for the current set of 16MP features, whereupon Fuji finally updated the X-E2 to also have that exact set of features after what, an 18 month wait?  So I hope they do the same upgrade to the X100T, or I will probably never use it again, and it will go sit in a box just like my X100S.  It's very frustrating to have three very similar expensive cameras in the same system with operating controls just different enough that you have to think about how to use them while trying to "capture the moment".  At least two of the three are the same now, but the X100T is the odd man out.  Sorry, don't give a hoot about ACROS.  (Don't give a hoot about the X-Pro2, either, until the price comes down toward $1000 and they are through with the three or four firmware updates that X-T1 history indicates will be needed to get it sorted out and working right.  I like the Fuji system, love the lenses, the JPEGs are terrific, but my experience with the body firmware - not so much.)

So you can't use your X100T without an upgrade? It will sit in a box like your X100S because it didn't get an upgrade? If you can't "capture the moment" because of missing upgrades, I have a feeling it might not be the cameras fault. Thousands of X100T and X100S users seem to do just fine. What "upgrades" are you actually missing?

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It is very easy to feel left out when everyone else receives goodies, it activates parts of our conscience which are deeply rooted in our primate’s brain.

 

This has been lately studied and reported at length in several scientific and non scientific publication.

 

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2236702/Fascinating-experiment-shows-monkeys-bananas-unequal-pay.html

 

http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2003/09/0917_030917_monkeyfairness.html

 

http://www.nature.com/nature/journal/v425/n6955/abs/nature01963.html

 

So we have a natural sense of justice and fairness and perhaps of entitlement which gets us excited and ( and I quote the scientific magazine Nature) “ Negative reactions may occur when expectations are violated"

 

This was evident with the X-E2 and the lack of updates until the update came. We will probably never know the whole and true story of that but I am convinced that it wasn’t planned originally and the only the “ Vox Populi” in the form of disappointed customers moved Fuji to commercially driven compassion.

 

So would the X100S or T ever get any goodies? Maybe, but maybe not.

 

There is really no way to know that, one thing is for sure, there seems to be less vocal disappointment about this. There is no real reason why a camera like the X100T wouldn’t get many of the same features now presented on the X-T10 and X-E2 and X-E2S other than by precise design.

 

However I fully understand delmundo’s point of view. There is nothing that can’t be done with any camera without upgrade that couldn’t be done at the moment one bought it.

 

So, technically, there is no reason to not use any of the cameras which haven’t been upgraded.

 

Psychologically though, things are different. 

 

Remember that phrase used by Nature magazine? “ Negative Reactions may occur when expectations are violated”.

 

I suppose that we all have to accept the fact that one day we will all have a perfectly working camera that isn’t at par with the newest model, but which will always, until it crumbles in our hands, be able to perform the exact same way it did when we bought it.

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I wouldn't count on it, but maybe there is a chance we will see an x100t 2.0 upgrade. Here is my theory.

 

Fuji has mainly shown Kaizen love to the camera models with large eco systems. Meaning the cameras with lenses and accessories a plenty. They (obviously) want to keep their customers and get them to buy more stuff. Nothing wrong with that. Perfectly legit. 

 

So what about the x100 models. Well. x100s received a couple of bug fixes, x100t received a couple of bug fixes, x100 recieved what many consider Kaizen love, but to me "all" Fuji did was to make a less than impressive camera operating system work like it, more or less, should have from the get go. Fuji was still a small player on the mirrorless market when the x100 came out. They had to fix what they could via firmware, to make an already loved camera useable. Still, gotta love the improvements they made.

 

So what about the camera models with an eco system worth talking about. The reason the xt1 has received so many firmware upgrades is because it is still a very attractive camera, and because it is cheaper for Fuji to keep up with the competition, by upgrading firmware, on a camera that is still on the market, instead of building and shipping new hardware.

 

Also when Fuji releases a camera like the x-t10 which is considered a younger sibling to the x-t1, and the x-t1 is still on the market, they have to upgrade the x-t1 to make it at least on par with the x-t10. Otherwise customers will be confused as to which model is the high end model of the two.

 

Believe me, if they had released the x-t10 after the rumored x-t2 had arrived, the x-t1 would not have received so much Kaizen love. Then it would have been perfectly legit to leave the x-t1 in the dust (being the already great camera it is), as the x-t2 would now be the older and wiser sibling to the x-t10. No more customer confusion.

 

So that leads me to the x70 which is considered the younger sibling of the x100t. Well. New menues. Faster AF. Improved what ever. Maybe this means that Fuji will actually send out a 2.0 firmware upgrade for the x100t, simply to get it on par with the x70. The rumors has already started, so maybe, if we are lucky (and the x200, or whatever it will be called, does not see the light of day in the mean time), we will see a Kaizen love firmware update to the x100t. I for sure hope so. I love the camera. But improvements are always welcome.

 

I am sure you can find loop holes in my theory on Fujis Kaizen love, but I still believe it to be more or less accurate.

 

My three fitty...

Edited by petergabriel
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Yep, it depends on available resources. So maybe later.

 

It's kind of a bummer. I had an X100T, sold it, bought another one after a while as I missed the small size and "simple pleasure shooting" it gives. I don't use many of the features that make it unique like fast flash sync or the silent shutter to a degree that make the camera total love affair for me, but what I do like overall is the feature set in the given size. 

 

But I absolutely positively hate the differences in use between it and the X-T1. There are so many that make no sense at all and that make using the two cameras at the same time a pain for me. I've decided to use them never together but as individual kits, but it still totally pisses me off how different they can be in so many little things. It feels like the firmware was done by totally disjoint teams. Maybe it was, but it's super annoying that this wasn't caught before release. 

 

In my opinion, the X100T doesn't really need a "feature release", it needs an "alignment release" where someone goes through all the little things here and there and just makes the camera behave the same way as the X-E2/X-T10/X-T1. There aren't that many things that really need work, but if you use them regularly, they are just plain annoying. 

Edited by cug
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  • 2 weeks later...

@delmudo, cug maybe said it better than I did. I am not pouting like a spoiled child, I just end up not using the X100T.  

 

With the recent upgrade, I can finally pick up the XE-2 and the controls are now similar enough to the X-T10 that I can just go out and shoot with either one with no annoying psychological hassle.  If I had an X-T1 it would be the same, too.  I stopped using the X100T because the experience became too heavy on camera-control annoyance and too light on having a good time capturing images.

 

The X100T, with the same guts inside it, now is in the same situation that the X-E2 was for such a long time - no "kaizen" love at all, and no reason why it shouldn't have the current set of features.  I wish they would upgrade it to the current 16MP standard because I do miss its ability to fit in a coat pocket. Sure, it still takes nice pictures without the upgrade, but lots and lots of cameras take nice pictures.

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Well, now the x70 is out with the AF wizardry ported from x-t1 and x-t10 it seems rather logic to me that x100t should receive an upgrade. Otherwise it will be inferior to its younger brother. But, for some reason Fujifilm has never made a kaizen love update for the x100 series.

 

I for one would love:

The new AF modes.

Faster, more accurate AF.

Auto macro when using zone focus.

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What would Fuji gain by updating the X100T?

 

That's a reasonable question. Obviously, it should boost declining X100T sales a bit before the camera is replaced by the next model. 

 

However, the fixed cost of upgrading the firmware (and provide new manuals in many languages) may be higher than any incremental revenue that comes from it. 

 

In any case, Fujifilm doesn't appear to have free resources for additional firmware upgrades at this time. So even if they wanted to do it now, they couldn't. So maybe later.

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Fujifilm would gain a more positive word of mouth. Alot of x100 owners feel short changed compared to Fujifilms other camera models because the x100 models have never received any Kaizen love.

 

Also, as flysurfer stated, it would boost sales until the x200 sees the day of light.

 

As for manuals they could easily reuse the AF modes manual from the x-t10 and just revise the current manual.

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Fujifilm would gain a more positive word of mouth. Alot of x100 owners feel short changed compared to Fujifilms other camera models because the x100 models have never received any Kaizen love.

 

Also, as flysurfer stated, it would boost sales until the x200 sees the day of light.

 

I think it's a trade-off between marketing and sales gain, and available development resources. Reading Flysurfer, it's questionable how much capacity Fujifilm currently have for updating the firmware for a niche model.

 

If Fujifilm wants to stay a main player in the fixed lens premium camera market, then it may be worth the effort indeed. Otherwise, the energy is probably better spent elsewhere.

 

I don't know Fujifilm's strategy, but I guess that their main investments go into lenses and X-Tx / X-Prox cameras development.

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I think that you Johan ( and others) might be right.

 

They X100 series has only seen technical adjustments but no kaizen, as such. Why that is is a secret kept in the heads of the the marketing department.

 

To date, kaizen has been limited only to the higher segment of the interchangeable lenses series.

 

I think their first intention was also not to update de X-E2 and only the major wave of discontent ushered in the firmware 4.0 and the still difficult to comprehend X-E2S.

 

MY guess is that the latter will see more kaizen but the X-E2 has gone as far as it would go ( and the delay to do so is only explainable with this not having been, really, planned but this was an emergency plan).

 

Going back to the 100 series I think that the lack of upgrading is not going to be changed, they could have done that before but they didn’t and ren’t likely to do it unless the market forces them into it.

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Let's not forget what started the whole Fujifilm Kaizen frenzy. The x100!

 

All though I don't consider that update Kaizen love, but more a nescessary move from Fujifilm, I think that is the reason Fujifilm customers were/are expecting x100s and x100t to receive Kaizen love updates.

 

So when I owned the x100s and no Kaizen love came that way, and Fujifilm then went on record stating that there would never be a Kaizen love update for the x100s, I sold my copy and bought the x100t, thereby getting all the updates (and more) I was hoping would come to the x100s via firmware.

 

The x100 series cameras are not exactly cheap cameras, and in my mind the x100 is THE camera that started Fujfilms road to mirrorless success, so why not reward the x100 customers with some serious Kaizen love?

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The concept of kaizen seems very nice and I agree with it but I don't forget that some of the original updates were published to correct errors on unready cameras coming onto the market too early.

I owned X100, then X100S and now X100T: this last iteration is also the first of the 3 to be 99% free of bugs.

Edited by Fredkelder
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Yes, the x100t is by far the best of the three x100 cameras, and I like it a lot, but one of the reasons I sold all my Nikon gear and went with Fujifilm, was the attraction of Kaizen, and so far I haven't seen any of it :-)

I think that I look at it differently; I'd rather buy a camera, and not a promise of future firmware updates.

 

My X-E1 also doesn't get firmware updates. That's fine with me; I like the camera as it is.

 

Sent from my SM-G920F using Tapatalk

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actually, you just got some update, albeit probably just a technical one .

 

Patrick says there is also some AF improvement but Fuji speaks of a technical support for new lenses 

 

http://www.fujifilm.com/support/digital_cameras/software/firmware/x/xe1/history.html

 


DOWNLOAD NOW New Firmware for X-Pro1, X-E1, X-A1/2, X-M1, XF50-140 and XF100-400 :: Improved AF for X-E1 & X-Pro1!

 

XF 100-400 focus limiter support for all these cameras + “AF tracking performance on AF-C and Movie mode will be improved when they are attached to FUJIFILM X-Pro1 or X-E1. “

 

http://www.fujifilm.com/support/digital_cameras/software/fw_table.html

 

 

Edited by milandro
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  • 2 weeks later...

It's very frustrating to have three very similar expensive cameras in the same system with operating controls just different enough that you have to think about how to use them while trying to "capture the moment".  

Oh poor you! 

Send me that X100T I'll show it some love.

:-)

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actually, you just got some update, albeit probably just a technical one .

 

Patrick says there is also some AF improvement but Fuji speaks of a technical support for new lenses

I think the AF update is strictly the focus limiting feature for the 100-400. Feature wise, nothing new is coming anymore for the X-Pro1. But I knew that when I bought it.

 

Sent from my SM-G920F using Tapatalk

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