Fuji “ Non Plus Ultra”?

[milandro]

So, Patrick has told us of the Fuji “ Ultimate” X series.

 

http://www.fujirumors.com/trusted-sources-says-ultimate-x-series-aps-c-camera-will-cost-around-2000-3000-poll/

 

Apparently this camera will put to shame any other Fuji X made before.

 

But that has been ( at least in the intentions) what it has always happened ever since human memory can remember, the later models of anything industrially produced and commercially available GENERALLY ( there are ample examples of the occasional failure of this paradigm) improve of the earlier production.

 

But ultimate, and I quote the Oxford dictionary, means :

 

ultimate |ˈəltəmit| 

adjectivebeing or happening at the end of a process; final: their ultimate aim was to force his resignation.• being the best or most extreme example of its kind: the ultimate accolade.• basic or fundamental: the ultimate constituents of anything that exists are atoms.• Physics denoting the maximum possible strength or resistance beyond which an object breaks.noun1 (the ultimate) the best achievable or imaginable of its kind: the ultimate indecorative luxury.2 a final or fundamental fact or principle.

 So if this is the ultimate X camera does it mean that there will be no more X after this? Really?

 

The thing, in itself seems unlikely. But what is the point to define something “ ultimate” if later on there will be a “ more perfect” camera?

 

Anyway, again, we shall see. Maybe this will be the camera to tempt me. Who knows!? I won’t buy for the video though. I don’t do any filming.

 

 

 

A post scriptum...

 

It reminds me an old sketch by the Italian comedian Ettore Petrolini, who depicted a satire of Nero, the Roma Emperor, who wanted to destroy Rome to build one “ More beautiful and superb than ever before”

 

Nero starts saying that and the “ audience” cheers “ bravo” and he answers “ Thanks!”.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Patrick FR]

Hm... maybe I'll use "supreme" next time

[milandro]

ok, so it will just be the net best camera until the next best will follow... 

[Vidalgo]

Don't worry: we shall see a camera with the term "X" from an other manufacturer. 

Because the single-letter term cannot be registered as trademark or copyright!

[milandro]

I have one of these X

[Aswald]

This "ultimate" or "supreme" camera reminds me of the time when the SONY RX1 was launched.......interesting times ahead.......

[Lumens]

Lately I have seen a lot of changes in new products but very little innovation.  In the camera industry Fuji has been the best at innovation, but most of what I have seen, especially from other companies, are simply changes that get created and marketed to increase sales.  Yes there are some improvements but the truth is learning how to use the equipment you already have can produce MUCH better images that these new "Improvements" in gear.

 

The software industry is the worst.  I have dumped MANY software programs because I made the mistake of upgrading each year only to find the manufacturer has improved the product to the point it no longer does what it was meant to do and if it does it's almost impossible to figure out how!  Marketing insists on something new each year to convince everyone to upgrade to the point the product becomes useless.  This is somewhat what I see the camera industry doing, each year a new model comes out to drive sales until DSLR's & Mirrorless cameras become 90% video cameras instead of being able to take a simple picture.

 

New technology is great, but let it be real and NOT designed only to drive sales.  The word "ultimate" is just another marketing word to drive sales.  I'll be interested to see what really comes out and then I will likely keep what I have.

Edited April 21, 2017 by Lumens

[bhu]

To me, "Ultimate" means "moar bat'ry", bigger Evf, and uber SW.

 

Personally, I struggle with this ultimate concept. What are they going to do, add a giant heat sink? My guess is gold plating the TX-2. T-X20 was cost-down. X-E3 will be further cost reduction. Adding 1k$ "value" to T-X2 is difficult without adding a lot of NRE; i.e., new sensor.

 

Hope I am wrong and Fujifilm really does design a new sensor (50 Mpix).

[johant]

I don't see the comparison at all.

 

What I see with the announcement of the "supreme" Fuji camera is Fuji trying to stay ahead of Sony with their recent A9 announcement. I want Fuji to fight. I want Fuji to win. So I think it's great that Fuji is willing to take on Sony and present its own offerings as a viable alternative to Sony.

I don't feel that sentiment really; it's just a company, like the other companies. Of course I hope that Fujifilm stays in business with the X-cameras, because of the XF lenses that I put money in. But I really don't care if Fujifilm or Sony or Nikon become market leader. The only thing I care about is that they make a camera that works for me (small, lightweight, hybrid viewfinder, excellent stills capability, as battery efficient as possible). If another brand chooses to specialise in 3D photography, video, or online media integration, that's perfectly fine with me.

 

Fujifilm make great cameras with the X-Pro and X100 series. As long as they keep doing that, I am happy.

[Rand47]

It seems obvious in retrospect that Fuji was aware of the "now announced" Sony a9. The new X body would seem to represent a similar direction. I'm all for it and will look forward to what comes.

 

Rand

[milandro]

It will be the best until the next best will come and replace the old ultimate best.

 

Then having been the best before the next best had shown up, won’t count for much anymore and it would be all of a sudden deemed worthless (like apparently my X-T1 is now) despite performing exactly the same as it did all the time, before, while it was still the best.

 

 

 

It is like the old story of the Roman Circus.

 

A “ gladiator” comes inside the arena and promises to “ get very closely acquainted" with a 1000 young girls.

 

At girl 999 he can’t do it any further.

 

Then the whole Roman Circus crowd shouts “ Impotent!”.

Edited April 23, 2017 by milandro

[milandro]

 

http://www.fujirumors.com/fujifilm-scratched-ultimate-fujifilm-x-focus-fujifilm-x-t2s-ibis-camera/

 

So, apparently they have abandoned the “ Ultimate” X project

 

 

Now the folks to whom only the best caters for would have to do with a miserable “ S” attached to their new X-T2.

 

G-d knows the pictures one could have taken and will now never materialize... if only there was an “ Ultimate” X on the market!

 

 

To be continued (?)

Edited August 21, 2017 by milandro

[Guest mikEm13]

OH MY.... the world of photography will never be the same.

[BobJ]

Someone said that Fuji is the most innovative company. Despite being totally wedded to Fuji I really can't agree. Sony is the only company that has produced any real innovation in the past decade.

[Sator-Photography]

To be honest, I really feel there is a place for an X-system equivalent to a Canon 1DX II, Nikon D5, and Sony a9.

 

It may not be the camera that you, as the reader, might personally want to own, because you are perfectly content with your X100F, X-T2 etc. While that is fine, it isn't what the question is all about either.

 

The question is whether Fuji should try to create a high-end professional sport and wildlife system to rival similar 135 format systems. I think the answer to this is a resounding "yes". 

 

There are a number of ways this might become technologically feasible. The first is that Fuji could purchase Sony sensors with the on-sensor memory and fast read-out of the Sony a9 so that it allows you to shoot at 20fps using the electronic shutter. That costs money. Yes, eventually the price of such units will come down, but by that time Fuji would have missed the boat. I think that being able to shoot at +11fps with a mechanical shutter and 20fps with an electronic shutter is a worthwhile goal.

 

Yes, an APS-C system gains you a stop of depth of field, but for reportage, sports, and wildlife, I don't see this as being a problem. With environmental photography, you often want to show the habitat of the subject. That means you can choose a faster aperture to stop action without losing excessive amounts of depth of field. If you want ultra shallow depth of field and dramatic subject isolation, that is probably something you would prefer to do with a 4433 medium format system: the GFX system. 

 

There are things that Fuji could plausibly do better than Sony too. First a start, Fuji could offer better value for money telephoto primes. Next, Fuji could offer professional support packages that rival that of Canon or Nikon. The body should be made more rugged than current X-system bodies so you can literally take it into a war zone for reportage usage or into a sports match in the pouring rain. If that isn't what you need, fine, buy the X-T2S instead, which will probably be more than most of us need anyway. 

 

There is also potential for the future as well. This includes options such as the organic sensor and a global shutter system. These are simply not going to be cheap when they are novel technologies. It you have to build a premium model to match the premium electronic innovations, then so be it. 

 

Once again, I remind readers that this doesn't mean you have to buy into this system yourself. Not every Canon users owns a 1DX II either and many find the 6DII or 5DIV to be plenty. The same will hold true for Fuji X system users. It's more a question about whether it is in Fuji's overall best interest to prove it is able to offer a serious rival fast shooting X system with different options for different levels of user. But as an X-T2 user, I can tangibly imagine a model that sits above it that is designed for professional ultra fast sports, wildlife, and reportage photography. Even the X-T2 is almost there for such usage now. It just seems to me that all that Fuji has to do is go ahead and realise what seems so readily palpable.

[johant]

I think an important question is how much development capacity Fujifilm have available. If they can cope with covering the full spectrum, I am all for it.