2023 big year for Fuji?

unceunce wrote:

gdanmitchell wrote:

Sir Jake wrote:

I'm really new to Fuji systems,...

... I'm not so sure that there will be a XPro4...

I think there will be an XPro4. The 3 was very controversial with the hidden lcd, and I think after seeing that they swapped to the 3-tilt on XT5 with success perhaps they might go back to that 3-tilt. I do think XE5 will take awhile to come out. Praying for x100 first lol. SX20 is def next I think according to rumors.

I think the oddball screen design was at least in part a symptom of the issue I was writing about, namely Fujifilm's challenge in trying to displace the XPro as the flagship camera while trying to force-fit it into a new market segment.

The thing is that the XPro concept started out as the most powerful, most flexible x-trans camera. As such, it was positioned (and priced) as the top-tier Fujifilm camera — one that could work as a great street photography camera in OVF mode with small primes attached, but also use (later, as they were introduced) any of the larger prime and zoom lenses by switching to the EFV display. It didn't hurt that the OVF addressed the concerns that some had about the quality of EVF displays.

This approach remained through the XPro2, but with XPro3 Fujifilm arguably began to narrow the appeal of the camera, and instead of focusing on the cameras technical capacity and flexibility they tried to market it as a niche camera aimed at a certain kind of street photographer or wannabe street photographer doing "pure photography." They actually claimed, in Emperor's New Clothes style, that removing the rear display and replacing it with the tiny faux film box end holder would make one's photography experience more authentic.

Which, of course, is utter nonsense.

It didn't work well, and few were persuaded. The camera sold, but it is no longer regarded as a prime, first-tier Fujifilm camera, but instead as a sort of limited market niche camera. Some (including Fujifilm) even take to calling it a "luxury" camera, whatever that is.

On top of this, the concerns about EVF displays have diminished greatly as all manufacturers have moved to mirrorless cameras, as the quality of EFVs has greatly improved, and as photographers have adapted to them. This means that the appeal of the OVF has largely gone away.

The problem is that the market for such a camera continues to shrink. This isn't about the technological triumph that the hybrid viewfinder was or the quality of the camera. It is simply that almost everyone who is a candidate for a "flagship" or near-flagship camera is now going to get the XH2, XH2s, or XT5... and there's not a lot of market left to support the XPro.

I'm perhaps a good example. I got my XPro2 when it came out because it seemed like the best, most flexible and adaptable x-trans camera. It worked great for my street/travel photography, but I could slap other lenses on it and use it for events, macro, even landscape photography. I loved the camera — and still do, to be honest. But when it came time to update recently, I looked carefully at the XT5, considered the unknowns about the XPro line, realized that more and more I've moved to using the EVF on my XPro...

... and I happily moved to the XT5.