2023 big year for Fuji?

I'm really new to Fuji systems, despite my first mirrorless camera being the XA3. I haven't touched a Fuji camera in a while.

Trying to get back onto the Fuji train because of their light weight cameras.

Just looking through the release windows of their past models, and I think some cameras are due for an update this year: X-Pro3, X100V, X-S10, and X-E4.

All of these would likely get the new X-trans sensor, but I don't think Fuji is likely to release them all this year, would probably spread them out into 2024.

What are your guesses for the release schedule?

For the past two models, the release of the X-Pro series were always closely followed by the X100 series and the X-E series. But the X-Pro series has a long refresh cycle so I wouldn't necessarily call it a trend, might just be coincidence.

Thoughts?

Sir Jake wrote:

I'm really new to Fuji systems, despite my first mirrorless camera being the XA3. I haven't touched a Fuji camera in a while.

My first was the XE3...still a great camera.

Trying to get back onto the Fuji train because of their light weight cameras.

Just looking through the release windows of their past models, and I think some cameras are due for an update this year: X-Pro3, X100V, X-S10, and X-E4.

All of these would likely get the new X-trans sensor, but I don't think Fuji is likely to release them all this year, would probably spread them out into 2024.

What are your guesses for the release schedule?

Well it's confirmed that the X-S20 is next, not sure when but hopefully announced in April X Summit.

For the past two models, the release of the X-Pro series were always closely followed by the X100 series and the X-E series. But the X-Pro series has a long refresh cycle so I wouldn't necessarily call it a trend, might just be coincidence.

Thoughts?

Your guess is as good as anyone's...they won't all be released this year as you said. Maybe one more later this year after the X-S20. An X-T40 with IBIS would be nice although I think the XE5 would sell really well right now.

I think they need some cheaper & smaller bodies after the recent XH/XT bodies.

I think after 2022, 10 years of X-mount and the X-H2S, X-H2, X-T5 plus the XF150-600 and more, we might see 2023 being difficult to predict.

Sir Jake wrote:

I'm really new to Fuji systems, despite my first mirrorless camera being the XA3. I haven't touched a Fuji camera in a while.

Trying to get back onto the Fuji train because of their light weight cameras.

Just looking through the release windows of their past models, and I think some cameras are due for an update this year: X-Pro3, X100V, X-S10, and X-E4.

All of these would likely get the new X-trans sensor, but I don't think Fuji is likely to release them all this year, would probably spread them out into 2024.

What are your guesses for the release schedule?

For the past two models, the release of the X-Pro series were always closely followed by the X100 series and the X-E series. But the X-Pro series has a long refresh cycle so I wouldn't necessarily call it a trend, might just be coincidence.

Thoughts?

Two thoughts, First, 2023 could be a long year with plenty of holidays, trips, events, etc, giving lots of photo opportunities. If so, is missing the opportunities more or less important than waiting for the rumour mill to become fact at some unknown future date? Especially so, when the improvements are likely to be marginal (having upgraded from a XT4 to a XT5 I see marginal IQ improvements. My upgrade decision was not based on the sensor, but that is for another thread). Any of today's available bodies will deliver excellent IQ; just pick your ergonomic preference in a body style.

Second, as you seek guesses on what's coming over the course of 2023/24, and mindful that none of us actually knows, my guesstimate would be in chronological order (but without speculating on likely release dates): XS20, XPro4, XE5, X100iv. But having bet on this, sure as eggs are eggs, it will be different!

So, if I were getting into Fuji-land, I'd base my buying decision on known photo opportunities this year rather than dateless rumours and enjoy 2023. Good luck.

Fujifilm's imaging division is relatively small, compared to the big ones like Canon or Sony. So their resources are limited. As such, and after so many important recent releases in both cameras and lenses (and lets not forget the GFX system), I think that 2023 is going to be quiet.

Well the rumor is the X-S20 is coming soon.  I can’t imagine the X-Pro4 not coming this year.  The other two are more problematic to predict.

jbuzzinco wrote:

Fujifilm needs to update the rest of their lenses that don't resolve to match the new 40mp sensor. Given their limited R&D and manufacturing capacity, I'm wondering what will be prioritized. Will they work on new cameras with the new sensor or update more lenses?

Not sure that is necessary, but I agree that it would be welcome. Here is a quote from the Amateur Photographer review of the XT5:

"Clearly, some Fujifilm users might be concerned about whether their existing lenses will be sharp enough for the 40MP sensor, especially after the firm released a list of those required to get the most from it. But my advice would be not to worry about it. You’ll never get worse results from any given lens with a higher resolution sensor; instead, it’s just a question of whether the extra detail you record is fully proportional to the increased pixel count. If you’re happy with the lenses you’ve got, they’ll still work fine on the X-T5. And that 40MP resolution gives so much scope for cropping if you need it."

Fujifilm X-T5 review: 40MP stills sensation - Amateur Photographer

Although I mostly use a 16-55/f2.8 on my XT5, I sometimes use my older 18-55, which is not on this marketing ploy list, and it performs just fine.

jbuzzinco wrote:

Fujifilm needs to update the rest of their lenses that don't resolve to match the new 40mp sensor.

All Fuji lenses work fine the new sensor. People have been adapting SLR lenses from the 70's to high-res bodies for many year and they've been just fine.

I believe the new fast primes are supposed to bring a better user experience and consistency across the lineup, which is a necessary thing considering what the competition is doing.

All those new primes perform similarly well wide open, exhibit little focus breathing, which is important for video. They focus internally, have a similar construction, controls and feature weather sealing. Also Fuji seems to have addressed some of its quality control issues that has plagued some lenses such as the original 23mm f/1.4.

Given their limited R&D and manufacturing capacity, I'm wondering what will be prioritized. Will they work on new cameras with the new sensor or update more lenses?

It's been 4 years since Fuji has introduced a major hardware update to its GFX lineup (better IBIS and new battery of the GFX100s notwithstanding), so my guess is this year will be mainly about updating the GFX.

On the optics side of things, Fuji has an 8mm f/3.5 X-series prime, one 55mm f/1.7 GFX primes and two Tilt-Shift 30mm f/5.6 and 100mm f/5.6 Macro GFX primes on the roadmap, all of which are due in 2023. After the massive

Other than perhaps the 18mm f/2 and 14mm f/2.8, there isn't that much more to update from the original X-series lineup.

My guess is next on the list will be the 16-55mm f/2.8 and/or 50-140mm f/2.8

jbuzzinco wrote:

jhorse wrote:

jbuzzinco wrote:

Fujifilm needs to update the rest of their lenses that don't resolve to match the new 40mp sensor. Given their limited R&D and manufacturing capacity, I'm wondering what will be prioritized. Will they work on new cameras with the new sensor or update more lenses?

Not sure that is necessary, but I agree that it would be welcome. Here is a quote from the Amateur Photographer review of the XT5:

"Clearly, some Fujifilm users might be concerned about whether their existing lenses will be sharp enough for the 40MP sensor, especially after the firm released a list of those required to get the most from it. But my advice would be not to worry about it. You’ll never get worse results from any given lens with a higher resolution sensor; instead, it’s just a question of whether the extra detail you record is fully proportional to the increased pixel count. If you’re happy with the lenses you’ve got, they’ll still work fine on the X-T5. And that 40MP resolution gives so much scope for cropping if you need it."

Fujifilm X-T5 review: 40MP stills sensation - Amateur Photographer

Although I mostly use a 16-55/f2.8 on my XT5, I sometimes use my older 18-55, which is not on this marketing ploy list, and it performs just fine.

Actually, you could get worse results. A lens which cannot resolve to a point smaller than the pixel size on the sensor will cause diffraction at all apertures. That would make it impossible to achieve any high contrast lines in the image.

No.  You're conflating a number of different concepts.  The lens' resolution capability does not cause diffraction.  It's a product of aperture and wavelength.  It's there anyway, but the higher res sensor makes it possible to see the impact of diffraction at a wider aperture.  A lens of low resolution capability may not extract the optimum from a high res sensor, but the image will not be worse than the same image from the same lens on a lower res sensor.

Regards, Rod

Rod McD wrote:

jbuzzinco wrote:

jhorse wrote:

jbuzzinco wrote:

Fujifilm needs to update the rest of their lenses that don't resolve to match the new 40mp sensor. Given their limited R&D and manufacturing capacity, I'm wondering what will be prioritized. Will they work on new cameras with the new sensor or update more lenses?

Not sure that is necessary, but I agree that it would be welcome. Here is a quote from the Amateur Photographer review of the XT5:

"Clearly, some Fujifilm users might be concerned about whether their existing lenses will be sharp enough for the 40MP sensor, especially after the firm released a list of those required to get the most from it. But my advice would be not to worry about it. You’ll never get worse results from any given lens with a higher resolution sensor; instead, it’s just a question of whether the extra detail you record is fully proportional to the increased pixel count. If you’re happy with the lenses you’ve got, they’ll still work fine on the X-T5. And that 40MP resolution gives so much scope for cropping if you need it."

Fujifilm X-T5 review: 40MP stills sensation - Amateur Photographer

Although I mostly use a 16-55/f2.8 on my XT5, I sometimes use my older 18-55, which is not on this marketing ploy list, and it performs just fine.

Actually, you could get worse results. A lens which cannot resolve to a point smaller than the pixel size on the sensor will cause diffraction at all apertures. That would make it impossible to achieve any high contrast lines in the image.

No. You're conflating a number of different concepts. The lens' resolution capability does not cause diffraction. It's a product of aperture and wavelength. It's there anyway, but the higher res sensor makes it possible to see the impact of diffraction at a wider aperture. A lens of low resolution capability may not extract the optimum from a high res sensor, but the image will not be worse than the same image from the same lens on a lower res sensor.

Regards, Rod

Not that I am a scientist, but this is my lay understanding too.

jbuzzinco wrote:

Rod McD wrote:

jbuzzinco wrote:

jhorse wrote:

jbuzzinco wrote:

Fujifilm needs to update the rest of their lenses that don't resolve to match the new 40mp sensor. Given their limited R&D and manufacturing capacity, I'm wondering what will be prioritized. Will they work on new cameras with the new sensor or update more lenses?

Not sure that is necessary, but I agree that it would be welcome. Here is a quote from the Amateur Photographer review of the XT5:

"Clearly, some Fujifilm users might be concerned about whether their existing lenses will be sharp enough for the 40MP sensor, especially after the firm released a list of those required to get the most from it. But my advice would be not to worry about it. You’ll never get worse results from any given lens with a higher resolution sensor; instead, it’s just a question of whether the extra detail you record is fully proportional to the increased pixel count. If you’re happy with the lenses you’ve got, they’ll still work fine on the X-T5. And that 40MP resolution gives so much scope for cropping if you need it."

Fujifilm X-T5 review: 40MP stills sensation - Amateur Photographer

Although I mostly use a 16-55/f2.8 on my XT5, I sometimes use my older 18-55, which is not on this marketing ploy list, and it performs just fine.

Actually, you could get worse results. A lens which cannot resolve to a point smaller than the pixel size on the sensor will cause diffraction at all apertures. That would make it impossible to achieve any high contrast lines in the image.

No. You're conflating a number of different concepts. The lens' resolution capability does not cause diffraction. It's a product of aperture and wavelength. It's there anyway, but the higher res sensor makes it possible to see the impact of diffraction at a wider aperture. A lens of low resolution capability may not extract the optimum from a high res sensor, but the image will not be worse than the same image from the same lens on a lower res sensor.

Regards, Rod

Diffraction is first affected by the diameter of the optical clear aperture. This occurs even with the entrance pupil (aperture) wide open. Diffraction over the edges of the mechanical aperture occurs as it is closed down. Together, these determine the diameter of the airy disk projected on the imaging surface.

If a lens is unable to focus a single point source down to an area smaller than a photosite on the sensor, a light point source is projected over the edges of a photosite rather than entirely within it.

Semantics aside, if a lens is unable to focus a point smaller than a photosite, you will not be able to render any pure black/white contrasting edges. Everything will be shades of gray. The airy disk of the point will spill into surrounding photosites. Projecting the same point through the same lens onto a lower resolution sensor where the entire airy disk is within a single photosite will give a cleanly defined edge.

The end result is the same. The airy disk projected on the sensor is too large. It does not matter whether the diffraction is caused by the optical clear aperture or the mechanical entrance pupil aperture.

With your clarification  I don't think we're in disagreement on the nature of diffraction, but I don't agree with you on the outcome in application.

You're arguing that a lens that does not resolve to the optimum of the sensor actually performs worse on a high res sensor than it does on a low res sensor.

Theory aside, experience does not bear out this argument.  Sensor resolutions have increased significantly across all brands in the last ten to fifteen years.   If your proposition were correct,  the forums would be full of the evidence - carefully controlled images from a given lens on a low res camera would demonstrate better definition/detail than the same image from the same lens on a high res camera.  That hasn't happened and isn't happening.

The experience is that lenses keep working just as well as higher res sensors come along.  They may or may not not perform any better; they may not extract the optimum from the higher res sensor; and they may not perform as well as new top-of-the-range high res lenses.  But all of those things are different propositions from arguing that any given lens actually performs worse on a high res sensor than a low res sensor.

This may beg the question as to whether someone who plans to keep lower res lenses will extract the full benefits from investing in a higher res sensor.  That's up to them to decide and they may value a lens for characteristics other than sharpness anyway.   Bear in mind that later cameras and lenses also offer other developments, so people tend to find a suite of reasons to upgrade.

In the end, diffraction is one of the lesser factors in getting a sharp image.  The usual culprits like focus inaccuracy, subject movement, camera movement, inadequate DOF, inadequate SS, excessive ISO, thermal air movements, etc, etc, may well be more critical in any given situation.  OTOH, one should never ignore it completely....;-)

Cheers, Rod

Definitely big year, most possible with X-Pro and X100 lines cancelation announcement comes first.

mhasman wrote:

Definitely big year, most possible with X-Pro and X100 lines cancelation announcement comes first.

Why would they cancel those lines?