Chris and Jordan analyze all the announcements from Fujifilm's recent X Summit: GFX 50S II, X-T30 II, new X-mount lenses, new GF-mount lenses, and a teaser for a stacked CMOS sensor and more!
If you are familiar with the Fuji forum or the portraits forum you've seen photos used by Vogue and other global media taken with FujiFilm APSC cameras. They make phenomenal cameras with some of the best IQ and colors. They seem to need less 'work' than other systems. I hope their new camera with a stacked sensor is capable of more of the same. There are few APSC cameras these days that are competitive. Some still use 6 year old sensors and parts from 2011.
My favorite landscape film was Fujifilm Velvia 50, and my first digital camera was a Fujifilm Finepix S2, based on a Nikon body. That remarkable transition from film to digital is detailed in Mr. Komori's fine book "Innovating Out Of Crisis". I suggest Canon and Nikon study it. Fujifilm is a serious player now.
I love you guys please don't change especialy when you are having cocktails. You are the best experts on Photography, Video, and still able to speed talk to such speeds that I know a good percentage of us that love you would like you to slow it down but that will never happen. Please don't change.
The only competitor to the current BSI sensor fujifilm uses is possibly the Canon 33MP sensor. The old 24 non-BSI sensors are too slow and limited in FPS with too much rolling shutter.
And now they are getting a stacked BSI sensor.
For longer focal lengths a 30+MP stacked sensor makes more sense than FF, especially outdoors.
If they can improve AF a little more, with the new 150-600 the new sensor will be incredible.
There is nothing 'Fujifilm' about the sensor except for the color array on top of it. Sensors used in Fujifilm camera all originate from Sony's sensor fabs. They are then customized with the X-Trans filter array which lays on top of a sensor.
Personally I think Fujifilm should step away from X-Trans technology.
It was useful for low res sensors (the original 16MP sensors Fujifilm used). But with increasing pixeldensity the advantages fall away and it has become marketing instead.
High-MP FF can be useful with longer lenses, as you get a lot of extra reach by cropping plus have a much wider view to find/follow stuff and don't lose the short end of the lens when not cropping.
The current 26MP sensor has pixels just a teeny bit larger than the Sony A7r4's, but doesn't have a quite affordable 200-600mm lens to put in front of it. As people generally only notice linear resolution changes over 15% you'd want an APS sensor 35MP plus to notice the difference. (BTW the M6mkII sensor is 16% up from the M6.)
If the new Fuji sensor is 43MP (i.e. an XTrans variant of the IMX671AQR, as rumoured) the difference should be easily visible if the optics are as good, and the AF system, stabilisation and ergonomics are good enough to get quality images. (about 8080 pixels across, diagonal 28.3mm is 23.7x15.6mm, vs 23.5x15.6 on XT4, which is 28% more pixels/mm than the XT4/Sony.)
The A7Riv is about $2000 more than an X-T4. It’s sensor readout speed is 1/10 of a second or 6 times slower than the X-T4. It’s IBIS isn’t as good either. And as you mention in crop mode it doesn’t have have the resolution of the X-T4. An APSC camera with a stacked sensor and 150-600, will not only cost less but will be in every way than the A7Riv or every A1 when it comes to reach, but for a lot less than an A1.
It's just an example. Plus in the APS part of the sensor it has more pixels than the XT4 (I said the XT's pixels were larger, if you recall) , just not enough more for anyone to care about. For stills you don't care about rolling shutter 95% of the time (as you're not using the E shutter). For video you don't need a 60MP sensor. As to comparisons with the A1 it depends if Fuji add the kind of AI AF modes the A1 and R5 have. Will an APS camera cost less less for wildlife, well that's mostly a lens question, the Sony 200-600 (I don't shoot Sony BTW) is a good lens for low money. For example a crop comparison with m43:
OM-D E-M1X $2000 - 997g A7rIV $3000 - 665g
But: Sony 200-600mm $1900 - 2115g Oly 150-400 $7500 - 1875g
Pixel size on subject at 20m: A7r4+600mm = 0.125mm (120cm HFoV) E-M1X+400mm+1.25x = 0.123mm (64cm HFoV)
Also my point was while the 26MP sensor doesn't have an advantage with long lenses the 42MP looks very interesting, if the (quality) lens support is there.
Whenever someone uses the size and weight of the EM1X as the typical M43 camera, they know they are wrong and cherry picking to trick people into thinking they are right. Of course many smaller M43 cameras shoot 18-20 FPS while the FF camera mentioned only shoots 10. That was left out too.
I've never seen much value in road maps for camera systems, but showing the outline of a lens without even the focal length takes selling from an empty wagon to a new level.
When you buy a camera, you assess what lenses are available. Once you own the camera...you own the camera, and whatever is available...is what's available.
I see a LOT of value in roadmaps, it provides me with a perspective of where the system is going and whether it will give me what I need (if it is not available yet).
When I bought into the OM system (Olympus, 1976), there were already WAY more lenses and attachments available than I could possibly afford. I ended up with one OM-1n body, four prime lenses (24/2.8. 50/1.4, 100/2.8 and 200/4.0), the "Varimagni" right-angle finder, and other stuff. I could not care less about "road maps", the system existed already and I picked the stuff I wanted.
Filters (apart from Olympus Skylights on each lens) I got from Hoya - a whole stack of them - and flash was Braun.
Point is - I ***STILL*** have this setup, 40 or so years on, and it STILL works great. Shame my favourite films (Kodachrome 25 (and later, 64)), don't exist, or I might STILL be using this awesome kit.
I would say don't rely too much on roadmaps, as they do change sometimes (33mm f/1 anyone - which was on the roadmap), so see what is available to make the decision and what's coming as potential nice-to-have extras.
Which is true, but doesn't change the point that you shouldn't spend 000s on a system because your perfect lens is on a roadmap, vs. exists... just see it as a bonus if it does turn up. (There are many other examples of roadmapped lenses disappearing, this just struck me as relevant to a Fuji thread.)
I'm a Fujifilm user, so I was at least slightly interested in the announcements themselves (even though they basically boil down to "...and in 2023 we'll introduce two MORE lenses you don't need.") But watching the Alberta Bros indulge in alcohol-fueled couch potato speculation seems like a pointless exercise. Admit it, DPRTV, this segment is just a brief interlude of Fujifilm "fan service" before resuming the constant torrent of Sony/Canon/Nikon tub-thumping.
Jordon mentioned in passing the possibility of a video specific body to house that new sensor. This would be a brilliant opportunity for Fuji. Throw in shutter angle control, ND filters and some video-specific read-out aides and Fuji would have a very compelling player in the APS-C video market. Fuji doesn't have to concern itself with eroding sales from other lines so I think a no holds barred approach would be wise.
A cinema camera is an ILC in that you can change lenses, so yes. What you're probably thinking of is IBIS, as I understand there's an issue combining those so they rely on gimbals (and to a lesser degree lenses) to provide stabilization. And of course digital stabilization, nothing preventing that.
Sort of if you use the EF to RF adaptor with a variable ND on the Canon Rs... (Which does make EF lenses a really good choice for RF video - handy as most of the Cinema lenses are EF.)
P.S. The Sigma FP can extend its ISO down to 6, via 12, 25 and 50, which is similar to using a ND to slow shutter speed (lowest std ISO is 100, so 1,2,3,4 stops)...
What is interesting in the spec sheet in the Petapixel article are also these lines:
"Each pixel readout method deployment for the speficic mode (1) Normal, (2) Phase difference, (3) Single pixel, (4) HDR" So it seems it will have some new tricks to pull out of its hat.
I am a fuji user (XT3 with several lenses) and have recently bought a used EM5/3 and two lenses. I cant predict the future of m43 but even with this "old" sensor, I can tell you the system is pretty capable. It can be smaller, much lighter, marginally worse in a few conditions with better and more zoom lenses and with an unbelievable IBIS (vs my Fuji lenses' OIS). I really like Fuji, but Olympus m43 is no slouch either.
I did shot m4/3 2009-2017 (Panasonic G1, G5, G6. Olympus E-PL5, E-M1, E-M5mkII) and yes, it is a competent system.
And like it is and always have been with all photographic gear, it is a compromise between cost, image quality, handling, weight, autofocus performance and other things. Also different systems and companies have their periods with ups and down depending on market success and technology advancement.
For now the Sony FF fits me personally best, though I always keep an eye out on other systems I find interesting.
Due to the relatively small sensor size, M43 cameras would benefit very much of a new stacked sensor with a readout speed fast enough to enable multishot modes like on modern smartphones (e.g. HDR, Nightmode etc.). Especially in conjunction with Olympus' renowned IBIS technology. Great news for M43 user and not so great news for fan boys of other brand who would like to see other brands / system die (for whatever reason which I don't get).
^ The current M4/3 20MP sensor (the faster one of the two) is already pretty close to that... 1/60 readout enables 60fps shooting at full res and bit depth. It just hasn't been leveraged to great effect when it comes to things like improved HDR etc., tho it's been leveraged well in other ways (eg Pro Capture, Live ND, HHHR).
I don't see how any of these recent Fuji announcements threaten M4/3 heavily tbh... M4/3 IBIS is still nicer and/or more ubiquitous, and many of the zooms/teles are still smaller, Fuji's weather sealed prime lineup continues to grow but that had already been one of the biggest advantages to the X mount (over M4/3) for years now.
TBH I hope both systems continue to thrive since they're easily the two systems < FF that most cater to enthusiasts (I shoot Sony FF & M4/3 FWIW). Neither is gonna expand it's market share massively IMO (sub-FF sales are down for everyone) but I don't think they have to in order to be profitable.
Oh and stacked sensor news in other formats besides phones & FF is good news for everyone, means they're getting cheaper.
As an aside, the Fuji f1.4 primes were always a somewhat better value than the Oly Pro and higher end PL primes IMO, but the newer ones double down on that by fixing some of the weaknesses (slower AF etc.). Between that and the f2 WR range Fuji has a system tailor made for the small prime lover...
M4/3 still only has like all of 2 small weather sealed primes, tons of sealed zooms and kit zooms even, but I don't think I'm going out on a limb by saying more than a couple enthusiasts who wanted primes like that may have switched from M4/3 to Fuji over time.
well the 600mm zoom is pretty big news. It's a big hole in Fuji's lens map, and about time it was fixed (although I'm willing to bet that Tamron will get there soon)
I don't think you even need stacked to greatly improve the 50MP sensor's glacial readout speed, it's a very old sensor. The problem is they sell very few of them, so new ones are likely to be 100MP+ now FF is at 60MP and heading upwards, as it would be hard to get the design costs back...
The Fujifilm GFX 50S II and its kit lens, the GF 35-70mm F4.5-5.6 are, respectively, the most affordable medium format digital camera ever released, and the most compact zoom yet for Fujifilm's GF system. Click through to learn more about both.
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