Last Updated on 10/15/2024 by Chris Gampat
I should clarify this title a bit more: I’ve been with Fujifilm X series cameras for over a decade. But I don’t think that the industry cares very much about APS-C anymore. They treat it with the same disillusionment as those at the top who say that a trickle-down economy works. Of course, there are those who will fervently believe them, as Evangelism sometimes uses more than enough smoke and mirrors to blind evidence. This is backed by influencers, YouTubers, and hype marketing. But where Fujifilm is really shining for photographers is with the GFX camera series. The October 2024 X Summit is showing me more than ever that we’re right about this.
In fact, before you go on, please know that at some point, I will be buying a Fujifilm GFX camera. But they have to make a Fujifilm GFX 50R successor of some sort. I’ve lost faith in them to make a capable X Pro 4 camera in the same way that a child who goes to therapy loses faith in a parent who acts like a wounded grown child. And so I acknowledge them for who they are, but state that I don’t think that they can love photographers in a way that we need to be loved.
And personally speaking, I think some of my best documentary-style images were made with the 50R in the past few years.
Instead, they’re too bedazzled by their content-creator grandchildren and hope that they’ve got a second chance with them. When in reality, they’re perpetuating the same scars that will become apparent as they grow up.
The Fujifilm X Summit 2024
So, what came at the Fujifilm X Summit this year?
- The Fujifilm XM5: for content creators. It has features that really could’ve come to photographers, but they refused to do it. For example, it can shoot vertical video without needing to rotate the camera into vertical. Why can’t that come to stills for social media? Surely, a camera that boasts no image stabilization would be easier to hold in landscape orientation.
- The 500mm f5.6 was adapted to X mount: This is an odd move that really just seems like Fujifilm is trying to do more with less. As it is, I haven’t seen many people using Fujifilm for wildlife. Though I’ll admit that the images the system makes can be beautiful. But the autofocus really isn’t there yet.
- A new 16-55mm f2.8: Fujifilm made it lighter and smaller. They should be commended for that. But why didn’t they try to do something innovative here? APS-C cameras need fast aperture zooms like f1.8 or something like that. As it is, I don’t know many people who use a lens like this. Tamron’s zooms seem so much more versatile instead.
Why X Series is Done for Photographers
So why don’t I think that X series has any future for photographers? Well, APS-C image quality just isn’t there anymore — nor is the technology. For the money, you can get second hand higher-end cameras that perform better and have better image quality. The Fujifilm XH2 is cool, but the Fujifilm GFX 50R and 50S II both have better image quality. Why would I pay for worse image quality from an APS-C sensor? And it’s not like the autofocus has improved all that much either.
The future of X series will be for content creators: who are people who create imagery for an attention economy. This is different from photographers who have actual invoices from companies to make stills. I do not hate on content creators — they’re our descendants after all. But photographers have been left behind in kind of the same way that millennials were thrown into the fire and told that we have to develop thick skin by boomers.
Go to GFX Already
As I’m testing the Fujifilm GFX 100S II right now, I have to admit that I’m not a fan of Reala Ace. And the scene detection probably won’t help me much in the work that I do that gets me money. But it’s really something spectacular in the way of image quality. The sensor sings a song that I can’t help but hop out of my seat and dance to. This has to do with the way that light is rendered by the sensor that’s really special. And when you combine the lenses with things like Pro Mist filters you get a look that’s otherwise very hard to get.
It’s time that photographers start creating more instead of capturing.