Fujifilm as a camera brand has been, so to say, missing from the imaging world (at least in India) for some time now. But while some might think of this time as hibernation, but they seem to have made a comeback packed with a serious punch.
We were invited to the global launch event in Tokyo where the company launched its latest offering from its X-Series called the X-E3, a 24 MP Trans-CMOS sensor along with the announcement for development of two new lenses and tie-ups with Profoto (for X series flashes) and Magnum Photos.
The newly launched fujifilm X-E3 flanked by the GFX 50S and the X-T2
For anyone that hasn’t been following fujifilm in the past year or so might not know that the company has given way to developing DSLRs and gone full-blown mirrorless. And this has yielded some great results for the company which has recorded a 40% higher growth in the first quarter of 2017 as compared to the previous year.
Sigehata Komori, Chairman and CEO, Fujifilm said, “We are going to work on an ambitious growth plan and target a increasing growth in the coming year for the imaging division.”
X-E3:
Toshi Ida, General Manager, Optical Device and Electronic Imaging Products Div, Fujifilm stated that “this is a camera system that couldn’t be created by any other manufacturer”. He said, “We are focussing on the photographers and not focussing on the parameters like price and so on. Our focus is on creating a camera for photographers.”
The camera has a very minimalistic design and focusses on “less is more”. It is very light and basic with a 2.3 million dots LCD touchscreen on the back. For connectivity, the camera features Bluetooth and Wi-Fi for the transfer of images to smartphones or other devices. It features a 2x auto focus speed, noticing 50% smaller subjects as well. The camera is capable of capturing 4K videos, and features improved firmware. The company plans to make the camera available in India by October this year.
The camera features a very minimalistic design
The back features a touchscreen LCD with almost no buttons
Along with the launch of the new camera, Fuji will start the development of two new lenses to add to their existing line-up of 25 lenses in the category. Although a specific timeline hasn’t been given, the lenses are expected to launch sometime 2018.
The new lenses include the XF 80mm F2.8 RLM OIS WR Macro and the XF200mm F2 R LM IOS WR. It features a new floating auto focus system which is introduced in this lens.
New development of the XF200mm F2 R LM OIS WR today
“With this lens we hope to open a new sports photography world.”
Fuji also showcased their medium-format GFX 50S in the presentation which hasn’t been introduced in India yet but is expected to be announced in October as well.
GFX 50S which is expected to come to Indian in October 2017
Latest Medium format offering from Fujifilm
Launched in January this year, the camera has been receiving a great response on the markets it’s available.
Fujifilm added two new lenses, the GF110mm F2 and GF23mm, since the launch of the camera in earlier this year. The company says that the focus is on focus is on photographic culture and commitment to make it grow. It has won a number of awards and accolades around the globe as the best medium format camera. The latest addition the the GFX series is the GF45mm F2.8WR lens. In 2018, there are two more lenses that will added, said Fuji.
