Watch the Fujifilm X-Summit live: new GFX camera and FIVE GF lenses announced
Fujifilm's second X-Summit of 2023 is today… follow all the announcements here as they happened
Fujifilm's second X-Summit of 2023 took place today, Tuesday, 12 September. This time the event was held in Stockholm, Sweden, for the first time ever, with the live conference starting at 11am local time – 5am ET / 10am BST / 7pm AEST.
The key announcements at the event were:
Chris has been writing about photography and digital cameras since they first appeared. He has reported on Fujifilm X-mount and GF-mount cameras since the systems were first launched, and has had the honor of attending three X-Summits in person – in London, Tokyo and New York.
So what do we expect to be announced at the Stockholm X-Summit. As ever, these events usually give us a mix of things, rather than simply just one big camera announcement. However, here are some of the things we might expect tomorrow:
• Another product we'd love to see updated is the X-Pro3. The Fujifilm X-Pro3 was a divisive camera, with a lot of controversy around its choice of screen (or lack thereof), there are also some significant questions about its build quality. However, there is no denying that it was a popular camera amongst ex-film enthusiasts for its retro styling and rangefinder design with its hybrid viewfinder. We'd like to see a new version 40MP X-Trans sensor and X-Processor for subject recognition and tracking.
It is not just X-Series and GFX-Series cameras that get launched at X-Summits. We usually get some lens announcements at these events too. These can be actual launches of fully-developed lenses - but also can be a glimpse of the future, through updated lens roadmaps.
The X-Summit is not the only Fujifilm event going on in Stockholm this week. On Wednesday September 13, the company is also hosting Fujikina. This public event is for X-photographers offering demos, talks, galleries, and a chance to see the latest Fujifilm kit.
The X-Summit has already become something of a fixture in the camera calendar - but this Fujifilm event only started back in 2019, so in the history of photography is still relatively new.
Fujifilm also often uses the X-Summits to update the lens roadmaps for one or both the X-series and GF-series of lenses. But what lenses do we think are missing?
There are over 40 lenses in the X-Series now - so the gaps are becoming harder to spot. But we do know that some of those lenses are, as judged by Fujifilm themselves, are not up to dealing with the 40 megapixel sensor on its latest cameras (the X-T4, X-H2 and X-H2S). So new additions may well be updates rather than lenses that break new ground.
The most recent roadmap for the GF lens range tells us that Fujfilm is still to launch the GF 55mm f/1.7, which is scheduled for this year. And there's the two tilt-shift lenses we have mentioned before. What would we also like to see? Perhaps something a bit wider... the widest option in the lens to date is the recent GF20-35mm. Or perhaps something a bit more supertelephoto? The longest to date is the 250mm f/4 R LM OIS WR. See our guide to the best Fujifilm GF lenses to remind yourself about what is currently available
Less than 15 minutes to go - and we are all set up with a cup of coffee to watch the latest news from Fujifilm…
There are already over 1,300 people waiting with us on the YouTube page for the X-Summit…
Just two minutes to go…
And we're off…
Yugi Igarashi kicks off proceedings on the quayside in Stockholm's Fotografiska photographic museum. It's the largest building dedicated to photography in the world we are told, first opened in 2010
So what's up first?
The GFX100 was not just a leap in resolution to 102MP, when it arrived in 2019. But it was also significantly the first medium format camera with IBIS.
But Fujifilm doesn't just add - it also substracts - and hence more recently we have had the smaller, more portable GFX100S.
The next addition to the package is speed…
There's a new sensor which has twice the speed of its predecessor - and double the buffer capacity. It has a 128GB buffer we are told - and AF speed readout is also faster
This is a medium format camera that is suitable for shooting sports and can shoot at 8fps - a pro basketball photographer gives it a thumbs up.
IBIS now gives up to EIGHT stops of stabilization - using information from the image sensor and the motion sensor in the camera
Now for its video shooting capabilities:
The GFX 100 II is capable of 4K60p 4:2:2 10-bit video internally with no crop, as well as 8K24p with a 1.42x crop, or 8K30p with a 1.51x crop – and Full HD up to 120p.
The bigger body of the medium format camera means that it is great for using with cine lenses, we are told. On screen we see the GFX 100 II with a Cooke Anamorphic.
You can record directly to an SSD or to the cloud using Frame.io.
EVF is also improved - with faster readout. Fujifilm's best ever - with 9 million dots. 60fps at 1x magnification - or 120fps in cropped action mode.
There are six different customizable function buttons - and the info screen on the top panel has also been enlarged. And the body has a leather like pattern on it to give it a flagship feel.
This is the new flagship GFX model.
There's an Ethernet port for updating to FTP or to Frame.io.
New Capture One Mobile app can let you control the new camera.
As rumored in some places, there is a new film simulation too - Fujifilm Reala Ace.
It adds IPTC metadata - which is important for press photographers.
Pixel Shift uses IBIS system to stitch 16 images to create 400MP high-resolution images (as seen on the GFX100)
New GF lenses now
First up the Fujinon GF 55mm F1.7 R WR - which was already on the roadmap, and is billed as a "must-have" standard lens (with a full frame equivalent focal length of 43mm). Two ED lenses and two aspherical lenses in its construction. It is a sister lens to the existing GF80mm f1.7 R WR.
We can now see the GF55mm f/1.7 in use as a street photography lens - making the use of its fast maximum aperture
And there are two more GF lenses - again ones that have been on the roadmap, and shown in prototype a year ago at the New York X-Summit.
The Fujinon GF 30mm F5.6 T/S will particularly appeal to architectural photographers - with a full-frame equivalent focal length of around 24mm.
There's a new GF roadmap - to harness the new speed that wildlife and sports. So new telephoto options
Fujifilm also says that it working on a new standard zoom lens for video shooting with fully electronic control - with power zoom. No focal length or image of this lens today, though.
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