[MESSAGE TO THIS SOURCE: I could be great if you contact me also via email (if you want, use a fake email address), so that we can talk directly to each other.]
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[UDPATE: The source said it will come in 2015, whitout specifing any date. My guess was it will come in early 2015. Read here for the udpated article]
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ORIGINAL POST
Who follows FR regularly will already know that Fujifilm has (according to FR-rumors) two new X-cameras in the pipeline for the next few months: a fixed lens one and an entry level MILC. Now, the fixed lens one could be the XQ2, the successor of the smallest X-series camera on the market.
And what about the MILC?
Well, according to an anonymous source with “nick name”, who was right in the past, it will be a cheaper version of Fujifilm’s best selling X-series camera, the Fujifilm X-T1.
Please keep in mind that, although I try to be as accurate as possible (83% correct rumors in 2014), you should take rumors that do not come from trusted sources, with a grain of salt… including this one.
So what, would this be a smart move or not? I’m really curious to read what you think about it in the comments.
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119 Responses
cheaper material? older viewfinder? less control dials? I wonder what will be sacrificed in order to make it cheaper…
no weather sealing?
Like what Olympus did with their E-M10 I guess. Stripped down the OMD enough to sell it at a bargain price.
Fuji could ditch the weather sealing, shrink the EVF (not too much I hope), slightly decrease the FPS, remove a dial or two (like ISO), lose the battery grip accessory port…
The biggest issue will be pairing it with a suitable lens to keep the kit cost competitive. Will they consider bundling it with the XC 16-50? (not the worst lens in the world mind you, ever tried the Sony E-Mount 16-50 PZ *Puke*)
Fuji know they hit a styling/feature home run with the X-T1… makes sense to dilute it a little and push it on to the “entry dSLR masses”
Pretty much what I was thinking, and now that I think about it, what you’ve described is basically an X-E2 with a central viewfinder.
Yes, I thought the same. That’s just an X-E2. I think maybe keep the EVF, keep the dials, but reduce the build quality down to X-E2 level, and maybe reduce the frame rate a little. The X-T2 will probably follow a few months later with a new 24mp sensor and improved AF.
If they kept the build quality the same (minus weather sealing), I could go for an X-T1 with a few less buttons and dials. I shoot with the primes and they aren’t weather sealed anyway
I would buy it! If the dials are the same and functions (incl. newest firmware). A lower resolution evf, cheaper materials and made in china, would be ok for me.
Mixed feelings whether it is a good idea. It could cannabilise X-T1 sales and reduce overall profits. Or it could help pull a good chunk of the entry level APS-C dslr business away from Canon/Nikon and provide critical mass for more or faster development.
It would perhaps allow Fuji to push the eventual X-T2 (or whatever) slightly further upmarket and more overtly “professional” with faster/better AF, a few more Mpx etc. That might be OK as long as they did not make it bigger/heavier or too much more expensive. But they could do that by leaving the X-T1 on sale when they introduce a higher spec X-T2. Sort of what is happening now with the X-Pro1 which as a run out model is being heavily discounted in anticipation of the X-Pro2. Probably won’t be my choice, I will wait for X-T2 to add a second body (to replace my X-E1)
I think you might be on to something here. If this is, in fact, introduced, it would allow for a total “professional” X-T2 with more MP and some added bells & whistles. It would mean a jump in price probably but it would be marketed as more of a DSLR like mirrorless camera, quite suitable for studio work.
The thing is, the X-T1 is already quite capable of holding its own as a professional camera in the studio. The one big thing holding back mirrorless right now has more to do with speed and focusing issues. Only when you see these cameras handle action as well as a good DSLR will we start to see significant declines in DSLR sales.
Its all about marketing! This will be interesting to see.
The AF speed is the only reason why I still have my full frame Canon 1Ds3 and APS-H 1D2 for the occasional sport and other action shooting. Match the Canon 1Dx or 7D2 AF speed and tracking with the X-T2 and the sale of my Canon kit will fund the completion of my exclusively Fuji outfit.
Seriously? You’re dreaming! I’d love that too but the AF in today’s DSLRs took years to develop. OSPD is a whole different story and it will take time. Fuji just now managed to get good AF in the X-T1 (compared to the rather bad AF in my X100S). There is no freaking way they can match a top-of-the-line DSLR with the X-T2. They will eventually, but not this year and probably not next year.
You are probably right. However mirrorless developers know what is possible, the expectation is higher, that in itself gives engineers a target and comfort that there is a solution (my father’s view, he was a physicist and successful inventor). In any case the algorithms have been developed and the processing requirements are understood. I expect progress to be MUCH faster than it was for dslrs as the mirrorless engineers are starting from a better place. My original Canon D30 was glacial compared to my Fuji (and the film EOS-3 I used at the time) – I could time the shutter lag with a watch. Bear in mind that AF did not come with digital and effective speeds went backwards initially (as it has with mirrorless).
No that’s not XT2. That’s XT1 Mk 2 at most.
Maybe this will be like a XE-2 in the body of the X-T1 (less controls, smaller EV, no weather sealing, no electronic shutter)? Could be the end of the E-line as we know it.
This would be nothing a lot of people might care. For the price of this new entry X-T1 light you could by a used X-T1, X-E2 or 3 X-E1s.
I was hoping for a X-A2 with an EVF, 20MP and phase detection AF. 😉
Personally I don’t like this idea.
I had a E1 and I have a T1 in this moment.
There is a X camera every 100 euros (dollars) from the A1 –
M1 – E1 (still available new in some place) E2 – PRO1 and T1.
My opinion is that they can improve AF or MP sensor (I don’t
care, but some people like big number) and put
in the market a new top range camera that can be the killer camera (my
T1 with the AF of a DSLR is the killer camera)!!!!!!!!!!!!
I would be very happy with an X-T1 spec camera with the AF caapability of the Canon 1Dx or 7D2 – in fact I would be happy if it matched my current (previous generation) 1Ds3. I keep my Canon outfit for sport and action but would love to realise its value to complete my Fuji outfit.
I’d rather see an XPro2 and an XE3 with a tilting touch screen than a downgraded XT.
But replacing the two entry level, plastic models with one with an EVF and standard “Fuji style” controls is a good idea if it can sit at the lowest price point.
They better focus on X-Pro2, but I guess they do.
I suspect there is more money to be made with EVF cameras like the X-T1.
And there goes the X brand.
If X-Pro2 will have an EVF only, I think I can live with it. 🙂
X-T guts in X-E body with no weather sealing, but with tilting screen? Yes please!
…Wait, what do you mean “that’s not an entry level”?!
X-T guts less weather sealing and battery grip in X-T form factor … I jump
From day one the X-T1 featured pretty lax weather seals. The doors pop open of their own accord. I’d like to see properly sealing doors on an X, but if the X-T1 is the target, that’s a long way away. I’ll consider a non-weatherproofed X-T1 as good as the X-T1 as far as weather proofing is concerned.
It may possibly work. They’ve used essentially the same guys across the line so far… Somehow I think I’m the only person who’s noticed.
Depends on a level of integration/modularity, I guess. They are not the same, I saw what’s inside. Similar to some degree, yes. Some components (at least from the looks of it) seem to be the same. But how much modularity and interchangeability has been planned during design stage, we can only guess.
I would love to see the xt1 in the form of a classic range finder.
A big chunk of the “cheaper” could be the bundle with the XC 16-50 instead of the XF. From the success of the perceived success of the X-A1 and X-M1 I guess Fuji has a lot the the XCs left. They could charge the kit 100,- more than the body instead of 400,- more as is the case with the XF lens.
So the X-Pro2 is once again not even on the radar. If a cheaper X-T1 & XQ2 are the only ones in the pipeline I’m getting very disappointed and I won’t be the only one. Fuji is getting at least a few years behind what Sony & Olympus are capable to do in body design. On top of the XQ2-story… see http://www.macrumors.com/2015/01/12/apple-nikon-flickr/ – the realm of compacts is really over – the crowd that bought this stuff in the past now focusses on a smartphone.
Come on now we’re 12 days into January, it’s a bit soon for the doom and gloom.
You’re right, but otoh, If EJPB sells his Fuji gear – good luck to him, and for us that would make one less ‘The End is Nigh’ kind of constant noise 🙂
EJPB is not saying the end is nigh, he is saying that Fuji has jumped the shark; its game plan has changed substantially since the beginning of the X-series. That is not whining, it is a fact. I have both a X-Pro and an X-T1. I like them both but the latter is getting a little long in the tooth and the former is, with the new enormous lenses, is approaching the size of many good dslrs, the very thing that Fuji started out challenging. If people can’t say they are disappointed with the direction Fuji is talking without being called a whiner then there is no reason to have a comment section.
Yup, all we can say without being named as a whiner is Fuji is doing very very well, better than the other brands and there is no risk. Fuji you just take your time!
I agree with you – people can say they are disappointed it’s just that some things are fairly obvious and have been for a while – (see below) so yes this is whining, not constructive criticism IMHO
XPRO will only be replaced when it is worthwhile – Fuji said as much very clearly. The newest lenses are clearly not meant to be paired with the XPRO1 – put a 50-140 on it and you’ll probably can’t see anything in the OVF
X-T1 : it’s form factor and usability is still smaller than a “small” Nikon D7000; the new lenses although huge in terms of Fuji history are still significantly lighter and smaller, the thing is they are WR (which takes space) and with a large aperture and excellent optics this combined means bigger. I have never seen a 2.8 50-140 pancake. and we still have small to smallish lens which have their own merits
Wait, are you saying that if one comments on an aspect of Fuji photography and it “obvious” then that person is whining, but if its something that has not been discussed before it’s “constructive criticism? Not sure that really holds up.
The fact that Fuji says they will only replace the XPRO-1 when it is worthwhile is not reallty a defense of the camera being long in the tooth. It is a simple fact that the x-trans has not lived up to the original hype. It’s great if you shoot jpgs or use in-camera raw processing, but it is long overdue for an update. That ain’t whining, son, thats a fact.
There is not a significant difference in weight or bulk between the D3300 & D5300 and the X-T1. Nikon seemingly does not want to compete with Fuji or anyone else for that matter in the mirrorless realm, but they have been working diligently to make their DX line smaller and lighter. And I’m sorry, as it stands now Nikon’s (not Sony’s) 24 mp sensor beats the 16 MP Fuji sensor hands down. It seems to me, (and I have no dog in this hunt, since I own both systems) if Nikon would get serious about making some really pro quality DX lenses, it might give Fuji some pause. Again, not whining, just saying……
Darn – discussing in writing and in a foreign language is hard work and sometimes frustrating 🙂
To me
Constructive Criticism : either bring something new to the table, or suggest something different with arguments (not just CaNiSo does this)
Whining : keep complaining again & again in every other post about the same thing; vaguely menacing to switch brand; running around with head between both hands saying ‘oh là laà’ or anything about as useful.
In short if your system is good enough for your needs but you long for something better/faster/slicker/whatever say it by all means – may be just not 100 times a day; In the meantime use what you’ve got already. One cannot tell with a straight face that the XPRO1 is not a capable camera, albeit with limitations.
And if your system really is a block to your creativity/prevents you from achieving your goal – well just sell it and go wherever there’s a fair wind for you.
I had to sell my Nikon gear & lenses because of a bad case of long term tendinitis. I did not go around on Nikon Rumor saying that if Nikon does not replace the D4 with a lightweight RF style body I quit … That was obvious it would not happen short term 🙂 I tried the V1 line and was less than impressed by the sensor & quality of lens. That was a bad move on my part.
I went to Fuji – first bought an x-e1 and 16-55 VR to see if I could be happy with the results / handling / whatever – I was later I bought a second hand 35mm 1.4 yes it has a noisy AF but I love it’s results and a year later I bought a x-T1 and some nice glass (56; 10-24) using rebates & trading my dust-covered Nikons.
Today Fuji keeps pushing new bodies, new lenses – May be not the dream ones I have got but every single time good quality lenses, fair incremental updates to their bodies whilst still upgrading their existing bodies via firmware upgrades – sometimes a lot, sometimes less. To me it is not the sign of a company abandoning anything; They said ‘Xpro2 will exist, only when it’s worth it’. It is clear that the X100T is a test-bed for a new OVF. Engineers need to learn too.
Hope I made myself clearer – sorry for the long winded answer 🙂
Go ahead and sell it then, there’s plenty of potential buyers out there… 🙂
OK, Fuji wise guys. Did you see anything new coming that can consolidate the X-series for the future, to ensure there is still an X-series range over a few years? To compete with Sony’s A7MkII & A9, the planned FF-camera @ 799$? To compete with Olympus? 5 Axis IS maybe? Fuji is almost 3 years now building cameras with the same old Sony sensor and a not perfect FW that is subject of an almost permanent debugging… still there’s nothing better on the radar. If this isn’t a technological standstill – please tell me, what kind of compelling camera technology did Fuji release since about one year? Do I hear something? A graphite silver body? Another debugged version of the X100? A cheaper version of the X-T1? That new XQ2? Yes I love Fuji too, but I don’t see the light that gives me a warm and fuzzy feeling.
Too bad for you then… 🙁 Good luck with Sony, Olympus or whatever glorious system you might choose.
So Fuji should be just like you and say to unhappy customers go away we don’t need you?
Even though you might be an unhappy custumor, there’s a lot of people who truly love what Fuji has done with their cameras. I love the X-T1 and the high quality Fuji glass, so many people keep on whining for this and that, not even knowing the true potential of the camera they own. Obviously Fuji will eventually come up with something even better, but I’m doing just fine with the X-T1 for the moment 🙂
I’m perfectly aware of what Fuji could mean in the market. Stepping up to a new sensor and better CFA concept is really an urgent requirement to consolidate the future for this system. A lot of people were complaining when the Leica M9 was having a 3-4 yrs old Kodak CCD… well this Sony CMOS is a fair bit older and still we’re only getting another A2, once again based on the same hardware…? The X-Pro2, where is it? Apparently not in the first Q of 2015. What is the reason to release an ‘even cheaper’ model? Isn’t this a premium system with a premium price setting – focusing on the more ‘serious’ crowd? Since the release of the X100 – I’ve seen way too many serious photographers (really knowing what they were doing, not just amateurs/travelers) stepping in and out because at the end of the day they just failed to believe in it. Some went back to DSLRs (…), very few to other MILCs, others to Leica M. Looking at shops selling second hands stuff… a recent Nikon or Canon is despite the crisis still getting decent prices, Fuji’s value vanishes while you’re looking at it – which is obvious, even the new cameras and lenses are being priced down all the time. This is not a good sign as it reflects the market’s feeling. Btw… it’s not only Fuji, other MILC systems are also not capable to hold their value quite well… unless Leica, of course.
Go get a Leica then… 🙂
The X-T1 was a huge step up compared to the X-E1/2 that came before. The next big advance will no doubt include the 24mp sensor with phase detect from Sony, but the X-T1 is very good for now.
And what is the point of X as a system if not its unique melding of optical interface with electronic? The X Pro and X100 are the only cameras that allow you to interface naturally, without zooming glass, without TTL, with a subject. The X-T1 is a decent camera. But so is basically every high and mid-end camera out there.
It’s selling point is its dials. And dials alone will last only as long as the retro fad.
Interesting – but will it be the same form factor in which case what is going to give to allow the cheaper price? An X-E2 EVF in an X-T1 body seems unlikely as done an SLR style camera with no viewfinder at all. Maybe we’ll see a return of the X-A1’s bayer sensor?
Cheaper version means what? Some obvious downgrades would be no weather sealing and plastic construction instead of alloy. Pair it with the XC lenses. EVF will be smaller and lower rez? Build-in flash maybe. No flash sync port, no battery grip.
What else? I supposed they could lose all the extra manual dials and make them with a Mode dial like the X-M1/X-A1. That would be a mistake IMO.
Also forgot. Made in China instead of Japan.
China is the new Japan. Give it a few years. Not long ago, MADE IN JAPAN was joke line.
I really want to see an X-Pro 2 soon.
The X Pro is the X’s raison d’être. Otherwise, it doesn’t make sense. Dials alone do not a brand make.
Yet another, new line? I thought we just killed the A series, just to introduce this one now. I think keeping the X as clean as possible is best. M, E, T, Pro — four lines so far, assuming A is gone… or Five. Well, their call.
Perhaps a great idea – the X-T1 is fairly popular, and a considerably cheaper version will likely sell very well too.
For me, I am waiting for the X-Pro 2. Hopefully that is announced soon so that many of us will know where they are going with it.
That would be great. The strategy I think would look like this:
X-pro2 – flagship top of line with hybrid viewfinder
X-t2 – with new xpro2 sensor with awesome electronic viewfinder
Xe2 stays the same, with an option for a future xe3 with the new sensor, but the market might not need it.
Xt1 (or this cheaper replacement with the “old” sensor)
You get a rangefinder and an slr styled flagship. And the same for a cheaper variation of both. Since more people prefer the slr format, it makes perfect business sense.
The X-T1 seems to be the top of the line at the moment, not the X-Pro. I have my doubts we will even see an X-P2, as the hybrid VF doesn’t seem a good match to the new lenses they are producing.
On the other hand, maybe the X-P2 will be something different, DSLR style with EVF, but bigger and better than the X-T1 with 1/8000 shutter, faster sync speed, faster fps, better AF, twin card slots, twin battery slots etc. I’d pay 50% above the X-T1 price for that.
My guess is XT1 with no weathersealing, no swivel back screen, XE2 evf, but we’ll see a better directional pad in the back. If that’s the case, I’d buy one. I would like weather sealling, but it won’t stop me from b using one, if the price is right.
“BUYING” One… ‘scuse the typo.
800$ instead 1200$ big deal…just now Sony are going to deliver a ff camera for only 799$
Go for it then
With very few native lenses.
And Sony has a bad history of dropping product, as if they never made it in the first place.
No thanks. I’d trust Fuji over Sony easily.
Sony’s problem isn’t of dropping products. They have a lot of great products with somewhat short life cycles. But in the camera world, they have been running longer than Fujifilm and haven’t dropped a single product. They’ve changed the name from NEX to E-mount. That’s it.
Meanwhile, we are left wondering if, or when, Fujifilm will drop the X-Pro line, which is the only non-Leica interchangeable mirrorless camera to allow you to look through glass, rather than a TV, to interact with your subject.
It had its problems, and probably shouldn’t have been introduced without:
1. realtime ability to check OVF focus
2. unlabelled flash sync
3. lack of half-stops on exposure wheel
4. slow EVF and card write
5. poor bottom plate construction
and more…
but it remains the only unique non-Leica mirrorless camera on the market. Every other X and every other Olympus or Sony is basically the same thing under a different badge. EVF only. Dials or no dials. A lens mount you love or hate.
Only the X-Pro dares to break new soil. And yet we who got into the system based on the X-Pro 1’s incredible amalgamation of mechanical and electronic resources, and is the only camera that defines the X brand other than the X100, is in the lurch.
Will it come back? Have fujifilm dropped it? We will find out soon. If it is dropped, what, exactly, apart from X100, is unique about X?
Just keep the tilting screen (got it on the X30 too!) Pretty please
Seems like a desperate move to me. the X-T1 is the only camera making a profit for Fuji except for the Instax line. So I imagine they think that they can use the form factor of a small DSLR and sell more profitable cameras. Whatever works. I don’t think it will hurt the X-T1 and increased profits may help bring the X-T2 and XPro2 along sooner.
The cheaper interchangeable-lens X cameras have crashed and burned. Seems like customers only like the top of the line ones.
Hard to understand how something like this would be viable when there are so many other choices for cheaper bodies, and despite a cheaper body, Fuji lens prices are not exactly cheap.
I understand Fuji needs something to compete with the EM-10 and the A6000, it’s just that the market may not cooperate, the Fuji being more of a niche vendor of dedicated afficianadoes than a mass-marketer. That’s the path Fuji chose from the start with its mirrorless line, so it would be interesting to see if they can juggle the premium segment they’re aiming for with theie history of lower end models that didn’t gain traction.
Wishing them the best.
Is this not just an X-E2 ?
X-E2 is pretty much the same camera as of today apart from the EVF and the planned obsolescence organised by FUJI by not applying the X-T1 firmware upgrade.
“planned obsolescence organised by FUJI by not applying the X-T1 firmware upgrade”
That is a twisted way of looking at things.
And yet the question is begged: why hold back firmware that those certain cameras could support?
The problem with Fujifilm is that they make promises that are not kept.
1. size
2. kaizen
As for 1: the evolution diagram where a camera person begins carrying a whole bunch of stuff isn’t even comparable to a dude with a camera and a single lens. An X user could just as easily be on the ground with a whole bunch of stuff monkeying around. And a dSLR user could just as well be walking around with a tiny prime. Despite being a complete lie, the marketing worked: we X users seem to have bought it.
As for 2: if you’re going to sell kaizen, you need to really work it with scheduled cycles, and make sure that your customers know how long you will support cameras, so that their expectations are not broken. Don’t leave them guessing if their camera is no longer supported or not. Too wishy washy.
The final one is that Fujifilm marketed their cameras as directly controllable. You pick one up and can tell what settings are in use before the camera is on.
Except that:
1. lens focus resets every time the camera is turned off or on: no way to tell the distance at which the lens is focused.
2. Exposure is labelled only in full stops. The rest is defined by unlabelled dials with NO immediate information.
3. certain lenses lack aperture rings
4. other lenses lack focus labels
5. others go endlessly from right to left and can be set either way so that giving your camera to another X user doesn’t mean that immediately they will be able to use it
…there are more
The problem is that Fujifilm have handled the production of the X series very differently from their marketing. There is nothing we can expect from X. We have a more convoluted interface than any camera system currently available despite Fuji’s assurances of uniformity, or most prominent reviews.
I love the colours produced by my X cameras. But each is best looked at not as part of X, but as an individual camera with no expectations from the company at large, or of the brand. There are too many discrepancies. And that is precisely why certain people get a _twisted_ way of looking at X.
Do you mean X-E3? Seems to me the ‘cheaper X-T1’ would just be the next X-E camera to come out, though maybe they’ll kill the X-E lineup and make a non-weather-sealed X-T1 as it’s little brother and let only the X-PRO2 keep the rangefinder format.
FWIW you should look up planned obsolescence. It doesn’t mean making a product then making a better one, it means intentionally making a product that will break after a certain period of time so you need to buy a new one.
Or volontarily not providing it with features which would easily keep it contemporaneous with other cameras (as it has the ability to receive most of these features December XT1 firmware) and thus making it obsolescent vs. current generation despite these cameras being 3/4 months apart …
Anyway this has been debated over and over (Fuji’ approach to the X-E2 vs XT1).
Great camera (I own one) and will certainly not buy an X-T1 as XE2 fills all my needs, and the only area for major improvement, let’s be honest it’s AF, is in no way markedly better with XT1. Spending money on lenses and taking pictures is much better investment at all levels (time and money), until my camera breaks down – previous camera was D80 !!!
It makes sense. There’s too much overlap in the RF style bodies.
It’s also quite obvious that consumers have voted with their wallets. They want a DSLR style camera more than 5 different types of RF style cameras that nearly none of the newer lenses balance well on.
The XE line will go down market to cover the XA/M and the X-Pro will cover the niche. For the rest… get ready for too many DSLR style cameras.
Probably you are correct. As for balancing lenses, I disagree. The X-T1 is the most uncomfortable camera to use in the X range. Why? Its tiny grip. The other cameras lack grips, allowing the hand to use the camera in a variety of ways. You can straight-finger the camera, or cur the camera, or grip on the corners. The X-T1 forces you to curl your fingers around a grip that simply doesn’t work for medium-large sized hands. My wife found the X-Pro 1 hard to use but only because she has small hands. She prefers the X-T1 as her tiny fingers work with the questionably small grip.
The X-T1 is only comfortable for medium to large hands with an extra grip. Any X needs an external grip for longer lenses in order not to be tiring to use. But the X-T1 is the only one that has the pinky and ring finger at odd angles doing nothing no matter the lens used. Removing its tiny grip would do more to secure the camera. That, or make a massive modern grip. But installing a grip means you have to interact with a camera in only one way. Having the option to purchase an accessory grip is far more comfortable.
Absolutely right. Few people talk about real ergonomics in Fuji X line cameras. I’d like some of Fuji X-T1 performance (especially AF speed and EVF refresh rate) in my old X-Pro1. It will never be. But the grip, the ergonomics, shape and size of the X-Pro1 are just ideal, for medium/large hands. I also use the grip and it is just perfect. I’d like to trade my X-Pro1 for a X-T1 or an X100S + TCL and WCL, but I always stop and think about. What a painful dilemma for a Fujifilm passionate : to have the most beautiful camera with the perfect size, style, weight and ergonomics and in the same time the slowest and weakest camera in terms of performance. What it is to be done? X-Pro2 is still an idea and my budget is more than tight.
Well, let’s hope the new rumour pans out. I’m all-in for a Leica (next M) purchase next year, but I’ll have to have an AF-capable camera, too, so the X-Pro 2 will probably come into the fold.
The X-T1… so much hope I had for it, and it is a decent camera, but for my hands, and with its many build problems (auto-opening doors, bowed flaps, auto-moving drive/meter dials), not to mention its lack of third or half exposure stops, it is just another pretty dSLR lookalike that goes halfway instead of the entire way.
I hope the new X-Pro has half or third stop exposure intervals so that finally, X can be used without menu diving, or moving an unlabelled dial.
I thought the bowed doors was just me… 🙁
No, it is widespread.
X-T1 has bad plastic glue…. X-T1 cheap will use wood
I guess that the X-T1, regardless of price, is not very attractive to entry level users due to its “user interface”. A camera that was not only cheaper but also offered a PASM interface with thumb and finger wheels might be what they are thinking.
But knowing Fuji they will do what they did with the A … that went so well.
I hope they don’t do that. It would be fantastic if they offered a cheaper camera that had all the manual controls for those that want it, but at a price that attracts non-professionals.
I’m just a hobbyist and I don’t need a tank or a fighter jet, but I’d still like to have the experience of interacting directly with the camera’s essential functions.
How about a high-quality EVF without an LCD? I hate the LCD anyway, so if the EVF is as good as the XT-1’s or better…
Who doesn’t love stooping and kneeling when eye-level perspective is not the best option, eh?
Won’t happen for a million reasons, sorry.
The only reason the x-a1 didn’t sell more is that a camera in 2014 needed to AF at a decent speed. Give a competent AF to the successor and I will start recommending it to acquaintances. As of now, I talk about it only to buyers who are comfortable with manual focus.
Oh, and there’s that viewfinder thing. Wish it had one.
The tilting LCD is a major selling point.
What I would like is a fixed lens version of the X-T1. I was saving for a year to buy one of those and my biggest doubt every time was what kind of lens to buy. so instead I have turn my preferences to the X100T. I bought by chance a heavily discounted Sony RX100 to substitute my old pocket Canon IXUS and the difference is huge, so I suppose that a fixed lens APS-C or FF camera is my best option, and as long as I know, the best ones are X100T in APS-C and RX1r in FF, this last one is hugely overpriced to my taste, but I prefer the X-T1 form factor over the X100 because the viewfinder is in the center and It can be used more easily with either eye, instead of the more popular left sided, that is more suitable for the right eye, that in my case, due to an illness, is worthless for shooting. It will also be very good to have it integrally weather sealed, and the manual ISO selector don’t hurts either. Also the tilt screen too. Sorry to long my post.
this is insane, if you want fixed lens get the x100t and stop whining that the viewfinder is on the side, or get the X100T and put a single lens on it of your choice.
There’s a post on this site with a translation of an interview with Fuji developers. They are asked about a fixed lens FF camera and their answer makes it clear they are definitely not making one now and don’t have much faith in it (too big, too expensive, not enough market).
Dissapointing news for me. Fuji decided to go with X-T1 design direction. It seems Fuji just killed X-A1 (with great sensor), and has already decided to stop with X-E2 line (which has not received upgrades as X-T1 has got) and will probably also resigned from X-Pro1 upgrade (X-Pro2 is a myth). The only RF style cam will be X-100T. Time to go for Sony Next-7 successor which is coming in two months.
I think that you concluded way too much with so little information.
Good luck then 🙂
And what do you do if the expected Sony A7000 turns out to be an A7 camera with an APS-C sensor?
Enjoy the wonderful E-mount lens line-up.
I vote for improved X-trans sensor before mini x-t10.
Agreed! Enough with the recycled sensor.
I would love to have a X-E3 just with a tilt screen and the EVF of the X-T1 (but not in the center). Why X-E3? Smaller body but same huge IQ!
Me too
+1, though that probably isn’t this camera that’s coming out now, since the X-E line is not their entry-level one (unless the X-M1 somehow falls into an even less professional-sounding category?)
I’ll almost definitely buy whatever X-E3 comes out as long as it has the guts and software of the X-T1.
I wonder how much less it’s going to cost and how it’s going to position itself against the X-E series. It won’t have weather sealing, the material will certainly different. Will the EVF be as big? It might not have the same resolution but it might have similar magnification, after all that’s one of the main things of the X-T1.
The problem with the X-T1’s EVF is that it _is_ too large for its line resolution, making each line clearly visible in all light. If the EVF was smaller, or had much higher resolution, it would improve on the optics (view on the world).
I was stoked to hear of the large EVF when the X-T1 was first rumoured. When announced to have the same resolution as the A7r, I had my first misgiving. I own both cameras.
And today, while I appreciate the WSIWYG appeal, I can’t help but think we are still many years from an EVF that can stand on its own and is able to:
1. resolve glass of any sharpness without the aid of electronic focus aids
2. keep up with panning in both light and dark situations
3. keep from auto-gaining every time scene contrast or dynamic range well exceed the EVF’s ability to resolve either
I’m looking forward to an EVF that doesn’t feel, or look like an EVF. Still, every EVF will be painful to use in dark situations, casting too much light back at the eye, and will always light the face of the photographer in the dark. Still it will suffer electronic interface: slowness, requires a shutter to remain open, etc.
All that said, with today’s technology, resolution, speed, and dynamic range are too low to use an EVF naturally, without the aid of peaking/magnification. Thus, a smaller EVF, which smashes lines together, removes some of the appearance of looking through a TV screen as the lines are harder to interpret.
Which is to say that there might be a bright line to this otherwise dull-sounding camera.
I’m in with mikeswitz, improve the X-sensor instead of multiplying near cvopies of the same camera…
Since they aren’t going full frame and the organic sensor is a long way off, I am really curious to see what they are planning to do with the X-Pro 2. Especially considering the Fuji guy stated that they are working on it and it will be worth the wait. I am now very impatient, but will wait a little longer…
I feel the same way.
At minimum you’ll get the OVF improvements from the X100T, the continuous AF and PDAF from the X-T1 and all the software improvements (silent shutter) from the other new cameras. That would be a worthwhile upgrade to me, though the implication is that it will have a higher res sensor too.
It’s time for an upgraded sensor. More megapixels and to be able to shoot RAW above ISO 6400
More megapixels? Why? So you’ll have larger files with more noise?
Seriously? Time to get working on the X-Pro2.
Yes, they have put this off for far too long. That said, my X-Pro 1 is still great.
They’ve said they’re working on it. It takes time though, it needs to be significantly better than the X-Pro1, which is not an easy task, and if it’s going to be better than the X-T1 then they’ve got a lot of work to do. I kind of wish they’d release one that’s just an X-T1 with X-Pro form factor and the OVF+software updates from the X100t. It seems like we’re in for something more significant though.
X-A2 24mpx bayer plus EVF! Would be killer..
Wow, another year with the same 16MP sensor, Fuji becomes the new Oly… I won’t buy any if those cameras, I would however buy an X-E3 with new sensir, and the same signature Fuji colors as X-pro1 and X-E1.
Continue to enjoy the Fuji you have now then 🙂
I don’t need a cheap version of X-T1, I need the X-T1 to be cheaper…
I could be enticed by a version with XA bayer sensor and without weather sealing, bundled with 16-50 XC for a good price…
Unlikely given the way they keep talking about supporting X-Trans in the future. The common consensus is that the X-A1/X-M1 didn’t sell well, I doubt they’ll continue having two options in that market and doubt even more that they’d choose the bayer sensor to the the single model.
True. But then interestingly they introduced the xa2 instead of an xm2.
I have a guess … The 16-55mm, f2,8 came surprisingly without OIS. The next set of cameras ( Pro2, X-T2) will have SIS ( Sensor Image Stabilisation) and the current X-T1 will drop in price for the wider audience who is pleased with OIS and the great XF zoom lenses. This will maintain or increase Fujifilm market share. It’s worth the wait!
Does Fuji really need any more “entry” level models?
With a bayer sensor? That was the $100 difference between the xa1 and the xm1. However I think it would be best to reduce the cost of the xt1 by 20-30% and introduce the xpro2 at the current xt1 price point (thats the price difference of the xpro according to tne rumors). This way a fantastic camera is cheaper, no retooling or new model qc issues to worry about, and fuji would enjoy the returns on having a device for sale for longer (exactly what Xiaomi do)