Fuji seriously investigating the launch of a full-frame compact system camera

[Adanac]

My read of the article is that Fujifilm, like others probably, was caught by surprise and that it is highly unlikely you'll see any full frame X series camera from them within the next 12 months as it wasn't even on their radar and they are pretty committed to APS-C and their lens line-up as is.

Given there still isn't focus peaking on the X despite officially supporting M via the M mount, I have to wonder how serious their efforts are to support the lenses and IQ they can deliver if treated right.

Unless Ricoh, the only company other than Leica well positioned, today, to bring about a modern full frame digital M camera, goes ahead and does what many think they could and should do, the only product that will treat M lenses as they deserve to be treated on a full frame camera will be Leica's digital M camera.

I'm definitely not expecting Fujifilm to cater to this need of mine, not in the near term anyway.

 

[Ken Ford]

I would be very interested in a FF Fuji X so I could use my M glass as intended - I don't use any of it on my NEX7 due to the FOV changes. To have something like a X-E1 in full frame would be my ideal.

 

[GaryLH]

NO Fuji will cost anywhere near $5500... unless Leica rebadges one. 😉

+1.

On the other hand, if Leica rebadged it, it would look better than the Nex rebadged Hasselblad. 😛

Gary

 

[Mcary]

NO Fuji will cost anywhere near $5500... unless Leica rebadges one. 😉

+1

Ok I realize they're difference systems from difference camera makers but don't see why Fuji shouldn't be able to produce a full frame X- series body for about the same cost as a Canon 5Dmkr3 or a Nikon D800.

 

[aleksanderpolo]

A new XP1 cost as much or even more than a used M8, so I would totally expect them to price it at the used M9 level if it comes out.

 

[Keith]

Fuji are an enormous company and I believe they could fast track a full frame X if they chose to. To me they seem determined to dominate the mirrorless market so they won't be sitting on their hands here IMO.

Could the classifieds deal with the glut of (obsolete 😀) Xpros though? 😛

 

[rbelyell]

''A new XP1 cost as much or even more than a used M8, so I would totally expect them to price it at the used M9 level if it comes out.''


alex, xp1s are going for $1300. ive never seen an m8 under $1800. many are listed right now on this forum st over $2000! when it first came out it xp1 was $1500. i'll bet you a FF costs nothing more than $2500.
tony

 

[GaryLH]

Fuji are an enormous company and I believe they could fast track a full frame X if they chose to. To me they seem determined to dominate the mirrorless market so they won't be sitting on their hands here IMO.

Could the classifieds deal with the glut of (obsolete 😀) Xpros though? 😛

Any different then what may also be happening with d7000 and d600?

Gary

 

[Keith]

Any different then what may also be happening with d7000 and d600?

Gary

True ... except that mirrorless seems to be where the real action is at the moment.

Fuji have been a little upstaged by another giant corporation in Sony ... and they won't like that! 😀

 

[GaryLH]

True ... except that mirrorless seems to be where the real action is at the moment.

Fuji have been a little upstaged by another giant corporation in Sony ... and they won't like that! 😀

Lol 😀

Competition is good..

Gary

 

[benlees]

Being that Fuji has put a lot of dollars into the X line- and themselves saying that some of their lenses do not cover 36x24- I would bet there isn't a "full frame" camera coming any time soon.

With regards to being upstaged: Fuji puts out interesting cameras, not electronic products and, luckily, no longer deals with Hasselblad!

 

[Keith]

Being that Fuji has put a lot of dollars into the X line- and themselves saying that some of their lenses do not cover 36x24- I would bet there isn't a "full frame" camera coming any time soon.

With regards to being upstaged: Fuji puts out interesting cameras, not electronic products and, luckily, no longer deals with Hasselblad!

Imaging is only a small part of Fuji ... they made a big investment in pharmaceuticals some time ago.

Business is business ... they are a huge corporation with numerous interests.

 

[gavinlg]

Dear fujifilm,

Yours,
Gavin

 

[GaryLH]

Dear fujifilm,

Yours,
Gavin

Lol 😀😀😛

I was wondering if this image would pop up during this thread.

Gary

 

[aeturnum]

I think watching Fuji make decisions has been very interesting. They tend to try and produce products with unique features (optical viewfinder, X-Trans) rather than compete on price or features.

Because of that, I have my doubts they'll enter the FF world. The image quality from a FF sensor is higher, but the "ROI" on cost v.s. improvement is pretty debatable. It seems to me that Fuji will only put out a full frame camera if: they can no longer increase image quality in other ways or one of their ideas does not pan out. In many ways, "scaling up" a known sensor design would probably be easier than bringing an entirely new design idea to life.

 

[Keith]

I think watching Fuji make decisions has been very interesting. They tend to try and produce products with unique features (optical viewfinder, X-Trans) rather than compete on price or features.

Because of that, I have my doubts they'll enter the FF world. The image quality from a FF sensor is higher, but the "ROI" on cost v.s. improvement is pretty debatable. It seems to me that Fuji will only put out a full frame camera if: they can no longer increase image quality in other ways or one of their ideas does not pan out. In many ways, "scaling up" a known sensor design would probably be easier than bringing an entirely new design idea to life.

True ... but it may be easier for them to just do it rather than try and convince users it's not really necessary.

There's a real "I want/need full frame" mentality out there at the moment and they (Fuji) need to keep selling cameras.

The area that may suffer a little in this current FF frenzy is micro four thirds IMO.

 

[semilog]

True ... but it may be easier for them to just do it rather than try and convince users it's not really necessary.

True. This is one of those areas where facts are far less important than perceptions.

 

[aeturnum]

True ... but it may be easier for them to just do it rather than try and convince users it's not really necessary.

I just look at the Fuji products and see them using unexploited market niches to get unusually high prices for their cameras. They sell the X-Pro for $200 more than the 7D, though if you *just* look at the spec sheets, it's hard to say why that's successful (I own both). The 7D almost certainly has a higher BOM (though the sensor is probably quite cheap now). If Fuji had launched the X-Pro sensor in a DSLR body, it would be a much harder sell than the unique form factor they currently use.

I don't think Fuji is looking to compete "directly" with any of the other camera makers. They want to be the Leica of prosumer cameras - purchased for their unique offerings rather than raw technical and value.

Back when they were leading up to the X-Pro release, Fuji was comparing it to the 5D2 directly. The 5D2, of course, has a full-frame sensor. They could have compared against a crop sensor, but they didn't, which says to me that they invite the comparison to FF sensors.

 

[benlees]

Imaging is only a small part of Fuji ... they made a big investment in pharmaceuticals some time ago.

Business is business ... they are a huge corporation with numerous interests.

Totally agree. Although some companies keep their interests separate. But the wording of the Fuji exec was vague enough to come from from any camera company. Are there any camera companies (that currently don't market one) not contemplating big sensors? I expect them to do this. Will they hit the market soon? Maybe not.

 

[V-12]

NO Fuji will cost anywhere near $5500... unless Leica rebadges one. 😉

The body won't cost that, but there will be another entirely new range of lenses to go with a Fuji FF.😉

If £3000 gets you an X-Pro and a couple of lenses in the UK, what price a Fuji FF! A Leica ME is going to be £3900 body only and many people already have a set of lenses paid for long ago. So there ain't going to be any bumper stickers saying 'My Other Camera is a Fuji' unless Fuji do something about their pricing policy 🙂