January 27th was a big day for Fujifilm – at their X Summit GLOBAL 2021 (virtual this time) they have announced two new bodies (X and GFX), two new lenses (XF and GF) and one redesigned XF lens…
A star of the day was absolutely the GFX100’s baby brother conveniently named – GFX100s! It is the cheapest (by pixel) medium format mirrorless digital camera world has ever seen, and probably the best do far. New camera has much smaller body compared to GFX100, a battery from X-T4, and IBIS system…
So, if you can’t carry (or pay) GFX100, new camera may be just what you want. As a matter of fact, if you go hiking and want the highest possible resolution, and don’t wish to carry only one camera and lens in your backpack, this might be a solution:
The GF 80mm F1.7 R WR will be available in March for a measly $2299.
X-E4 disappointment
We were all hoping that X-E4 is going to be an X100v with interchangeable lenses. Well, close but no cigar. It is a bit smaller and lighter than X100v…
…it has that nice screen that can flip down or up for vlogging and selfies…
…but it lacks an excellent set of controls of X100v, it lacks physical ISO control, it lacks MCS switch at the front, it lacks rear dial, joystick is positioned inexcusably low…
…and they even put those clunky camera strap connections that does not allow quick release of a neck- or hand-strap:
If you compare the controls with X-E3, the older version wins hands down. Why Fujifilm didn’t simply add that flip screen at the already wonderful X-E3 body? God only knows…
Yes, this stripped&plucked hope is the smallest X-mount camera yet with the internals of X-T4 (aside of IBIS system), but it is hard to shake off the impression that Fujifilm blew another extraordinary opportunity to score enormous success…
Specs
X-E4
Sensor
23.5mm x 15.6mm (APS-C) X-Trans CMOS 4
Resolution
26 million pixels
IBIS
Are you kidding me?
Battery
NP-W126S Li-ion battery, 460 frames
Film Simulations
18 modes
Video
4K/30P 8-bit
Dimensions
W121.3mm / H72.9mm / D32.7mm
Weigth
Approx. 364g
Price
$849
For this one we will not bother you with Chinese proverbs, but with an excellent Chinese reviewer – ladies and gentlemen, Kaiman Wong:
Duration: 7:18
XF lenses
If you still decide that this little piece of s… sophisticated technology exactly fits your needs, you can get it as a kit with a new weather-resistant 27mm F2.8 R WR for only $1050.
The presentation of this redesigned little giant took place in the shadow of the announcement of the long-awaited telephoto in the XF lineup – XF70-300mmF4-5.6 R LM OIS WR. This is a fairly compact zoom lens that allows extended reach especially appreciated if you are a nature&wildlife photographer.
This lens is weighing just 580g (1.27 lb.) and has a powerful 5.5-stop image stabilization, which is going to be handy in the field. It also is compatible with FUJINON XF1.4X TC WR and FUJINON XF2X TC WR teleconverters. When XF70-300mmF4-5.6 is paired with XF2X TC WR, it is possible to achieve a maximum 35mm equivalent focal length of up to 914mm with only 2 stops of stop-loss. And it comes with an impressively reasonable price tag of only $799.95… OK, who are we kidding, it is $800. But at least you get lens hood for free, so unlike Canon and Nikon…
So, the lenses are good news, but this continuing trend of sonification of the new Fuji camera bodies, stripping them of the rings&dials functionality, becomes really worrying…
I wonder will Fujifilm ever think of making X-S20 with X-T4 controls…
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