So the rumor mill is out and a possible Fuji X-Pro 2 is on the horizon for early or mid 2015. As Bob Dylan would say, “the times are changing.” The Nikon D600 and Canon 6D came to fruition as affordable full frame cameras, well, not really affordable as $2,000 USD is not cheap by any means but within range of many more I suppose. Then we had the folks at Sony pumping out all sorts of full frame goodness in various shapes and forms and then there is Fujifilm X-Series with brave new sensor technology stirring the full frame pot (5DMK2, D700) and reaching in. The “reaching in” is arguable and I’m sure Dr. Boyer would say I’m way out of touch with sensor reality, but nonetheless, there seems to be a group of photographers that prefers the X-Trans sensor.
all captured with various Fujifilm X-series cameras
So a couple of questions immediately immediately come to mind.
- Is Fuji giving up on the APS-C X-Trans sensor technology? Is the XT1 it?
- Can Fujifilm compete with the pockets of SoCaNi (Sony, Canon, and Nikon) and divide their X-Series cameras into two and is it sustainable?
- What will all this body and lens fragmention cause in the long run to user base?
- Can we then expect an X200 with a full frame sensor as well albeit a little bigger but still the same package?
In my opinion, all good questions with big question marks.
So, let’s try to answer #1
I suppose Fuji is not done with their APS-C sensor technology but I think we’ll see a reduction in bodies being pumped out. Its hard to deny that X-Series bodies haven’t been pumped out like crazy but it is what is ― Fuji saw a gap in the market and decided to exploit the hell out of it and I guess it worked. With the current trends of upscaling the megapixels in the APS-C world, for example, take the Nikon D7100, arguably the best APS-C dslr in the market today currently at 24MP and no AA and the autofocus of the D800. One can’t simply be like an ostrich and stick one’s head in the sand. I have not tried one yet but I have shot with the D7000, D600, D800 and its hard not to like the files those machine pump out.
I know Fuji X-Series has a different ethos behind their X-Series, hell, I even jumped on the bandwagon last year with the X-E1/X100 LE and this year with the X100S/X-Pro 1, the latter being in my opinion, the best handling Fuji X-Series body. Another question comes to mind. Has the X-Trans peaked in their high ISO capabilities, one of the noteworthy features on that sensor? Did Fuji make a 24MP body or perhaps a 22MP and the sensor simply didn’t hold out (high iso) as much as they would have liked, hence the jump to the full frame with the X-Pro 2, hmm, all interesting points.
Still my brain is rattling. I don’t see myself getting an XT1 and as my top Fuji X-Series, in my mind, that was the X-Pro 1 with its dual hybrid viewfinder, gorgeous jpeg engine and an overall slickness factor that its hard to beat. If the rumors are in fact correct then I see myself staying where I am and adding a dslr to my kit to fill the void of the slower autofocus system of my current cameras. I don’t think I’ll throw my dollars up in the wind and hope for the best. For that, I would rather invest in a system that I know will be there tomorrow when I need a lens or two or three to add to my kit and have choices.
Fuji X-Series, in my opinion is a great system which forces me to slow down a bit and be more thoughtful about my frames. Its just something those bodies exude and one can’t help it, it is what is, they are compact cameras that pack a “helluv” of a punch and of course they all have the “ninja factor.”
Fast Forwarding a bit
I expect an X-Pro 2 with a full frame sensor at or near 22MP like the current Canons with insane High ISO capabilities, an improved AF system at least doubling what the current XT1 can do, native ability to tether to a laptop like all Pro and mid range dslr’s can, wifi, gps, an out of this world new hybrid viewfinder all in a little bigger body than the original X-Pro 1. Do you like it? I do, will I buy it, I don’t really know at this time but I’m sure it will lend itself to some interesting Twitter and Forum techno babble in the months to come.
I’ll try to answer question #2 in the days to come.
Ledesma Photography 
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Fuji X-Pro 2 Full Frame Thoughts http://t.co/6zOngmDznH via @jorgeledesma
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Thx RT @hpchavaz: Fuji X-Pro 2 Full Frame Thoughts | @jorgeledesma Photography 職人 – http://t.co/mPbmT69bAu
Fujifilm has a long history of creating product lines which they abandonned with the same ease. It’s not so much a story about dream cameras, but about numbers. Is this X-series concept able to persist in the future, with such a small sales and in fact based on filling up some market niches? There have been rumors the XF mount was never conceived to hold a FF sensor… well, what is Fuji going to do, create a kind of XF-plus mount? By doing so, in the best case they are able to fill another niche, maybe even smaller than all the other ones, more expensive, and on top they have to re-develop a full range of lenses. In a time they have difficulty to present reasonable results to the shareholders. I’m not having a good feeling about this… Canon, Nikon and Sony can sweep away Fujifilm with one good shot in the MLIC-market, I don’t know, I’m not investing anymore in Fuji X-stuff after realizing a few things, most of all that Fujifilm is not even capable to release one product that doesn’t have flaws or requires FW updates very quickly. It shows how weak their R&D in fact is. It’s like a castle that was built in very loose sand.
I, for one, would be surprised to see a Fuiji full-frame X-camera. I don’t think Fuji feels the need for full-frame when the current APS-C sensor is fully competitive with the majority of full-frame cameras when it comes to image quality. It also means an entirely new “roadmap” of of lens designs which is a *considerable R&D, Engineering, and manufacturing undertaking*, a point that the general photography public does not fully appreciate how difficult an engineering feat this truly is.
Also, full-frame means *bigger, heavier* lenses, and for many of us that adopted the X-system, we did so because we wanted to move in completely the other direction: to smaller, lighter and more compact cameras and lenses. The smaller, lighter and more compact cameras and lenses is what attracted many photographer to the X-system in the first place, to move away from this would diminish the value proposition that the X-system created.
Lastly, the original reasons why folks wanted full-frame in the first place, which was a bigger sensor for more room for more pixels to improve resolution and noise performance have become largely moot with the current set of available APS-C sensors from Sony and Fuji. These APS-C sensors have more than enough resolution, superb noise performance at high ISO, and excellent dynamic range. So, with respect to what full-frame brings over APS-C is that larger sensors are able to produce a shallower depth of fields at a specific (wide) apertures than a smaller sensor.
Seems to me that the majority of reasons why we need full-frame are largely, at this point in time, moot.
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MY Bottom Line: I don’t care. With the caveat that it NOT affect the APSC Line of which I own the X-E1 and the new X-T1. If I want or need full frame I have my D800, and my backup the D700.
Now, putting the other shoe on I kinda wish I had heard about this PRIOR to buying my X-T1 two months ago. Does this mean my X-T1 and my X-E1 are obsolete, or won’t make any more beautiful images? Of course not… But still it would have been nice to know.
With this rumor floating around out there, I wonder how many sales of the X-T1 Fuji is now missing out on as folks decide to wait and see?
I support Fujifilm going mirrorless full frame because I am still holding my horses on to buying a Nikon/ Canon/ Sony full frame camera even though I am a former nikon APSC user. I believe it is still an untapped and unsaturated market.
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[New] Fuji X-Pro 2 Full Frame Thoughts #xpro2 #xpro1 #x100s http://t.co/pJTYOxvq4B
Glad you found your own questions interesting (and gave as well interesting answers), but you forgot to ask yourself if this rumor was credible. That would have been a nice first step.
It clearly was an April fool’s rumor.
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If fuji made a xpro2 full frame and kept it the same size as the xpro1 and gave it say around 16 to 20 megapixels with an autofocus that would compete even with the current d7000 I would buy it. End of story, I would probably never need another camera.
Strange that a rumor that gets released around the first of april gets this much publicity.
Why, because I don’t see any reason to get a full frame.
I believe a full frame camera can be just as large or marginally larger than one with a cropped sensor, only I don’t believe you can make the lenses smaller or lighter.
I love the fuji system for the quality, size and weight, and I just hope this is first april joke.
I’d buy it! Provided, of course, it lives up to your description:
“a full frame sensor at or near 22MP like the current Canons with insane High ISO capabilities, an improved AF system at least doubling what the current XT1 can do, native ability to tether to a laptop like all Pro and mid range dslr’s can, wifi, gps, an out of this world new hybrid viewfinder all in a little bigger body than the original X-Pro 1”
If anyone can straddle APSC and full frame, I think Fuji can do it. They have the no how and their optics are top notch. I believe Fuji will hit us with a full frame X200 first. I don’t think it will be that much larger then the X100 series. I am hoping they will keep it the same size.
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FujiXSeries in my opinion is a great system which forces me to slow down a bit and be more thoughtful about my frames http://t.co/ffj0JdI3qH
I think most people do not pay enough attention to the new sensor patents of Fuji. The possibilities of the new Fuji sensor will tell us what we can expect to happen in next year. To my opinion, the new sensor is so powerfull, that we might expect 2 similar new cameras one with APS-C with about 24 megapixel which is intended to be better than Nikon and Canon and a second one with a FF-sensor with about 40 megapixel both with excellent high ISO-behaviour and fast focussing.
Fuji cannot bring a full frame camera into the market without introducing a new Xpro1 with a APS-C sensor at the same time, as a lot of customers invested already too much money in the APS-C system. Perhaps most of them are not interested in full frame to keep the weight low. With FF Fuji will reach new customers.
Herman Roozenbeek
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