[luftfluss]

CP+ 2023: Fujifilm interview - 'Our direction is set, there is no middle ground': Digital Photography Review

{DPR} 2023 is DPReview’s 25th year of operation, so we wanted to ask you what you think are the most important changes to photography over the past 25 years.

{Fujifilm} Congratulations! That’s a tricky question because there are so many choices. For Fujifilm, of course, there’s the move from film to digital.

[garywakeling]

Interesting that they doubled down on the APS-C and medium format, the editor's note that video was such a big requested feature is something I personally don't understand. Coming from a film background, when digital cameras arrived , I have never had any interest in the video side of what I use to take my photographs, obviously from the amount of time spent testing the video features of modern cameras in youtube, DPR and other reviewers, I am against the trend.
Thanks for sharing the link, it is always interesting to see how the industry is performing.

[Wheatfield]

Interesting that they doubled down on the APS-C and medium format, the editor's note that video was such a big requested feature is something I personally don't understand. Coming from a film background, when digital cameras arrived , I have never had any interest in the video side of what I use to take my photographs, obviously from the amount of time spent testing the video features of modern cameras in youtube, DPR and other reviewers, I am against the trend.
Thanks for sharing the link, it is always interesting to see how the industry is performing.

When film was king, "video" was big equipment and really expensive. Even when actual video came along, it was big and awkward, and I'm pretty sure it was on the expensive side.
That turned a lot of people off of shooting motion pictures who otherwise would have.
I know a couple of people that stopped doing still photography when affordable and more easily editable video came along.
I suspect the interest was always there, but it was out of reach for the majority of people who wanted to do it.

[Oldbayrunner]

When film was king, "video" was big equipment and really expensive. Even when actual video came along, it was big and awkward, and I'm pretty sure it was on the expensive side.
That turned a lot of people off of shooting motion pictures who otherwise would have.
I know a couple of people that stopped doing still photography when affordable and more easily editable video came along.
I suspect the interest was always there, but it was out of reach for the majority of people who wanted to do it.

Initially maybe but 8mm was introduce in 1932 and gained popularity starting in the 50's because of smaller video cameras being made available, by the mid 60's when Sony came out with Super 8 video really took off. I remember my dad, who got me started in photography, liked to change with the times so we had 35mm slr's, Brownies, 8mm video and Polaroids when they came out etc. He would have flipped over digital.

[Sandy Hancock]

That X-H2S looks pretty impressive. Just sayin'

Luckily I'm not the kind of guy who looks over the fence at the neighbour's grass.

[Wheatfield]

That X-H2S looks pretty impressive. Just sayin'

Luckily I'm not the kind of guy who looks over the fence at the neighbour's grass.

I looked hard at the X-H2S, but settled on the X-T5 because I'm not much of a video shooter and I prefer the control interface of the X-T5. The H2S has a better EVF, but I'm finding the X-T5 in boost mode doesn't give me an instant migraine. For me, at least EVFs have become usable.

[btnapa]

CP+ 2023: Fujifilm interview - 'Our direction is set, there is no middle ground': Digital Photography Review

I think Fuji has a nice combo. The APSc line for photographers who need good pictures and video but want it cheaper and in a lighter package. They offer the medium format for people who are looking for mega resolution and weight and the cost are not as much of a consideration.

Pentax did better by offering APSc, full frame and medium format at the same time. 645Z is still around but for how long? who knows. I chose the K1 over 645Z when I wanted to go from APSc to a higher res camera. In my view, K1 offered 90% of the 645Z's capabilities at 1/3 of the cost. I also had more lens choices with the K1.

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Last edited by btnapa; 03-27-2023 at 05:23 AM.

[Wheatfield]

I think Fuji has a nice combo. The APSc line for photographers who need good pictures and video but want it cheaper and in a lighter package. They offer the medium format for people who are looking for mega resolution and weight and the cost are not as much of a consideration.

Pentax did better by offering APSc, full frame and medium format at the same time. 645Z is still around but for how long? who knows. I chose the K1 over 645Z when I wanted to go from APSc to a higher res camera. in my view, K1 offered 90% of the 645Z's capabilities at 1/3 of the cost. I also had more lens choices with the K1.

With the new 40mp sensor, Fuji has really upped the game for APS-C and has sent a pretty strong message to full frame. This sensor has awesome performance.

[Wheatfield]

Initially maybe but 8mm was introduce in 1932 and gained popularity starting in the 50's because of smaller video cameras being made available, by the mid 60's when Sony came out with Super 8 video really took off. I remember my dad, who got me started in photography, liked to change with the times so we had 35mm slr's, Brownies, 8mm video and Polaroids when they came out etc. He would have flipped over digital.

Even 8mm was pretty expensive. The cameras weren't cheap. I remember looking at buying a Nikon 8mm camera in the mid 1970s, it was about the same price as an F2s and 50mm f1.4 lens. I believe Kodak sold some very inexpensive cameras, but the lens quality was also poor, so combine that with the ridiculously small format and watching these home movies was a double whammy of generally poor technical quality combined with generally poor production quality.
The real cost of shooting motion pictures was the film and processing. I recall Super 8 Kodachrome wasn't ridiculously expensive, and in Canada it came processing prepaid, but each cartridge was only good for a few minutes of shooting, so someone who wanted to shoot a lot of time was going to eat up a fair amount of money quickly.
Super 8 was more or less OK for the motion picture snapshooter, but anyone who was remotely serious would have wanted to move to 16mm, which was very spendy.
Super 8 at it's worst was akin to the still shooter's cheap 110 cartridge camera with a lens scratched up from rattling around at the bottom of a purse, at best it wasn't much better than that. The very small format made sure of that.

[lesmore49]

I rarely used Dpreview a few times as an information resource, to provide info on what equipment I was thinking of buying.

I used to use tests of Popular Photography magazine...always liked long time columnist Bert Keppler's take on equipment.

Mostly though, I relied on a man who worked at one of the local camera stores. His knowledge was encyclopedic, not just about Pentax, but many other camera/lens makes too.

His advice was logical, full of common sense, and well informed. To me he was like a favourite mechanic...who after many dealings ...you get to trust....implicitly.

There was/is no Pentax gear at this particular store, but they are always able to bring it in from the distributor.

I might of been able to get Pentax equipment cheaper on the interweb, but my view was that I didn't mind paying a bit more...after all I was buying his expertise and he knew what I photographed, what equipment I used...which are also important factors...when it comes to seeking advice.

You get what you pay for.

He also knew me as a regular customer...and in sales...to have a regular, return customer...is a very good kind of customer.

So know, I didn't use Dpreview that much. I watched some of it in videos...and to me, sometimes it seemed a bit 'showbizzy'...if you know what I mean.

[btnapa]

Mostly though, I relied on a man who worked at one of the local camera stores.

I wish I could say that about my local store. The people there are clueless. For example, if they shoot Canon personally, that is all they know about. They give you the blank stare if you asked about anything else. I asked them if they would carry Pentax when I bought my K1. They said it was special order and no returns if anything was wrong. So I got it from an online retailer. Now that I shoot Sony, I tried to give them the business but my simple questions about anything Sony was met with, "I need to check on that and get back to you" or similar responses. That is why DPReview was invaluable when it came to checking for facts and features of various cameras before a purchase. I loved their test and comparison charts. They were accurate and told a lot about the quality of the images of various cameras.

[lesmore49]

I wish I could say that about my local store. The people there are clueless. For example, if they shoot Canon personally, that is all they know about. They give you the blank stare if you asked about anything else. I asked them if they would carry Pentax when I bought my K1. They said it was special order and no returns if anything was wrong. So I got it from an online retailer. Now that I shoot Sony, I tried to give them the business but my simple questions about anything Sony was met with, "I need to check on that and get back to you" or similar responses. That is why DPReview was invaluable when it came to checking for facts and features of various cameras before a purchase. I loved their test and comparison charts. They were accurate and told a lot about the quality of the images of various cameras.

I was fortunate. He had been in the camera biz since about the early '80's...and knew all makes quite well.

I have experienced the same situation you have...ask about a particular piece of equipment that is not Canikon...and the blank stare response.

[btnapa]

I have experienced the same situation you have...ask about a particular piece of equipment that is not Canikon...and the blank stare response.

I agree but Sony is one of the popular ones they carry and feature. They even rent Sony gear along with Canon, Nikon, Fuji, Sigma, Tamron and even a few Olympus pieces. Luckily, for their store, Sony has become a frequent visitor with staff and seminars. So, If I have any questions, I hear it directly from the horse's mouth. Unfortunately this Sony seminars and presentations are happening after I bought my Sony last year. I always do my research before any purchase and most likely know more than any one person in the store. They are called VARs (value added retailers). I am trying to figure out what value they add other than sales tax!!!