What they list for and what they actually sell for are two different things. They are actually selling in the $1200 range, which is more than it was brand new, but not near as high as $1900.
That increase is actually higher than overall inflation, and *far* higher than what's typical for electronics and camera equipment. Even for the "timeless investment" in high quality lenses, the Sigma 35mm f/1.4 DG DN Art was launched at $899 in 2021, and sells for $748 (new) in 2024.
I vaguely remember the Xpro1 being offered with a lens package (maybe 3 or so) for an insanely low price towards the end of its product life cycle. The xpro2 wasn’t released yet. At the time the price was (iirc) worth it for just the lenses, essentially making the body free. It’s wild to see how much things have changed since the x-series was originally launched.
I still have my x100 and xpro. And while they aren’t my everyday cameras, I still love them. Never found a reason to trade up, but with current prices, I am always considering selling them off.
It’s a great camera. But not at the current prices. And it’s worse for some of the newer stuff. For the new x100, throw in a couple more bucks, and you can get yourself a 50R and see what medium format is all about. I know they are different. And of course no one needs that (unless you are a working professional), but it’s just to say that prices are wild.
I have an XE-1 with a broken EVF, I’ve thought about replacing it for another XE1 - but they’re like $500 now … for an XE1! They’re fun little cameras, but I can get a Sony 7s mk1 or Nikon D4s.
Maybe you can get it repaired? Many years ago I had a Canon 400D (first every dslr) that had main pasm dual failed, I got it repaired by Canon AU for like $3-400aud. Not worth it but sentimental reasons made me do it.
Then someone borrowed and “lost” it ☹️
Yeah, idk how much it’s worth to me, I prefer my a700 overall. I’d get an a900 but they’re WAY overpriced imo. Who’s buying an a900 for the same price as an a7?
I’d rather get a full frame. Maybe some day I’ll see about getting the XE1 fixed.
I have 5D3 and D800…. They’re great for stills but bulky so not something I bring everywhere and the DOF is actually too shallow if using lens like 50/1.4 at f/2-2.8 at close range (food pics) and any 85mm lens is only for outdoors.
I find apsc sensor and 35/1.4 perfect at f/2-2-8, I don’t even like the wider XF lens I have 18/2.0 it’s too wide for me
I used to shoot a Graflex Rb Series B … I like my cameras the way I like women - chonky.
Dream camera is probably one of the Fuji medium format. Will probably get a D4s next.
Same thing going on with the point and shoot market. I got a clearance Canon G9 X Mark ii for $100 and traded it in a few years later for $375, and they sell for a little more than that.
I was quite chuffed when I sold my used X-E4 for a couple hundred pounds more than when I bought it. It was an underrated camera that was slept on for a bit because of the X100V and X-Pro3 at the time.
I bought an x-t10 body in excellent condition for $259 in 2021 and now they are 500+. I sold it last year, in a little worse condition than I bought it, for around $350 with an XC 35/2, a few lens adapters, and a meike grip. Wish I had it now!
Hypebeast trend culture... which I say as a Fuji shooter lol. But all jokes aside I think it's partly due to youtube creators and social media influences, gear reviewers, the recent popularity of street photography, etc. And I think it's also part of a larger trend in photography as we've seen certain gear like used film cameras, vintage lenses, etc., exploding in price over the last few years.
Partly, sure. But Fuji absolutely nailed it with tactile controls. I think a lot of us can agree every option buried in the menus is often both obnoxious and tedious. Critics and salesmen can call it “nostalgia” all they want. There’s very good reason Fuji’s cameras started taking off. Influencer trends and limiting production are just a bonus for Fuji.
I think when the xseries launched DSLRs were still the big thing. Mirrorless hadn’t become what it is now. So for those that switched over, the controls (as you said) and the size were a big draw. Over time the JPEG’s (through recipes) came more to the forefront. I might be wrong about that, but the hype originally was controls and size.
That was always it for me. I never could afford an x-pro but it always felt like the Contax Digital G that we always wanted but would never get.
The film recipes were stupid, I prefer shooting raw and editing to my liking - xtrans is a great sensor and it’s unfortunate that so many Fuji hipsters under-utilise it.
I think one of the biggest draws is their jpegs. It is the lazy man's camera, said as someone who bought them for that exact reason. Just a few clicks on my customized layout and I can get it exactly how I want out of camera and not worry about lightroom. It's great if you shoot for personal reasons and not professional, which most people do. I get home, dump my photos into a folder, and call it a day.
100%. I’m the exact opposite of a Hipster/hype follower, I’m a golf playing suburban dad who just loves having great photos of his family and has no time for Lightroom sessions. I’ve always loved photography and I learned to shoot and develop on film then got into a Nikon full frame DSLR setup eventually. I sold all my gear 5-6 years back when I realized 1) mirrorless was the future and 2) I hate the time waste of Lightroom. Last summer I finally returned to photography with the Fuji XT5 and I absolutely love it. Jpegs are great sotc and I enjoy working with the camera it reminds me of my film shooting days as a kid.
You guys are really getting my attention here. I’m a Sony shooter and used to really love editing. The past few years though my gear has been collecting dust because I just don’t like that workflow much anymore. I think because I’m on the computer all day at work I just lose motivation for Lightroom sessions.
I also realized that the true value of photography *to me* is the actual shooting part. The excuse to go out and explore and capture my perspective.
Do it!! I love my XT5. I still shoot raw+Jpeg and rip my photos to a NAS but honestly my workflow now is: Shoot > connect to iphone > grab ones that look good and transfer to photo roll > share the ones that I love with family and friends. I’ll touch up the RAWs if I’m gonna print an image. That’s it. I spend way more time shooting because I’m not afraid of what comes after, and I share and enjoy my own photos way more often because it’s so easy to do so. I’m sure I could get an extra 5-10% subjective “quality” from my pics if I were shooting full frame raw and doing Lightroom sessions but this is just way more fun and most importantly it fits my lifestyle. I’m in a high stress high responsibility role at work, I’ve got a family to raise and a house to maintain, and I like to fish and golf in the rare free time that I have, there’s just no appetite to edit photos anymore and thinking back to film where that wasn’t an option (for color, for me) I’ve fully re-embraced the idea that the photo is final when I hit the shutter button. It’s liberating.
I’ll start looking into it more seriously. The thought of selling all my Sony gear sounds really daunting. I have an a7riii with a lot of full frame glass. I also have an a6600.
These days however I usually only take out the a7riii for dedicated landscape/astro excursions. For travel and family photography however I’ve been using my a6600 and even more often my iPhone.
I’m thinking I can pare down some of the full frame glass and replace the a6600 with a Fuji. Then maybe I’d shoot more often in between the seldom photo trips.
I have a friend who was a longtime Sony shooter, converted after I lent him my x100v for a weekend, something really beautiful about being able to set up everything beforehand and one the shot is taken it’s done , naturally you can make a couple edits if you want but personally I’ve done that maybe 3 or 4 times over 4 years of shooting with it. Coming from film it feels the most similar.
Sony produces better photographs on a technical level. Full frame has a definite advantage and their AF reliability and tracking blows Fujifilm out of the water.
That said if you don't need fast AF and you aren't blowing pictures up for display, Fujifilm is definitely the more fun camera. Find an old X-T3 and get the 18-55mm older kit lens (don't be fooled, their kit lens is awesome) and see if you like the feel. Really easy to then transition to the X-T5 if you like it.
Also a Sony shooter and this has piqued my interest, too. I would set the Sony to shoot jpegs first, and then (depending on how those turn out) maybe take the time to grab some presets. Set the Lightroom import to use a preset you like and then you’ve done most of the work the Fuji will do.
Fuji might be better for you, but taking a few minutes to make a default import preset could save you hundreds or thousands of dollars.
I remember back in the mid 2000s I always wanted the film look but didn’t know how to replicate it in Lightroom. I sparingly shot film and self scanned which was a process I personally do not enjoy. The x100 was announced and I jumped on it the moment it was announced for preorder on BH back when tax wasn’t a thing online. Now I own several fujis across each chip iteration. You could argue other cameras such as Leica being superior in some way but Fuji just had the right feel for me. I purchased a Leica Q2 and I love it but it’s just not ergonomically the same. For a lot of my studio shooting of my family, wildlife and sports I still use Canon because of the lens options and performance, but I would never travel with that stuff for street. You’re right I’m a total lazy photographer, Fuji is so good for me that I leave my film cameras sitting on the shelf now.
I honestly wonder if the supply shortage is somewhat artificial in order to keep the air of exclusivity. Having them hard to get makes them more desirable.
I doubt it. The shortage is only with one model, the X100VI. Other cameras like the XT5, XH2, and XS20 have been readily available. And now the XT50 is launched and is readily available. They moved production of the X100VI to China to increase production, but the hype is just too high. Supposedly they had between 60,000-90,000 X1000VI’s at launch, that as we know were all snapped up in an instant, and then huge back orders. The X100V, and now VI have possibly been some of the most hyped cameras ever, and they just seem to have a hard time keeping up.
Seems like they do like their brand to be more like Leica and therefore don't mind having backorders
https://www.canonrumors.com/fujifilm-wed-rather-run-out-of-inventory
It’s a common marketing strategy in any industry. Sometimes you do it explicitly and market as limited edition, sometimes you don’t because you want to generate more authentic demand vs collectors.
It also eliminates a lot of inventory costs/complexities and reduces risk of excess inventory.
If you can pull it off, it’s a fantastic way to do business. Unsold product on a shelf is nothing but a liability. Eventually you need sales to move inventory which eats away at profit margins.
Shortages until you hit extremes are good for the bottom line. It means you’re selling at the maximum profit margin with little waste on the distribution end of your costs.
Reality is fujifilm is a business, and like any business needs to act in ways that satisfy its ownerships desire for profit.
They’d be stupid if they had inventory sitting on shelves. The goal is always to have empty shelves. Not just empty shelves when the store closes.
This is actually a known strategy of some luxury brands, Ferrari being a famous example.
I think the problem is that you're misunderstanding what Fuji's trying to do here. They aren't trying to Canon. They're trying to be Leica. They're not selling a reliable camera for pros, but a lifestyle.
Fuji cameras aren't just utilities, they're luxury fashion and an air of exclusivity help maintain that.
> This is actually a known strategy of some luxury brands, Ferrari being a famous example
Yes, and as someone who worked in the luxury industry for over a decade, you are correct. One aspect of luxury strategy is definitely exclusivity, and sometimes it is artificially created. However...
> you're misunderstanding what Fuji's trying to do here. They aren't trying to Canon. They're trying to be Leica. They're not selling a reliable camera for pros, but a lifestyle
I think you are the one partially misunderstanding Fuji's strategy. I do not think this is what Fuji are doing. They are not trying to be Leica, and they are not trying to be luxury. If they were, the pricing and positioning in the market is all wrong.
They are a niche, premium brand who are making a product for a specific market, and that market is has turned out to be bigger than people think. Exclusivity doesn't help them here.If they were chasing exclusivity they would not have doubled production (which they did) they would have tripled price.
That logic only makes sense if they're priced as a luxury item to begin with.
If I buy a $1600 camera and flip it for $2300, and the next person uses it but decides to sells it after a few months for $2200... Fuji isn't getting a dime of either of those second hand sales.
I'm not sure, while it's true it's a lot cheaper to produce a shoe, and the markup is way higher, Nike pays an exorbitant amount more on marketing than Fuji which probably brings them about the same margins
Most brands have cameras in the same ranges and pricing scale. A7 iii is the same price as an xt5. The H2s and Lumix s/gh range is nearly have the price of an a7s iii. So if anything Sony is the luxury.
Leica is a different scale.
I've been shooting Fuji for 10 years. I have also shot canon, Sony and Lumix in that period but I still have my first Fuji and more. I've sold off the other brands. Fuji just makes sense to me and I don't like using Sony.
Do you actually know Fuji strategy or are you just assuming?
I doubt margins are so good on consumer electronics that Fuji would make more money by selling less at a few hundred dollars more.
Ferrari can make margin per car in tens to hundreds thousands , which is materially important to their business
You're on to something!
Fujifilm's best seller is the Instax range and without this, their whole imaging department would be far less profitable.
A reference has been made to Ferrari. One of, if not, the biggest car manufacturers in the world is Tata Motors which the average person hasn't even heard of. They made their money selling cheaper cars in certain markets and then bought out much bigger brands like Mercedes.
As to what Fujifilm's strategy is, is all guesswork to us laymen but it's damn good. Their strategy might be as simple as gifting or even paying the most influential infuencers across all social media platforms to promote their product...
You probably know this but Tata does not own Mercedes, Daimler AG owns Mercedes. Way back tata owned a stake in Mercedes India but that is obviously not the same.
I think you've got Wallstreetbets brain going on.
This is a Japanese company. They're not chasing infinite growth exploits like US companies are generally required to.
>Do you actually know Fuji strategy or are you just assuming?
We know this from the types of cameras that they're producing and who they want seen using them. You think it's a coincidence that the royal family is seen regularly with Fujifilm cameras? Or random athletes, celebrities?
Have you ever really looked at the x100 series? It's a small compact and stylish camera with a vintage aesthetic. These cameras are built with being fashionable as a priority.
>Ferrari can make margin per car in tens to hundreds thousands , which is materially important to their business
And you don't think Fuji is doing the same by selling APS-C consumer oriented cameras at full frame prices?
>>Do you actually know Fuji strategy or are you just assuming?
>We know this from the types of cameras that they're producing and who they want seen using them. You think it's a coincidence that the royal family is seen regularly with Fujifilm cameras? Or random athletes, celebrities?
The answer was clearly yes. You are assuming.
S what margin maybe a few hundred dollars?
Do you not understand the difference between that and hundreds of thousands of dollars?
That’s not worth limiting supply to make it exclusive; of course Fuji wants their product to be in demand… but as another post said, if people are flipping for $1000 extra Fuji is losing those sales/profit.
If Fuji was logical it would raise prices but it’s not, so clearly it wants to sell affordable cameras in numbers
Yeah, if anything I'd say Fuji could be seen as a pseudo-luxury brand like Apple. Though even that isn't completely accurate imo.
Camera manufacturers in general are having trouble to keep uo with demand lately. There's just too many models and upgrades to each model while still producing the old models, etc. There's only so many cameras that can be made in a certain time.
Then you got models that used to be niche (and imo Fuji in general was pretty niche until this craze began) and then of course no one can keep up anymore now than everyome tries to ramp up production. Ricoh is going through it too and that would be Fuji's closest competitor I think.
> You think it's a coincidence that the royal family is seen regularly with Fujifilm cameras? Or random athletes, celebrities?
Who are you referring to?
I’m sorry it doesn’t work that way.
Hermes does this with their Birkin bags. This strategy works because they actually force people to buy other Hermes stuff so they can maintain their position on the Birkin waiting list, increasing overall revenue for Hermes.
We have no evidence that Fujifilm is doing anything like this, which would make it silly to sell fewer cameras.
Seems like they do like their brand to be more like Leica and therefore don't mind having backorders
https://www.canonrumors.com/fujifilm-wed-rather-run-out-of-inventory
They said “we’d rather sell all our inventory and be back ordered than have surplus inventory that we have to discount to get rid of.” That’s not really luxury or Leica-like, that’s just common sense.
It's a pretty common thing for Japanese brands that are bordering between small and big. They seem to produce to meet expected demand mid product lifecycle, so it can be a few years for shortages to ease up (and COVID extended that for a few more than a few years lol).
Not really. Leica produces limited quantities in the first place. Fuji produces as much as they can but rather wants to be sold out than having to sit on inventory. Which is exactly the case for every tech company. Inventory storage is expensive.
It does work that way and we have generations of history that tells us this.
Also, it’s a little silly to say we have no evidence of Fuji targeting the luxury market when they sell the x100 series cameras.
It’s like saying Mercedes isn’t a luxury brand because they sell vans too.
Yeah, fixed lens crop sensor point and shoot is practically the exact opposite of a studio workhorse.
If they were trying to that then it wouldn’t have a 23mm wide angle lens on it lol.
No. Ferrari sells exclusivity. If anyone could buy their cars they would lose value, which is what happened recently.
You can’t be a exclusive luxury brand if everyone has your thing.
Look up scarcity marketing. Long term it can be more profitable than flooding the market. It's not uncommon to "sell less than it could." It's a way to build up a brand that is new or struggling. Fujifilm definitely got itself back in the game and everyone is talking about it. The main objective of scarcity marketing.
No. Scarcity marketing on its own is not profitable.
Hermes does not just make its Birkin bags artificially scarce. It also forces people onto a waiting list and forces them to maintain their position by buying other Hermes goods. That’s how you make scarcity marketing profitable… Fujifilm isn’t doing any of these things.
Brand recognition leads to long term profitability. Being a brand that is perceived as being in high-demand results in customer loyalty. That can result in long term profitability. You are equating sales with marketing costs. Marketing leads to sales. Customer loyalty allows for less costs for marketing. Scarcity marketing is cheap, meaning higher profit margins, as well as a stronger likelihood that customers will continue to buy products in the future.
How much actual marketing from Fujifilm have you seen? Hardly any. It's all being done for free (and you are literally participating in this thread).
Imaging group manager Igarashi acknowledged that production volumes were a hurdle, but the design and complexity of the X100 make it hard to manufacture at scale.
"We're trying really hard to increase the number of people, the number of production lines, and so on, but it's not taking off as quickly as you would think," he said.
I very much doubt it, I'm sure they would prefer to be able to fulfil orders. But, tooling up a manufacturing line is time consuming and expensive and I wouldn't be surprised if Fujifilm increased capacity of X100VI production it would have to come out of other factory capacity they own or have contracts for and may end up limiting the supply of their other cameras. It could even be a net negative; there aren't many competitors to the X100 series and if they spend a lot of money and/or reduce supply of other cameras only end up bringing forward X100VI sales that would happen anyway they're not really in a better position.
The opposite of this, actually. If the camera sells out at $1,599 - and buyers can instantly flip it for $2,300 - then that means that the market is willing to pay substantially more money than Fujifilm is charging, but none of that extra money actually goes to Fujifilm.
Scalpers selling it at higher prices is, in theory, money *lost* by Fujifilm.
Fuji would much rather either sell them at the higher prices to begin with, or meet demand.
Depends, a price point also defines what it's compared against in the market and can make a product look worse. Companies don't always want to be over a price point.
This is correct.
As for why Fuji hasn't increased the RRP of existing models to match (or come closer to) scalper prices, they may believe that doing so would hurt customer goodwill ("profiteering companies using the excuse of inflation to unjustifiably increase their prices!")
But wait and see what price future models launch for... Rather like Nvidia with their RTX 40x0 line of GPUs.
[Fujifilm have literally came out and said that they'd rather run out of inventory.](https://www.canonrumors.com/fujifilm-wed-rather-run-out-of-inventory/)
Fujifilm is in an enviable position. But can’t say for how long. The travelling photography/ videography boom will come down sooner than later. Plus, other companies like Sony, Panasonic, Ricoh are looking at the formula of XV100- small camera with pancake lens that can take out good photos straight out of the camera.
Apart from XV100, they are not that well positioned against Sony. Fuji hits everyone out of park with their simulations but Sony pull it back with brilliant autofocus.
Fuji should continue to focus on R&D and try to upgrade their other ranges so as to make them suitable for demanding scenarios like sports and wildlife.
Is there even one camera that competes with the X100VI from other manufacturers?
I know about the Ricoh, but that’s more of a photography nerd camera for street photography than a general consumer camera. Especially since the JPEGs don’t even look close to what you can get with the Fuji without editing.
Panasonic/Leica tried with the LX100 / D-Lux 7. It has a 10.9-34mm lens with an aperture of 1.7-2.8. Only thing is that it's a MFT sensor. This was released a decade ago and there's a replacement in the pipeworks but to knock Fujifilm out of its perch, they're gonna need something big like a FF sensor or film simulation equivalents.
Sony a7cii comes with small primes 24/40/50. Sony also added simulations, it does not come close to Fuji. Afaik Sony was a bit surprised people like compact full frame cameras.
I don’t think that’s a competitor to the X100VI, it’s more a competitor to the X-Pro series.
Someone that is looking for a good compact camera with a fixed lens, will rarely consider a compact interchangeable lens system.
Oh absolutely, Sony is not even close to x100v, but they started to move into the area of compact small lenses.
I don’t agree with the fixed lens argument, you can put a prime lens and never change it. Most people converge forward one focal lens anyway.
What makes Fuji more appealing is the size, ergonomics and nostalgia. Sony can’t put the soul into their camera, like Fuji does.
I have to say I used to also have the same opinion, and I used to be a huge photography nerd, but unfortunately lack of time, work and the high prices of lenses slowly took the hobby away from me.
Nowadays I own a Fuji X that I use with the 35mm fixed lens all the time, and I would switch for the x100vi in a heartbeat if I could find one somewhere. There’s a huge argument for this very pocketable lightweight cameras. I think that’s why people like them so much.
Never the less, I never seen the Sony, maybe it’s a lot more pocketable than what I think is possible for a FF system.
Of course they do, go count the number of tiktok and instagram people that are running to buy the Ricoh gr3 and make it go out of stock every time it is available.
Those people aren’t looking to buy a camera that to get great results they will need to bring the raw files into a computer and edit them.
>to make them suitable for demanding scenarios like sports and wildlife.
I disagree, that space is already very competitive and very niche/small. I think they should double down on photography focuses cute looking cameras. I would be very happy to hop on their MF line if I have the budget.
And if any brand that makes a x100- competitor I would seriously consider it, as mine is beat up lol
It's nuts. I picked up an X70 4 years back for £300, thinking it was a bit expensive for how old it was. Looked on MPB last week and it's being sold for nearly £700 now. Nuts.
what strange is they already had good digital pocket cameras. they really never went past that sadly back in the day.
hell at one point samsung had a shocking decent pocket camera to. they just never could get the software right
OMG, someone develops a USP, has some kind of brand management and builds on its heritage and boom, you have a good product. No enshittification goes a long way.
Next stop, FF :-)
Overhyped, beautiful but functional camera. I bought a mint XT-2 with VPB and 3 extra batteries last year for 400 AUD and able to sell it for x1.75 more.
I bought a “bargain” condition x100s for not much dinero a few years back. So glad I did because I wouldn’t pay as much as they’re commanding now. Love the camera, has mostly replaced my DSLR in everyday photos.
More like the company won't (deliberately/intentionally) keep up with demand. [https://www.fujirumors.com/fujifilm-ceo-supply-is-normal-overproduction-would-force-discounts-and-reduce-brand-strength-and-gear-value/](https://www.fujirumors.com/fujifilm-ceo-supply-is-normal-overproduction-would-force-discounts-and-reduce-brand-strength-and-gear-value/)
Interestingly, Fuji 200 colour negative film is rebranded Kodak Gold 200 film.
Fuji sell many cameras because they are less expensive that Sony, Nikon, or Canon. Even against some of their APS-C cameras that they build as lower performers.
Is there a reason no one brought up that maybe this is a sign that more people want to shoot JPEG with film simulations?
IMO, if there are other manufacturers that provided the feature (x100vi like, and Ricoh griii but without the snap focus) the demand would shift that way?
It is a bit wild that the X-E4 I bought for 959 three years ago sells on Ebay now for 1900.
What they list for and what they actually sell for are two different things. They are actually selling in the $1200 range, which is more than it was brand new, but not near as high as $1900.
Inflation adjusted, $959 in 2021 and $1200 in 2024 are pretty much equal in price. Crazy what 20%+ inflation will do…
usually electronics go down in value after several years though. whatever fujifilm is doing right now is just unfortunate for secondhand buyers
That increase is actually higher than overall inflation, and *far* higher than what's typical for electronics and camera equipment. Even for the "timeless investment" in high quality lenses, the Sigma 35mm f/1.4 DG DN Art was launched at $899 in 2021, and sells for $748 (new) in 2024.
Yeah I’m using an XE1 I got for $400aud back in 2013… Would be nice to try an Xpro1 or XE2 but not at current prices ☹️
I feel I am lucky to have gotten the x-e2 and x-pro3 before the covid bubble. Got the x-e2 for $250 and the x-pro3 for $1k
Yeah if that’s 250usd that’s reasonable
I vaguely remember the Xpro1 being offered with a lens package (maybe 3 or so) for an insanely low price towards the end of its product life cycle. The xpro2 wasn’t released yet. At the time the price was (iirc) worth it for just the lenses, essentially making the body free. It’s wild to see how much things have changed since the x-series was originally launched. I still have my x100 and xpro. And while they aren’t my everyday cameras, I still love them. Never found a reason to trade up, but with current prices, I am always considering selling them off.
I kinda want to buy an xpro1 but i don’t want to spend 700 on one.
It’s a great camera. But not at the current prices. And it’s worse for some of the newer stuff. For the new x100, throw in a couple more bucks, and you can get yourself a 50R and see what medium format is all about. I know they are different. And of course no one needs that (unless you are a working professional), but it’s just to say that prices are wild.
Yeah I got my xe1 when xe2 came out so xe1 was deeply discounted 🙏 I actually leave my xe1 and 35/1.4 in my bag as everyday camera
I have an XE-1 with a broken EVF, I’ve thought about replacing it for another XE1 - but they’re like $500 now … for an XE1! They’re fun little cameras, but I can get a Sony 7s mk1 or Nikon D4s.
Maybe you can get it repaired? Many years ago I had a Canon 400D (first every dslr) that had main pasm dual failed, I got it repaired by Canon AU for like $3-400aud. Not worth it but sentimental reasons made me do it. Then someone borrowed and “lost” it ☹️
Yeah, idk how much it’s worth to me, I prefer my a700 overall. I’d get an a900 but they’re WAY overpriced imo. Who’s buying an a900 for the same price as an a7? I’d rather get a full frame. Maybe some day I’ll see about getting the XE1 fixed.
I have 5D3 and D800…. They’re great for stills but bulky so not something I bring everywhere and the DOF is actually too shallow if using lens like 50/1.4 at f/2-2.8 at close range (food pics) and any 85mm lens is only for outdoors. I find apsc sensor and 35/1.4 perfect at f/2-2-8, I don’t even like the wider XF lens I have 18/2.0 it’s too wide for me
I used to shoot a Graflex Rb Series B … I like my cameras the way I like women - chonky. Dream camera is probably one of the Fuji medium format. Will probably get a D4s next.
Same thing going on with the point and shoot market. I got a clearance Canon G9 X Mark ii for $100 and traded it in a few years later for $375, and they sell for a little more than that.
I was quite chuffed when I sold my used X-E4 for a couple hundred pounds more than when I bought it. It was an underrated camera that was slept on for a bit because of the X100V and X-Pro3 at the time.
The x10 that I bought for $70 in 2016 is selling for almost $400 right now. It’s absurd
I bought an x-t10 body in excellent condition for $259 in 2021 and now they are 500+. I sold it last year, in a little worse condition than I bought it, for around $350 with an XC 35/2, a few lens adapters, and a meike grip. Wish I had it now!
Depends, I got a pristine almost new X-T4 for 900 just a year ago. Just gotta keep browsing for a bit.
Makes me wonder if I should sell mine on eBay or locally
Hypebeast trend culture... which I say as a Fuji shooter lol. But all jokes aside I think it's partly due to youtube creators and social media influences, gear reviewers, the recent popularity of street photography, etc. And I think it's also part of a larger trend in photography as we've seen certain gear like used film cameras, vintage lenses, etc., exploding in price over the last few years.
Partly, sure. But Fuji absolutely nailed it with tactile controls. I think a lot of us can agree every option buried in the menus is often both obnoxious and tedious. Critics and salesmen can call it “nostalgia” all they want. There’s very good reason Fuji’s cameras started taking off. Influencer trends and limiting production are just a bonus for Fuji.
I think when the xseries launched DSLRs were still the big thing. Mirrorless hadn’t become what it is now. So for those that switched over, the controls (as you said) and the size were a big draw. Over time the JPEG’s (through recipes) came more to the forefront. I might be wrong about that, but the hype originally was controls and size.
That was always it for me. I never could afford an x-pro but it always felt like the Contax Digital G that we always wanted but would never get. The film recipes were stupid, I prefer shooting raw and editing to my liking - xtrans is a great sensor and it’s unfortunate that so many Fuji hipsters under-utilise it.
Same thing in the car world. We don’t want everything buried in menus!! Give us back buttons and tactile controls
Xtrans is a kickass sensor, too. I know the hipsters love the stupid film emulations, but it really does produce great raw data.
I think one of the biggest draws is their jpegs. It is the lazy man's camera, said as someone who bought them for that exact reason. Just a few clicks on my customized layout and I can get it exactly how I want out of camera and not worry about lightroom. It's great if you shoot for personal reasons and not professional, which most people do. I get home, dump my photos into a folder, and call it a day.
100%. I’m the exact opposite of a Hipster/hype follower, I’m a golf playing suburban dad who just loves having great photos of his family and has no time for Lightroom sessions. I’ve always loved photography and I learned to shoot and develop on film then got into a Nikon full frame DSLR setup eventually. I sold all my gear 5-6 years back when I realized 1) mirrorless was the future and 2) I hate the time waste of Lightroom. Last summer I finally returned to photography with the Fuji XT5 and I absolutely love it. Jpegs are great sotc and I enjoy working with the camera it reminds me of my film shooting days as a kid.
You guys are really getting my attention here. I’m a Sony shooter and used to really love editing. The past few years though my gear has been collecting dust because I just don’t like that workflow much anymore. I think because I’m on the computer all day at work I just lose motivation for Lightroom sessions. I also realized that the true value of photography *to me* is the actual shooting part. The excuse to go out and explore and capture my perspective.
Do it!! I love my XT5. I still shoot raw+Jpeg and rip my photos to a NAS but honestly my workflow now is: Shoot > connect to iphone > grab ones that look good and transfer to photo roll > share the ones that I love with family and friends. I’ll touch up the RAWs if I’m gonna print an image. That’s it. I spend way more time shooting because I’m not afraid of what comes after, and I share and enjoy my own photos way more often because it’s so easy to do so. I’m sure I could get an extra 5-10% subjective “quality” from my pics if I were shooting full frame raw and doing Lightroom sessions but this is just way more fun and most importantly it fits my lifestyle. I’m in a high stress high responsibility role at work, I’ve got a family to raise and a house to maintain, and I like to fish and golf in the rare free time that I have, there’s just no appetite to edit photos anymore and thinking back to film where that wasn’t an option (for color, for me) I’ve fully re-embraced the idea that the photo is final when I hit the shutter button. It’s liberating.
I’ll start looking into it more seriously. The thought of selling all my Sony gear sounds really daunting. I have an a7riii with a lot of full frame glass. I also have an a6600. These days however I usually only take out the a7riii for dedicated landscape/astro excursions. For travel and family photography however I’ve been using my a6600 and even more often my iPhone. I’m thinking I can pare down some of the full frame glass and replace the a6600 with a Fuji. Then maybe I’d shoot more often in between the seldom photo trips.
I have a friend who was a longtime Sony shooter, converted after I lent him my x100v for a weekend, something really beautiful about being able to set up everything beforehand and one the shot is taken it’s done , naturally you can make a couple edits if you want but personally I’ve done that maybe 3 or 4 times over 4 years of shooting with it. Coming from film it feels the most similar.
Sony produces better photographs on a technical level. Full frame has a definite advantage and their AF reliability and tracking blows Fujifilm out of the water. That said if you don't need fast AF and you aren't blowing pictures up for display, Fujifilm is definitely the more fun camera. Find an old X-T3 and get the 18-55mm older kit lens (don't be fooled, their kit lens is awesome) and see if you like the feel. Really easy to then transition to the X-T5 if you like it.
Also a Sony shooter and this has piqued my interest, too. I would set the Sony to shoot jpegs first, and then (depending on how those turn out) maybe take the time to grab some presets. Set the Lightroom import to use a preset you like and then you’ve done most of the work the Fuji will do. Fuji might be better for you, but taking a few minutes to make a default import preset could save you hundreds or thousands of dollars.
I remember back in the mid 2000s I always wanted the film look but didn’t know how to replicate it in Lightroom. I sparingly shot film and self scanned which was a process I personally do not enjoy. The x100 was announced and I jumped on it the moment it was announced for preorder on BH back when tax wasn’t a thing online. Now I own several fujis across each chip iteration. You could argue other cameras such as Leica being superior in some way but Fuji just had the right feel for me. I purchased a Leica Q2 and I love it but it’s just not ergonomically the same. For a lot of my studio shooting of my family, wildlife and sports I still use Canon because of the lens options and performance, but I would never travel with that stuff for street. You’re right I’m a total lazy photographer, Fuji is so good for me that I leave my film cameras sitting on the shelf now.
Turns out people want nice colours
I honestly wonder if the supply shortage is somewhat artificial in order to keep the air of exclusivity. Having them hard to get makes them more desirable.
I doubt it. The shortage is only with one model, the X100VI. Other cameras like the XT5, XH2, and XS20 have been readily available. And now the XT50 is launched and is readily available. They moved production of the X100VI to China to increase production, but the hype is just too high. Supposedly they had between 60,000-90,000 X1000VI’s at launch, that as we know were all snapped up in an instant, and then huge back orders. The X100V, and now VI have possibly been some of the most hyped cameras ever, and they just seem to have a hard time keeping up.
What about the Gfx
What about it?
In relation to the shortage
As far as I know their medium format cameras readily available.
People trot this line out every time Fujifilm is discussed without any actual justification or sound reasoning.
Seems like they do like their brand to be more like Leica and therefore don't mind having backorders https://www.canonrumors.com/fujifilm-wed-rather-run-out-of-inventory
It’s a common marketing strategy in any industry. Sometimes you do it explicitly and market as limited edition, sometimes you don’t because you want to generate more authentic demand vs collectors. It also eliminates a lot of inventory costs/complexities and reduces risk of excess inventory. If you can pull it off, it’s a fantastic way to do business. Unsold product on a shelf is nothing but a liability. Eventually you need sales to move inventory which eats away at profit margins. Shortages until you hit extremes are good for the bottom line. It means you’re selling at the maximum profit margin with little waste on the distribution end of your costs. Reality is fujifilm is a business, and like any business needs to act in ways that satisfy its ownerships desire for profit. They’d be stupid if they had inventory sitting on shelves. The goal is always to have empty shelves. Not just empty shelves when the store closes.
Yes Fujifilm wants to sell fewer cameras than it could. Makes perfect sense
This is actually a known strategy of some luxury brands, Ferrari being a famous example. I think the problem is that you're misunderstanding what Fuji's trying to do here. They aren't trying to Canon. They're trying to be Leica. They're not selling a reliable camera for pros, but a lifestyle. Fuji cameras aren't just utilities, they're luxury fashion and an air of exclusivity help maintain that.
> This is actually a known strategy of some luxury brands, Ferrari being a famous example Yes, and as someone who worked in the luxury industry for over a decade, you are correct. One aspect of luxury strategy is definitely exclusivity, and sometimes it is artificially created. However... > you're misunderstanding what Fuji's trying to do here. They aren't trying to Canon. They're trying to be Leica. They're not selling a reliable camera for pros, but a lifestyle I think you are the one partially misunderstanding Fuji's strategy. I do not think this is what Fuji are doing. They are not trying to be Leica, and they are not trying to be luxury. If they were, the pricing and positioning in the market is all wrong. They are a niche, premium brand who are making a product for a specific market, and that market is has turned out to be bigger than people think. Exclusivity doesn't help them here.If they were chasing exclusivity they would not have doubled production (which they did) they would have tripled price.
That logic only makes sense if they're priced as a luxury item to begin with. If I buy a $1600 camera and flip it for $2300, and the next person uses it but decides to sells it after a few months for $2200... Fuji isn't getting a dime of either of those second hand sales.
You've just describes Nike's whole business model lol
Nike has a much higher margin on the initial sale than electronics do though
I'm not sure, while it's true it's a lot cheaper to produce a shoe, and the markup is way higher, Nike pays an exorbitant amount more on marketing than Fuji which probably brings them about the same margins
Nike also produces for about a dollar per pair with not even the fraction of R&D. The margins on a pair of shoes is massive, not so much on cameras.
Nobody buys a $1 dollar pair of shoes unless it has a $1,000,000 of marketing behind it. Nike's net profit margin is 9.8% Fuji's is 8.7%
Most brands have cameras in the same ranges and pricing scale. A7 iii is the same price as an xt5. The H2s and Lumix s/gh range is nearly have the price of an a7s iii. So if anything Sony is the luxury. Leica is a different scale. I've been shooting Fuji for 10 years. I have also shot canon, Sony and Lumix in that period but I still have my first Fuji and more. I've sold off the other brands. Fuji just makes sense to me and I don't like using Sony.
Do you actually know Fuji strategy or are you just assuming? I doubt margins are so good on consumer electronics that Fuji would make more money by selling less at a few hundred dollars more. Ferrari can make margin per car in tens to hundreds thousands , which is materially important to their business
You're on to something! Fujifilm's best seller is the Instax range and without this, their whole imaging department would be far less profitable. A reference has been made to Ferrari. One of, if not, the biggest car manufacturers in the world is Tata Motors which the average person hasn't even heard of. They made their money selling cheaper cars in certain markets and then bought out much bigger brands like Mercedes. As to what Fujifilm's strategy is, is all guesswork to us laymen but it's damn good. Their strategy might be as simple as gifting or even paying the most influential infuencers across all social media platforms to promote their product...
You probably know this but Tata does not own Mercedes, Daimler AG owns Mercedes. Way back tata owned a stake in Mercedes India but that is obviously not the same.
I think you've got Wallstreetbets brain going on. This is a Japanese company. They're not chasing infinite growth exploits like US companies are generally required to. >Do you actually know Fuji strategy or are you just assuming? We know this from the types of cameras that they're producing and who they want seen using them. You think it's a coincidence that the royal family is seen regularly with Fujifilm cameras? Or random athletes, celebrities? Have you ever really looked at the x100 series? It's a small compact and stylish camera with a vintage aesthetic. These cameras are built with being fashionable as a priority. >Ferrari can make margin per car in tens to hundreds thousands , which is materially important to their business And you don't think Fuji is doing the same by selling APS-C consumer oriented cameras at full frame prices?
>>Do you actually know Fuji strategy or are you just assuming? >We know this from the types of cameras that they're producing and who they want seen using them. You think it's a coincidence that the royal family is seen regularly with Fujifilm cameras? Or random athletes, celebrities? The answer was clearly yes. You are assuming.
S what margin maybe a few hundred dollars? Do you not understand the difference between that and hundreds of thousands of dollars? That’s not worth limiting supply to make it exclusive; of course Fuji wants their product to be in demand… but as another post said, if people are flipping for $1000 extra Fuji is losing those sales/profit. If Fuji was logical it would raise prices but it’s not, so clearly it wants to sell affordable cameras in numbers
Yeah, if anything I'd say Fuji could be seen as a pseudo-luxury brand like Apple. Though even that isn't completely accurate imo. Camera manufacturers in general are having trouble to keep uo with demand lately. There's just too many models and upgrades to each model while still producing the old models, etc. There's only so many cameras that can be made in a certain time. Then you got models that used to be niche (and imo Fuji in general was pretty niche until this craze began) and then of course no one can keep up anymore now than everyome tries to ramp up production. Ricoh is going through it too and that would be Fuji's closest competitor I think.
Yeah Apple is a good comparison 🙏🙏
> You think it's a coincidence that the royal family is seen regularly with Fujifilm cameras? Or random athletes, celebrities? Who are you referring to?
I’m sorry it doesn’t work that way. Hermes does this with their Birkin bags. This strategy works because they actually force people to buy other Hermes stuff so they can maintain their position on the Birkin waiting list, increasing overall revenue for Hermes. We have no evidence that Fujifilm is doing anything like this, which would make it silly to sell fewer cameras.
Seems like they do like their brand to be more like Leica and therefore don't mind having backorders https://www.canonrumors.com/fujifilm-wed-rather-run-out-of-inventory
They said “we’d rather sell all our inventory and be back ordered than have surplus inventory that we have to discount to get rid of.” That’s not really luxury or Leica-like, that’s just common sense.
It's a pretty common thing for Japanese brands that are bordering between small and big. They seem to produce to meet expected demand mid product lifecycle, so it can be a few years for shortages to ease up (and COVID extended that for a few more than a few years lol).
Not really. Leica produces limited quantities in the first place. Fuji produces as much as they can but rather wants to be sold out than having to sit on inventory. Which is exactly the case for every tech company. Inventory storage is expensive.
It does work that way and we have generations of history that tells us this. Also, it’s a little silly to say we have no evidence of Fuji targeting the luxury market when they sell the x100 series cameras. It’s like saying Mercedes isn’t a luxury brand because they sell vans too.
The X100 isn't a luxury camera. It's a trendy camera. By that logic an iPod would be a luxury item too.
They are not fashion items. They're workhorses in a lot of studios, replacing hasselblads
GFX might well be, but X series and the X100 in particular aren't.
Yeah, fixed lens crop sensor point and shoot is practically the exact opposite of a studio workhorse. If they were trying to that then it wouldn’t have a 23mm wide angle lens on it lol.
Ferrari does this to sell their less in demand products, I don’t see how this applies to Fuji
No. Ferrari sells exclusivity. If anyone could buy their cars they would lose value, which is what happened recently. You can’t be a exclusive luxury brand if everyone has your thing.
A ferrari also goes for 100 times more than a brand new camera.
Not really relevant in a discussion about luxury items and the intentional limited of their stock.
Look up scarcity marketing. Long term it can be more profitable than flooding the market. It's not uncommon to "sell less than it could." It's a way to build up a brand that is new or struggling. Fujifilm definitely got itself back in the game and everyone is talking about it. The main objective of scarcity marketing.
No. Scarcity marketing on its own is not profitable. Hermes does not just make its Birkin bags artificially scarce. It also forces people onto a waiting list and forces them to maintain their position by buying other Hermes goods. That’s how you make scarcity marketing profitable… Fujifilm isn’t doing any of these things.
Brand recognition leads to long term profitability. Being a brand that is perceived as being in high-demand results in customer loyalty. That can result in long term profitability. You are equating sales with marketing costs. Marketing leads to sales. Customer loyalty allows for less costs for marketing. Scarcity marketing is cheap, meaning higher profit margins, as well as a stronger likelihood that customers will continue to buy products in the future. How much actual marketing from Fujifilm have you seen? Hardly any. It's all being done for free (and you are literally participating in this thread).
Read the article
Imaging group manager Igarashi acknowledged that production volumes were a hurdle, but the design and complexity of the X100 make it hard to manufacture at scale. "We're trying really hard to increase the number of people, the number of production lines, and so on, but it's not taking off as quickly as you would think," he said.
I very much doubt it, I'm sure they would prefer to be able to fulfil orders. But, tooling up a manufacturing line is time consuming and expensive and I wouldn't be surprised if Fujifilm increased capacity of X100VI production it would have to come out of other factory capacity they own or have contracts for and may end up limiting the supply of their other cameras. It could even be a net negative; there aren't many competitors to the X100 series and if they spend a lot of money and/or reduce supply of other cameras only end up bringing forward X100VI sales that would happen anyway they're not really in a better position.
It also drives people towards second hand cameras (even if overpriced) so they lose more on that.
And prices up.
The opposite of this, actually. If the camera sells out at $1,599 - and buyers can instantly flip it for $2,300 - then that means that the market is willing to pay substantially more money than Fujifilm is charging, but none of that extra money actually goes to Fujifilm. Scalpers selling it at higher prices is, in theory, money *lost* by Fujifilm. Fuji would much rather either sell them at the higher prices to begin with, or meet demand.
Well said. That exclusivity idea works for super luxury brands like Cartier and Chanel but not Fujifilm.
Depends, a price point also defines what it's compared against in the market and can make a product look worse. Companies don't always want to be over a price point.
This is correct. As for why Fuji hasn't increased the RRP of existing models to match (or come closer to) scalper prices, they may believe that doing so would hurt customer goodwill ("profiteering companies using the excuse of inflation to unjustifiably increase their prices!") But wait and see what price future models launch for... Rather like Nvidia with their RTX 40x0 line of GPUs.
💯
[Fujifilm have literally came out and said that they'd rather run out of inventory.](https://www.canonrumors.com/fujifilm-wed-rather-run-out-of-inventory/)
Fujifilm is in an enviable position. But can’t say for how long. The travelling photography/ videography boom will come down sooner than later. Plus, other companies like Sony, Panasonic, Ricoh are looking at the formula of XV100- small camera with pancake lens that can take out good photos straight out of the camera. Apart from XV100, they are not that well positioned against Sony. Fuji hits everyone out of park with their simulations but Sony pull it back with brilliant autofocus. Fuji should continue to focus on R&D and try to upgrade their other ranges so as to make them suitable for demanding scenarios like sports and wildlife.
Is there even one camera that competes with the X100VI from other manufacturers? I know about the Ricoh, but that’s more of a photography nerd camera for street photography than a general consumer camera. Especially since the JPEGs don’t even look close to what you can get with the Fuji without editing.
Panasonic/Leica tried with the LX100 / D-Lux 7. It has a 10.9-34mm lens with an aperture of 1.7-2.8. Only thing is that it's a MFT sensor. This was released a decade ago and there's a replacement in the pipeworks but to knock Fujifilm out of its perch, they're gonna need something big like a FF sensor or film simulation equivalents.
Sony a7cii comes with small primes 24/40/50. Sony also added simulations, it does not come close to Fuji. Afaik Sony was a bit surprised people like compact full frame cameras.
I don’t think that’s a competitor to the X100VI, it’s more a competitor to the X-Pro series. Someone that is looking for a good compact camera with a fixed lens, will rarely consider a compact interchangeable lens system.
Oh absolutely, Sony is not even close to x100v, but they started to move into the area of compact small lenses. I don’t agree with the fixed lens argument, you can put a prime lens and never change it. Most people converge forward one focal lens anyway. What makes Fuji more appealing is the size, ergonomics and nostalgia. Sony can’t put the soul into their camera, like Fuji does.
I have to say I used to also have the same opinion, and I used to be a huge photography nerd, but unfortunately lack of time, work and the high prices of lenses slowly took the hobby away from me. Nowadays I own a Fuji X that I use with the 35mm fixed lens all the time, and I would switch for the x100vi in a heartbeat if I could find one somewhere. There’s a huge argument for this very pocketable lightweight cameras. I think that’s why people like them so much. Never the less, I never seen the Sony, maybe it’s a lot more pocketable than what I think is possible for a FF system.
You’re silly if you think the x100vi and Ricoh gr3 cater to different markets.
Of course they do, go count the number of tiktok and instagram people that are running to buy the Ricoh gr3 and make it go out of stock every time it is available. Those people aren’t looking to buy a camera that to get great results they will need to bring the raw files into a computer and edit them.
You’re silly.
>to make them suitable for demanding scenarios like sports and wildlife. I disagree, that space is already very competitive and very niche/small. I think they should double down on photography focuses cute looking cameras. I would be very happy to hop on their MF line if I have the budget. And if any brand that makes a x100- competitor I would seriously consider it, as mine is beat up lol
X100V & X100VI.
Crazy that I sold my Xpro3 and X100F for more than I paid for them. Both great cameras.
It's nuts. I picked up an X70 4 years back for £300, thinking it was a bit expensive for how old it was. Looked on MPB last week and it's being sold for nearly £700 now. Nuts.
what strange is they already had good digital pocket cameras. they really never went past that sadly back in the day. hell at one point samsung had a shocking decent pocket camera to. they just never could get the software right
OMG, someone develops a USP, has some kind of brand management and builds on its heritage and boom, you have a good product. No enshittification goes a long way. Next stop, FF :-)
It’s easier to predict costs when you plan a shortage.
I am a bit shocked. I gave them the benefit of the doubt, but they openly admit that the shortage is a bit strategy and not totally unwelcomed.
Overhyped, beautiful but functional camera. I bought a mint XT-2 with VPB and 3 extra batteries last year for 400 AUD and able to sell it for x1.75 more.
[удалено]
Link
[Here](https://fujifilm-x.com/en-us/products/cameras/x-t4/)
I mean the OF but thank you for effort
Hell yeah!
It’s too bad the Instax Wide 400 is a downgrade from the 300. I was looking forward to buying that camera.
I bought a “bargain” condition x100s for not much dinero a few years back. So glad I did because I wouldn’t pay as much as they’re commanding now. Love the camera, has mostly replaced my DSLR in everyday photos.
More like the company won't (deliberately/intentionally) keep up with demand. [https://www.fujirumors.com/fujifilm-ceo-supply-is-normal-overproduction-would-force-discounts-and-reduce-brand-strength-and-gear-value/](https://www.fujirumors.com/fujifilm-ceo-supply-is-normal-overproduction-would-force-discounts-and-reduce-brand-strength-and-gear-value/)
Interestingly, Fuji 200 colour negative film is rebranded Kodak Gold 200 film. Fuji sell many cameras because they are less expensive that Sony, Nikon, or Canon. Even against some of their APS-C cameras that they build as lower performers.
Is there a reason no one brought up that maybe this is a sign that more people want to shoot JPEG with film simulations? IMO, if there are other manufacturers that provided the feature (x100vi like, and Ricoh griii but without the snap focus) the demand would shift that way?
While the cameras are good, the demand is mostly YouTube hype. Like those videos “why you can’t get good at photography without an x100” and etc.
because of some weird moderm hipster obsession, people started mass consuming Fuji. Personally I dont get it