Fujifilm’s third X Summit launch of the year is taking place later today – and despite the arrival of two flagship cameras at its earlier events, this one could be its most exciting yet.
Right now, there’s very little official info on what to expect at the Fujifilm X Summit in Tokyo, other than the event’s start times. It’ll be kicking off on November 2 at 9am EST / 1pm GMT, which works out as 12am AEDT on November 3.
Whether you’re an X-series veteran or just looking to get a glimpse of the latest mirrorless camera tech, it’ll be well worth tuning in at those times on Fujifilm’s official YouTube channel.
But you should also pull up a comfortable chair and watch along with us here, because we’ll be building up to the launch on this page with all of our hopes, expectations and insights on Fuji’s latest announcement.
We reported live from New York on the Fujifilm X-H2 launch, which took place less than two months go. And we’re hoping for something on a similarly grand scale this time, given that Fujifilm hasn’t historically hosted X Summit events without a very good reason (usually, an important new camera or lens).
Last week, we welcomed the Sony A7R V and OM System OM-5 into the camera world, and the rumors suggest this week is going to be bigger for photographic announcements. So join us as we count down the hours until Fujifilm’s latest launch and figure out exactly how we’re going to afford all of this worryingly tempting camera gear.
Hello, I’m Mark (TechRadar’s Cameras editor) and I’ll be guiding you through today’s Fujifilm X Summit event. I’ve used, reviewed and owned a lot of Fujifilm X-series cameras, so I’m really looking forward to seeing what the unique camera brand has up its sleeves for today.
It’s already been a cracking end to the year for new cameras, with the OM System OM-5, Hasselblad XQD 100C and Sony finally springing into life with the FX30, ZV-1F and A7R V. I played with the latter last week and it’s shaping up to be one of the cameras of the year. Could Fujifilm actually manage to upstage it today? We’ll find out it in just over ten hours.
So, how do you actually watch today’s Fujifilm X Summit? The event’s being livestreamed on YouTube at the link above, with the official start time being November 2 at 9am EST / 1pm GMT. If you’re in Australia, that works out as 12am AEDT on November 3, but that’s no excuse not to tune in.
YouTube handily lets you set reminders for when livestreams are about to kick off –just hit the bell icon on the video above and you’ll get an email reminder. But the better approach is clearly to grab some popcorn plus your favorite camping chair, and follow our build-up here. It’ll definitely be a lot more entertaining than watching Twitter get burnt to the ground.
Why are X Summit events a big deal in the camera world? Historically, they’ve been more than just single product announcements – we typically also get to see new lenses and some teasers for future launches, too.
During Fujifilm’s X Summit in June 2021, for example, we saw two new cameras and eight new lenses announced (four for the X-Series, and four for the medium format GFX series). Fuji also revealed that its next generation of X-Trans sensors would include a speedy stacked design – which ultimately turned out to be the one inside flagship Fujifilm X-H2S.
I can’t promise that many announcements today, but there’s definitely precedent for a few surprises. And buckle up, because that event was an hour long.
There’s already an impressively high number of Fuji fans camped out on the X Summit’s livestream page. And it seems virtually everyone has a different wishlist for today’s announcement.
Among the early comments are hopes for “a new X100 series” (Fujfilm’s popular street photography compacts), an “X-Pro4 with that new 40MP sensor please”, and the most heavily rumored contender, the “X-T5”. No pressure then, Fuji…
A quick bit of non-Fujifilm news before we delve into the X Summit: Canon has just announced the Canon EOS R6 Mark II, an update to its popular full-frame mirrorless camera from 2020. Yes, it’s raining camera news today.
The headline addition is a jump from its predecessor’s slightly paltry 20MP sensor to a new 24.2MP one. Even though this sensor doesn’t have a ‘stacked’ design, it is speedy enough to support 40fps burst shooting (touché, says the Fujifilm X-H2S) and some uncropped, oversampled 4K/60p video.
It’s a really quite compelling all-rounder that you can pre-order for $2,499 / £2,779 / AU$4,499. Want to know our early thoughts? Check out our hands-on Canon EOS R6 Mark II review. And now, back to Fujifilm…