RoamingScott wrote:
I don't think there's ANGER, per se, but a justified heavy sigh that a camera of this middling spec is priced over much more versatile full frame cameras.
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Ok, that's good. But comparing pre-tariff pricing to post isn't going to work either. I guess the manufacturers are bumping prices as US inventories are depleted, possibly some increased in-country stocking prior to the tariffs knowing they were coming. But ultimately, it seems like it will impact all of them. Or at least those coming from countries with the new tariffs.
Fred Miranda wrote:
I have to admit, the film simulation dial on the E5 is a great idea. It doesn't take up much space and actually looks really nice too.
This implementation is nice, very clean and easy to ignore if you aren't using sims.
SGinNorcal wrote:
Ok, that's good. But comparing pre-tariff pricing to post isn't going to work either. I guess the manufacturers are bumping prices as US inventories are depleted, possibly some increased in-country stocking prior to the tariffs knowing they were coming. But ultimately, it seems like it will impact all of them. Or at least those coming from countries with the new tariffs.
I'll go back to the obvious slap in the face...Nikon is still selling the Z5ii, a wildly more capable camera, for the same price as the X-E5 in the US post-tariffs. Nikon is making the Z5ii in a country with a >35% tariff. Fuji is making the X-E5 in Japan with a 10% tariff.
Fuji is capitalizing on their social media popularity to squeeze some blood from a stone here and hiding behind the tariffs. It's important to call out behavior like that, especially on a part-bin camera. It's bad business and anti-consumer. It's disappointing for folks like me that came into the Fuji fold during the golden age of Kaizen and Japanese manufacturing.
Credit where credit is due: the implementation of the film simulation dial looks much better than I expected it to be! Overall a very nice-looking camera.
I'm curios what the price in the EU will be compared to US. Probably still a pass from me though: EVF resolution, LCD resolution, no WR, no 65:24 aspect ratio, AF a generation behind the competition.. a few too many compromises to justify the price unless it is significantly cheaper in the EU than in the US.
RoamingScott wrote:
the one area the ZF can't compete is lenses with aperture rings. (...) Nikon REALLY needs a line of small lenses (their versions of Fujicrons) with rings to replicate the same tactile experience you get on the Fujis.
100% agree. Imo Nikon and Sigma need to finally sort out a licensing deal to bring the i-series primes to Z mount -they would be a great match for the Zf.
But Fuji will likely always have the edge when it comes to compact camera+lens combos, just because of the smaller sensor size. It’s partly down to physics (e.g. a 135mm lens is always going to be bigger than a 90mm), and partly because hardly anyone is making slower full-frame lenses that really compete with something like the Fujicrons.
fjablo wrote:
100% agree. Imo Nikon and Sigma need to finally sort out a licensing deal to bring the i-series primes to Z mount -they would be a great match for the Zf.
But Fuji will likely always have the edge when it comes to compact camera+lens combos, just because of the smaller sensor size. It’s partly down to physics (e.g. a 135mm lens is always going to be bigger than a 90mm), and partly because hardly anyone is making slower full-frame lenses that really compete with something like the Fujicrons.
Luckily adapting the i-series to ZF is trivial and works well, but I'd like to see even smaller lenses (f2.8-3.5), more along the lines of the 45 and not the 35.
RoamingScott wrote:
I'll go back to the obvious slap in the face...Nikon is still selling the Z5ii, a wildly more capable camera, for the same price as the X-E5 in the US post-tariffs. Nikon is making the Z5ii in a country with a >35% tariff. Fuji is making the X-E5 in Japan with a 10% tariff.
Fuji is capitalizing on their social media popularity to squeeze some blood from a stone here and hiding behind the tariffs. It's important to call out behavior like that, especially on a part-bin camera. It's bad business and anti-consumer. It's disappointing for folks like me that came into the Fuji fold during the golden age of Kaizen and Japanese manufacturing....Show more →
Not saying you're wrong because I am uncertain what the facts are here. But I thought the Z5 was built in Thailand which has similar tariffs to Japan. Also thought X-E5 was coming from China which is 30 or 40%. Has Fuji moved X-E5 production to Japan and got it up and running prior to launch tomorrow? I work for a US manufacturer in an different field. We use raw materials from Asia and I can tell you that nobody has a clear idea of now to navigate this mess. Our regulatory situation doesn't allow changes of suppliers without extensive testing and we will pass tariff costs all the way through until it leaves our control. Believe me, those costs will make it to the end user marked up a few times.
Regarding the idea that this is just Fujifilm maximizing the profit potential of the XE line, it does not seem quite that simple.
The problem is that in order to realize that potential they must persuade a lot of people that the product warrants the $1700 price. For a lot of reasons — economic uncertainty, the low specs relative to higher price, the features and pricing of competitive products — this is going to be a challenge. Overall, there is a widespread sense that the price is too high for what the product offers.
RoamingScott wrote:
I'll go back to the obvious slap in the face...Nikon is still selling the Z5ii, a wildly more capable camera, for the same price as the X-E5 in the US post-tariffs. Nikon is making the Z5ii in a country with a >35% tariff. Fuji is making the X-E5 in Japan with a 10% tariff.
Fuji is capitalizing on their social media popularity to squeeze some blood from a stone here and hiding behind the tariffs. It's important to call out behavior like that, especially on a part-bin camera. It's bad business and anti-consumer. It's disappointing for folks like me that came into the Fuji fold during the golden age of Kaizen and Japanese manufacturing....Show more →
The Nikon Z5 II is a completely different camera than the Fuji X-E5. You're not comparing the Nikon Z8 to the Leica Q3 or Sigma BF either. That's nonsense.
Plzenaak wrote:
The Nikon Z5 II is a completely different camera than the Fuji X-E5. You're not comparing the Nikon Z8 to the Leica Q3 or Sigma BF either. That's nonsense.
The point is about value for money in the midst of tariffs and inflation.
gdanmitchell wrote:
Regarding the idea that this is just Fujifilm maximizing the profit potential of the XE line, it does not seem quite that simple.
The problem is that in order to realize that potential they must persuade a lot of people that the product warrants the $1700 price. For a lot of reasons — economic uncertainty, the low specs relative to higher price, the features and pricing of competitive products — this is going to be a challenge. Overall, there is a widespread sense that the price is too high for what the product offers.
Or it will sell slowly until all competing prices are hiked up due to the tariffs. It sucks for any manufacturer that had something in development based on a target sell price that is no longer possible.
Jack Flesher wrote:
So, who here is actually going to still buy it? I’m not. I was, but not now, those lcd/evf specs are ludicrous.
Deal me out, at least for now. I'll wait until it is released, reviewed, tested & tried on the streets. There may be things we don't know about this camera. $1699 is to steep for me, I'd even think twice without the tariffs tacked on. (FWIW I've pretty much pulled back on all non-essential spending while this trade war s* settles out)
And frankly, I've become a little disillusioned by Fuji camera products, precipitated by their supply difficulties. It troubles me that they can't supply things like the X100VI to meet demand, but continue to bring new items to market. I personally think they should have made more effort to fill existing demand. But, that's just me I guess.
SGinNorcal wrote:
Or it will sell slowly until all competing prices are hiked up due to the tariffs. It sucks for any manufacturer that had something in development based on a target sell price that is no longer possible.
I agree with that last point. It has to be maddening for manufacturers to figure out what to make, where to sell it, and how to price it with all of the unnecessary and insane stuff that's been going on.
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524f44 wrote:
And frankly, I've become a little disillusioned by Fuji camera products, precipitated by their supply difficulties. It troubles me that they can't supply things like the X100VI to meet demand, but continue to bring new items to market. I personally think they should have made more effort to fill existing demand. But, that's just me I guess.
I hear you. I like Fujifilm and they have come out with a lot of useful and interesting stuff, but their problems with actually keeping products in stock are rather shocking at this point. I know that the pandemic (and now the tariffs) have created all kind of challenges, but Fujifilm's response has been the worst.
At one point I recall visiting their website to look at GFX lenses and literally HALF of them were listed as unavailable. We all know about the X100vi issue. The XE4 story was just plain bizarre — it just sort of... disappeared. Right now there are lenses you still can't get.
SGinNorcal wrote:
And Nikon has announced tariff based price increase coming on June 23rd, didn't say which products.
it's lenses only, and the full list has been out for 3 weeks. the bump is for chinese products only. and, given what happened today, this may not even happen.
RoamingScott wrote:
it's lenses only, and the full list has been out for 3 weeks. the bump is for chinese products only. and, given what happened today, this may not even happen.
Let's hope so, and hopefully this can impact this new camera as well.
I *am* angry at Fuji for this lol. I prefer this form factor over the XT, even though the XT is better in many ways. At this point, there's no reason for me to go after an XE at the same price as the XT5.
Better battery, weather sealing, better manual controls, wayyyyy better EVF.... same price. And that's just a few things.
RoamingScott wrote:
The point is about value for money in the midst of tariffs and inflation.
The Z5II is a faaaaaaar better value, and that's one of the chief demographics the XE used to target.
I'm always open to switching systems, I have essentially no brand loyalty. Nikon Z mount has been looking better and better to me the last year. Z5II is hard to ignore. I've been shooting an R7 for a bit and it works great for most of my nature stuff, but I don't want to bring it with me when I travel, because the lenses to shoot it how I would want to just don't exist. Z5II, ZF, XE4, hell even this dang XE5 all make more sense for my travel use case.
My next camera most likely won't be Canon. It won't likely be a Sony. It's prob going to be a Nikon. Those relatively affordable Z primes and plethora of adapting/third party options are killing me lol.
