Fujifilm's first X-Summit of 2023 takes place this week, on Wednesday, 24 May. This time the event is being held in Bangkok, Thailand, for the first time ever, with the live conference starting at 4pm local time - which will be 5am ET / 10am BST).
X-Summits have become a regular events in which Fujifilm announces the latest lenses and cameras in its GFX and X ranges - and where we get briefings on the company's development roadmap. Last year, we had no fewer than three X-Summits which in turn were headlined by the announcements of the Fujifilm X-H2S, X-H2, and the X-T5.
As usual, the whole presentation will be shown live on Fujifilm's YouTube channel – so you can also watch it via the link below! We'll be bringing you our expert commentary as we discover the latest news and technologies at the conference, and in the build-up to this event.
Watch the event live on the link above
So what are we expecting from the Bangkok X-Summit? As ever, the rumors are already giving us some odds-on favorites for what will be announced.
The rumor sites have their money on the launch of a successor to the popular Fujifilm X-S10 - which reportedly and logically will be called the X-S20. One leak says that this will have a new VLOG mode - which would make sense as one of the defining features of the X-S10 is its swing-out, rotating LCD screen. The X-S10 was launched in November 2020, so is well overdue an update.
Of course, there are other cameras that we have all been hoping that Fujifilm will update. I have lost count of the number of times that people have asked about an an update for the X-Pro3 - which logic tells us would be called the X-Pro4. The last model in this family was released way back in 2019, when no one had even heard of Covid. It would be great if we could get some update on this rangefinder range at this X-Summit.
Also due an update is the GFX range... this family of medium format of mirrorless cameras last got a new models in 2021, with the GFX 100S and then the GFX 50S II. We'd love to see an update of the flagship GFX 100, or a return of a camera like the discontinued rangefinder-styled GFX 50R.
The X-Summits are also the time that Fujfilm releases new lenses, or tells us about new optical designs it has in development.
The rumor sites have the XF 8mm f/3.5 as the favorite lens to be announced in Bangkok. This is not very controversial, as this lens was added to the company's X-mount roadmap (see below) last year - and slated for release in 2023.
This would be the widest prime available for the X-mount camera family with an effective focal lenght of 12mm - offering what we assume will be a lighter-weight alternative to the existing Fujifilm XF 8-16mm f/2.8 R LM WR zoom.
There are also three outstanding lenses on the GF lens roadmap for Fujifilm's medium-format cameras. Slated for 2023 is the GF55mm f/1.7 - and two tilt-shift lenses Fujifilm GF30mm f/5.6 T/S and GF 100mm f/5.6 T/S Macro which were shown in prototype form at last year's New York X-Summit. We'd love to see these get a full launch with detailed specifications and pricing.
The X-Summit has already become something of a fixture in the camera calendar - but this Fujifilm event only started back in 2019, so in the history of photography is still relatively new. This May 2023 will be the tenth X-Summit.
Here is a list of all the X-Summits there have been to date:
1: Dubai - February 2019
2: Shibuya - September 2019
3: London - February 2020
4: Omiya - October 2020
5: Global (virtual) - January 2021
6: Global (virtual) - September 2021
7: Omiya - May 2022
8: New York - September 2022
9. Tokyo - November 2022
10. Bangkok - May 2023
The X-Summit is not the only Fujifilm event going on in Bangkok this week. On Saturday May 27, the company is also hosting Fujikina. This event is for X-photographers offering photowalks, talks, galleries and a chance to see the latest Fujifilm kit. For full details and to register for the limited-ticket events check out the Fujikina Bangkok web page. Activities run from 9am to 6pm. The last Fujikina was held in New York, last September.
