Fujifilm Executive: ‘APS-C is the Best-Balanced System’

In an interview with Amatuer Photographer, Fujifilm’s new European President and Managing Director Toshi Iida says that “APS-C is the best-balanced system” and explains why he believes the company has been doing “significantly better” than the competition.

In a response to a question specifically about how COVID-19 has affected photographers, Iida responded that despite global demand falling by 40% since the start of April 2020 according to CIPA data, Fujifilm has been performing “significantly better” thanks to products like the X-T4 and the X100V.

Iida said this despite seeing a drop in Fujifilm’s total market share by about 0.4% according to data from Nikkei and reported last August, though that small drop can easily be attributed to the unstable market and the fact the drop isn’t more substantial lends credence to Iida’s claims. This is especially notable given that the entire market has seen a 20% dip in 2020.

The Fujifilm executive also clarified that the company was “committed to APS-C” and despite the fact that the full-frame 35mm format was invented more than a century ago, there was no reason to “stick with this system by default.” He continued, saying that especially with mirrorless cameras, the best answer for downsizing to a smaller body and smaller lenses was to go with APS-C.

“Why should photographers choose Fujifilm APS-C? To us, it is clear that APS-C is the best-balanced system,” Iida told Amatuer Photographer.

Still, Iida did find time to mention that if image quality is of the utmost importance, the company does make the medium format GFX.

Iida answers additional questions regarding how the company views the rise of smartphones as well as why the company made the design choices it did with the recently announced X-S10 in the full interview. It’s a good read that’s worth your time if you’re interested in Fujifilm’s business strategy and how it stays competitive despite its small overall market share.

(via Amatuer Photographer)