Best Of Fujifilm in 2021
Best Fujifilm products, most popular reviews of 2021 and looking ahead to 2022
The Most Popular Fujifilm Reviews of 2021 at 5050 Travelog
2021 Favorite Camera Gear and 2022 Outlook
As 2021 nears the end, it is time for my first “Best Of” article.
Although 2021 has been challenging in many ways it has been a busy year at 5050 Travelog and thanks to you, the camera and lens review segment of our site has remained healthy and seen growth in 2021.
Taking a quick glance at the list of the most popular camera and lens reviews at 5050 Travelog in 2021, it is a blend of old, new, tried, and true cameras/lenses earning the Top 10 spots.
Most Popular Camera and Lens Reviews of 2021
Instead of a traditional countdown, let us jump straight to the results with links to the individual reviews.
Read on below for my interpretation of the “Top 10”, a list of what may be missing, top GFX reviews, and my favorite camera gear moments of 2021.
The most popular photo on my Instagram feed for 2021, @5050travelog. The photo is made with a Fujifilm X-E4 and XF 27mm f/2.8 R WR.
The Top 10 List of Popular Reviews
As I follow the numbers from month to month the top spot was no surprise. The Fujifilm X-E4 is a solid blend of traditional Fujifilm retro look and affordability in a camera that packs a lot of punch under the hood.
The second-place, XF 16-80mm f/4 R OIS WR, is a very popular zoom option and the third-place, XF 35mm f/1.4 R, is in the tried, tested, and true category.
Although the Fujifilm X100V was released in early 2020 it is still a very sought-after camera and perhaps it should be no surprise that it earned fourth place.
The new Fujifilm XF 70-300mm f/4-5.6 R LM OIS WR has become a popular telephoto-zoom choice in the X Series for good reasons. In the spring, after my review went live, it was the most-read article on 5050 Travelog for a while.
What Is Missing From the Top 10 List?
You may wonder why your favorite camera or lens is not on the list. Don’t sweat it. I may not have reviewed it, (reviews-archives), and as an interesting fact, the top 30 articles on 5050 Travelog are within a few percentage points of total traffic and the race is close, especially at the top. Heck, my main camera the X-Pro3 didn’t make the list :)
With that said new Fujifilm XF 33mm f/1.4 R LM WR is not in the top ten as it was released later in the year. At this point in time, it has taken the top spot of reviews read in the past month. I have yet to review the XF 23mm f/1.4 R LM WR and I hope to get hands-on in late February 2022.
Update: February 2022
I have now had a chance to review the new XF 23mm f/1.4. You can find my review here:
An Exciting Year for Fujifilm GFX
My Fujifilm GFX reviews are slightly less popular than X Series reviews, probably due to a much smaller user base, and even the new 100-megapixel Fujifilm GFX 100S did not make it into the top ten.
The GFX 100S was the most mind-blowing camera that I tested in 2021. It is so far from anything I have ever tried and paired with one of the excellent Fujinon GF prime lenses the results are phenomenal.
Fujifilm Canada has kindly sent me a Fujifilm GFX 50S II and three GF lenses for my review and I am testing them “as we speak”. Stay tuned for reviews planned for early 2022.
Update:
I have now posted my GFX 50S II review:
The Most Popular Fujifilm GFX Reviews of 2021
The most popular Fujifilm GFX combination of 2021 according to the number of reviews read at 5050 Travelog, the Fujifilm GFX 100S, and GF 80mm f/1.7 R WR. I can see why!
2022 Fujifilm Outlook
As mentioned above, I will kick off 2022 with a few GFX-related reviews and cross my fingers that I will have an XF 23mm f/1.4 R LM WR before too long for a review.
2022 will be the 10th anniversary year for the Fujifilm X Series and anticipation and excitement for new gear to be released is mounting.
I think the major trend will be a new sensor for the X Series and the number floating around is 40-megapixels. We may see this sensor trickle into a number of cameras in the next year or two.
A couple of new XF lenses will be announced in 2022, the XF 150-600mm and a new concept seamless still/movie lens, the XF 18-120mm will also see the light of day.
For Fujifilm GFX, a GF 20-35mm was announced in September and we should see this lens in 2022 also. This lens is destined to be a winner among GFX landscape, cityscape, interior, and architecture photographers.
Favorite Photography Gear Moment 2021
The most significant shift and what I have been the most excited about in 2021 was the fact that Fujifilm decided to produce a new line of top-tier lenses for the X Series.
In some cases, we are talking about new entries, such as the XF 18mm f/1.4 R LM WR or XF 33mm f/1.4 R LM WR, and for the XF 23mm f/1.4 R LM WR it is most likely a replacement of the aging XF 23mm f/1.4 R.
With these lenses, and I hope we will see more, Fujifilm has set the bar higher for what we can expect to get out of our X Series cameras.
I already mentioned my encounter with the GFX 100S so I will not repeat myself but will briefly touch on my experience with a few non-Fujifilm moments and the Canon EOS R5 combined with the RF 50mm f/1.2L comes to mind as a moment worth mentioning. I was also impressed with Sony’s FE 35mm f/1.4 GM lens.
2021 Wrap Up
This wraps up my 2021 “Best Of” and 2022 outlook. I would love to hear from you in the comments. What are you looking forward to in 2022? Personally, I am getting the itch to travel again and cross my fingers that it will be easier soon.
One thing is to talk about photography gear like I do here at 5050 Travelog, but nothing beats using it the way it is meant to be.
As I post this on the shortest day of the year I cannot wait for more daylight and luckily for the next six months, the days get longer and longer. Photography is all about light if you ask me.
Thanks again for your support in 2021. Happy Holidays, Happy New Year, and hope to see you back here in 2022.
Cheers,
Morten
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