Though Fujifilm didn’t have much in the way of new cameras or lenses to showcase at CP+ 2026, what it did demonstrate was intent. The company has enjoyed a lot of success in recent years by embracing a new generation looking to move beyond their phones for photography, even if that doesn’t mean seeking out the most technically-impressive camera on the market.
The Fujifilm X100VI has continued to sell in incredible numbers, with film recipes being a huge appeal of the camera for users, and that’s before discussing the success of the Instax line of instant cameras, which recently expanded with the Mini Evo Cinema.
But how do these shifting consumer expectations impact Fujifilm and its approach to designing new cameras and features? That’s exactly what I asked Theo Georghiades, Fujifilm’s General Manager for Imaging Solutions in the UK, when I had a chance to speak with him on the show floor of the CP+ 2026 event at Pacifico Yokohama in Japan last week.
Stepping away from smartphones
For Fujifilm, getting people to engage with photography beyond their phones centers on accessibility. Not everyone has the money to get the best technology, or the time and ability to edit a raw photo. And so, it has worked its roots in film into digital film recipes for its ever popular and evolving digital cameras, which has proved to be a key way in getting general audiences into the act of using a traditional camera for photography.
“ Film simulation is basically giving people a gateway to upgrade from their phone to a camera,” explains Theo. “It’s helping people to realize that it’s actually not daunting to shoot with a camera.
“It’s not just opened things up to a wider audience – we’ve also seen a lot of photographers take a step back, where at one point they used to shoot RAW and now feel they don’t need to all the time anymore. Instead, they do it [use film recipes and simulations] so they can spend more time sharing photos and trust that they’ll get the right photo straight from the camera and the color recipes.”
In a lot of ways, this mentality reflects how photography is as much about the process as it is the end result. These film recipes are being rolled out to all new Fujifilm X cameras, and in some of the latest models there’s even a dedicated dial for direct access, such as in the new X-T30 III.
Fujifilm also notes the design of these cameras and the process of taking the photo, especially those emulating the exterior aesthetic of a retro camera, are most appealing to broad audiences. “ People don’t want to rely on their phone to do everything any more, and the younger generation in particular now likes having multiple devices that do cool things.”
Making cameras fun again
It’s clear that retro design extends across Fujifilm’s entire line of cameras – Fujifilm’s CP+ 2026 booth included a showcase of its top-of-the-range digital cameras such as the X-T5, a large promotion for the recent X half camera, the Instax line, plus a look at vintage film cameras, including the now 40-year-old QuickSnap disposable cameras.
Particularly in Japan, the Instax lineup of instant cameras has mass appeal; from families and friends all the way to music artists using it for personalized photography to share with fans, and the Mini Evo Cinema took center stage at CP+.
The Evo Cinema is a unique entry in the Instax lineup, offering a hybrid mix of digital and analog via its digital sensor capturing still images that can be printed and even video. Numerous filters represented by decades can be chosen using a dial that adds filters to the footage, and alongside saving digitally, these can be printed onto Instax film with a QR code that allows the footage to be downloaded from the company’s website. All this, housed inside a shell emulating a Super-8 film camera.
The intent is making it fun to shoot with, most of all. “With this camera, the R&D team went through and chose video filters that defined the ways in which video shooting evolved during that era. It’s why the earliest years are in black and white, we have scanlines in the 1980s, the look of VHS, then going into more HD looks in the newest years”, says Theo.
“Plus, you can look at the screen, but the idea is you are going to use it more like a Super 8 camera, which is just a lot more fun to do than shooting a video any other way. It’s always a balance between design, operability and fun, and I think design is one of Fujifilm’s best attributes.”
A business sweet spot
It would make sense, looking at Fujifilm’s focus on making cameras from cheap instant film and disposable cameras to top-of-the-range digital cameras with a focus on image quality and the experience of taking a shot, that the company would be in tune with the ways in which people’s relationship with photography has evolved in recent years.
Compact camera shipments are on the rise and a growing number of Gen Z are buying digicams from the 2000s to achieve that Y2K and retro aesthetic. With that in mind, could Fujifilm’s discontinued FinePix line of compact cameras make a comeback to cater to this new audience?
Not so, according to Theo. “Thinking about the old FinePix, it’s great that people are embracing these old pieces of the Fujifilm lineup again and we’ve seen a resurgence in them, but we’ve also seen a resurgence in traditional compact cameras, like the X100VI. We’ve started building back up our compact lineup based on those demands. Will we ever see a new FinePix? Unlikely. I think we’ve gone past that era, but it’s great that people are embracing it. Because if people are embracing these older technologies, eventually they’ll want to upgrade to the latest version.
“Pricing is the big challenge for that. People are picking up these old cameras for $100-200, and the economies of scale mean we’re never going to be able to make a compact camera for that price anymore, so we can’t compete with that.
“Instead, we have to push our ideas around design, operability and versatility with film simulations and connectivity that make it worth that extra money… we never would have thought a $1,600 X100VI would be the sweet spot of our range because that’s a lot of money for a lot of people, but it is our most popular camera, so it’s about finding what works for people.”
The modern camera market is being defined not solely by perfection, though the best lenses and cameras will always have their professional place. A market that caters to the desires of an audience instead seeking an experience that resonates, will bring in a general audience most of all. The diverse audiences at the Fujifilm’s CP+ booth and recent success stories shows it must be doing something right.
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