Fuji Natura Black2007

History

The Natura line launched in the early 2000s as Fujifilm's answer to photographers who wanted to shoot film in available light without resorting to flash. The original Natura Classica (2003) established the concept; the Natura S refined the body and lens. The Natura Black arrived in 2007 as a Japan-only colourway, coinciding with the tail end of the mainstream film compact market. Production ended around 2010, shortly before Fujifilm wound down most of its film camera manufacturing. The Black edition was produced in smaller volumes than the silver Natura S, and units in excellent condition are now considerably rarer.

Why It Matters

The Natura Black is among the most technically capable 35mm autofocus compacts ever made. A 24mm f/1.9 lens on a pocketable body has no equivalent in the compact category — the Contax T2 offers 38mm f/2.8, the Ricoh GR1 offers 28mm f/2.8, the Nikon 28Ti offers 28mm f/2.8. Nothing else in the compact segment reaches f/1.9 at this focal length.

The all-black finish turned an already desirable camera into a collectible object, and the Japan-only distribution means examples rarely surface outside Japanese auction platforms. Used prices have escalated significantly since the mid-2010s film renaissance; clean examples regularly exceed $600, and pristine boxed examples have sold above $1,200.

The camera is closely associated with Tokyo nightlife photography and Japanese street photography of the late 2000s — the 24mm coverage and fast lens are ideally suited to confined interiors, bars, and street scenes under artificial light.

Sample Photographers / Notable Use

• Associated with Japanese street and nightlife photographers of the late 2000s who shot high-speed colour negative film in ambient conditions.
• Documented in Japanese photography magazines as the definitive "night compact" of its era.
• Collected by contemporary film photographers internationally as the highest-specification camera in the Natura line.

References

• Camera-Wiki: Fuji Natura Black