Fujifilm's three new lenses are the Fujinon XF27mmF2.8 R WR, Fujinon XF70-300mmF4-5.6 R LM OIS WR and Fujinon GF80mmF1.7 R WR, and all three are exciting for their own reasons.
The new Fujifilm X-E4 isn’t just exciting for its own sake, but because it comes with a new pancake prime kit lens. The Fujinon XF27mmF2.8 R WR is a heavily revised version of the original XF27mm, a super-slim lens that has long been overlooked but is actually rather good.
Fujifilm has also announced the Fujinon XF70-300mmF4-5.6 R LM OIS WR, a long telephoto zoom that fills a gap in the Fujifilm lens range between the useful but quite short Fujinon XF55-200mmF3.5-4.8 R LM OIS and the much larger Fujinon XF100-400mmF4.5-5.6 R LM OIS WR.
Fujifilm GFX users get some good news too. The Fujinon GF80mmF1.7 R WR, the fastest medium format Fujinon lens yet, now has a launch date and a price.
More Fujifilm announcements:
• Fujifilm X-E4
• Fujifilm GFX 100s
Fujinon XF27mmF2.8 R WR
Weirdly, it’s Fujifilm’s smallest lens that’s got us most excited. The Fujinon XF27mmF2.8 R WR is a reworked version of Fujifilm’s original XF27mm pancake lens, which addresses many of the old lens’s faults while retaining its excellent optical design.
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The key improvements are faster autofocus (the old lens was pretty slow and noisy), weatherproofing and a new aperture ring – we are especially impressed that Fujifilm managed to add an aperture ring to such a slim lens. It even has a lock on the ‘A’ position to prevent accidental changes.
• This lens will be sold with the X-E4 as a kit, adding around $200 / £150 / AU$400 to the price, which isn’t bad considering that if you buy it on its own it will cost around £419 / AU$699 (US pricing TBC). It goes on sale at the end of February at the same time as the X-E4.
• Pre-order the Fujinon XF27mmF2.8 R WR at Adorama
Fujinon XF27mmF2.8 R WR specifications:
Focal length: 27mm (approx 40mm equivalent)
Maximum aperture: f/2.8
Construction: 7 elements in 5 groups, inc. 1 aspherical
Weather resistant: Yes
Stabilisation: Camera only (6.5 stops with X-T4 IBIS)
Minimum focus distance: 0.39m
Filter size: 39mm
Weight: 84g
Fujinon XF70-300mmF4-5.6 R LM OIS WR
The new Fujinon XF70-300mmF4-5.6 R LM OIS WR is the fourth telephoto in the X-mount line-up, offering an effective focal range of 107-457mm in full frame camera terms. It’s also compatible with Fujifilm’s 1.4x and 2x teleconverters, though, so with the 2x converter attached it becomes a 140-600mm f8-11 – that’s a 900 super-telephoto in full frame terms.
Previously, X-mount users looking for a super-telephoto reach only had the XF100-400mm, but that costs twice as much as this new lens, so the Fujinon XF70-300mmF4-5.6 R LM OIS WR will be especially interesting to Fujifilm enthusiasts who can’t afford (or justify) the XF100-400mm.
Key features include an aperture ring (we love lenses with aperture rings), a weather resistant design, 5.5 stops of image stabilisation and the same 67mm filter thread as the XF16-80mm standard zoom – very handy for filter users. A linear motor provides fast autofocus, and a minimum focus distance of 0.83m provides an impressive 0.33x maximum magnification ratio – that’s around one-third life size.
• The Fujinon XF70-300mmF4-5.6 R LM OIS WR will be available from March 18 2021 at an expected retail price of £729 / AU$1,499 (US pricing TBC).
• Pre-order the Fujinon XF70-300mmF4-5.6 R LM OIS WR at Adorama
Fujinon XF70-300mmF4-5.6 R LM OIS WR specifications:
Focal length: 70-300mm (107-457mm equivalent)
Maximum aperture: f/4-5.6
Construction: 17 elements in 12 groups
Weather resistant: Yes
Stabilisation: 5.5 stops (plus camera IBIS)
Minimum focus distance: 0.83m
Filter size: 67mm
Weight: 580g
Fujinon GF80mmF1.7 R WR
The Fujinon GF80mmF1.7 R WR has been on Fujifilm’s lens roadmap for a little while, but now its specifications and its release date are official.
An 80mm f/1.7 would be nothing special for a full frame camera, but in the world of medium format, where lenses are a lot bigger and slower, it’s actually quite remarkable. In fact it’s the fastest lens yet in the GF line-up, and beaten only by the third-party Irix 45mm f/1.4 (but that’s a manual focus lens).
Fujifilm sees the Fujinon GF80mmF1.7 R WR as a companion portrait lens to the GF110mmF2, itself a very fast lens for medium format. Given the Fujifilm GFX sensor’s ‘reverse’ 0.8x crop factor, though, the 80mm f/1.7 is actually equivalent to a 64mm lens in full frame camera terms, so it’s relatively wide for a portrait lens.
Key features include nine rounded diaphragm blades, a high-precision glass-molded aspherical element with a tolerance of 1/100,000th of a millimeter, five times finer than regular aspherical lenses, weather seals and a powerful DC motor to drive the six-element focus group. Given all this, the Fujinon GF80mmF1.7 R WR is surprisingly light at 795g and has a relatively modest and practical 77mm filter thread.
• The Fujinon GF80mmF1.7 R WR goes on sale from March 4 2021 at a price of $2,499 / £2,099 (AU pricing and availability TBC).
• Pre-order the Fujinon GF80mmF1.7 R WR at Adorama
Fujinon GF80mmF1.7 R WR specifications:
Focal length: 80mm (64mm equivalent)
Maximum aperture: f/1.7
Construction: 12 elements in 9 groups, inc. 1 aspherical, 2 super ED
Weather resistant: Yes
Stabilisation: Only with camera IBIS
Minimum focus distance: TBC
Filter size: 77mm
Weight: 795g
Read more:
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