WHOOPS: DPReview Removes Their (Bad) XF150-600mmF5.6-8 Samples While Other Photographers Show Super Sharp Images at 600mm

Some guys were sure: it is simply impossible that the Fujinon XF150-600mmF5.6-8 is sharp at 600mm, due to mathematical calculations considering f/8 on APS-C combined with statistical elaborations on the effect of diffraction for a pixel pitch of ….

OK, I hear you, let’s keep it short: the XF150-600mmF5.6-8 it’s an unusable piece of junk at 600mmF8.

And looking at the sample gallery shared by DPReview (not to be mistaken with DPRTV) at launch day, which were the worst possible samples, one would agree with the above.

But now it looks as if somebody at DPR had the decency to pull off the sample gallery, as the original link to them is now broken, the sample gallery never loads and on the main page any reference to the sample gallery (still visible in cached version) is gone.

So what happened? I see two options:

  • the lens was used in hot condition with lots of hazy air that influenced IQ
  • the pre-production copy had an issue
  • UPDATE: suggested in the comments, the X-T4 used does not support the lens yet

UPDATE: According to information I have received, the prototype lens didn’t have firmware for X-T4 (which was the camera used for the samples).

Anyway, damage done: the sample were so bad, that some Fuji shooters looking forward to this lens were hugely disappointed and moved away from it.

But the questions remains open: how does the XF150-600 perform at 600mm?

Well, I put to together a series of links where you can see the samples by yourself. Some of them I already shared in the live blog, but others are new links that I did not share in the original live blog coverage.

Look for example at samples of Alan Hewitt below. They show the performance at 600mm with an additional crop to it.

If you ask me, that is actually an excellent performance!

But as usual, watch by yourself and make up your own mind.

Pre-Orders

Voigtländer Nokton 23mmF1.2 X Additional Specs and Images

Yesterday we reported how Cosina, in addition to the current Voigländer Nokton 35mm f/1.2 X, is about to launch also the Voigländer Nokton 23mm f/1.2 X.

Now Cosina has published the main specs and a new product image (see above) of this lens at their website in Japanese, which I now report here on FujiRumors machine translated.

A large aperture quasi-wide-angle lens with the latest optics using one double-sided aspherical lens and two abnormal partial dispersion glass. Although it is a compact size, it has excellent resolution from the aperture opening, and large blur due to the large aperture of F1.2 can be obtained.

Just as the 35mm version, also this one has electronic contacts to transfer certain information such as EXIF data.

I love the look of this lens, and actually also of the Voigländer Nokton 35mm f/1.2 X. And although I am tempted to get one, I so far have not treated myself with one, since I’d pay for features (the electronic contacts) that do not work on my Fujifilm X-E3.

This is why I got the much more affordable TTArtisan 23mm f/1.4, which you can see attached to my X-E3 here.

At the bottom of this article you will also find which Fujifilm X cameras are currently supported.

Specs & Supported Cameras

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Fujinon XF33mmF1.4 and XF23mmF1.4 II Coming with Linear Autofocus Motor and Weather Sealing on September 2

The Fujinon XF33mm f/1.4 and the Fujinon XF 23mm f/1.4 II will be announced on September 2.

Today we can tell you that both these lenses will have weather sealing as well as linear motor autofocus.

As explained by Fuji Guy Billy in this article, Fujifilm uses four different type of motors in their lenses:

  • stepping motors
  • linear motors
  • DC coreless motors
  • ultrasonic type of motors

Each motor has its Pros and Cons and you can read about it here.

Linear motors are certainly not the smallest, but they have two wonderful characteristics: they are fast and silent.

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Voigtländer Nokton 35mmF1.2: Electronic Contacts, Full Specs, Press Release and Official Sneak Peek

We’ve shared hands on images of the new Voigtländer Nokton 35mm f/1.2 for Fujifilm X mount earlier today.

Now we spotted an official teaser to this lens at the Voigtländer website. It’s in German, so I’ll share first the google translated version and then the original one in German.

Also, a Polish distributor has shared the full specs and press release, so we share that one too here on FujiRumors (google translated via optyczne).

Also in German you can find the full press release at photoscala (images below).

PRESS RELEASE and SPECS (translated)

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The f/0.95 Lens Battle: Laowa Argus 33mmF0.95 vs Zhongyi Mitakon 35mmF0.95 vs 7Artisans 35mmF0.95

There is a vast offering of third party manual focus only Fujifilm X mount lenses. We share a selection of them down below.

Among the most popular ones, there are the ultra fast Laowa Argus 33mmF0.95, the Zhongyi Mitakon 35mmF0.95 and the vs 7Artisans 35mmF0.95.

Now Richard Wong compared them all on his youtube channel. As usual, I’ll provide a summary for you guys in case you don’t have time right now to watch at the 22 minutes long video.

Summary

Design and Built Quality

  • all manual focus only with no electronic contacts
  • all full metal construction
  • they all feel very solid
  • Mitakon and 7Artisans size and weight is similar. The Laowa is quite a bit bigger and heavier
  • The Laowa feels a bit front heavy on X-T3
  • Mitakon and 7Artisans, when you change focus distance, the high of these lenses will extend a bit. The size of the Laowa always remains the same
  • Only Laowa comes with lens hood, a metal lens hood. But the lens cap is of plastic
  • 7Artisans and Mitakon have a focus throw of 90 degrees, while the Laowa has a much longer focus throw of 270 degrees
  • Laowa focus ring feels smooth but also a bit tight. Changing from closes distance to infinity, it will be hard to do it quickly on the Laowa. Not a problem with the other lenses
  • 7Artisans has a quite loose focus ring, so it can be tricky to focus very precisely when shooting at f/.095
  • all these lenses have an de-clicked aperture ring, which he hates. Non of his videographer friends ever changes aperture while shooting a video. He’d prefer a clicked aperture ring
  • he prefers the design of the Laowa

Field of view

  • Laowa has the widest field of view (33 instead of 35)

Sharpness

  • Center at f/0.95: Laowa is clearly the sharpest, followed by Mitakon and the last is 7Artisans
  • at f/1.4 all lenses improve contrast
  • corner sharpness at f/0.95: all quite soft, but Laowa is the sharpest and borderline usable
  • corner sharpness at f/1.4 is reasonably sharp, while you must stop the Mitakon and 7Artisans down at f/2 to get similar results of the Laowa at f/1.4

Chromatic Aberration

  • at f/0.95: Laowa is the best with only a little bit of aberration, and much better than the other two lenses. Mitakon still keeps chromatic aberration at a decent level. 7Artisans has noticeably more chromatic aberration than the other two lenses
  • LoCA at f/0.95: serious color fringing on the 7Artisans. Laowa is best. Mitakon only marginally worst than the Laowa

Vignetting

  • at f/0.95, the Laowa is worst, followed by Mitakon and 7Artisans is best
  • it’s surprising, as the Laowa is the biggest lens

Bokeh

  • at f/0.95: Laowa has smoothest and most creamy bokeh, Mitakon a bit of halo, on 7Artisans pretty noticeable halo which makes it look more nervous
  • bokeh balls: Laowa pretty round a bit swirly in the corners. Mitakon relatively round in the center, but in corners a weird triangle shape. 7Artisans bokeh a bit similar to Mitakon but not quite as extreme and corners have oval shape bokeh with pointy end

Distortion

  • overall similar and noticeable barrel distortion

Focus distance

  • similar minimum focus distance of 35/37 cm
  • at close distance, Laowa has softest sharpness, Mitakon in the middle, and 7Artisans is the sharpest at close distance

Flare

  • All have quite some lens flare and contrast drops
  • lens flare looks quite different
  • 7Artisans is best with least amount of lens flare, but the Laowa has the best and very cinematic looking lens flare with lots of character thanks to a red lens flare

Sun Stars

  • from f/8 to f/11: Laowa most beautiful. Also 7Artisans has nice sun stars. Mitakon not quite as clean sun stars
  • You can stop down the Laowa only until f/11, while 7Artisans and Mitakon go until f/16
  • Mitakon and 7Artisans have quite a bit of ghosting when shooting at f/16, so while the sun star is a bit sharper compared to Laowa at f/16, the ghosting can become a bit distracting
  • Laowa and 7Artisans are a good choice

Coma + Focus Breathing

  • Laowa Coma is at acceptable level. 7Artisans has slightly more coma. Mitakon is the worst
  • Laowa and Mitakon similar focus breathing, 7Artisans more focus breathing

Final Thoughts

  • Each of the lenses has Pros and Cons
  • 7Artisans best value for money, Mitakon overall balanced design and reasonably well in most areas
  • Laowa is his favorite. It’s the sharpness of all and has lowest amount of chromatic aberration, making it most usable at f/0.95
  • Laowa renders best bokeh and lens flare
  • Laowa has way too long focus throw
  • He would pick the Laowa, even if it is larger and heavier

Where to get them

Some Third Party X Mount Options

Nitecore NP-W235 and NP-W126S Batteries Announced

Nitecore has announced their new Nitecore NP-W235 batteries for Fujifilm X-T4 and Fujifilm GFX100S and their NP-W126S batteries for X-T3 and other X series cameras (except the older X100 models).

Nitecore NP-W235 – Coming soon to AmazonUS and at Nitecore

  • Voltage: 7.2V
  • Capacity: 2,250mAh
  • Energy: 16.2Wh
  • Operating Temperature:
  • Charge: 0~55°C (32~131°F)
  • Discharge: -10~60°C (14~140°F)
  • Weight: 78.2g (2.76oz)
  • Compatible Models: X-T4, GFX100S
    (Please refer to the original battery compatibility for more compatible models)

Nitecore NP-W126S – Coming soon to AmazonUS and at Nitecore

  • Voltage: 7.4V
    Capacity: 1,140mAh
  • Energy: 8.4Wh
  • Operating Temperature:
  • Charge: 0~55°C (32~131°F)
  • Discharge: -10~60°C (14~140°F)
  • Weight: 51.5g (1.82oz)
  • Compatible Models:
    X-H1, X-Pro3, X-Pro2, X-Pro1, X-T3, X-T2, X-T1, X-T30, X-T20, X-T10, X-T100, X-E3, X-E2S, X-E2, X-E1, X-M1, X-A7, X-A5, X-A3, X-A2, X-A1, X-A10, X100F, X100V, X-S10, X-E4
    FinePix HS50EXR / HS30EXR / HS33EXR
    (Please refer to the original battery compatibility for more compatible models)

FujiRumors 2020: Most Read Articles, Top/Flop Blogger Moments, Most Used Gear and a MASSIVE Thanks!

FujiRumors 2020

There are wines, that get better only with the years. And there are years, that get better only with wine. I guess 2020 was such a year and so I hope you have a glass of wine ready to celebrate the end of this unreal year ;).

But let’s quickly look at what happened it 2020 here on FujiRumors.

Now, I already thought you were amazing, but in 2020 you did even better than in 2019!

  • 63,000+ comments on FR-articles (average 172 a day – was 145 in 2019)
  • 156,370 votes in our polls

Your massive participation is the reason why Fujifilm reads us with greatest care, as proven multiple times such as here, here and here.

As you know, I run FujiRumors alone in my spare time from my teaching job.

So it was not always easy, especially this year with the extra workload I had to do to switch to online-teaching, but I have tried to honor your fantastic participation by delivering you in 2020:

  • 967 blog posts written in 2020 (average of 2.65 articles every single day of the year)
  • 90 rumors shared
  • 94% correct rumors (rumor check here)
  • at least 7,000+ personal messages written to you via fujirumor@gmail.com, Facebook and Twitter and Instagram Direct (about 20 messages a day every day, holidays and weekends included)
  • 750+ replied comments in the various FujiRumors articles
  • 100% Free ;)

Phew!! :)

Most Read Article

Most Read Non Rumor Article

Most Read Guest Post

Day with most Contacts

Top & Flop Blogger Moment

FLOP

Anyone out there knows what a burn-out is? I hope not, but I am afraid yes.

As if all the hours I spend every day on the computer to work on FujiRumors weren’t enough, in 2020 I also had to make my entire teaching work on the computer. Correcting homework on PDF files, prepare online-teaching friendly material, cutting video lessons on Final Cut, writing tons of emails to give constant feedback to students and parents. So much work, it just squeezed the last drop of energy out of me.

I ended up staring at the screen for so many hours a day, that as a consequence, my eyesight declined to a point that I had to buy new glasses. But no complaint here… we have seen much worse things happen to people this year… sadly. So I consider myself lucky.

Anyway, somehow I managed to handle all the work anyway and I’ve always tried to deliver creative and fun lessons to my little students. And given the enthusiastic feedback of students and parents (and also my school principal), I’d say I did a decent job with that.

And I hope I did a good work also on FujiRumors. In this case, you are my judge and you’ll give your vote to me :).

TOP

If anything was good at all in 2020, then the fact that it helped to realign my priorities.

And so, all the things that I took for granted, like getting a beer with a friend, a coffee with a colleague, a hug with my mom, all those “normal” things suddenly revealed themselves as the real important things in life.

And hence, just like this, when inevitably the usual haters insulted me, the biggest achievement for me was that I could lightheartedly say to myself “who cares!”. It just didn’t bother me at all. On the contrary. I really would like to wish also to FR haters all the best 2021. We are in this unreal situation all together, and hence, from human to human, I truely wish you to come out of this as soon and as good as possible so that you can get back to your normal life and fully enjoy it again. And if after that you still don’t like me, that’s ok. Important is, that you and your families are safe and happy.

Top Instagram Post

My Most Used Gear

I got the Fujifilm X-T4 this year for these 5 reasons, and it became my most used camera. Mainly because it’s brand new and hence I wanted to test it and shoot with it more, leaving my X-E3 more often at home. And I must I say it definitely balances better with my most used lens, the Fujinon XF18-135mm.

But overall, I passed 5+ months in lockdown anyway, I worked a lot and had little time to take pictures, sadly. I hope this changes in 2021.

And 2021…

I don’t know in terms of global pandemic…. but surely in terms of Fujifilm stuff, 2021 will be fantastic! :) Don’t worry, we are going to talk about it soon on FujiRumors.

Social Media Boom

Our social media and pages have reached new heights compared to 2019:

And our facebook groups grew massively compared to 2019:

These are the Top Sellers 2020 on FujiRumors

In 2019, smartphones killed the entry level market forcing Fujifilm to discontinue the X-T200 and also the Fujifilm X-A7 in a record-time of just a few months after release.

And in 2020, a worldwide pandemic and global recession had a terrible impact on sales of mid/high-end gear, which was the segment Fujifilm (and other brands) were focusing on to escape the stranglehold of smartphones.

And yet, it’s not all bad for Fujifilm.

In fact, statistics show that Fujifilm was the one brand, who could resist best to COVID-19, with just a slight decrease in sales compared to the previous year. Also Fujifilm managers confirmed that Fujifilm is holding on better than other brands in 2020, especially thanks to the Fujifilm X-T4 and X100V.

And in fact, the X-T4 and X100V where the best selling cameras also here on FujiRumors in 2020.

But let’s look at it closer and see which gear was the most successful among the FujiRumors community.

Top Sellers 2020

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