Fujinon XF200mmF2 Lens Removed from BHphoto but NOT Discontinued

Fujinon XF200mmF2 – Discounted but Not Discontinued

Ok, let me set something right.

BHphoto has completely removed the Fujinon XF200mmF2 R LM WR from their website. You’ll be redirected to a page that says: “The page your requested is no longer available. We have redirected you to a simlar page for your convenience.” I tried to check a google cached version of the page, and when I add the XF200mmF2 to the cart, it then tells me “some item(s) are no longer available at B&H“.

The situation is not much better at other stores. AmazonUS says here “Currently unavailable. We don’t know when or if this item will be back in stock” and Adorama says here that it is “Temporarily On Backorder“.

According to a FR-reader, BHphoto is sending out emails telling customers that the XF200mmF2 is discontinued:

B & H has sent me an email saying that the fuji xf 200 mm f2 has been discontinued and they no longer carry it.

So what is happening? Is it really discontinued?

I did investigated this, and I can 100% safely say that the lens is not at all discontinued. So I do not know why BHphoto is not listing the lens anymore.

What I know is that given the worldwide $/€ 2K discount on the XF200mmF2, as to expect, the lens sold out almost everywhere. And I’ve warned you already back in May that such a discount is ridiculous for a lens that was already short on stock before this epic deal.

Now the inevitable happened: it’s out of stock basically everywhere and who knows when Fujifilm will be able to ship current orders.

So, if you are interested in this lens, place your order. You’ll get it at some point. Fujifilm is still manufacturing it and will for a long time. But you better arm yourself with patience.

The XF200mmF2 Problem

The Fujinon XF200mmF2 is arguably one of the very best lenses Fujifilm ever made.

As we reported here, when Fujifilm designed it, they didn’t care about size and price. All they wanted to achieve, was the best image quality and a fast autofocus.

But Fujifilm managers told us that it did not sell well. In fact, given the struggles the XF200mmF2 faced on the market, Fujifilm is wondering if it makes any sense at all to continue to develop and manufacture long prime lenses, that will just result in a loss of money for Fujifilm.

My guess is that people overall tend to prefer zoom lenses that cover that 200mm range, and there are quite some of them in the Fujifilm lineup (and more will come in future).

Sure, none of them is optically on par with the close to perfect Fujinon XF200mmF2, but they are all very decent lenses anyway and deliver an image quality that will be totally satisfactory for the vast majority of Fujifilm X shooters. And they all come for a significantly more affordable price tag.

What About the XF300mmF4 and XF500mmF5.6?

Speaking of long primes…

Back in March 2020, we reported about two Fujinon XF patents showing a Fujinon XF 300mmF4 and Fujinon XF500mmF5.6.

And although I am aware that some folks gave it as 110% certain that those lenses will come in 2021, we warned you in January 2021 that those lenses won’t come in 2021. And quite frankly I have no idea if they will ever come.

We invite you to check out or latest and most updated 2021/2022 rumored Fujifilm products timeline to see what is coming (and what not).

The Future Needs…

So what will the future bring?

Well, you might remember how back in 2019, Fujifilm launched a survey on which lenses we’d like to receive in future.

FujiRumors took 1:1 the lens suggestions Fujifilm made and made this poll out of it that saw 20,000+ people voting on it.

Guess what?

All the long telephoto prime lenses ended up at the very bottom of the ranking, showing that there is simply not enough interest for such lenses.

My take?

Well, I think the XF200mmF2 is maybe not long enough (although with the 1.4x TC it is basically an XF300mmF2.8 lens).

What  I believe could be worth Fuji’s R&D and become much more successful is a Fujinon XF400mmF4 lens. And with 1.4x TC you’d have a XF560mmF5.6 lens. That lens, I believe, could guarantee Fujifilm decent sales.

So, let’s hope Fujifilm won’t give up on telephoto prime lenses. They are needed. For a niche, sure, but definitely needed.

Fujinon XF18mmF1.4 R LM WR ePHOTOzine Review: “Outstanding Sharpness and Delightful Lens to Use”

The Fujinon XF18mmF1.4 keeps up its victory parade.

After getting the Gold Award by DPR, it is now also highly recommended by ePHOTOzine with a long list of virtues and just minor negatives (none of them has to do with image quality).

In fact, in their latest review they write:

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Sony to Release New 127 Megapixel Large Format Global Shutter CMOS sensor

This is not really fresh news, as we covered the sensor already here in August 2020.

In that article, we already made clear that this is a 3.6 type sensor, whereas the GFX uses a minimally smaller 3.4 type sensor.

What this means and how this translates into GFX, we explained it here.

What’s new today, is that we have an official press release by Sony that you can read below.

Press Release

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Top 5 Forgotten Fujinon X Mount Lenses

When I shared the rumor that Fujifilm will release another f/1.4 prime in 2021, the comment section exploded with 300 comments about dreams and wishes what it could or should be.

Today I was reading through your comments, and truly enjoyed the vivid discussion.

But when I arrived to the end of it, I realized that while it’s fun and nice to watch ahead and see what the future might bring us in terms of gear, sometimes it’s also worth to stop for a moment and look back at what we already have.

So, today, I’d like to bring back the attention to five Fujinon XF lenses that I call “forgotten“, but not because people don’t own and love them, but just because they have slipped under the radar overrun by the buzz about the latest and greatest and therefore don’t get the coverage they’d deserve anymore.

So FujiRumors would like to bring back balance in the Fuji Universe and gives to 5 lenses the revival they deserve.

The 5 “forgotten” lenses

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How My Baby made me Forget My Gear, Changes in my Job and Talking FujiRumors

 

Sieh dir diesen Beitrag auf Instagram an

 

Ein Beitrag geteilt von Fuji_Rumors (@fuji_rumors)

Fellow FR-readers,

at the risk of getting emotional, I owe you an update.

I told you a few days ago that I was about to become father. And I noticed that in the comments people rightfully asked if I am father now or not.

The answer is yes.

And faster than any Fujifilm camera can focus, my son became the biggest joy of my life.

It was like all those moments of happiness I missed in my life, that have been taken away from me or that I was not able to catch, all that happiness I’ve lost on my way until today, the universe did not throw that happiness away, but stored it somewhere in a secret place and decided to give it back to me all at once the moment my son was born.

Or to say it in an even more poetic way: it felt so good like Fujifilm would have released the X-H2 ;).

Sadly, though, during the birth and now also in his first days of life, my son has some struggles and he has to fight a little bit. But he is in excellent hands. They check him constantly, and always give him the treatments he needs. I am confident that in a few days, I will finally be able to bring them home.

Images of my baby?

Well, something strange happened.

We were at 4 hours after the birth, when my wife noticed I hadn’t taken a single image. She asked me if did not want to take pictures. That’s why I brought my gear with me, right? After she told me this, I took a few images, but then stopped immediately and told her “I just want to be in this moment now, I’ll take pictures tomorrow!”

This alone, shows the magnitude of the event… I forgot my gear! ;).

Also, I am not teaching anymore because I am on parental leave. Family is my uttermost priority.

So, that was it already.

I am totally happy.

I wish you all the best and see you soon again on FujiRumors :)

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Focus On Glass: Fujinon XF 50-140mmF2.8 Even Better with Future X Bodies and Why no OIS on XF 16-55mmF2.8

We already reported in this post, about the first episodes of the Fujifilm series “Focus on Glass“, which included the XF8-16mmF2.8 and the GF30mmF3.5.

Now new episodes have been uploaded at Fujifilm Spain, this time about two lenses, that we can define the “workhorses” in the X mount lens lineup, the Fujinon XF16-55mmF2.8 and the Fujinon XF50-140mmF2.8.

It includes statements made by Fujifilm managers and engineers about those lenses, which I will report in written form here, to make you safe some time ;)

Fujinon XF50-140mmF2.8

  • no excuse is allowed for this lens:
    – autofocus has to be fast
    – image quality has to be impressive
    – weight has to be light
    – size has to be compact
    – it has to tick all boxes
  • it has outstanding resolution
  • a flawless lens
  • clear color reproduction
  • minimal chromatic aberration
  • Fujifilm is proud of the result
  • 23 glass elements inside with many ED lenses
  • the more the Fujifilm X bodies evolve, the more the potential of this lens is executed
  • an engineer says he can see its performance extended even further in future

Regarding the better performance in future, they probably refer to autofocus speed, but possibly also to sharpness. We know from this Fujifilm manager statement that Fujifilm X glass can resolve at least 32 megapixel, hence, Fujifilm might hint that the XF50-140mmF2.8 is one of those lenses that is currently underperforming on the 26 megapixel X-Trans sensor.

Fujinon XF16-55mmF2.8

  • in order to maximize optical performance, Fujifilm decided to remove OIS, it was not an easy decision
  • it’s a must have lens
  • you can attempt any photo shoot with this lens
  • a reliable partner
  • no excuses are allowed, when making a red badged lens
  • Fujifilm would give it 5 stars

I have been told in the past by my sources, that the optical performance at the wide end did not satisfy Fujifilm completely, hence they decided to remove OIS. At that point in time a strongly debated discussion, but now that Fujifilm offers cameras with IBIS, we can say that in the long term this was the right decision.

You can see both videos down below.

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FOCUS ON GLASS – VIDEOS

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Sony launches A7rIV and Says it Rivals Medium Format Image Quality – Signs of Confidence or Nervousness?

Sony launched the Sony A7rIV. You can read the facts and see the live stream again here.

It has a 61 MP full frame sensor, that offers 26 MP in APS-C crop mode. Anyone knows an APS-C Fuji camera with 26 MP out there? It’s all the same sensor wafer, just cut in differnt sizes for X-T3 (26 MP), A7rIV (61 MP) and GFX100 (102 MP).

The Sony A7rIV is a very fine camera, and I know at least one guy, who won’t be able to resist the temptation of buying it.

But one thing really grabbed my attention during the official presentation: the regular reference to medium format image quality.

The first reference comes from a Japanese Sony manager, who says:

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