My Experience with the Fujinon GF55mm f/1.7 – Crafted to Trigger GAS

On Saturday, Fujifilm had one of its Italian Roadshow gear presentation in the lovely town of Trento just 30 minutes car drive away from my home.

Much to my surprise, they already had the Fujifilm GFX100II and the Fujinon GF55mm f/1.7 R WR there for testing. And I could test it for about 30 minutes only.

Now, initially I wrote an article that contained both, my GFX100II and my GF55mmF1.7 first impressions.

But I decided to split it up in two parts for one reason: the launch of the Fujifilm GFX100II has overshadowed what I believe is a true gem of a lens: the Fujinon GF55mm f/1.7.

So much so, that I believe Fujifilm should have given this lens a separate launch date.

But that’s how it is.

And that’s why FujiRumors wants to bring the GFX system world into the right balance again by giving the wonderful Fujinon GF55mmF1.7 the space it deserves.

So, here are my first impressions without GFX100II distraction.

Fujinon GF55mmF1.7 R WR – Perfection Achieved

INSANE!

I shot everything at f/1.7.

The reason?

It was so sharp wide open, that I was scared to stop down and to hurt my eyes with even sharper images (if that is even possible).

The good thing?

If you need to take a rest from all that sharpness, then just look at the background of the image and enjoy a massive relaxation for your eyes thanks to a wonderful, dreamy-creamy and buttery-smooth bokeh.

And the autofocus?

Surprisingly fast autofocus for a lens without linear motor in it. I mean, I used it initially on my Fujifilm GFX100S, and my first reaction was to read on the lens front element if there is really not “LM” (linear motor) written on it. I was very positively surprised. Having had experience with the GF80mmF1.7, I can say the GF55mmF1.7 is a significant step up compared to it.

Sure, Linear Motor lenses might still be faster. But shooting with the GF55mmF1.7 won’t be a frustrating experience in terms of autofocus. Actually quite a pleasing one it was for me.

I have also made a tracking test using the Fujifilm GFX100II and GF55mmF1.7. I will share the results in the second part of the review where I talk about the Fujifilm GFX100II, because I need to talk about settings, test conditions to put the results in proper context. So watch out for that one coming soon.

Two problems!

  1. The depth of field is very shallow. Used on my GFX100S, I had images where the top of the eyelash was in focus and the eye pupil itself not (see sample below). If you are going to shoot it wide open it certainly will help to have the best autofocus possible. And the best autofocus possible you get is with the GFX100II.
  2. True story: after my third “wow” while I was testing it and reviewing the images, my wife said: “but you are not going to buy it, right?” So now we have a problem. A problem that hopefully a nice dinner in a fancy restaurant and a couple of flowers will be able to solve.

Overall Conclusion

Not the lightest lens on the world, but it is also not too big for an f/1.7 lens. Well balanced overall with my GFX100S.

At f/1.7 it is so sharp that, true story, my wife complaint when she saw the images because she could notice every single little imperfection of her skin.

They say Bokeh is subjective, but this one is objectively very good.

Fujifilm said during X Summit that they use the aspherical lens manufactured with ultra precision resulting in the reduction of axial chromatic aberration and onion ring effect. it is also their first GF lens with 11 aperture blades for near perfect circular aperture.

If you love the versatility of the 40mm-ish full frame equivalent focal length, then this is the one!

And look, I own the Fujinon GF50mm f/3.5 and love it for its fantastic portability. But versatility comes not only from size, but also from speed. And at f/1.7 the GF55mmF1.7 opens up other possibilities in terms of low light performance and subject separation that make it just more suitable and flexible for more use cases.

I can totally recommend this lens if all you want in your life is the humble need for optical perfection in your images :D.

That’s at least my impression after 30 minutes of use. I had no time to test chromatic aberration, focus breathing and what not. So if those are critically important things for you wait for further reviews. Although what I’ve read so far is that also chromatic aberration is well controlled and Fujifilm actually emphasised during launch at the X summit the “reduction of axial chromatic aberration” and “less color fringe“.

Samples

Down below I will share three samples. All taken at f/1.7 using the Fujifilm GFX100S.

  • Sample 1 + Crop = shows how impressively sharp the performance is at f/1.7
  • Sample 2 + Crop = shows how shallow the DOF is and how that can lead to slightly out of focus images
  • Sample 3 = enjoy the smooth bokeh background

Get Yours

And the Rest of the New Gear

Upcoming “Very Small and All-Digital” Camera to be Part of Instax Family and Cost $100

We told you that Fujifilm will launch a very small digital camera in September.

We confirm it will be an “all digital” camera, but it won’t be part of the X (or GFX) series family.

In fact, we have been told (thanks) it will be part of the Fujifilm Instax family and cost about $100.

You’re welcome to speculate how a “very small all-digital Instax camera” would look like and how it would work.

TO THE SOURCE: thanks a lot… and feel free to share more details about this camera if you have some.

RUMOR: Fujifilm to Launch a “Very Small Digital Camera” in September

A source has contacted us (thanks) and told us we are not yet done with announcements in September.

In fact, Fujifilm will launch a “very small digital camera” in September.

And yes, I’ve used the silhouette of this camera here for the image above. But I took it randomly because it’s the smallest digital Fujifilm camera I can think of.

How Fujifilm Could Turn the Imminent X Summit into an EPIC PARTY also for Fujifilm X Shooters (Hope, not Rumor)

The Fujifilm X summit starting soon will definitely be a GFX party day.

And look, it’s just fair like this. Look at what Fujifilm gave us in the last 1+ year:

  • X-T5, X-H2, X-H2S, X-S20, XF150-600, XF18-120, XF30mm Macro, XF 56 MKII
    vs
  • GFX50SII

So yes, it was high time for a GFX party and looking back X shooter should just accept this happily.

However, there is one thing that Fujifilm could do, rather easily, to turn the next GFX-centric X summit into an epic day also for Fujifilm X shooters.

What is it?

Well, we know that the Fujifilm GFX100 II will come with new features not even available on flagship X series model until now.

We are speaking of:

  • new film simulation REALA
  • touch-to-track in video autofocus
  • waveform monitor
  • anamorphic mode
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Why Fujifilm’s Film Simulation Matter also for RAW Shooters (Including the New REALA)

Almost here – First Camera with REALA film simulation

Reala

It was a wonderful sunrise with golden hour in full power overlooking the Dolomites, when we told you that Fujifilm will launch a new film simulation on September 12 called Reala, the digital version of the much loved Reala film stock.

Make sure to check out the video… it’s worth it for the view alone.

Now, personally I am very thrilled about it and can’t wait to see how it looks like.

But as usual when we talk Film Simulations, there is a good number of people who says: “who cares, I shoot RAW anyway”.

And that’s totally fine. Everybody has different needs.

But there is a basic misconceptions here that we need to root out once for all.

The Film Simulation Misconceptions

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New Fujifilm G Mount Lens Roadmap Released

Fujifilm unveils the latest development roadmap for interchangeable lenses designed for the GFX Series of mirrorless digital cameras

Press Release

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