Today’s lens roundup is focused on two third party new entries in the Fujifilm X world, the highly praised Laowa 9mm F2.8 and the brand new Zonlai 22mm F1.8.
Laowa 9mm F2.8: VenusLens (best option for fastest delivery, since they have priority on pre-order shipping), BHphoto, Adorama, AmazonUS
VERY OLD NEWS RELOADAD
XF50mmF2 WR + Fuji Photokina Page
Here on FujiRumors you are used to get the news as soon as it happens, in real-time… and quite often also before it actually happens.
But it can happen, that sometimes someone of you guys might miss a news. That’s why you should check out FujiRumors every day, and you’ll be sure to be first to know about Fuji’s present… and future ;)
So here are two news, that are currently “brand new” according to some, and I keep getting emails about. So I thought it might be time to share it again, so that I won’t get any emails anymore.
Photokina Page
The dedicated Fuji Photokina Page is an old News, shared by Fujifilm on August 25, and also shared on FujiRumors on the very same day. But it seems some might have missed it, since this new page has been launched along with the XF23mmF2 and X-A3. Of course I’ve shared this news in the Live Blogging. But here is the link again.
XF50mmF2 WR
In the X-A3 First Look on Youtube, Fuji Guy Billy mentioned a mysterious XF50mmF2 WR lens. Some people where really surprised by this, and thought Billy just announced a new lens. So time for a short recap: I’ve shared rumors about the 50mmF2 WR back in May here. The lens has the been officially shared in Fuji’s roadmap already back on July 7, Fuji even showed pics about it at an event, and the X-magazine already told us it will come in Spring 2017. So no… Fuji Guy Billy didn’t announce the XF50mmF2.
What’s more interesting, though, is that he mentions the expertise Fujfiilm has in making Medium Format lenses… who knows why ;)
First Look: Fujifilm XF23mm f2 R WR Fujinon lens at bjornmoerman
Fujifilm X-Pro2
X-Pro2 gone to meet it’s maker at kjguch / The X-Pro Series Content: All In One Place at adambonn / Fujifilm XPro2 Review…The Fuji Awakens at jamesbrokenshaphotography / Using the X-Pro2 for macro work at discreetphoton / Review at wflbc /
Sony Vs. Fuji
Giving the boot to Sony? A7r vs Fuji X-T10 at addicted2light /
Other X-series cameras
Fujifilm X-E2 — Taking it to the Street at domvarney / Fujifilm X-T1 + 35mm f1.4: first hands on review at alexcoghe / X-A3: $600 Selfie Cameras are Real at HardwareCanucks youtube / A Tree Paradise (X-T1 infrared) at johann.vdwalt / The X-Pro1: Understanding the Dynamic Range Feature and its Relationship to ISO at adambonn
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X100/S/T + X70
Hares Gap with the X100T at thex100diaries / Viet Nam Flashback, 1970 … Fuji X100T at streetshooter / Fujifilm X70 field review – “an X-100 for the rest of us” at eyesuncloudedphoto / Hip Replacement : The Fujifilm X70 for Street Photography at derekclarkphotography /
Lenses
X-mount lenses
XF100-400 Review at photozone. From the conclusions:
“The Fujinon XF 100-400mm f/4.5-5.6 R LM OIS WR impressed me quite a bit – not only in the lab but also in the real life. Honestly I was almost about to purchase the lens from the rental company (but I kept my sanity). The center sharpness is very high throughout the zoom range. The borders/corners are also very sharp between 100 and 300mm. Expect slightly softer corners at 400mm though (but then who cares here). Lateral CAs are not a real issue. Most users will keep image auto-correction activated thus neither distortions nor vignetting are issue in this case. The native characteristic isn’t quite as good here though. The quality of the bokeh is very decent for such a lens – at least technically – but don’t expect wonders regarding the depth-of-field at conventional focus distances.”
Two years with the Fujifilm XF27mm lens at diegoe / What Wide? Fuji XF 14mm vs XF 16mm vs XF 10-24mm at littlebigtravelingcamera / My 3 favourite lenses for the Fuji X-series at howardyangphotography / The Fujinon XF100-400mm – Hands On at leecraker / Top 10 Fujifilm Lenses Reviewed 2016 at ephotozine / 18mm, the The Fuji X Sleeper Lens at ipcloud / Fuji XF 35mm F2 IR & UV hotspot test at kiwiinkyushu / Macro Outings with the XF60mmF2.4 R Macro lens at nigelwhealphotography / X-T1: Concepcion Fish Port in Iloilo The Philippines at hendralauw / “Strong & Free” with the XF 50-140mm F2.8 OIS at olafphotoblog / The Fujinon XF100-400mm – Hands On at leecraker /
other lenses / Adapter / Extension Tubes
Zeiss Planar 45mm F2 (test with X-Pro 2) at capitalfaces /
X-Trans
The X-Pro1: Jpegs, Blast from the Past or Way to the Future? at adambonn / Lightroom Editing Tutorial – Fujifilm X-Pro2 RAW Conversion with Presets at Joe Dodd youtube / Fuji X-T1 RAW Processing Part 1 and Part 2 at thelightweightphotographer / Complete Shooting and Raw Processing Workflow with Adobe Lightroom Mobile at Elia Locardi Youtube /
Travel X / Switch (or not) to the X / X Weddings
A 3-Day Sri Lankan Wedding at vopoku / Giving the boot to Sony? A7r vs Fuji X-T10 at addicted2light / Camping with the X-T1, 10-24mm and 50-200mm at mattrussellphoto / Isle of Skye, Scotland at marccooper /
Acessories / Flash / Bags
New Custom Plates with Grip for Fujifilm X-Pro2 from Sunwayfoto at scvphotoideas /
a bit of everything
Why I use Fujifilm cameras at alastairarthur / There is something about mountains… at olafphotoblog / Models captured with X-gear at blogbyfred / Surrealist Work with the X-T10 and a XF 23mm & 16mm lens at CJ Tajonera Bio facebook / Choice of Ultra Wide Angle Lenses on the Fujifilm X Series at macleancomms /
There were times, when the EISA Awards were just a joke!
There were so many categories, that every company could win several awards. I remember categories like “Best Connected Camera” (won by Samsung) and EISA was even able to distinguish between “professional“, “advanced” and “premium” cameras.
And quite frankly, it’s still mostly like this. There is an award for (almost) everyone.
But at least they dropped some of the non-sense categories… and I hope they will continue this way. Less categories and more real prestige to the winners!
That said, let’s take a look at this years’ winners.
Fujifilm won two awards, one goes to the Fujifilm X-Pro2 for the “Best Professional Compact System Camera” and another one goes to the XF100-400 for the “Best Compact System Zoom Lens“.
The Sony A6300 got the award as best “pro-sumer” CSC.
About a year ago while hiking in Zion Utah, I came across a big horn sheep herd, I took some pictures with the Fuji 90mm at far too close a distance (around 4 meters), since then I’ve been hooked and keen on trying out wildlife photography as a pastime. This is what has led me into the point I am at now, with a Fuji 100-400mm a 2x teleconverter and a cropped sensor, equating to ≈ 1200mm
The combination is very easy to use, it’s still light, although too long for most bags, and wildlife begs for your camera and lens to be ready and set up, with hood on and camera setup it makes this a large, yet light package.
Durability:
Hiked through the mountains of Yellowstone Nation Park for 10 days, got rained on very hard (way to much for comfort) and the combination kept up with nary a problem in sight. It seems to be apt for the job.
Sharpness:
Well this is tricky, the Fuji 100-400 is sharp, but at the 400mm end it’s not as sharp, the setup although fantastic for shooting hand-held, isn’t bright enough to keep ISO down and shutter speeds up, not to mention swinging 1200mm is tricky at best and your movement is amplified greatly and you can overwork the Optical Stabilization quickly with quick jerks and movements, but I got really good results hand-held @1200mm’s without wearing myself out because of weight and size, I would call that a good give and take.
Image Stabilization:
It’s hands down amazing, it’s not magic, you can’t swing this combination and hope for the best, but I spoke with many photographers all of which were posting against something or had tripods, at the distances we were sharing my photos were more clear, and usually much closer.
Reach:
1200mm can be shot handheld with ease, and its much easier to fill up the frame at safer distances.
Auto Focus:
It works, and I know this sounds rather silly, but you have to spend a lot of money on the DSLR side to get 1200mm to autofocus (from what I know). It’s actually pretty fast and accurate in good light. It’s amazing to think that it is contrast based to be honest.
Conclusion:
I couldn’t be happier with this combination, I’m truly hoping that fuji comes out with a 300mm f2.8, I would buy that setup in a heart beat. As is though, Fuji is really moving quickly with filling in all the gaps with lenses, they are making wonderful optics and they truly work well and are a pleasure to use.
1. TIPA BEST MIRRORLESS CSC EXPERT Award – The “FUJIFILM X-Pro2” Mirrorless Digital Camera – READ MORE
2. TIPA BEST MIRRORLESS CSC ENTRY LEVEL Award – The “FUJIFILM X-T10” Mirrorless Digital Camera – READ MORE
3. TIPA BEST CSC TELEPHOTO ZOOM LENS Award – The “FUJINON XF100-400mmF4.5-5.6 R LM OIS WR” X Mount Interchangeable lens – READ MORE
The awards for Fujifilm are for sure deserved! But, as often with such awards, there are so many categories that it’s quite easy for every manufacturer to win an award.
For example, the X-Pro2 wins as best CSC Expert camera, but the SonyA7rII is the best professional CSC camera, while the Olympus E-M10 Mark II is the the best Advanced camera. I don’t really understand what’s the difference between Expert, Advanced and Professional. But more categories make more manufacturers happy.
NOTE: Next Year Fujifilm will win the Best Medium Format Camera (this year the award goes to the Phase One XF 100MP).
These Open Box deals come all from Top Rated and official Fuji sellers with 1 year USA warranty. All in excellent conditions – Limited Number Available
This is also the last day to save big on the X-T1… and Adorama has still its super X-E2 deal running
SPECIAL ADORAMA DEAL
X-E2 body + hand grip for $499 – Silver / Black
X-E2 kit + hand grip for $699 – Silver / Black
Thoughts about the Fujifilm X-Pro2 at blickwechsel / Podcast: A look at the Fujifilm X-Pro2 and more… at thedigialtrekker / Fujifilm X-T1 vs X-Pro2: Which Camera Should You Buy? at petapixel / XPRO2 First impressions : A beast of a camera or do I sense some disappointment ? at tomleuntjensphotography / Review (with nice images) in Japanese at photo.yodobashi (translation) / My Take on ACORS at insigniachiaki / X-Pro2 + XF100-400mm Does Rugby X-Treme at macleancomms / X100 to X-Pro2: My X Series Journey – so far! at macleancomms / First real-world impressions from Bill Palmer at macfilos / On the streets with the Fujifilm X-Pro2 at sjl / My Initial Thoughts On Fuji’s New Flagship Body slrlounge /
X70 Thumbrest? Here is what lensmate says: “We really like the X70 and are sure it will be very popular, but because the LCD screen on the X70 is very close to the top of the camera and can rotate 180 degrees there is no way to add a thumb rest.“
“This is a very well made lens with lovely bokeh and a high level of sharpness. Flare, CA and distortion are all but abolished. Images look clean and crisp and sharpen well in Photoshop. The lens is easy to use, the OIS system enables hand held shooting with confidence and the close focus extends the possibilities of subject matter. It is an excellent all round choice for an ultra-telephoto for Fujinon cameras and maintains the reputation of Fuji for high quality lenses.”
