Fujinon XF 50mmF1.0 Review by Christopher Frost: “Easily the Sharpest Lens I Have Ever Tested at Apertures Brighter than f/1.2”

Christopher Frost has published his review about the brand new Fujinon XF50mmF1.0.

I will provide written summary below for those of you guys, who are in a hurry and don’t have the time to watch the video right now.

Full Frame Equivalency

  • The dimensions of the XF50mmF1.0 are very similar to the ones of the Full Frame Sony GM 85mmF1.4
  • the advantage of the Fujifilm optic is that the max. aperture of f/1.0 will mean that an enormous light intensity is hitting your camera sensor, leaving you with much faster shutter speeds than all other lenses
  • f/1.0 is twice as bright as f/1.4 and 66% brighter than f/1.2, so it really gives you a substantial advantage.
  • The XF50mmF1.0 is a dream lens not only for bokeh, but also for shooting indoors and in darker situations. It could be an incredible lens for wedding photography or video work.

Build Quality and Autofocus

  • build quality more or less second to none. Fantastic and professional feeling
  • lens is big and heavy
  • metallic and solid feeling
  • well weather sealed
  • aperture ring a bit too easy to change away from f/1.0
  • metallic focus ring turns extremely smoothly, but the way it works with the focus motor is pretty jerky, so using it is not the smoothest experience
  • very little focus breathing
  • internal microphone picks up sound of the focus motor
  • autofocus on X-T3 with firmware 3.00 (old firmware): autofocus works OK but is a bit unsure of itself hunting around a bit
  • autofocus on X-T3 with firmware 3.00 (new firmware): huge change. Focus is reasonably quickly and confidently even at f/1.0
  • DC AF motor is noisy

Image Quality

Sharpness

  • usually such fast lenses almost never have great image quality wide open
  • f/1.0: high resolution but low contrast. A little bit of purple fringing in high contrast edges. But he is really impressed by the great amount of detail being captured at f/1.0. You can add extra contrast in post. Sharpness remains all across the frame, but the far corner see some softness. But ever other lens he has tested at f/1.0 was significantly softer than the XF50mmF1.0
  • f/1.4: a lot more contrast in the center and reduced fringing
  • f/2.0: perfect image quality in the middle a little more detail in the corner
  • f/2.8 and beyond we can see excellent image quality in the corners, although not quite as perfect as the middle of the image
  • f/11 and f/16 image quality will soften again due to diffraction
  • OVERALL: Easily the sharpest lens he has ever tested at apertures brighter than f/1.2. It captures a very impressive amount of detail at f/1.0. For more contast stop down at f/1.4. For very sharp corners stop down at f/4. But at f/1.0 the lens is already sharp, which is very exciting to see

Distortion + Close up image quality + Flare

  • at f/1.0 just a little bit of pincushion distortion and vignetting is surprisingly moderate. He was expecting much more vignetting
  • af f/1.4 corners brighten a bit
  • at f/2 corners brighten a lot more
  • at f/1.0 close up quality is a bit softer than at normal distances, but still pretty usable. Stop down to see gradual improvements
  • despite the extreme nature of the lens, Fujifilm did fairly well to control flare, with flaring reduced to just a little green point when a bright light hits directly the image

Bokeh + LoCA

  • he really likes the look of it. Smooth, clean and all around gorgeous
  • if you really want to nitpick, then you could say it has slight cat eye shaped balls in the corners with very slight green outline
  • background looks wonderful
  • Longitudinal Chromatic Aberration is a bit noticable from f/1.0 to f/2.0. More or less all gone at f/2.8

Conclusions

  • the experience of using this lens was “out of this world”
  • it’s so cool to shoot at f/1.0 with autofocus
  • not a perfect lens, but unique, very powerful, decently sharp at f/1.0 and renders images with beatiful bokeh
  • $1,500 may be expensive, but Fujifilm achievement with this lens has matched the ambitions
  • he certainly recommends this lens.

This is basically another very positive review, after the one of ePhotozine, which we will link again down below.

  • read here – ePhotozine Fujinon XF50mm f/1.0 Review: “Top Tier Performance, Impressive Chromatic Aberration Performance… Magical!”

Fujinon XF50mmF1.0 Pre-Orders

New Fujifilm Financial Results: COVID-19 Can’t Stop X-T4 and X100V, Instax Rises Again but Pandemic Still a Serious Issue

The latest Fujifilm financial results for the 2nd quarter 2021 (1 July 2020 to 30 September 2020) have been released.

Of course COVID-19 had a terrific impact, but there are some signs of recovery and hope.

First of all, after a couple of rather negative reports in the past, Instax seems to be growing strong again, which is, as we know, the real money machine of the imaging division.

But also sales of the Fujifilm X-T4 and X100V were “brisk” and there is a recovery trend in the when it comes to digital camera sales.

And yet, overall the numbers are still negative due to COVID-19, but Fujifilm writes:

Operating income was down, but if COVID-19 impacts are excluded, the segment secured income of a similar level to last year

Overall Fujifilm writes:

In the Imaging Solutions segment, consolidated revenue amounted to ¥113.9 billion (down 26.1% from the same period of the previous fiscal year). Sales of products and services in general decreased due to the impacts of stay-at-home orders, temporary closure of retailers, and a variety of events not being held, or being cancelled, in many cities worldwide due to the spread of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Consolidated operating loss amounted to ¥2.1 billion.

[…]

In the electronic imaging field of the optical device and electronic imaging business, temporary closure of retailers and fewer opportunities to take photos due to the COVID-19 pandemic resulted in a decline in revenue. The digital camera market as a whole faced severe challenges and overall demand declined far below the previous year’s level. Nonetheless, sales increased steadily for FUJIFILM X100V, a high-end, compact digital camera launched in February 2020, and FUJIFILM X-T4, a mirrorless digital camera highly regarded for its high-speed AF and advanced video performance, launched in April 2020. In July 2020 we launched the FUJINON Lens GF30mmF3.5 R WR as a new interchangeable lens for the GFXSeries, providing a compact wide-angle prime lens that delivers ultra-high resolution. Then, in September 2020, we launched a new addition to our lineup of interchangeable lenses for the X Series in the form of the FUJINON Lens XF50mmF1.0 R WR, a large-diameter mid-telephoto prime lens, thereby enhancing the appeal of our products as systems through a generous lineup of lenses. Going forward, we will continue providing value-added products and revitalizing the market, along with sharing the joy of taking photos.

In the optical device field, revenue decreased, reflecting reduced sales of broadcast and cinema lenses due to cancellation of sports events, and suspended filming of television dramas and movies, as well as reduced sales of vehicle-mounted lenses due to lower demand in the automotive industry worldwide. Demand for lenses for security purposes held firm, and revenue for the second quarter was higher than the same period of the previous fiscal year. Aiming to achieve business growth in this field, we are expanding our business domains and developing innovative products that satisfy the diverse needs of the market, including developing and launching ultra-short-throw projectors and long-throw security cameras, and developing new multispectral camera systems.

Here are the various documents:

Fujinon XF70-300mm F4-5.6 Possibly with 67mm Filter Size

We recently published a size comparison here between the upcoming Fujinon XF70-300mm f/4-5.6 and other longer Fujinon X telephoto zooms.

In that article, we reported how FR-reader Fujiste calculated a filter size of 72mm.

Now FR-reader Xandros contacted me with his own calculations of the filter size, and according to him the filter size should be of 67mm. You can see his measurements in the image above.

As for its overall size, here on FujiRumors we calculated the length of the Fujinon XF70-300mm f/4-5.6, and we saw that it is roughly 1.5 cm longer than the Fujinon XF55-200mm f/3.5-4.8.

I guess the very compact size of the XF70-300mm f/4-5.6 will make it the strongest competitor to the good old XF55-200mm, and that’s probably the reason why Fujifilm is now heavily discounting the XF55-200mm.

What a nice lens Fujifilm gave us here!

Join Our Owners Groups

Join Our Facebook Pages

My Cat and my XF18-135

Sigma Says DC DN Lenses for Fujifilm X Mount will Hopefully Come in 2021

Here on FujiRumors we often discussed the wish for Sigma to make Fujifilm X mount lenses.

However, up until today Sigma has officially always kept a rather pessimistic position on that.

In fact, here are some of Sigma’s past statements:

Sigma CEO said here:

Fujifilm Customers Would be Our Ideal Customer, but Fujifilm Does Not Disclose Their Protocols

Sigma CEO said here:

Our Mission is to Support as Many Systems as Possible, but our engineering resources are limited, so we need to prioritize projects, depending on the demand from the customer

On Fujifilm’s side, initially top managers said this here:

Fujifilm does not need to share X mount protocols with third-parties, since we offer already lots of glass

But I guess the pressure coming from the Fujifilm community was big enough, to make them change opinion later on:

We Open X Mount to Third Parties […] Kenko Tokina actually already announced three lenses for X-mount, with autofocus […] Many customers want more lenses, and we want to satisfy that need

Last but not least, here is one of the rumors we shared back in 2018:

SIGMA Will Make FUJIFILM X Mount lenses if X series Camera Sales Increase by 20%

Well, today, for the first time, we have an official Sigma statement that allows us for the first time to have hope Sigma X mount lenses could come.

In fact, when fellow FR-reader Rob (thanks for letting me know) wrote to Sigma that he can’t wait for X mount DC DN lenses, and there is no excuses not to make them since Fujifilm released their AF protocols, Sigma answered publicly on their official social media channels:

Hopefully we’ll see such in 2021.

But still be careful: they say “hopefully”, so nothing is yet set in stone.

In the past we did launch a massive survey, where we listed all Sigma lenses and did let you vote on which one you’d like to get also for Fujifilm X mount. Your top 10 Sigma-wishes turned out to be the following ones:

  1. Sigma 18-35mm f/1.8 DC HSM
  2. Sigma 50-100mm f/1.8 DC HSM
  3. Sigma 56mm f/1.4 DC DN Contemporary
  4. Sigma 16mm f/1.4 DC DN Contemporary
  5. Sigma 35mm f/1.2 DG DN Art
  6. Sigma 150-600mm f/5-6.3 DG OS HSM
  7. Sigma 10-20mm f/3.5 EX DC HSM
  8. Sigma 30mm f/1.4 DC DN Contemporary
  9. Sigma 500mm f/4 DG OS HSM
  10. Sigma 85mm f/1.4 DG HSM Art

If you want, you can check out and still vote the full survey here.

Crossing fingers some of the them will come also for Fuji X mount in 2021!

Join Our Owners Groups

Join Our Facebook Pages

This Guy Designed Fujifilm Film Simulation Recipe Cards to Download and Print

One of facebook group I enjoy most lately is our fast growing Fujifilm film simulation group (8.6K members already!!).

What’s special about it?

Well, images shared in this group can be edited in all their parts (sharpening, shadow/highlight recovery etc), except for colors, which must come purely out of the Fujifilm camera (or the film simulation can applied in post in Capture One / Lightroom).

Navigating through the group shows that film simulations are not a marketing gimmik, but a powerful tool available to all Fujifilm X and GFX shooters.

And that Fujifilm takes colors seriously is also shown by the fact that the guy, who developed the original Velvia film, is now in charge of bringing the magic of film colors into Fuji’s digital cameras. We reported about Minami-San here. A life devoted to colors.

But here is the thing.

While Fujifilm currently offers many film simulations (and is always developing new ones), the Fujifilm X/GFX community often loves to fine-tune them to taste.

On the internet you can find all possible receipts. For example, here you can find 80+ film simulation receipts to download in form of PDF.

Now, many X shooters like to save the various film simulations receipts in their 7 available custom presets. But what if 7 is not enough, because the receipts you like to use regulary are more than that?

Well, an answer could be the “Fujifilm Film Simulation Recipe Cards” developed by Oleksii Prytuhin (instagram).

Print them in credit card size (as fellow FS-member Mick did here), put them in your wallet and keep them always with you. When needed, take them out, check the settings, adjust the camera settings and you are good to shoot again.

For now the receipts available in form of flash cards are still limited, but let’s hope Oleksii will slowly extend the number of cards available.

You can check out the Film simulation receipt cards at Fuji X Weekly here.

Of course, if any FR-reader would like to continue Oleskii’s work, feel free to do so, and to share with FujiRumors. I’d be happy to dedicate it another article here on FujiRumors.

Thanks to Kiattikool for sharing this information at our Film simulation group here, to Richie for writing this article and making the PDF available, and of course to Oleksii for the nice idea and the work.

Join Our Owners Groups

Join Our Facebook Pages