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

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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

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