Fujifilm Photography News and Rumors

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GW3Yp97KnPA

Fujifilm released a talk show style presentation for CP+ 2021 focused on glass and it is an interesting one. The audio is Japanese and the subtitles aren’t too bad this time around, but it would be best to read the summary before watching. Also, we know that there is an XF18mm lens coming and some zooms in the future for X and G mount so we might hear more about them this year.

• Fujifilm managers decided to do a talk show format for their CP+2021 stream
• Fujifilm recently announced 3 lenses the XF 27mm, XF70-300mm, and GF80mm
• Fujinon XF27mm f/2.8 II
  • The XF27mm weather resistance and an aperture ring to the old XF27mm
  • Users want weather resistance and an aperture ring
  • Fujifilm managed to fit an aperture ring in the same space as the original design
  • There is a lock next to the A position so you don’t accidentally switch the lens to f/16
  • The XF27 + XE4 is very compact together
  • The XF27mm is so thin removing the lens cap can be difficult
  • The new XF27mm also has a dome-shaped hood that it comes with
  • The XF27mm is still thin with the hood attached
  • The new lens hood for the XF27mm can be used with the original design so they will sell it as an accessory
  • The new XF27mm is 6g heavier
  • The optical design of the new and old XF27mm are identical
  • Lenses without aperture rings fall under the XC series now
  • The XF27mm is one of the few lenses that didn’t have an aperture ring
  • From now on all XF lenses will have aperture rings
  • 40mm is a great focal length and everyone should try the XF27mm
• Fujinon XF70-300mm f/4-5.6
  • The first thing they considered when designing the XF70-300mm was if you don’t carry it around then you aren’t going to benefit from it so keeping it compact was a priority
  • Fujifilm wanted the XF70-300mm to be the same size as the 55-200mm
  • When you increase a lens from 200mm to 300mm it usually grows in size 1.5-2x longer so keeping it small was challenging
  • Fujifilm had to start from scratch to build the XF70-300mm
  • Matching the optics and mechanism was the most important point
  • In the end Fujifilm ended up within 14mm of the 55-200mm and a weight of 580g which is the same weight as the 55-200mm
  • Fujifilm used a two stage barrel design because if the lens is too short it wont work and if it is too long the mechanism wont work
  • The zoom of the XF70-300mm is very smooth
  • Zoom torque is important because it makes it easier to track objects
  • The zoom rotation angle is not too larger and you can go from end to end with a single twist
  • The XF70-300mm is also very well balanced and feels good in the hand
  • The XF70-300mm is very light so you can take it anywhere unlike the XF100-400mm which is a bit heavy
  • The XF70-300mm covers 107-457mm with a close focus distance of 83cm which gives it a maximum shooting magnification of 0.33x which converted to full size is 0.5x macro
  • You can fill the screen with an object smaller than a credit card using the XF70-300mm
    • You can also install a teleconverter on the XF70-300mm so you can get 1.4x or 150-640mm and 2x or 214-914mm so nearly 1000mm, but you lose 1-2 stops of light using a teleconverter
  • The XF70-300mm also has linear motors so the AF is fast and it has 5.5 OIS stops of stabilization
  • The XF70-300mm will be great for nature photography
  • The XF70-300mm pairs well with the XF16-80mm f/4 for travel
• Fujinon GF80mm f/1.7
  • GF80mm f/1.7 is their 13^th lens for GFX
  • The GFX80mm fits right between the GF63mm and GF110mm to fill a gap
    Professional commercial photographers wanted something in this range for portrait fashion studio work
  • The GF80mm f/1.7 is the brightest lens for GFX joining the GF110mm f/2
  • The GF110mm is about 87mm in 35mm terms and the 80mm is about 63mm in 35mm terms
  • The GF80mm f/1.7 has bokeh that dissolves gently and is great for portraiture
  • The GF80mm f/1.7 has beautiful bokeh
  • The GF110 f/2 weighs about 1kg while the GF80mm f/1.7 is 795g which makes it easier to handle
  • Use the 110mm f/2 when you have the space and 80mm f/1.7 when you need to get a little closer
  • Fujifilm created a team of researchers to categorize bokeh and definite when is beautiful bokeh and the GF80mm f/1.7 was designed based on the findings
  • The GF80mm f/1.7 provides resolution and blur which is an entirely different way than usual to design a lens
  • The XF50mm f/1.0 was designed in the same way
  • The bokeh of the GF80mm f/1.7 is as beautiful as the XF50mm f/1
  • The GF110mm f/2 has a lot of bokeh because the longer the focal length the more the subject will stand out and it is very sharp
  • The bokeh shouldn’t stand out it should support the subject
  • Beautiful bokeh is strange because you cant see the bokeh
  • Both the GF110mm and GF80mm have a 77mm filter thread
  • It was hard to make the GF80mm f/1.7 under 800g, but it is a shorter lens which makes the handling very good especial on the GFX100S
  • The GF80mm f/1.7 is moving the heaviest focus group they ever have and the group weighs 200g on its own so a quarter of the lens weight is moved as one unit with focus so it couldn’t use linear motors
  • Fujifilm had to develop a new product for the XF50mm f/1 which was smoother than early DC motor equipped engines
  • You can feel something heavy moving in the GF80mm f/1.7
  • The GF110mm f/2 has linear motors which lets it focus fast with no sound
  • With a GFX50R/50S CDAF body the GF110mm f/2 is more comfortable since there is no vibration
  • The GF110mm f/2 almost keeps up with PDAF
  • DC motors are better for moving heavy elements like in the GF80mm f/1.7 but they aren’t quite
  • Fujifilm will continue improving both XF and GF lenses
• There will be more lenses in 2021

Fujifilm X-E4: B&H Photo / Amazon / Moment / Adorama
BLC-XE4: B&H Photo / Amazon / Moment / Adorama
MHG-XE4: B&H Photo / Amazon / Moment / Adorama
TR-XE4: B&H Photo / Amazon / Moment / Adorama

Fujifilm GFX100S: B&H Photo / Amazon / Moment / Adorama
MHG-GFX S: B&H Photo / Amazon / Moment / Adorama

Fujinon GF80mm f/1.7: B&H Photo / Amazon / Moment / Adorama

Fujinon XF27mm f/2.8 II: B&H Photo / Amazon / Moment / Adorama

Fujinon XF70-300mm f/4-5.6: B&H Photo / Amazon / Moment / Adorama

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