Fujifilm Announces Roadmap For New XF Lenses For The X-Pro1 Interchangeable Lens Digital Camera System
Valhalla, N.Y., June 25, 2012 (EMBARGO UNTIL 10:00 PM ET) – FUJIFILM North America Corporation today announced plans to offer an expanded selection of FUJINON XF lenses for the FUJIFILM X-Pro1 Interchangeable Lens Digital Camera System that will offer a wide range of new shooting opportunities for professional and advanced photographers. From super wide single length focus to telephoto lenses, users will now be able to freely choose which XF lenses match their shooting style, and allow them to experience the extraordinary image quality of the FUJIFILM X-Pro1 in a variety of new ways.
Fall 2012
Beginning in the fall of 2012, Fujifilm will introduce two new bright and fast aperture prime FUJINON XF lenses: the XF14mm (21mm) F2.8 single focal length lens and the XF18mm-55mm (27-84mm) F2.8-F4 lens.
Each of the new XF lenses are designed to deliver sharp, clear images of unmatched quality with precise aperture control, and beautiful bokeh effects thanks to the design of the molded aperture diaphragm blades. The blades are curved to create a circular image at all aperture settings, while the very edges of each blade are meticulously rounded off rather than cut off, to deliver more pleasing images.
Early 2013
Then in early 2013, Fujifilm will also deliver three more high performance single focal length lenses that include the XF56mm (84mm) F1.4 lens, the pancake XF27mm (41mm) F2.8 lens and the XF23mm (35mm) F1.4 lens.
Middle 2013
Then in middle 2013, Fujifilm will launch a telephoto XF55mm-200mm (83-300mm) F3.5-F4.8 lens and the super wide zoom XF10mm-24mm (15-36mm) F4 lens, both with optical image stabilization.
“The FUJIFILM X-Pro1 is an amazing professional grade camera that delivers outstanding image quality, and we are very excited to announce our plans for an expanded line of new XF lenses that will bring even more functionally to the X-Pro1 system,” said Go Miyazaki, division president, Imaging and Electronic Imaging Divisions, FUJIFILM North America Corporation. “These new premium FUJIFILM XF lenses are designed to deliver stunning image results, and they also fit seamlessly with the build and beauty of the FUJIFILM X-Pro1.”
The award-winning FUJIFILM X-Pro1 digital camera features a custom-developed 16MP APS-C X-Trans CMOS sensorTM that incorporates a newly developed filter array and Fujifilm’s proprietary EXR Processor technology. The FUJIFILM X-Pro1 delivers superlative image quality that rivals currently available mid and high-end DSLR models. The FUJIFILM X-Pro1 also features the unmatched 2nd Generation Hybrid Multi Viewfinder, a gorgeous magnesium alloy chassis, and an improved user interface for easy and intuitive operation.
To see amazing images taken with FUJIFILM X-Series cameras, please visit:http://fujifilm-x.com/photographers/en/index.html.
Pricing and availability will be announced at or near the launch time.
About Fujifilm
FUJIFILM North America Corporation, a marketing subsidiary of FUJIFILM Holdings America Corporation, consists of five operating divisions and one subsidiary company. The Imaging Division sells consumer and commercial photographic products and services including film, one-time-use cameras, online photo services and fulfillment, digital printing equipment and service. The Electronic Imaging Division markets consumer digital cameras. The Motion Picture Division provides motion picture film, and the Graphic Systems Division supplies products and services to the printing industry. The Optical Devices Division provides binoculars, and optical lenses for closed circuit television, videography, cinematography, broadcast and industrial markets. FUJIFILM Canada Inc. markets a range of Fujifilm products and services. For more information, please visitwww.fujifilmusa.com/northamerica, or go to www.twitter.com/fujifilmus to follow Fujifilm on Twitter. To receive news and information direct from Fujifilm via RSS, subscribe at www.fujifilmusa.com/rss.
FUJIFILM Holdings Corporation, Tokyo, Japan, brings continuous innovation and leading-edge products to a broad spectrum of industries, including electronic imaging, digital printing equipment, medical systems, life sciences, graphic arts, flat panel display materials, and office products, based on a vast portfolio of digital, optical, fine chemical and thin film coating technologies. The company was among the top 17 companies around the world granted U.S. patents in 2011, and in the year ended March 31, 2012, had global revenues of $27.8 billion*. Fujifilm is committed to environmental stewardship and good corporate citizenship. For more information, please visit www.fujifilmholdings.com.
* At an exchange rate of 79 yen to the dollar.
40 Responses
That’s a lot of fast primes. Good if the camera is smaller.
That is one kickass lens roadmap. No complaints here, imagine that!
Now if they would just put image stabilization in the next camera, speed up the af, maybe put phase detect on the sensor, use a regular bayer filter, and put in a decent EVF….
For a lot of people faster focus and better video seem to be what would make them pick this system.
I did not choose the XPro1 once it became clear the focus is not on par with recent Micro Four Thirds cameras. What’s really annoying about the XPro1 is that is has good, fast lenses and excellent high ISO performance, but you cannot make use of that advantage as the auto-focus fails to work properly when it gets too dark. That’s a real shame.
I kept my MFT stuff and upgraded to an OM-D 8 weeks ago. I couldn’t be happier with that choice. I would have switched to Fuji if the auto-focus had been better. Single reason right there.
Why would they put PDAF on sensor when there are no compatible lenses in the system?
+1 for IBIS
All lenses can be focused with either CdAf or PdAf, but some designs are more suited for CdAF. I’m not sure why that would make them less suited for PdAf. The new Canon 18-135 seems to be designed for use with both AF-systems.
Anyway, Fuji have already used PdAf on the senor on some P&S models and have hinted on future use of this technology in coming X-Pro models in interviews. I assume they don’t consider their lenses incompatible with PdAf and I’d be really surprised if PdAf didn’t shor up in a coming model.
“All lenses can be focused with either CdAf or PdAf, but some designs are more suited for CdAF. I’m not sure why that would make them less suited for PdAf.”
Because of different characteristics of electric motors needed for each type of focusing. CDAF motors have to be able to change directions quickly for example. That’s why older DSLR lenses struggle to autofocus in live view mode.
He asked why a lens might be less suitable for PDAF and you answered why it might not work well with CDAF. You don’t se the problem here? You need lenses to be designed for CDAF but they should work just as well for PDAF. Unless there is something I haven’t heard about that can be a problem. (I have a hard time figuring out what that might be.)
THat said it is not clear that XF-lenses really are optimized for CDAF. Some representative for fuji said that fast AF “was not the point” of the X-pro1. The problem might be with the camera but they might not have worked so hard with the lenses for CDAF speed either. (I haven’t tried the camera so I really cant say.)
Dan got my point, exactly what I meant.
@Dan @spam
I understood the point, the PDAF CDAF compatibility was just an example. There are just no data on trying to make a lens made for CDAF use phase detection AF. I guess it should not be a problem to make a motor made for fast movement go slower, but it could be a problem if that movement is much slower. And in this age of mass production, every feature that could increase the cost is thrown out. Time will tell, but I guess Fuji won’t be turning to PDAF, because CDAF speed is improving with every new generation of lens or camera.
fuji’s lenses have slow AF because they have fast aperture and hence heavy lens elements – wnhich cannot be moved as fast as light ones
So, it’s 14mm F2.8 after all :). But it’s a pancake, so that’s good. What’s also good is that standard zoom doesn’t have a constant F4 aperture as rumored. F2.8 at the wide end is impressive – something for others to think about. With all these pancakes Fuji now needs a smaller body.
What’s good about a non fixed aperture zoom? I can’t see the reason why a fixed aperture would be “bad”.
I think originally it was going to be a fixed f4. Variable f2.8-4 IMO is better than a fixed f4.
Agreed, in my opinion there is no reason to use fixed aperture zooms any more as cameras all have automatic metering, and even if you want to shoot manual you can always set the aperture to f/4 and the camera will hold it when you change zoom levels. Fixed aperture zooms don’t mix well with compact size. That 18-55 looks reasonably sized given the aperture range.
Sorry but my reply was input to the post below.
since x-mount lenses are fatter than m-mount lenses, i think the camera’s inflated size is appropriate.
what needs work is the design. i think the x-pro1 looks sloppy. in contrast, the recently announced sony rx100 looks like it’s actually worth the money.
viking79, can you please elaborate a bit more on the way the camera can hold the maximum aperture of a variable aperture zoom, when using manual mode please?
That seems a bit strange to me as the diaphragm value is a relative measure and when using the internal meter the camera adjusts aperture towards minimum when you zoom up.
On the other hand I’d also appreciate some hints on why a fixed aperture is not that good when compared to variable, and why top models tend to be fixed aperture designs if there is no advantage.
Tks vm
In any digital camera I have used if I set the aperture to f/4 at 18mm it will hold that as you zoom up to 55mm (assuming an f/2.8 to f/4 zoom). You can always treat a modern variable aperture zoom like a fixed aperture zoom.
Most “pro” zooms are fixed aperture because of film days with manual cameras. Traditionalist came to expect these to be fixed aperture. Some of the “fixed” aperture zooms really shouldn’t be as they don’t perform well at the tele end indicating they lens should force the aperture down as you zoom out as they are marked f/2.8 but really only perform well as a f/2.8 to f/4 for example.
ras, sorry for leaving my reply to viking79 within your post.
Regarding your opinion about X Pro1 size, I’d say that I had the chance to have it in my hands and I felt it as a pleasant and balanced camera, even if it is not a compact design and may be not meant to be since the beginning of the Fuji project.
I use the X100 and I was also expecting this one to be about the same size, but I wouldn’t make any kind of comparison to the Sony you refer.
“i think the camera’s inflated size is appropriate”
With three pancakes and two more fairly compact lenses, a small body wouldn’t have been out of place.
great call to go for the 23 and 56 mm f1.4 lenses! with theses lenses I have all I need 28, 35 85 mm (FF) all f.2 and 1.4. I start saving up today. I’ll enjoy my x100 a bit more and switch when the 23mm comes out
maxbad,
Don’t you like the flash not limited sync speed? That detail plus ND filter, size, firmware improvements and the lens quality are reasons enough for me to keep it.
I love, LOVE what fuji is pulling out! So happy I invested in this system, but also so worry there are so many upcoming lenses I am interested in…
ill probably use both cameras next to each other first. lets say x pro with 85 and 28 mm and x100 as the 35mm. I actually like a two camera kit. and this way I can still benefit from the x-100 advantages.
I am sure all these lenses will be great. I also think the files can be processed to get the best out of the lenses, I’ll hold off adding to my sytem and continue to shoot the Olympus EM-5 and lenses.
I love the Fuji, but Fuji and software companies have got to make it right.
I am heavily invested in Sony NEX. I look at this roadmap and see Fuji to be a real serious camera company catering to the needs of professionals. The lens line up is also scarily close to the Contax G2 lineup.
That being said, the software supporting its RAW files falls short of professional standards and my heart tells me that I could save myself a life of frustration if I didn’t buy an X pro 1. The Contax, on the other hand, had a good AF system and it was flawless up to 3 meters in complete darkness (thanks to an infrared ray)
I know people say that the AF is not as bad as it is said around to be. I often shoot ISO 1600/3200 f2 for my reportage work, which is my main work. I was at Jessops here in London trying one out and the parallax correction is terrible. The AF was barely good and the manual override is simply dire. I want to like the camera because it reminds me of my Contax and that was a camera I dearly loved. The Fuji really wants to be there but it seriously needs to pay attention to the AF and the software side of things.
I don’t know. Maybe someone here can show me a good video or example of how to work around the X pro 1 AF woes in very low light. Man, the EVF as well, quite laggy compared to Sony. And the OVF? well…I think because of its downright inaccurate framing, its a bit of a gimmick.
I always wonder how someone can be “heavily invested” into NEX? How many lenses are there? Three? Four? Five?
Sony is really being stupid by releasing one ugly body after another, increasing the pixel count instead of building a lens roadmap like most others.
NEX 7 (x2 for back up), 5n, Zeiss 24, Voigtlander 35mm 1.2, Voigtlander 15mm, Voigtlander M – E, 50mm 1.8, Sigma 19mm. All this at around £4,5k in the UK. NEX may not have many lenses, but it does have the best manual focus solution (once you have peaking, you know)
Obviously, compared to when I used Canon for my work, £4,5k doesnt seem like a heavy investment.
An 18-55 standard zoom…..? Will there be a simpler version of X-pro1 for that?
To me the X-pro1 has just too many weak points. The concept is excellent, and the camera very nice – but no deal for me. Maybe the next generation.
I think a lot of people are waiting for the second generation. If Fuji can address the weak points and the kit zoom is good then a new model would appeal to a much larger group.
Unfortunately, the X-Pro1 is a no go for me due to the complicated sensor design. The RAW files will always be difficult to process due to the non-bayer design. Also, the sensor design required significantly more processing power just to pull the data from the sensor and process it (admitted by Fuji themselves). This will limit development of fast AF and good video, both of which have been issues with Fuji for a while now. So they will always be behind in these areas.
Waiting for the X200 myself..
Just a query for the people who say the AF is slow, did you check if the firmware was the latest version? The last upgrade made a pretty big difference to AF speed. There is also quite a big difference in AF speed if you don’t optimise the settings for low light AF.
I don’t really get the raw processing comments either. Adobe and apple just need to write some decent demosaicing algorithms that’s all. I mean if the piddly little processor in the camera can produce amazing results I doubt the latest generation of pcs or macs (with vastly more powerful processors) will struggle either given some properly written software (and yes, that is a dig at the beta level support adobe gave us).
when fuji introduces an ilc the size and shape of my x100 i will get excited about this roadmap.
i love the devotion to primes …..go fuji