“Lenses are extremely delicate and have to be handled carefully, just like they are alive.”
This is what one of the craftsman says in this short video that gives a you an insight into the manufacturing procedure of the amazing Fujinon glass. From the polishing to the mold pressing, from the assembling to the final check (where each lens is carefully checked by skilled technicians) and the packaging… and at the end of the chain, there is somewhere a happy X-shooter enjoying the great quality of the glass.
So, if you own some Fujinon lenses, then you won’t be surprised by the temporary result of the poll (see at the bottom of this post): the majority of X-shooters voted the Fujinon XF lenses as their main reason to own a Fujifilm X-series camera.
And this time I’d like to know which are your favorite lenses available on the market in the Fujinon line-up.
[poll id=”67″]
XF 50-140 f/2.8 WR: [shopcountry 28447]
XF 56 f/1.2 APD: [shopcountry 28446]
XF 18-135 f/3.5-5.6 WR: [shopcountry 26452]
XF 56 f/1.2: [shopcountry 21554]
XF 10-24 f/4: [shopcountry 20414]
XC 50-230 f/4.5-6.7: [shopcountry 17198]
XC 16-50 f/3.5-5.6: [shopcountry 17197]
XF 23 f/1.4: [shopcountry 16128]
XF 27 f/2.8: [shopcountry 13829]
XF 55-200 f/3.5-4.8: [shopcountry 12892]
XF 18-55 f/2.8-4: [shopcountry 12887]
XF 14 f/2.8: [shopcountry 12888]
XF 35 f/1.4: [shopcountry 12889]
XF 60 f/2.4 : [shopcountry 12890]
XF 18 f/2: [shopcountry 12891]
[poll id=”65″]
22 Responses
Regarding the coming 90mm lense. I am disappointed, they should made it faster, like f/1.4. It would be equivalent to the stellar 135mm f/2. 90mm at f/2 would be the same entrance pupil as the 56/1.2. So same subject isolation (i am considering subject far away) considering the same framing. Besides more compression I don t see the added value
Pleeease add macro capabilities.
f/1.4 would make the lens too big imo.
85mm 1.4 on full frame is not that big. I don’t understand why it should be much bigger
The prototype 90/2 shown at Photokina was already bigger than DSLR manufacturers’ 85/1.8 lenses that cover 36x24mm, so we have to assume that a 90/1.4 would be even larger than other makers’ 85/1.4s. Fuji just doesn’t care much about compactness when designing lenses.
Indeed, even the 23mm isn’t a small or particular light lens. The XF56mm is bigger than most DSLR lenses in the 50-60mm range. A lot of the ‘DSLR-ditchers’ called their previous gear too heavy… but if you read through the posts their workflow was majorly based on those impossible zooms (because they are so mainstream in the DSLR world). When using a DSLR with just primes the difference isn’t suddenly that enormous anymore. I’m pretty sure most were just trying to find an excuse to explain this new sexy investment to their wives ;-).
Great video Fuji! Full of heart and soul – what a great company!
I like it, too. I’ll think of this dedicated people every time I’ll hold my Fujinons in hands. Really adds to the (moral) value.
I am surprised how much handicraft is put in those lenses!
Looking at your poll results: 56 and 23, no surprises here. Terrific glass.
A video was kinda fun, but the choice of music is totally wrong. Scores B- or even C among other lens making videos, IMO.
I liked the music. Kinda spacy, scientific, futuristic. Adds to the atmosphere imo.
What do you expect? Lady Gaga? Waterloo battle music? 😉
Endless loops are more or less appropriate in a “Death by Powerpoint” presentations, they help to hypnotize shareholders. But when you have less than 3 minutes to make a point, they are pure evil. And what’s up with that militaristic drum beat?!… ))
The relentless march of progress along the tunnel vision of perfection – if not to the beat of a drum what else
Anyways, I enjoyed the video. How can one pay attention to subtle things like … music? In stills photography, there is no music at all. I’m not used to music! 😉
ooh dat 56mm is da holy grail
All of the XF lenses that I have used are very good. However, I seem to use the 23mm and 35mm the most.
So with all this dedicated craftsmanship, how come the aperture rings feel so “gritty”? I’m thinking especially of the 35/1.4, which feels as if it had been lubricated with sand, but the 56/1.2 isn’t great either. It’s not just me, as I’ve noticed several non-fanboy reviewers have commented on the lenses’ mediocre-at-best mechanical “feel.”
Normally I don’t care too much about a lens’ haptics as long as it produces good pictures, but especially in the case of the 35 it can be hard to make small, precise aperture adjustments.
You’re 100% right. Having 6 Fujinons, they all feel different. Some rings are tight, others are sitting so loose I can move them a bit. My XF60mm got damaged in my bag (still don’t understand how) and I was surprised how ‘cheap plastic’ all the internals were. They look from the outside quite a bit better than they actually are…and by ‘accident’ we don’t see anything about this in the movie? The AF-S gen of Nikkors can be all plastic on the outside, but the premium primes I own are much more solid, using them over the years they’re still looking like new. Never had an issue with them. I think this is the price being paid for making all this stuff so light. After what happened to that XF60, I’m very skeptical about the long term quality.
Craftsmanship or not: beyond the polished commercials, my main question remains: is their any real long term life-cycle value in the purchase of this quite expensive
Fujinon glass, as we know in the DSLR-world for 55 years now? Fuji’s concepts & approach worry me in that respect, they are much too electronic & FW-driven – and I’m not planning to buy new lenses every 3 yrs.
I must admit that’s my biggest concern. If only they were true mechanical manual focus it wouldn’t matter (as opposed to fly by wire). However I read somewhere that the micro 4/3 lenses are the same so perhaps this is the way things are going..? Personally I wouldn’t mind a slightly larger lens which means it will work on any camera in the future
It is indeed a concert that counts for most MLIC systems. They have not been conceived by camera and lens specialists, but by computer specialists. Sometimes I get in a Leica mood when I see all this. Invest once, think no more. And buy your next body starting from a very solid return value. That last one is something that is very frustrating in the whole MLIC-world, certainly for Fuji reason why I keep claiming that the choice to go this way is very expensive, more than any other DSLR (or RF) system.
It’s a common practice for some of the handgun manufacturers to include a target shot with that particular gun (for quality control purposes) along with each gun sale. Seeing the camera and test screen at the end of that video made me think how it would be cool to see something similar for lenses. With every lens include the test and calibration results for that particular copy so the new owner immediately can see the “personality” or any flaws with it…
I have a suspicion that 50-140 is going to be my favourite lens once it’s available
Everything else aside, it’s great to see people that are proud of their work – did you feel that today?