Fujifilm will add five new lenses to its XF range and is expanding production facilities at its Taiwa Factory to meet growing demands for mirrorless cameras.

 

New additions to the roadmap for the X-Series range are the XF200mm f/2 R LM OIS WR super fast telephoto lens, XF8-16mm f/2.8 R LM WR ultra-wide angle zoom,  XF16mm f/2.8 R WR compact prime lens, XF16-80mm f/4 R OIS WR standard zoom and XF33mm f/1 R WR ultra-fast prime lens. The XF200mm f/2 R LM OIS WR lens covers a focal length equivalent to 305mm in 35mm format. It will be offered with a Fujinon XF1.4x TC f/2 WR teleconverter kit in late October 2018 at an RRP of AU$8,999. This lens is designed to utilise the full capability of Fujifilm’s X-Trans CMOS sensors to achieve edge-to-edge sharpness even when the aperture is wide open. The optical design contains 19 elements in 14 groups, including one large-diameter super ED lens element and two large-diameter ED lens elements to minimise chromatic aberration. The front element is fluorine-coated to make it easy to keep clean, while the matte silver barrel reduces the risk of over-heating on hot summer days.

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Side view of the XF8-16mm f/2.8 R LM WR ultra-wide angle zoom lens

The new XF8-16mm f/2.8 R LM WR ultra-wide angle zoom lens is due for release in Australia in November 2018, at AU$3,199 (RRP). Featuring a constant f/2.8 maximum aperture, it spans a zoom range equivalent to 12-24mm in the 35mm format. The lens barrel is lightweight yet robust while also being resistant to dust, moisture and low temperatures down to -10 degrees Celsius. The optical design uses an impressive

20 elements in 13 groups and includes four aspherical lens elements to control distortion and spherical aberration and six ED lens elements, including three super ED elements, to control lateral chromatic aberration plus an element to correct field curvature. This design results in advanced image-resolving performance across the zoom range. The rear surface of the two front lens elements is treated with Nano-GI coating to eliminate ghosting and flare, while linear motors provide fast and near-silent autofocusing.

Three additional lenses were announced at the same time but no pictures of them were available and pricing and release dates had not been confirmed. The compact XF16mm f/2.8 R WR prime lens covers a focal length equivalent to 24mm in the 35mm format, making it ideal for landscape and architectural photography. Its emphasised sense of perspective makes it well suited to interior photography at restaurants and hotels, as well as nightscapes and astrophotography. It complements the already-released XF23mm f/2 R WR, XF35mm f/2 R WR and XF50mm f/2 R WR series of compact prime lenses, which now covers wide angle to mid-telephoto focal lengths.

The XF16-80mm f/4 R OIS WR standard zoom lens boasts a 5x zoom range equivalent to 24-120mm in the 35mm format while keeping a constant maximum aperture of f/4.0. This versatile lens is capable of covering a wide range of shooting scenarios. The XF33mm f/1 R WR ultra-fast prime lens promises to be the world’s first mirrorless camera lens with a maximum aperture of f/1.0 and AF capability. No further details are available.

Fujifilm has also announced plans to expand its optical factory at Taiwa in Miyagi Prefecture, adding a large-scale clean room featuring the cutting-edge clean room analyser, as well as facilities that use AI and IoT to improve accuracy in optical adjustments. The new facilities will enable the production of interchangeable lenses at high quality and efficiency, resulting in advanced productivity in manufacturing ultra wide-angle lenses and large-diameter lenses, which require a high level of image resolving performance. Fujifilm’s current lineup of interchangeable lenses includes 36 models, with sales expanding at the rate of over 20% per annum. Through this investment, the Taiwa Factory’s production capacity will be raised by approx. 70% from the current level by 2020, when all of the new facilities become fully operational.