Fujifilm launches new compact, affordable XF50mm f/2 R WR lens
posted Thursday, January 19, 2017 at 1:30 AM EDT
True to their lens roadmap, Fujifilm today announced the launch of their new Fujinon XF 50mm f/2 R WR lens. The Fujinon lens lineup features a generous number of prime lenses, and the XF 50mm fills a gap between two 35mm lenses, and the 56mm f/1.2. When mounted on a Fujifilm camera body, the XF 50mm lens will provide a 35mm-equivalent focal length of 76mm.
Similar to the XF 23mm f/2 and XF 35mm f/2 lens released in the past few years, the XF 50mm f/2 is designed to be compact and lightweight, making it a potential go-to portrait prime when attached to one of the lighter X-series bodies such as the recently announced X-T20. At just 200g in weight it is certainly much lighter than traditional portrait-range bright primes.
The Fuji XF 50mm f/2 R WR lens features ten seals for protection from dust and the elements, and uses a design of 9 elements in 7 groups, including one aspherical element. The front element employs a Super EBC (Electron Beam Coating) coating to reduce flare and ghosting. As a Fujinon R-series optic, the lens features an aperture ring to allow the user to manually control the aperture on the lens, or use a fully-automatic setting.
The XF 50mm lens also features a stepping motor to achieve very fast, and near-silent, autofocusing capability. We're looking forward to getting one of these into the lab for testing: the lens should be hitting stores shelves in mid-March 2017. Available in black or silver, the lens has a suggested retail price of US$449.95.