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Hands-On: Fujifilm Booth: 35mm f/2 WR, 1.4x TC

Posted on October 22, 2015 by Jordan Steele

Fuji has had a pretty quiet PhotoPlus announcement list, with only two new products being announced ahead of the show: the compact XF 35mm f/2 WR and the new 1.4x teleconverter.  I had hands on with both products for a short while.

XF 35mm f/2 WR

The 35mm f/2 WR is the little brother to the original 35mm f/1.4.  The lens comes in a bit cheaper than the f/1.4 variant, at a price point that seems both reasonable and overpriced at the same time, $399.  The lens is quite compact, with a small front element.  It’s much better looking in person than it is in previous images I’ve seen of it, and the haptics are perfect.  Fuji has been listening about early lenses having poor aperture rings, and like many of the most recent releases, the 35/2 has a wonderful feeling aperture ring that almost feels geared.  The Fuji representative likened it to a high quality safe, and I have to say, she’s right.  The lens is very solid and has internal nearly silent focusing, lending an air of quality. It really feels wonderfully assembled.

XF 35mm f/2 WR on the Fuji X-T10
XF 35mm f/2 WR on the Fuji X-T10

I wasn’t allowed to put a memory card in the camera to capture images, but I did scrutinize the zoomed in rear LCD view, and the images out of the 35/2 looked very impressive.  Sharpness at f/2 looked to be outstanding, and perhaps a cut above the 35/1.4 at f/2.  Bokeh looked very nice, and while the was some visible longitudinal CA, it seemed fairly decently controlled.  I understand there are some digital corrections baked into the lens profiles, but from what I saw in my quick tour, this looks to be an excellent lens.

Perhaps the biggest change from the original 35mm is the focusing, which was quite fast and essentially silent.  I feel this lens will be a much better lens to capture shots of moving children or for more discreet shooting than its faster older brother.

It’s also the first XF lens to come in two colors.  The XC lenses have been offered in both black and silver plastic, but the XF 35mm f/2’s metal body also comes in a silver color, if you so desire.  I preferred the look of the black, but at least you have a choice.  Perhaps the X-Pro 2 will come in both black and silver?

XF 35mm f/2 in both black and silver
XF 35mm f/2 in both black and silver

1.4x Teleconverter

In addition to the 35mm f/2, Fuji unveiled its first teleconverter, a 1.4x unit that for now only works with the 50-140mm f/2.8 due to its protruding element.  The future 100-400mm f/4.5-5.6 and 120mm Macro will also both work with the 1.4x TC.

The 1.4x Teleconverter looks nice on the 40-150mm, and has a weather sealing gasket on the rear mount
The 1.4x Teleconverter looks nice on the 40-150mm, and has a weather sealing gasket on the rear mount

The teleconverter is very well constructed and blends in with the lens seamlessly.  The rear mount of the teleconverter has the same rubber gasket surrounding the lens mounting, keeping the weather sealing of the 40-150mm intact.  I asked why Fuji does a surrounding gasket rather than a pressure gasket and they said it was because pressure gaskets wear over time, while the surround does not.

The protruding element of the 1.4x TC
The protruding element of the 1.4x TC

Again, I couldn’t take pictures back with me from the 1.4x TC, but when used on the 50-140mm at maximum telephoto and f/4, Images looked pretty good on the rear LCD.  You can tell that there’s some mild loss of sharpness and contrast, but it still looked quite good.  The bokeh maintained smoothness, though specular highlights appear to get clipped towards the edges of the frame.  It looks to be a nice addition to the Fuji X family.

Unfortunately, Fuji did not have new mockups on display of the future XF lenses, which left me mildly disappointed, but the 100-400mm should be out in early 2016.  The representative noted that April was a likely target date.

That’s all from the Fuji booth.  Stay tuned for more news from PhotoPlus!

 

 

7 thoughts on “Hands-On: Fujifilm Booth: 35mm f/2 WR, 1.4x TC”

  1. Juicy47 says:
    October 23, 2015 at 9:04 am

    Isn’t the 27mmm XF the first XF lens to come in two colours? Also any chance you can do a review of the 35mm 1.4 before the f2 comes out? I enjoyed the reviews on the 18mm and 60mm despite their age.

    Reply
    1. Jordan Steele says:
      October 23, 2015 at 9:55 am

      I forgot the 27 came in silver. I reviewed the 35/1.4 last month. Check out the review index!

      Reply
  2. Pingback: Hands-on report from the Fuji booth at PhotoPlus Expo + 1.4x Teleconverter Test | Fuji Rumors
  3. paul says:
    October 25, 2015 at 2:48 pm

    the silver comes in silver , so its the second lens to offer 2 finishes

    jman it would have been nice to mention the size feel compared to the 35 1.4 …. glad they took time to build a proper aperture ring the one on my 14mm is pathetic and partially sleeved by a cannibalized rubber ring to tighten its action

    cheers from cosinaphile

    Reply
  4. paul says:
    October 25, 2015 at 2:49 pm

    oops the 27mm lol

    Reply
  5. Pingback: PhotoPlus Tidbits and Roundup - Admiring Light
  6. cielo jhoanna says:
    November 8, 2016 at 7:52 am

    is xf 18-55mm lens better or the xf 18-55mm?

    Reply

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