Today Fujifilm expanded its ever-growing lens line-up with the addition of the XF 35mm f/2.0, the second standard XF prime in the series, and the Fujinon Teleconverter 1.4x.
One of Fujifilm’s first XF lenses was the popular XF 35mm f/1.4, so you’d be justified in wondering why the company opted to release a second version with a slower aperture, especially since Zeiss also produced a Touit 32mm f/1.8 for the X-mount.
According to Fujifilm, there are a couple of reasons they felt the new 35mm f/2.0 (53mm equivalent on full-frame) filled a gap in the line-up. First, at just 49.9mm in length, 60mm in diameter and 170g in weight, it is both smaller and lighter than the original 35mm and the Touit. (In fact, it features the smallest diameter of all XF lenses, period!)
Second, despite the addition of weather-sealing (splash, dust and freeze resistant down to -10oC), it has been priced lower than both its XF and Zeiss counterparts.
The new XF 35mm has an all-metal construction and comes in both black and silver. It features 9 elements in 6 groups with two aspherical lenses, providing a good balance between sharp image quality and compactness. It also has an inner focus system and stepping motor that give it a fast, accurate and silent autofocus of just 0.08s.
The body is quite minimalistic, with a ribbed aperture ring, marked aperture values (f/2 – f/16) and a fly-by-wire ribbed focus ring.
Included with the 35mm is a lightweight circular lens hood, but should you want something more substantial, you can also purchase the LH-XF35-2 metal hood as an optical accessory.
The XF 1.4x teleconverter TC WR has long been on the wish list of wildlife and sports photographers who use Fujifilm cameras. As the full name suggests, it multiplies the focal length of compatible lenses by 1.4x and it is weather-sealed (splash, dust and freeze proof down to -10oC).
Using the teleconverter increases the lens’ aperture by one f-stop but the optical design constructed of 7 elements in 3 groups maintains the original optical performance of the lens.
At the time of writing, the only compatible lens is the XF 50-140mm f/2.8, which with the teleconverter will become a 70-196mm f/4, but there is no doubt we’ll see more telephoto options in the near future.
Both the XF 35mm f/2.0 and 1.4x teleconverter will be available in November 2015, so I can only imagine that there will be quite a few of these wrapped up under the Christmas tree this year! 😉
