At their May X-Summit, Fujifilm announced a slew of new products, including the GFX 100S II, a Fujinon GF 500mm f/5.6 R LM OIS WR, a new X-T50 camera, and a new standard kit lens, the Fujinon XF 16-50mm f/2.8-4.8R WR. These will all be available on or just after June 17th and we are taking pre-orders.
The only item I’ve had a chance to test is the new Fujinon XF 16-50mm kit zoom. It does not have OIS, but then all current Fujifilm bodies feature IBIS. I was actually super impressed with the pre-production sample I tested. It is surprisingly sharp in the corners, even wide open at its widest 16mm setting (something that can’t be said for most of Fujifilm’s other kit lenses) and is compact, light, has internal zoom and focus and is very flare resistant as well. Once I get my hands on a production sample, I will be doing some more detailed testing of course. See below for a one boring shot out of a quick test sequence, at 16mm and wide open at f/2.8. Looks pretty darn good! Click the image below to open a 4000 pixel wide version in a new window or tab…
The old Fujinon XF 18-55mm f/2.8-4 R LM OIS zoom is being discontinued (prior to this new lens, it was pretty much the best kit zoom from any manufacturer), so if you have an older body without IBIS and you want the best mid-range zoom with optical stabilization built-in, then we’ll have a great clearance price on our last XF 18-55mm in stock starting June 3rd, presuming it’s still available of course.
