For many Fujifilm photographers, a 35mm weather-sealed lens has been exactly what they've been waiting for all year.
After being first revealed back in February, the Fujifilm XF 35mm f2 WR lens is finally here at long last, and no it won't be replacing the already excellent XF 35mm 1.4 lens that came before it. The major new feature this lens brings with it is eight points weather-sealing to keep out water and dust out. The seals also allow this lens to operate at temperatures as low as 14-degrees Fahrenheit.
It also sports a smaller aperture that only opens up to f2, but this likely has more to do with the fact that the lens is smaller. While the XF 35 f1.4 was small itself, this new weather-sealed lens looks tiny even when mounted to the Fujifilm X-T10.
As a normal lens, this lens affords a field of view that's almost the same as the human eye. In terms of 35mm (or full frame) standards this lens yields an equivalent 53mm focal length. The XF 35mm f2 WR is also fitted with a focusing system engineered to zone in as close as 13-inches in just 0.08 seconds.
The Fujifilm XF 35mm F2 WR will release later this November for $399 (about £258, AU$549). Not bad compared to the over 1,000 smackers you'll have to pay for a premium weather-sealed prime lens from either Nikon or Canon – of course, those lenses are built for full frame cameras and sport larger apertures.
Stack 'em up
On top of the new lens, Fujifilm has also introduced a new 1.4x teleconverter that's weather-sealed. Arriving in December for $449 (about £291, AU$617), the Fujinon XF 1.4 TC WR will effectively multiply the focal length of any lens for users who want that extra bit of reach.
For example, if you were to mount this teleconverter on an X-series camera with the ever popular XF 50-140mm f2.8 WR, it would essentially become a 70-200mm lens. There are of course downsides when every stacking more glass behind your lenses, and users should expect some degree of distortion as well as losing an entire stop of light.
Lastly there's a new Fujifilm Instax Mini 70 camera that feature a new sleek design and selfie mode with an automatically adjusting flash. As with the rest of Instax series, this camera will allow users to take instantly shareable images with both physical photos and through a smartphone app.
The INSTAX Mini 70 camera will be available in Canary Yellow, Moon White and Island Blue this November for a $139 (about £90, AU$191). INSTAX Mini Instant film, meanwhile, is sold separately in double packs containing 20 exposures at a going rate of $19.95 (about £12.92, AU$27).
- What are the chances we'll see a Fujifilm X-Pro 2 at CES 2016?
