Owners of Fujifilm’s interchangeable lens cameras (ILC) have a new glass option. The company announced a fast, 16mm prime lens for those who like shooting in low light or macro photography with nice bokeh. The Fujinon XF16mmF1.4 R WR goes on sale in May 2015, for $1,000. Fujifilm says the lens complements the X-T1 ILC, but can be used with any X-series ILC.
The wide-angle, pro-centric lens is designed to be weather- and dust-resistant, and can work in temperatures as low as 14 degrees Fahrenheit. It’s small, but not super compact, as there’s a lot of glass inside (13 elements in 11 groups, plus two aspherical lens elements to control spherical aberration and distortion, and two ED glass lens elements for reducing lateral and axial chromatic aberration). Autofocus is speedy at 0.11 seconds. Fujifilm says the lens “includes a depth-of-field scale on the focus ring that is perfect for landscape, travel and street photographers who want to calculate the distance, adjust the aperture setting, and shoot spontaneously.”
Other features include Nano-GI coating to reduce ghosting and flare; a nine blade aperture for smooth and circular bokeh; 1/3 exposure value (EV) steps; and a minimum working distance of less than 6 inches for up-close photography.
