I finde the lack of 50mm f2 reviews disturbing

[petergabriel]

Usually the net is filled to the brim with reviews or previews this close to release. I have found four reviews, thats all. They are Palle Schultz', Jonas Rask's, Big Head Taco's and Bjørn Moerman's. None of them are scientific. No measurements. Are there other reviews out there?

[milandro]

Maybe they are all concentrating into testing the new Giant Fuji X?

 

I am curious. What exactly disturbs you?

 

There are very few people who do any “ scientific” testing anyway so they maybe testing this lens as we speak.

 

Do you think they aren’t doing it because there is something to hide or simply because they cannot possibly test everything and they are prioritizing the things that are bound to attract more traffic on their sites?

 

Isn’t this what drives their testing? Generating traffic therefore revenue?

 

Could it be that the 50mm f2 is less “ sexy” to review, in “ scientific" depth, than, say, the GFX?

 

In general, even on this board here, I see that they interest in many things Fuji, is driven by the introduction of new items. When more than an item is put on the market, the reviewers ( the independence of whom is always been object of questions) always go for the more expensive items compared to the cheap(er) ones.

 

Could it be that this is the reason?

[petergabriel]

Sorry, I just twisted a Star Wars quote :-) Nothing disturbing about it. Just interested in e.g. the kens chromatic aberation, distortion (or lack thereof), close focusing sharpness wide open (I know the 23mm lacks in that department). But guess you are right. The lens is probably being testet at lenstip, imaging-resource and the like right now.

[milandro]

Possibly.

 

However it has come to my attention the overwhelming fact that the main preoccupation of Fuji rumors and its members is the GFX, they are absolutely not alone in this.

 

http://www.fujirumors.com/?s=GFX

http://www.scoop.it/t/fujifilm-x-pro1-x-e1-x100s?q=GFX

 

While there is no doubt that this camera and its lenses are a new and impressive achievement, the fact that I know that this camera and its lenses won’t be the object of my concrete desire ( and I suppose of most of us, unless there are all lottery winners here) puts me slightly off reading the hosannas everywhere.

 

Also, I find this slightly disturbing ( not so much as disturbance in the force but maybe in the farce or perhaps soap opera) because although it might  show that they are following the market, I can’t help thinking that perhaps that they are trying to influence the market into buying the largest, (maybe) best, biggest AND most expensive camera that Fuji sells.

 

 

There is a number of pros whom most certainly need this new tool, and if I were still active in the profession, I would certainly consider a medium format digital camera (although I would go for the Hasselblad).

 

But the fact of the matter is that the reviewers are going to be instrumental to a number of amateurs of modest photographic ability buying a camera they don’t need to do the often mediocre images which they take ( and not those great ones which they don’t and only dream about ).

 

Pretty much the same that it happened with the X-T2...some of these upgraded their camera but, frankly speaking, when you see the pictures they take with it (or took before), they might as well have shot them with their phones ( which some, by the way, keep showing off in their messages here) for all their proficiency let alone aesthetics.

 

These people don’t need a GFX but some will undoubtedly buy one.

 

Not bad for Fuji though! Maybe that is going to boost even more the content of their koffers.

Edited February 19, 2017 by milandro

[petergabriel]

Yeah, the GFX is the center of attention right now. Being a professional tool as it is, unlike e.g. the X-T or X-Pro cameras, which are for both pros and amateurs, I think we will soon be back on the right rumor track with more stuff about the cameras and lenses that most people can afford. But, I find it rather disturbing how much the different Fujifilm blogs and sites seem like an extended branch of Fujifilm's marketing department.

[milandro]

isn’t it what the internet ( blogging or anything else ) these days is all about?

 

Interent started as an anarchic ( as in no powers controlling it) idealistic phenomenon and it has progressively become a playing field dominated by interests of sorts.

 

Being politic or economic interest.

 

It might have not be the reason why they all started doing what they do, but it is certainly the way it goes. If someone spends time and puts work into publishing they want to see a return of some sort some time.

 

So, pushing a product might not necessarily mean they get paid by Fuji to do so ( that would be being a shill ) ,l but generates traffic and followeres, the more thraffic and more followers you have the more you are worth of the internet market.

 

There are bloggers ( facebookers, instagrammers and so on) who don’t have any other source of income than their internet publishing.

 

Like is a supermarket, we look around, pick what we need or are told we need ,we buy and we pay , in the end we all do.

 

Tanstaafl ( there is not such thing as a free lunch).  

 

 

.

Edited February 19, 2017 by milandro

[adzman808]

The GFX is an incredible achievement when you consider that literally 6 years ago people were eagerly anticipating the new top of the range Fuji, the HS20 bridge camera... and now look where they are

 

Fuji are quite honest that their bread and butter line is actually the Instax range....

 

Funnily enough Leica too no? Officially it's all M10 and SL, but they're now buying and selling Instax type cameras via Fuji, so PRESUMABLY really want a slice of that market

 

Makes you wonder just how profitable high end cameras really are... often the high end products (of any genre of product) exist to drive up value of the lower end range... that works because you go to the store to see the amazing GFX, but buy the Instax because you can actually afford that and don't want to come home empty handed

 

There's not so many people getting rich off their blog... trust me on that... you'd need millions of hits per anum to get a 'living wage'

 

And re the XF50

 

Can it be that's just not that exciting?

 

It's a budget lens (yet another budget lens from Fuji in fact) it's a bit of a less used FL in FF eqv (75mm) it has neither the headline grabbing aperture of the 56, the uniqueness of the 56 APD nor the "macro" of the 60

 

Also, to be fair to Fuji, they spoiled us with great, fast glass in previous years. It's quite possible (and accurately so, IMO) that they consider the APSC X range to be pretty mature. We're not really due any X-Pro/XT/X100 upgrade for a couple of years, and the GFX is the here and now

 

Of course... there's the POSSIBILITY that after the sales success of the 35 F2, Fuji came to the conclusion that for a large part of its customer base, outright IQ and fast apertures were of secondary importance to AF speed, looks and the tactile nature of the aperture ring. And thus decided the pro users would be better served with the GFX

Edited February 19, 2017 by adzman808

[milandro]

 Well, the reason the 50 f2  exists is that one of their best selling camera, the X-pro 2, isn’t dealing well with lenses that are occupying visual space of the OVF , hence the need for a whole new range of lenses.

 

And what’s wrong with “ budget lenses" anyway? Maybe one could learn that there is no direct relation between the quality of the picture and the price of your lens.

 

When I taught photography we made a point of giving the students an assignment whereby they HAD to use a box camera ( they could chose between an AGFA click or clack ) and shoot an  entire professional grade reportage with it learning to live with the camera (and lens, gee they are bad!) limitations.

 

[adzman808]

I didn't criticise budget lenses, did I?

 

I said the fast lens range was mature and that Fuji realised there was a big market for cheaper glass.

 

IMO the F2 WR range isn't just being driven by the XP2. The XP1 came out way before the XT line, and it was then that Fuji made the bigger lenses like the first 23 the 14 and the 56

 

I can't imagine that Fuji woke up one day circa early 2016 and said "OMG these lenses partially block the OVF, what can we do, we need to start making smaller glass" cos they'd already had big lenses and a OVF camera in their range for 4 years.

 

No. IMO the buget lenses play a similat role to the XE/XT10-20 line, they're largely the same as the top range items, but with slightly lesser performance (eg aperture) to make them more affordable, and again as per my example of high end driving low end value, people know that the 23 1.4 is a great lens, they've read that the 23 f2 is nearly as good but (what, 40%?) cheaper, so they feel comfortable chosing the cheaper one

 

And RE your part about sending students out into the field with less than stellar equipment teaches them that equipment isn't the be-all and end-all of photography, it's the fact that the hobbyists don't always get this that keeps the cash registers ringing whenever fuji/sony/etc release a new product that's fundamentally an increamental update on the previous model

Edited February 19, 2017 by adzman808

[milandro]

I didn’t say you did, I simply made my point, and that is that there is nothing wrong with smaller, budget (sic!) lenses.

 

Fuji made amply clear they made these lenses in order to use them particularly on the X-Pro-2 which OVF, an important feature for those who like it, was impaired. Also, as in the case of the 35mm, they were supposed to be faster in focus and WR.

[adzman808]

The F2 glass will also suit the XT10/20 and XE line

 

I have both 35s the AF isn't that much different in real life usage, sure as a percentage the f2 might be a lot faster, but IRL the math of 0.2 of a second vs 0.1* isn't the difference between getting the shot or not, its the difference between reading camera reviews and looking at AF specs and buying that lens or not

 

(*I made those figures up, there are NOT representative)

[milandro]

they will but the 56 1.2 , 23 1.4 won’t and the 35 were a pain for the x-pro-2 user who wanted to use the OVF, which is why they were needed. being cheaper, quicker and smaller was an added bonus for us all.

[adzman808]

Well, much like how you said (in the other thread) that you've never needed to shoot above iso 1600, I can honestly say that I've never missed a shot due to the 35 1.4 protruding into the OVF of my X-Pro cameras

[frankinfuji]

The 50 f2 is possibly my next lens 'investment', so I'm also waiting for a thorough review. The 56mm is a bit big and expensive for me, so the new GFX range isn't even on my radar. For me, excess weight spoils the user experience, as I don't enjoy carting heavy gear around.

[flysurfer]

The XF50mmF2 R WR is a great lens. I have nothing to complain about. It's similar to the 23mmF2, and I recommend it w/o reservations. I remember publishing sample images and a bokeh comparison many weeks ago. 

 

I haven't published a (p)review so far. Nobody pays anything for any of those (not even bribes or gear or broken promises), and one of my New Year's resolutions was to scale back on "Fuji X Charity". Hence also no First Looks at the X100F or X-T20 (which I also like even though neither of them is perfect). That said, the X-T20 offers very good value and pretty much sits on a sweet spot.

[kimcarsons]

The XF50mmF2 R WR is a great lens. I have nothing to complain about. It's similar to the 23mmF2, and I recommend it w/o reservations. I remember publishing sample images and a bokeh comparison many weeks ago. 

 

I haven't published a (p)review so far. Nobody pays anything for any of those (not even bribes or gear or broken promises), and one of my New Year's resolutions was to scale back on "Fuji X Charity". Hence also no First Looks at the X100F or X-T20 (which I also like even though neither of them is perfect). That said, the X-T20 offers very good value and pretty much sits on a sweet spot.

 

I only just now realized there's not a "dislike" button on this forum...

[flysurfer]

I only just now realized there's not a "dislike" button on this forum...

 

 

Some folks simply expect too much. In my case, several users literally demanded that I write First Looks on everything new in two languages and publish them on the day new stuff is announced. At they same time, I received complaints about books being not available or not being available in German.

 

Luckily, Fujifilm has a large number of popular X photographers who publish plenty of First Looks. Obviously, they are compensated, but that doesn't diminish their work. I reckon the 50mmF2 had to take a bis of a back seat because it was announced on the same day along with the GFX, T20 and X100F.

[petergabriel]

Thanks @flysurfer. Great shots. Lens looks promising indeed.

[mdm]

I only just now realized there's not a "dislike" button on this forum...

 

Well, to acquire dislike button you should to like something first.

[kimcarsons]

Some folks simply expect too much. In my case, several users literally demanded that I write First Looks on everything new in two languages and publish them on the day new stuff is announced. At they same time, I received complaints about books being not available or not being available in German.

 

Luckily, Fujifilm has a large number of popular X photographers who publish plenty of First Looks. Obviously, they are compensated, but that doesn't diminish their work. I reckon the 50mmF2 had to take a bis of a back seat because it was announced on the same day along with the GFX, T20 and X100F.

 

Oh believe me, I get it. You've got to make a living. That doesn't make the 'charity' remark any less unpalatable.

[flysurfer]

Oh believe me, I get it. You've got to make a living. That doesn't make the 'charity' remark any less unpalatable.

 

 

Ending every year with a Fuji-related negative 5-digit balance has to stop in order to avoid going broke. So I'm simply shifting priorities. The  reviewing activity is now relegated to my spare time, and there's little of that when Fuji puts out 4 new products at once. I am confident that there will be opportunities to write up interesting free stuff, but my timing is now based on available spare time and not on Fuji's product announcement dates. The weeks around these announcement dates are usually pretty busy with a lot of non-exciting but actually paid work coming in, and I have two (or maybe 3 or 4) additional Fuji X book projects ahead of me, each in two languages. The past years have indeed been charitiy with regards to my bottom line. My English might be insufficient, but charity is giving money for a (good) cause, right? I love to contribute to the community, but it shall not cost me my existence. My family and my bank account kept telling me that I needed to scale that back. I have no interest in becoming a paid shill or setting up a websites filled with ads and reflinks and donate buttons or paid premium content. Beyond forums and blogs, I also like to interact with real Fuji X users, so I run my home workshops "at cost" to open them to as many people as possible. Folks seem to appreciate that, that's why every available weekend between February and June has already been booked, and I'm already developing a new (third) workshop format for the second half of 2017. Of course this also means that my weekends are quite busy. It's either a workshop weekend, or I am traveling (Malta in March, California in April) to produce sample images with new gear like GFX. Of course, none of these trips are in any way subsidized or even authorized by Fujifilm. In fact, I have to buy a full GFX kit in order to have one for the planned Malta samples images in March, because Fujifilm made it clear that they wouldn't have review equipment available for me in time. So once again, my resolutions are in danger.

[algrove]

Lack of comments/reviews might be a symptom of limited product in the marketplace.  I do believe B&H has yet to ship them, but I did see Amazon got a few out the door.

[flysurfer]

I have already seen plenty of positive comments and nice sample images from users in the sister X forum. Some markets are usually earlier than others, so that's certainly a possibility.

[Noon]

Mine should be here early next week - it is on its way.

 

I kind of trust Fuji to get this right, without reading any reviews - after all it is a 50mm f2 fixed focal length lens, and figured they probably learnt how to do that already !

[milandro]

that’s fuji love!