Your Most Accurate Look Yet: Render of the Fujinon XF500mm f/5.6 R LM OIS WR

When FR-reader Hiergeist made for us the size comparison of the Fujinon XF500mm f/5.6 R LM WR OIS with other X/GF lensers, he created a beautiful rendering of that lens.

However, right after we shared the comparison, a source reached out to FujiRumors suggesting some adjustments in order to make the lens as close as possible to the real deal.

I passed the sources’ feedback to Hiergeist, who then made the rendering based on that feedback (THANKS). You can see the result above.

The size is indeed similar to the one of the Fujinon GF500mm f/5.6 R LM OIS WR, but there are also some differences.

  • the tripod collar ring and the button panel are inverted compared to the GF500mmF5.6. In fact, it will the first of the “white XF lenses” to have that layout (first the buttons, then the tripod ring)
  • the XF version is white whereas the GF lens is black
  • the tripod mount slightly protrudes into the button panel, but there is a ever so slight gap between the tripod mount and the button panel, so that it does not interfere with it
  • on the XF500mm aperture goes up to f/22 instead of f/32 on the GF500mm.

Again: this is a rendering, so it is not the 100% final lens. But the render is based on input from our sources, so I’d expect the real lens to be extremely close to our rendering.

Thanks again Hiergeist!!! And thanks to our sources!

Fujinon XF 500mmF5.6 Coming in White Color unlike GF 500mmF5.6

The long telephoto prime lens of Fujifilm is finally coming: the Fujinon XF500mm f/5.6!

The announcement is scheduled to happen within this year.

But a question urged fellow FR-reader Hiergeist here:

Will it be black like the GFX 500 or white like the XF 200?

Well, we have the answer: unlike its G mount counterpart, the Fujinon GF 500mm f/5.6 which comes in black, the Fujinon XF500mmF5.6 will come in white color, making it Fujifilm’s third XF lens in white after the Fujinon XF200mmF2 and the Fujinon XF150-600mmF5.6-8.

More rumors to follow, so definitely stay tuned.

Chinese Manufacturers Developing Autofocus Zoom Lenses also for APS-C and the FujiRumors Top Zoom Lens Wishes

According to reports from the Chiense Weibo account 独立摄影师联合会, three (3) Chinese lens manufacturers are developing autofocus zoom lenses, as reported here.

It’s unclear how many of them will be also for APS-C, but for sure at least one brand will be offering also an APS-C zoom lens.

We know: Viltrox is working on autofocus zoom lenses.

So there will be two more brands joining.

In the Chinese prime lens world, we often see just the very same lens being re-branded over and over again. Let’s hope this won’t be the case with these zoom lenses, and that they all will be unique zoom lenses that not only differentiate from each other, but will also offer something not yet available in the Fujifilm X mount world.

And in terms of zoom lenses, here are the top 3 zoom lens wishes as voted in our mega-lens survey back in 2022.

Top 6 Zoom lenses:

  1. XF 16-55mm f/2.8 MK II
  2. XF 16-35mm f/2
  3. XF 11-30mm f/2.8
  4. XF 16-70mm f/2.8-4
  5. XF 16-135mm f/4
  6. XF 18-55mm f/2.8-4 MK II

Since some are similar, we could merge them into a single lens, and ultimately come up with this lis:

Top 6 Zoom lenses (with some lenses merged into 1 lens)

  1. XF 14-30mm f/2.0
  2. XF 16-55mm f/2.8 MK II
  3. XF 16-70mm f/2.8-4
  4. XF 16-135mm f/4
  5. XF 18-55mm f/2.8-4 MK II
  6. XF 23-55mm f/2

If you want to know what the overall most wanted lenses are (primes included) check out this article here.

Fujinon XF500mmF5.6 Size Comparison vs Other XF and GF Lenses (Based on Speculations)

FR-reader Hiergeist made a rendering of the Fujinon XF 500mm f/5.6 R LM OIS WR and compared its size to the Fujinon XF200mmF2, XF150-600mm and also the GF500mmF5.6.

There is a difference in flange distance between G-mount and X-mount of 9 mm – so the lens has to be 9 mm longer at the mount (assuming the optics will be almost identical between GFX 500 and XF 500). Hiergeist aligned the picture along the lens mount.

To be clear:

  1. this is not the real lens, just a rendering
  2. the size of the XF500mmF5.6 is based on the speculation that because it has the same filter size of the GF500mmF5.6, Fujifilm might simply have made and XF version by changing the mount

If that was the case then that is what that lens would look like mounted on an X-H2.

REPORT: Fujifilm X-M5 Release in October: 26MP, 4K/120p, Cheap Build Quality and Made in Thailand

The Chinese Weibo account 独立摄影师联合会 unveiled that it could already go hands on with the upcoming Fujifilm X-M5. In his Chinese tweet he says here:

I just saw the real Fujifilm XM5, which is probably made in Thailand. I feel the workmanship is not very good. It will be released next month [sad face]

Update: It is a prototype, no wonder it feels a bit loose [doge] It has an unusual color scheme, which is quite cool ​​​

This is also the camera that hides behind the code FF240002.

In a follow up tweet a few days later the Chinese account shared some specs here:

  • 26MP X-Trans BSI image sensor
  • X-Processor 5 image processor
  • 3-inch vari-angle touchscreen
  • 4K60p video (4K120p in crop mode)
  • Vlog mode
  • 425-point hybrid autofocus system
  • 20 built-in film simulations
  • Bluetooth and Wi-Fi
  • Expected to be released in October 2024

A little curiosity: there was a time, when the cheapest Fujifilm cameras sold insanely well in Thailand, grabbing 50% of the mirrorless camera market share as we reported here.

Let’s see if the Fujifilm X-M5 will be able to have a similar success as the X-A line had in Thailand. Although I doubt that, as times have changed since back in 2018 and smartphone cameras have become even better. And for Vloggers filming content on the go and without huge image quality aspirations, gear like the DJI Osmo Pocket 3 or similar might be the more convenient pick.

But let’s see how the X-M5 turns out to be.

I am personally not interested in it but I hope the Fujifilm X-M5 will have some aspects that surprise me positively. Fujifilm (or should I say Xacti? ;)) was quite ingenious with some ideas implemented in their cheapest cameras and still today I do not understand why Fujifilm has not passed those ideas to higher end models.