Clarification + Update Regarding the XF Lens Production Moving from Japan and China to Philippines

June 9, 2017
Rumors
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XF18-55 made in Japan (old) and made in Philippines (new)

Lens Production Moving to Philippines

Ok guys, I went through your comments regarding the “XF lenses made in Philippines” article yesterday here, and I perceived some confusion. So I thought I take my time to clarify a few things:

↓ A source told me that Fujifilm is moving the production of SOME lenses to Philippines. The same source also said that, in the long-term, MAYBE it could be even ALL X-mount lenses, but it was not sure about this. This is why yesterday I wrote: “A kind source (thanks) informed me that Fujifilm is moving the production of some X-mount lenses (maybe even ALL X-mount lenses), to the Philippines.” ↓

So the sure thing is, that the production of some lenses is moving from other countries to Philippines. As we could see in the last few days here on FR, this is happening now with the XF18-135 and XF27mm (which are made in China).

But also XF lenses made originally in Japan, are now moving (or already moved) to the Philippines. For example, take a look at the image above. You can see how my personal XF 18-55 is made in Japan, whereas the XF 18-55 a FR-reader purchased recently in Austria is made in the Philippines. The reader told me that her 18-55 is of impeccable quality, as well as her X-T20, which is made in China.

So the source is right: Fujifilm is moving the production of some lenses (made in China or Japan) to Philippines.

The part my source could not tell me for sure, was, if it will affect all XF lenses in future. It’s a possibility, but it’s not sure yet. I will write an update as soon as I can.

↓ Made in Philippines is not bad at all ↓

Some people perceived my blog post yesterday, as if I would be worried, that quality will suffer if lenses are made in Philippines. But I am not worried at all. As long as Fujifilm keeps the same quality standards as in their Japanese factories, to me, that’s not a problem. And let me add, also as long as Fujifilm treats workers well.

I mean, many of you will probably read this article on a Macbook, iPad or iPhone… which are all made in China. Do you perceive them as badly assembled?

So “made in Philippines” does not mean we lose any quality. Fujifilm sets the quality standard in their factories, and I am sure, wherever they make their lenses, they will be high quality.

the XF 18-135 and XF 27mm MK II that popped up on several stores is only because of product number change

My post yesterday was also mainly a response to all the MK II versions we saw popping up on stores worldwide. I wanted to inform you that you should NOT expect any new lens, but that only the product number changed.

Ok… these were the two main clarifications I thought I needed to make.

take care, and enjoy your weekend :)
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