First Look: Fujifilm XF90mmF2 R LM WR

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XF90mmF2 R LM WR Official Specs and Information

Rico’s XF90mmF2 R LM WR Sample Images – Rico’s XF90mmF2 R LM WR Bokeh Test

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My XF90mmF2 R LM WR pre-production sample is probably the most amazing lens I’ve every used. This is weird, because in their notes accompanying the lens, Fujifilm emphasized that hardware, firmware and image quality weren’t quite final. Well, if this ain’t final—how in the world are they going to top it?

The XF90mmF2 R LM WR delivers extremely sharp, three-dimensional images with attractive bokeh, and it does so even at its maximum aperture setting of f/2.

The construction of 11 elements in 8 groups (including three ED glass elements) is optically corrected for distortion and delivers little vignetting (which is digitally corrected, anyway).

Obviously, this is a portrait lens, but thanks to its minimum focus distance of 60cm, you can also use it to get close to other things—up to a magnification of about 0.2.

The lens weighs 540g and features what Fuji calls a “Quad Linear Motor” for fast (and also very accurate) autofocus. It’s weather and dust resistant and specified to work in temperatures down to -10°C.

As of now, I wasn’t able to spot any chromatic aberrations, and the rounded aperture blades combined with an optical construction designed to minimize vignetting create a beautiful (I think) bokeh right to the edge of the image. Check it out in my bokeh test sample album which includes SOOC JPEGs and RAW-processed versions of two series covering all apertures from f/2 down to f/16.

The autofocus of my lens was fast enough to catch fleeting moments and expressions of people attending two different garden parties, and it was pretty much always spot-on, which is important given the often very small depth-of-field at open aperture.

The results are simply stunning with regards to sharpness, detail, three-dimensional rendering and bokeh. Obviously, talk is cheap, so here’s a link to an album with 45 of my own sample images.

I’m already looking up countries that have no extradition treaty with Germany. You know, just in case someone from Fuji calls and wants me to return their lens.

XF 90mmF2 WR Pre-order Options

XF 90mmF2 WR: USA: AmazonUS / BHphoto / Adorama EU: AmazonDE / AmazonUK / AmazonFR / WexUK / Cameraworld / PCHstore / AUS: Camerapro
(*) pre-order available in any moment

For your convenience, here’s a TOC with links to my previous X-PERT CORNER articles:

Rico Pfirstinger studied communications and has been working as journalist, publicist, and photographer since the mid-80s. He has written a number of books on topics as diverse as Adobe PageMaker and sled dogs, and produced a beautiful book of photographs titled Huskies in Action (German version). He has spent time working as the head of a department with the German Burda-Publishing Company and served as chief editor for a winter sports website. After eight years as a freelance film critic and entertainment writer in Los Angeles, Rico now lives in Germany and devotes his time to digital photography and compact camera systems. His new ebook The Fujifilm X-T1: 111 X-Pert Tips is available at Rocky Nook.

"The Fujifilm X-E2: Beyond the Manual""The Fujifilm X-T1 – 111 X-Pert Tipps"First Impressions Fuji X Secrets Mastering the Fujifilm X-Pro1 Review Rico Pfirstinger Shooting Experience X-PERT CORNER X-T1 XF90mmF2 R LM WR