Laowa 9mm F2.8 for Fuji X

SonyAlphaRumors leaked the images of the Laowa 9mm F2.8 lens, which will come soon for Fujifilm X, Sony E and Canon EOS M APS-C cameras. Below you can see some sample images, also leaked by SAR. One sample shows the distortion, which seems to be minimal.

Laowa lenses are made by the Chinese manufacturer Venus Optics, but as already highlighted by TheCameraStoreTV in their Best/Worst 2017 epsiode, we see more and more quality products coming from China, and they specifically mention Laowa lenses amongst those Chinese quality products.

Speaking of Chinese quality products, I own the small Chinese Sirui T-025x carbon Travel Tripod, which so far never let me down and I consider excellent value for the money. It might not last forever like a $1,000 Gitzo Tripod, but it’s really well made and you can buy 5 Sirui tripods for that money ;) . Recommended!

And then, think at Chinese drones or Godox speedlights and so forth. Sure, there is still a lot of cheap stuff coming from China, but we start to see some good products too… and Laowa lenses are definitely one of the best expressions of the Chinese photography industry.

So it’s great to see them offering soon native X-mount lenses.

There Will Be Kaizen… for X-T20

*** NEW FIRMWARE TODAY ***
for X-T1, X100F and X-T20.
All details here

Fujifilm just ended 2017 with a bunch of firmware updates, some definitely worth to be called Kaizen, like the one for the X-T2 last month and the upcoming X-Pro2 firmware.

However, X-T20 owners were not so lucky, and basically could enjoy just the new EVF/Touch screen feature. Hence, all X-T20 were disappointed not to get the faster AF-tracking, the highlight blinkies, the RGB histogram and more.

But there is hope :)

Fujifilm Germany said in the comments (back on December 1) to one of their facebook posts (google translated):

“The x-T20 will get this feature [X RAW Studio support] with an extensive firmware update. The update is expected to be available early / spring 2018. Unfortunately, implementation is not possible for all models at the same time.”

If Fujifilm Germany has correct information, then it is just a matter of time, and also Fujifilm X-T20 owners will get their Kaizen Love. And considering how successful the X-T20 line is, the “extensive X-T20 firmware update” in early 2018 will make many photographers happy.

Thanks to the FR-reader, who just dropped me this link. As you can see, it seems a news only exists once it is on FujiRumors. So even though the comment is old, there were no reports about it on the web.

However, what I don’t see, you see it. Thanks a TON for your support. It means everything to me. Feel free to keep up sharing :)