Fujifilm announces XF 18mm f/1.4 R LM WR lens
Fujifilm has announced the XF18mm f/1.4 R LM WR lens, which will retail for $1,749 locally.
The wide-angle prime is the 39th lens in Fujifilm’s lineup, and is equivalent to 27mm in 35mm format. It's compact too - 7.56cm long, and weighs in at a surprisingly lightweight 370 grams.
Internally, the lens is constructed of 15 elements in nine groups, and includes three aspherical lenses and one extra-low dispersion (ED) element to minimise chromatic and comatic aberration. The lens uses an internal autofocusing system driven by a linear motor, which Fujifilm says is capable of achieving focus as quickly as 0.04 seconds, and there's also a manual focus ring.
The lens has a minimum focus distance of 11cm, making it suitable for a variety of photography, and it's also weather sealed along eight locations on the lens barrel, which makes it resistant to dust, moisture, and temperatures as low as -10 degrees celcius.
Fujifilm has also developed a metal hood for the lens that can be purchased separately, which it says will help prevent flare and ghosting. The rectangular hood will retail for a healthy $99.