mkII

Hopes For A Fujifilm 18mm F2 MkII

Mock up of how I would love to see a new Fujinon 18mm f2 with true manual focus instead of by wire

Mock up of how I would love to see a new Fujinon 18mm f2 with true manual focus instead of by wire

There are probably three popular choices when it comes to street photography lenses. There’s the 50mm, 35mm, and the 28mm (in full-frame terms). In a crop factor of 1.5 like the Fujifilm X-Series cameras have, that would be 35mm, 23mm, and 18mm. We already have 2 versions of the XF 35mm and 2 versions of the XF 23mm (more if you include the XC series). But the original 18mm f2 sits on its own and compared to the newer Fujicron lenses (as they have been nicknamed), like the 16mm, 23mm, 35mm, and 50mm, the 18/2 is getting long in the tooth.

The original Fujifilm 18/2 (left) and the Leica 28/2 Summicron (right). Leica do make beautiful glass

The original Fujifilm 18/2 (left) and the Leica 28/2 Summicron (right). Leica do make beautiful glass

The Fujifilm X70 is still the best Fujifilm option for 28mm field of view for street photography at the moment, IMO.

HOPES AND DREAMS AS A STREET PHOTOGRAPHER

There are rumours that Fujifilm are working on two MkII versions of older lenses and I would think it would be two of the original lenses released along side the X-Pro1 in 2012. Those lenses were the 18/2 the 35/1.4 and the 60mm f2.4 Macro. My best guess would be that one of the new MkII lenses will be the 18'/s.

So as a street photographer, what I feel is lacking in the X-Series lenses is a proper street lens like the Leica 28mm f2 (above) and the Voightlander equivalent. So here is what I would love in a new 18/2 lens from Fujifilm.

  1. Old school manual focus (not by wire) that has hard stops at either end of the focus range.

  2. A depth of field scale printed on the lens that accurately matches that of the camera.

  3. A similar size and shape to the 16/2.8.

  4. A focus tab on the focus ring.

  5. Feet and metres marked on the focus ring in bright, but different colours.

  6. A small detachable metal lens hood.

I know what you are thinking - just buy a damn Leica 28mm Summicron. But A. I shoot Fuji cameras. and B. I couldn’t afford a Summicron (or any Leica gear).

Fujifilm make some of the most popular cameras for street photography. The X100V and the X70 are amazing and have fixed lenses. I highly recommend both. But the X-Pro series are fantastic cameras for street, especially having hybrid viewfinders. It’s frustrating as a street shooter that my chosen brand of camera has nothing to offer in a proper 28mm focal length that is up to the job of not only being able to autofocus but to be excellent at manual focusing.

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ZONE FOCUSING

Street shooters like me often Zone Focus when out on the streets. But we also need the ability to quickly go from our prefered distance to either our close focus distance or infinity, especially on days where the light is low and we can’t shoot at f11 or even f8. A focus tab is ideal for this as it allows you to gauge focus ring distances without looking at the lens.

Who knows what Fujifilm will do if they actually make a new version of the 18/2, but I really hope they will think about what a 28mm (FF) focal length lens is mostly used for. Imagine if they also made a new 23/2 like this too! I’m sure they could win over many Leica and Ricoh street shooters with two reasonably priced Fujicron’s.with the best manual focus performance in the range!

Fujifilm X100F: Auto Detect WCL & TCL Lenses

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If you have a Fujifilm X100F (update: or X100V) and the older mk1 WCL-X100 wide angle, and/or the TCL-X100 teleconverter lenses, and you’re still diving into the menus or using up an Fn button to tell the camera when any of these are attached…read on.

The X100F has a magnet next to the front element of the lens (under the surface), as does each of the newer mkII lenses. So when the WCL or TCL are screwed on to the font of the camera, these two magnets react to each other and the camera automatically switches to whichever lens is attached and corrects for barrel distortion. How does the X100F know which of the two lenses are attached I here you say? Simple; The polarity of the magnets are reversed on each lens. So the magnet on one lens pulls and the other pushes. But the original two conversion lenses don’t have magnets on them.

I bought a packet of really small magnets on Amazon UK and I crudely attached them using gaffe tape inside of the lenses next to the rear element. But they were either not strong enough or too slim. So I attached a second magnet on to each of them, this time just held by their own magnetic strength. They then worked as they should and although I meant to go back an do a neater job, I’ve never got round to it and the magnets have never moved at all. I might go back and use one magnet on each, with a bit of black Sugru to stick them down and raise them up at the same time.

The boxes that come with each of the conversion lenses actually have magnets inside the lids. If you don’t mind destroying your boxes you can cut these out with a sharp knife and use them.

INSTRUCTIONS

  1. Move the magnet over the front of the lens (close to the FUJINON logo).

  2. Check the viewfinder to see the point where the W or T symbol appears.

  3. Make a note if it was W or T and keep the magnet facing in the same direction (polarity).

  4. Place a piece of tape on the aperture dial where the magnet reacted (don’t move the dial).

  5. Now screw each lens and place a piece of tape on them at the same point as the camera’s

  6. Remove the lenses & attach a magnet using tape inside the back of the lens (see picture).

  7. You might need to re-check the polarity to make sure it’s correct for each lens.

  8. Screw the lenses on and check that the camera automatically switches to WCL or TCL.

  9. If the camera doesn’t automatically adjust, add another magnet on top of the first one

That’s it. No more menu diving or using up an Fn button. Plus, you’ve just saved a load of money buying the WCL or TCL mkII’s.

Good luck.