Fujifilm Announces New Lens
Fujifilm has announced the Fujinon XF 18 mm f/1.4 R LM WR lens, expected to be launched in May, 2021. It is reportedly, the 39th lens in Fujifilm’s line of interchangeable lenses, made exclusively for the X Series family of mirrorless digital cameras. The lens utilises three aspherical lenses and an extra-low dispersion (ED) lens out of its 15 lens elements, spread across 9 groups, to minimise chromatic and comatic aberration. It has a 35 mm equivalent focal length of 27 mm and can reportedly achieve focus on subjects 11 cm away from the front lens element.
It uses an internal autofocus (AF) system, driven by a powerful linear motor, to provide fast, accurate, and near-silent AF. From the lens’ minimum object distance (MOD) of 20 cm to infinity, the focussing group of lens elements travels a total of 2.5 mm. The lens has a 62 mm filter thread, measures 7.56 cm in length, and weighs 370 g. It has weather-resistant seals at eight locations along the lens barrel, making it resistant to dust, moisture, and temperatures as low as 14°F (-10°C) when used with a weatherresistant X-Series digital camera. It is also designed with an A (Auto) Position
Lock to lock the aperture ring into the A position, preventing accidental movement. The Fujinon XF 18 mm f/1.4 R LM WR Lens is expected to be available in late May, 2021 at a manufacturer’s suggested retail price of USD 999.
T he World Photography Organisation has announced the overall winners of the Sony World Photography Awards 2021. The Photographer of the Year title and accompanying USD 25,000 cash prize and range of Sony digital imaging kit was awarded to the documentarian Craig Easton (United Kingdom) for his series ‘Bank Top’. Also announced are the ten category winners alongside the overall winners of the Open, Student and Youth competitions.
Winning photographers of the Professional competition are Tomáš Vocelka (Czech Republic) for his series Eternal Hunting Grounds (Architecture and Design category), Mark Hamilton Gruchy (United Kingdom) for his series The Moon
Revisited (Creative category), Vito Fusco (Italy) for his series The Killing Daisy (Documentary Projects category), Simone Tramonte (Italy) for his series Net-zero Transition (Environment category), Majid Hojjati (Islamic Republic of Iran) for his series Silent Neighbourhoods (Landscape category), Laura Pannack (United Kingdom) for her submission Portfolio Overview (Portfolio category), Craig Easton (United Kingdom) for his series Bank Top (Portraiture category), Anas Alkharboutli (Syrian Arab Republic) for his series Sport and Fun Instead of War and Fear (Sport category), Peter Eleveld (Netherlands) for his series Still Life Composition, Shot on Wet Plate (Still Life category) and Luis Tato (Spain) for his series Locust Invasion in East Africa (Wildlife and Nature category). Tamary Kudita (Zimbabwe) won the Open Photographer of the Year 2021 title along with a USD 5,000 cash prize. Coenraad Heinz Torlage (South Africa) of the Stellenbosch Academy of Design and Photography was awarded Student Photographer of the Year 2021, winning EUR 30,000 worth of Sony photography equipment for his institution. Pubarun Basu (India) won Youth Photographer of the Year 2021 for his image ‘No Escape from Reality’ and Graciela Iturbide (Mexico) was awarded this year’s Outstanding Contribution to Photography award.
Fujifilm has announced the launch of its new Instax Mini 40 Instant Camera. The camera boasts an Automatic Exposure function that automatically senses the level of ambient light when the shutter button is pressed, and optimises the shutter speed and flash output according to the scene. It enables users to activate the Selfie Mode by pulling out the front-end edge of the lens after powering the camera on.
Also accompanying the launch of Mini 40 is new Instax Mini Contact Sheet instant film. The design of the new instant film is reportedly inspired by a photographer’s contact sheet. As with all Instax Mini instant films, Contact Sheet will be available in a single pack with 10 exposures. The Fujifilm Instax Mini 40 instant camera will be available at a manufacturer’s suggested retail price of USD 99.99 and is expected to be available for purchase by the end of April, 2021.