Fujifilm Fujinon GF30mm F5.6 T/S review
What is it?
The Fujifilm Fujinon GF30mm F5.6 T/S is a highly anticipated lens in the GFX system. Why? Because, it’s the first serious challenger to the Canon TS-E lenses (and the Nikon PC Nikkors), which are routinely adapted to fit on the larger-sensor GFX cameras.
As a 30mm lens designed to cover the 44x33mm MF sensor, it is the equivalent of a 24mm in full-frame 35mm terms and is, without doubt, the most popular focal length for architecture and interiors. The manual-focus lens will also appeal to landscape photographers.
(Arguably, a 35mm tilt/shift might be as popular or even more so (the Nikon and Zeiss 35mm shift-only models are still sought-after, with the latter going for £1,000 or more secondhand) but there aren’t any in production currently, and it’s an often asked-for focal length for exteriors like this new lens and interiors. Fujifilm, if you’re reading this, a 35mm tilt/ shift might be a good follow-up, or shave some off the price and offer a 35mm shift only)
As a tilt-shift lens, it offers +/- 8.5° tilt, +/- 15 mm shift. However, it’s the latter feature that’s likely of most interest to potential users. Tilt is nice to have but it’s difficult to employ in regular use even when you have the benefit of an EVF. Still, to compete with the highly regarded Canon TS-E 24mm F3.5L II it must be seen to compare favourably on specs.
Like modern rival lenses, both shift and tilt can be deployed independently or together in the same ‘direction’, or offset up to 90 degrees, then effectively offering shift with ‘swing.’ The tilt/shift mechanism can also be rotated, of course, with detents at every 30 degrees.
This lens uses an advanced optical design with no less than 16 elements in 11 groups and adopts one Super ED (similar properties to fluorite) and 3x ED glass elements. The minimum focus is a typical 30cm. Some profile corrections are applied to RAW files and out-of-camera JPEGs for EVF and LCD viewing but they’re subtle, even when viewed in something like FastRaw Viewer, which can ignore them.
Priced at £3,899 inc VAT ($3,999) at launch, it’s a considerable investment. My sample is engraved with ‘Made in Japan’.
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