Fujifilm Fujinon GF50mm F3.5 R LM WR lens review

What is it? The Fujifilm Fujinon GF50mm is a highly compact and relatively lightweight lens for Fujifilm medium format mirrorless cameras. It's the equivalent of a 40mm on a full-frame 35mm camera, and at one time, back in the 70s, this focal length was hugely popular. Much of that had to do with price, as they competed with medium-speed (F1.8/2) 50mms - the kit lenses of the day - and were often sold as a more affordable alternative. These smaller and lighter 3-group, 4-element Tessar "pancake" designs were and still are highly compelling. Indeed, today the Olympus Zuiko 40mm F2 is around £600, secondhand, and the Contax Zeiss T* 45mm F2.8 is around the £200 mark for a good condition sample. It's a tiny gem and wonderful on a small body like the Contax 159MM or the later Contax Aria, but it has a dark side in that it's tricky to focus due to aperture-dependent focus shift and field curvature. Though that lens was, of course, for small-format 35mm cameras, which we call 'full-f