The Fuji 200mm f2 has been nicknamed “The great white sharp”. And with good reason. Even if this lens is out of your price range you should try it out at least once.
The 300mm f/2.8, to which the Fuji 200mm f2 is (roughly) equivalent, seems to be a flagship of many lens lineups. Offering a balance of reach and speed that is suited to sports, wildlife and events. So it makes sense for Fujifilm to make a lens like this. And with the XF 200mm f2, they went all in.
Size, weight and build #
There's no getting around it, the Fuji 200mm f2 is a big and heavy lens. Weighing in at over 2kg and measuring over 20cm (without the supplied lens hood). The build is, as you would expect on a premium lens, comfortingly solid and weather sealed (in 17 places).
When not in use there is no audible rattling from the OIS or focus motors (apparently there's an additional mechanism that fixes the focus motor group in place when the camera is turned off).
The only change we'd like to see would be a stiffer aperture ring. Due to its size and looseness it was accidentally moved on a few occasions.
The lens comes supplied with an excellent carrying case which was surprisingly comfortable and useful. If you remove the insert which holds the teleconverter the case will fit the lens with a body attached, providing a convenient way to transport and carry the setup.
Comparing the tiny XF 23mm f/2 to the monster Fuji 200mm f2
Features #
The tripod foot of the Fuji 200mm f2 has an Arca-type groove, removing the need to add an additional plate. The tripod collar also allows for easy rotation. The AF-limiter switch allows you to either restrict the focus range from 5m-∞ or use the full focus range of 1.8m-∞.
AF buttons
There are four identical buttons at 90º angles round the barrel of the lens. These buttons can be set to activate the AF, lock the AF or jump to a predefined focus distance. Handy for events and sports where you're at a fixed distance and may need to snap focus back to a podium, goal or base at a moments notice.
The Fuji 200mm f2 takes an enormous 105mm filter thread
Image stabilisation
The lens features five stops of image stabilisation. In use, it seemed closer to four stops but proved to be very effective, easily allowing hand held images at 1/15s. The stabilisation was also helpful for video, hand holding 200mm whilst filming is fairly stable.
Autofocus
Tested on the X-T4 the linear motor autofocus system was incredibly fast and nearly silent. No complaints.
The included 1.4x teleconverter. When attached the Fuji 200mm f2 becomes an 280mm f/2.8
XF 1.4x TC F2 WR Teleconverter #
The XF 1.4x TC F2 WR Teleconverter is included with the Fuji 200mm f2. Attaching the converter extends the focal length to 280mm and reduces the aperture by one stop to f/2.8. Autofocus and image stabilisation are unaffected when the teleconverter is attached and image exif is updated to show the teleconverter was used.
Image quality remains excellent when using the teleconverter and I wouldn't hesitate to use it if I needed the extra reach. There is only a very slight drop in sharpness.
Using the included 1.4x teleconverter with the Fuji 200mm f2 shows only a slight drop in sharpness.
The lens is made of 19 elements in 14 groups, including one large-diameter super ED lens element and two large-diameter ED lens elements to minimize chromatic aberration. High-precision polishing technology, developed for broadcast lenses, has been used to prepare the large-diameter lens elements to achieve outstanding image-resolving performance and creamy bokeh.
100% crop from XF 200mm f2 wide open
Image quality #
There isn't a lot to say here other than the image quality, color rendition and bokeh is fantastic. The Fuji 200mm f2 is incredibly sharp wide open and shows little distortion or vignetting.
Fuji XF 200mm f2 sample images #
The Scottish weather and wildlife provided a worthy testing ground for the XF 200mm f2. Over the course of a few days the lens handled the dark forests of the Cairngorms National Park and the strong winds & rain on the Scottish coast. The Fuji XF 200mm f2 didn't miss a beat.
When I first saw a deer shaped silhouette in the woodland, I had no idea there was more than one. Cairngorms National Park, Scotland
Puffins on Handa Island, Scotland
Puffins on Handa Island, Scotland
Handa Island, Scotland
Cairngorms National Park, Scotland
RSPB Scotland Fowlsheugh
RSPB Scotland Fowlsheugh
Glen Muick, Cairngorms National Park, Scotland
Glen Muick, Cairngorms National Park, Scotland
Glen Tanar, Cairngorms National Park, Scotland
Glen Tanar, Cairngorms National Park, Scotland
Glen Tanar, Cairngorms National Park, Scotland
Video samples #
Hand holding a 2kg 200mm lens isn't going to produce the steadiest footage. But as you can see from the clips below, combined with the IBIS of the X-T4, the footage was usable. Perhaps the bigger issue is finding 105mm ND filters.
Short handheld video samples
The Fuji XF 200mm f2 is pricey. But you get what you pay for. This lens is fast, sharp and very well built. Offering Fuji shooters a combination of reach and light-gathering ability that was previously unavailable.