Fujifilm's XF 100-400mm f4.5-5.6 is a super-telephoto zoom for its X-mount mirrorless cameras upon which it delivers a 150-600mm equivalent range. This gives it the longest reach of any lens in the X catalogue to date, making it ideal for capturing distant subjects. Mount it on one of Fujifilm's more recent bodies with improved autofocus and you'll be able to successfully track and shoot sports or wildlife, opening the X-series to serious action photography. As you'd hope, the optical stabilisation works well and the lens is built and weather-sealed to satisfy the demands of professionals. There's several telephotos for the X-series now, but none with the reach of the 100-400mm, and if you want more, just couple it with the XF 1.4X converter for a maximum focal length of 840mm. Recommended if you need long focal lengths.
Fujifilm XF 100-400mm f4.5-5.6 review-so-far
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Written by Gordon Laing
Fujifilm’s XF 100-400mm f4.5-5.6 is a super-telephoto zoom for its X-mount mirrorless cameras. Announced in January 2016, it delivers a 150-600mm equivalent range, giving it the longest reach of any lens in the X catalogue to date. It’s ideal for capturing distant subjects and opened-up the X-series to serious sports and wildlife photography, especially when used with one of the more recent bodies with the company’s improved autofocus systems.
The optical design employs 21 elements in 14 groups with five extra-low dispersion elements and one super extra-low dispersion element. The focal ratio starts at f4.5 and darkens to a minimum of f5.6 as you zoom-in, with a nine-blade aperture system delivering rounded bokeh effects. As you’d hope for a long lens, it also features optical image stabilisation (good for five stops), while the closest focusing distance of 1.75m allows a maximum magnification of 0.19x. The barrel is dust and weather-sealed, and measures 95mm in diameter, 211mm in length (extending to 270mm when zoomed-in), weighs 1375g, and employs a 77mm filter thread.
Twin Linear Motors provide quick and quiet autofocus which, in my tests, allow the lens to confidently track fast sports when coupled with the recent Fujifilm bodies. There’s a variety of telephoto zooms available for the X-series, but if you want greater than 230mm without tele-converters, this is the only game in town, and the AF speed makes it very usable for action and wildlife. It comes with a tripod foot and a lens hood with a window for operating a polarizer, and the lens is also compatible with the XF 1.4X TC WR tele-converter, extending the maximum reach to 840mm while retaining phase-detect AF. I’ve used this lens for motorsports photography and hope to publish more sample images, results and comparisons in the future; in the meantime I have one below for your perusal!
Fujifilm XF 100-400mm sample images
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