Fujifilm files patent for completely unique 85-300mm f/2.7-3.7 zoom lens

 

 

Fujifilm's X-mount mirrorless camera system has been around for a while now, and it's got quite a respectable portfolio of lenses to choose from. There are primes and zooms available in all categories, ranging from the ultra-wide angle end up to the long telephoto end. However, there are still some niches to fill, as is evident from Fujifilm's X-mount lens roadmap that sketches what we can expect to come throughout the year. One of the lenses mentioned is a 'super-telephoto zoom,' which according to the roadmap is planned for late 2014 or early 2015.

Fuji piequed our interest with the mysterious 'super telephoto zoom lens' on their roadmap.  Now Mirrorless Rumors has unearthed a recent Fujifilm patent, which describes an 85-300mm f/2.7-3.7 super-telephoto zoom lens. If this is the same as one that Fuji Rumors heard about, and the one mentioned in the lens roadmap, then there's a chance that by the end of the year, users of the X-system will get a 127.5-450mm equivalent lens with an exceptionally fast initial aperture. Faster, in fact, than many of the super-telephoto zooms in Canon and Nikon's APS-C stables.

From the patent description, it seems that a couple of variations of this lens are being considered. The most interesting version is the one with a focal length range of 85.03-300.17mm, and an initial aperture of f/2.70-3.67. The 'shortest' and 'slowest' version considered ranges from 86.53-295.08mm with an initial aperture of f/2.70-3.78. But because this is 'only' a patent description, there's no way of telling wether any of these concepts will actually be realized. In fact, the super-telephoto lens that Fujifilm is scheduling for late 2014 might be something entirely different.

That's not to say that we wouldn't mind seeing such a long and fast lens for the X-system, though. After all, there's nothing quite like this lens on the market right now.