What lenses will Fuji offer with micro-4/3?

Other threads have me asking this question. The lens on the S200 (FS or EXR) is Tamron design, correct? That's why antishake works well. Will Fuji offer something similar to existing Tamron lenses on their micro-4/3 body?

I am satisfied with the F200EXR for general purpose use. To get a rig with long lens for bird photography, I compared alternatives (rejecting Nikon and Sony for lack of DOF on low-end bodies).

$1810 - Pentax K-x with 60-250/4, 27-82 + 90-375 range
$1785 - Canon 500D with 70-200/4, 112-320 range
$929 - Panny G1 with 45-200/4-5.6, 28-90 + 90-400 range
$460 - Fuji S200EXR, 31-436 range
K-x and G1 not sold body-only, have to get kit lens

That makes the Fuji seem like an easy choice. An easier choice is to avoid bird photography!

CAcreeks said:

Other threads have me asking this question. The lens on the S200 (FS or EXR) is Tamron design, correct? That's why antishake works well. Will Fuji offer something similar to existing Tamron lenses on their micro-4/3 body?

Click to expand...

Do you have a source for information that states Tamron makes lenses for Fuji? I have always searched for this and never found anything that states this to be true. However, I do come across the idea that Tamron makes lenses for Fuji, despite them being labeled Fujinon, which is Fuji's lens making company.

Very strange.

CAcreeks said:

Other threads have me asking this question. The lens on the S200 (FS or EXR) is Tamron design, correct? That's why antishake works well. Will Fuji offer something similar to existing Tamron lenses on their micro-4/3 body?

Click to expand...

The lens on the S9000 was supposedly proven to be a Tamron, yes. I have not seen the same assertion for the Sx00fs/exr lense ...

CAcreeks said:

I am satisfied with the F200EXR for general purpose use. To get a rig with long lens for bird photography, I compared alternatives (rejecting Nikon and Sony for lack of DOF on low-end bodies).

$1810 - Pentax K-x with 60-250/4, 27-82 + 90-375 range
$1785 - Canon 500D with 70-200/4, 112-320 range
$929 - Panny G1 with 45-200/4-5.6, 28-90 + 90-400 range
$460 - Fuji S200EXR, 31-436 range
K-x and G1 not sold body-only, have to get kit lens

That makes the Fuji seem like an easy choice. An easier choice is to avoid bird photography!

Click to expand...

Other than Kevin's work -- which uses very professional lighting and blinds to get close -- I have seen nothing that would support using the S200EXR as a birding lens, except for casual fun (which is of course a perfectly valid reason to buy one.)

If one were trying to get into serious birding, even the choices you list there are seriously underpowered. What you want is something like the D5000 at a minimum (great sensor and pretty clean and detailed up to 3200 ISO) and the 80-400VR ... not bad but not great and costs about 2 grand for 650mm equivalence.

On the cheap, you can do a used D60 with a used 70-300VR for 700 bucks ... that gets you to 450mm equivalence and that gives you some pretty nice shots ...

Most importantly, the backgrounds are much nicer in either of these cases than with the small sensor as birds are forever perching in trees and you cannot control the background easily (although Kevin does.)

But for purely casual fun ... the S200EXR is probably as good as it gets ...

--
http://letkeman.net/Photos
http://kimletkeman.blogspot.com

CAcreeks said:

Other threads have me asking this question. The lens on the S200 (FS or EXR) is Tamron design, correct? That's why antishake works well. Will Fuji offer something similar to existing Tamron lenses on their micro-4/3 body?

I am satisfied with the F200EXR for general purpose use. To get a rig with long lens for bird photography, I compared alternatives (rejecting Nikon and Sony for lack of DOF on low-end bodies).

$1810 - Pentax K-x with 60-250/4, 27-82 + 90-375 range

Click to expand...

Although the 60-250 gets a very good write up, you could go for the 55-300 in a bundle with the standard lens and the K-x at B&H, this comes to $799..... less than half the price...

Although I don't think I'd recommend a current pentax for photography of active birds (i.e. in flight) nor the S200exr, then again probably not the lower end canon's nor nikons. By the way I use a pentax and a pentax clone for birds in flight, but always feel that a bit of customisation and predictive af would be so much better.

CAcreeks said:

......

Click to expand...

On the lenses that fuji might offer if they do end up in the micro-4/3rds market, I have no idea but I suspect they would be very consumer oriented at first and it would probably be a long time before a telephoto prime or the likes would be available.

--
Walt

http://picasaweb.google.com/waltdall

If the Fred Miranda wildlife forum is anything to go not much is going to shift the dominance of Canon and Nikon cameras with optical viewfinders and lens focal lengths in the 500 - 100mm range.

It is hard to see what fuji can bring to the table in M4/3 to make it other than a 'me too' product. They may be able to throw an EXR sensor in it to impress the small gadget crowd, but with no TTL optical viewfinder sports action/wildlife shooters will be still totally dominated by Nikon and Canon.

The Op is right about the bargain pricing of the s200, an excellent way to at least get started dabbling in wildlife and test your tolerance of freezing cold, heat, flies, mosquitos, ticks and frustration of spending hours waiting for a some rare critter to pass by.

--
Kevin Coppalotti
http://maxhr.zenfolio.com/
http://razorsharp.smugmug.com

CAcreeks said:

... An easier choice is to avoid bird photography!

Click to expand...

... That's what I do

Seriously, I know little about birds, but I edit images for a 'birder' (see below). I enjoy editing, he doesn't.

However, it really depends what you mean by 'bird photography'.

If you look at Kevin's stunning images, he is using a 'blind', and strobes, with the S200 EXR (S100 fs prior). Amazing images.

If you look at Jada's stunning images, she is using an Oly E620 and, as far as I know, no strobes. She was using an S100 fs with a Sony 1758 teleconverter, prior. Again, simply amazing images.

Best to look at their posts though to understand the specifics.

My crazy, totally obsessed, birding friend, uses 'kit' which is almost the same price as a small car. His main birding lens is a 300 2.8 VR with a TC 1.7, or TC 2.0 attached. He also uses a huge tripod with a fluid video head (very expensive). He is a 'field' birder and his main interest is BIF.

He will go to a location and shoot, all day, for just one good capture. Every image is logged, with species details, etc. I know it is all day as I went with him once. Once was enough for me.

He will tell you that only Nikon is good enough, one of his friends swears by Canon. I would not disagree with either. They are bigger than me.

Anyway, he also has an S100 fs but does not use it for birding. For his main purpose in bird photography, it is not suitable. I would not argue that point either. For the type of work Kevin does, eminently suitable, as is the S200 EXR. For BIF, I really doubt it.

In the end, your style of bird photography will dictate the type of equipment. If you are looking for (very) long lenses, get some very good advice from those who actually use them for the exact same purpose you wish to use them for.

My friend has many expensive Nikon lenses, but he will tell you that only the 300 mm is good enough for 'long-range' birding. I have seen enough of his images, from that and his other (expensive) lenses, to absolutely agree. He also 'double stacks' TC's on a 17 - 55 and gets good results there also. Very crisp, and clear for closer work.

Some of my friends pix below - Posted with permission.

These were on a D200 body, he is recently using a D300.

Cheers.









--
Rgds, Dave.
Have fun - take lotsa pix.

My Site - http://www.pixplanet.biz
My RedBubble Site - http://www.redbubble.com/people/pixplanet

Hi,

I think Fuji should make something different if they would enter in the MFT market.

For Example, MFT with fixed lens 28-105 or if possible 28-140, quite bright (2,8-4), small body (like a G11 or a Pen with Pancake lens), EXR Sensor with 8 to 16 MP, very fast in Focus and low Shutter lag, EVF and if not a real good Optical VF (95% of the image) with the main data of the camera (Speed/Aperture/Compensation). Price around 1/3 higher than a G11

I think this would be a very different product in that market, possible to develop with available technology and with the stronger points of FUJI compacts.

Perhaps it is not OK for bird photography (teleconverter???) but a good deal for Fuji

Cheers,

Rubén

Brunaita said:

Hi,

I think Fuji should make something different if they would enter in the MFT market.

For Example, MFT with fixed lens 28-105 or if possible 28-140, quite bright (2,8-4), small body (like a G11 or a Pen with Pancake lens), EXR Sensor with 8 to 16 MP, very fast in Focus and low Shutter lag, EVF and if not a real good Optical VF (95% of the image) with the main data of the camera (Speed/Aperture/Compensation). Price around 1/3 higher than a G11

I think this would be a very different product in that market, possible to develop with available technology and with the stronger points of FUJI compacts.

Perhaps it is not OK for bird photography (teleconverter???) but a good deal for Fuji

Click to expand...

Now your talking, that would be my next camera.

Brian

Let's face it, m43 is interesting, but the resulting size with a kitzoom is not that much smaller than regular dslr's. Still not coat-pocketable. With the Sxx camera's Fuji has proven to get a lot out of 2/3 size sensors. Now bring it in a smaller package, that's the key! The smaller sensor in principle allows for a pocketable superzoom a la TZ (slightly larger probably, but coat-pocketable) with S100/S200 IQ. Add a quality EVF and you have a killer-cam.

In fact the first quality coat-pocketable cam with reasonable zoom AND a a good EVF will own the market.

Bas

CAcreeks said:

Other threads have me asking this question. The lens on the S200 (FS or EXR) is Tamron design, correct? That's why antishake works well. Will Fuji offer something similar to existing Tamron lenses on their micro-4/3 body?

I am satisfied with the F200EXR for general purpose use. To get a rig with long lens for bird photography, I compared alternatives (rejecting Nikon and Sony for lack of DOF on low-end bodies).

$1810 - Pentax K-x with 60-250/4, 27-82 + 90-375 range
$1785 - Canon 500D with 70-200/4, 112-320 range
$929 - Panny G1 with 45-200/4-5.6, 28-90 + 90-400 range
$460 - Fuji S200EXR, 31-436 range
K-x and G1 not sold body-only, have to get kit lens

That makes the Fuji seem like an easy choice. An easier choice is to avoid bird photography!

Click to expand...

Have to say I'm not really interested in birds, although the pictures you posted are phenomenal! I'd like a longer lens to get occasional pictures of bears and bobcats who visit our camps, etc. Even after time-consuming PP, this bear photo from a Pentax W60 isn't very good, although the bear was just up the riverbank shortly after sunrise.



Aha, MFT = micro four thirds (never heard that acronym before).

... Guess I just took your OP too literally.

CAcreeks said:

" ... To get a rig with long lens for bird photography, I compared alternatives ... "

Click to expand...

The MFT Fuji rumour has been around for a while now. May see something come out of it this year, who knows ?

If it does not use a proprietary lens set, it could be a great system. If it does, it may take some time for a variety of lenses to make their way to market. There are some excellent MFT lenses around already.

Anyway, I hope you get something which works well for you. I think you would find the S200 EXR a very versatile, and fun, camera.

Cheers.
--
Rgds, Dave.
Have fun - take lotsa pix.

My Site - http://www.pixplanet.biz
My RedBubble Site - http://www.redbubble.com/people/pixplanet

IMO, you should try[in shop]
Fuji S100[its ALOT better than S200, but cost x1.8 times more].
Oly E520 w/Tamron 300mm
discontinued Sony A350 in UltraZoom[similar Tamron 300m ?]Kit.