A great day out with the 200 f2

Hey everyone, not sure how many here know that Fuji UK (and maybe elsewhere) have a free-to-borrow promotion covering both X and GFX kit that’s been running since last year.

So I decided to borrow the 200 f2 for a few days, and took it to the New Forest in Hampshire England to capture the wild ponies, horses and donkeys that roam there.

The lens was couriered to my door in a big Pelli case, and included the Fuji soft case and matching 1.4 teleconvertor. First impression was that although it’s not that big compared to a FF 300 2.8, it’s dense in the same way a car battery is - that is, it weighs more than it looks like it should. Beautifully built with a great lens hood, although I wish they’d made the Fujinon branding and green ring less shouty.

During the day out I carried the lens by its tripod foot, with my X-T4 and vertical grip mounted. I covered about 12 miles on foot along forest tracks. On the wet slippery sections I cradled the lens like a baby and was fully prepared to take a muddy face-plant rather than drop it! It wasn’t as tiring as I thought it would be, but I definitely wouldn’t want to carry anything heavier.

Anyways, here’s some pictures from the day - most of them are wide open without the TC.















…and with the 1.4 TC …





It was a really enjoyable day, and I’d recommend trying out this lens even if you, like me, don’t plan to buy it.

--
------------------------------
pictureAngst

pictureAngst said:

Click to expand...

Ah, that's better! Great capture.

pictureAngst said:

It was a really enjoyable day, and I’d recommend trying out this lens even if you, like me, don’t plan to buy it.

Click to expand...

Glad you enjoyed it. The Fuji UK loan service is exceptional. I trialled a X100V last Autumn and the process was well thought through, flawlessly executed and easy/quick to follow. A pity more companies can do this way.

Thanks for the post.

--
J.

Very nice, particularly the last one.

Personally, I'd love to have seen a 200/2.8. I had a Minolta 200/2.8 years ago. It was surprisingly small (much smaller than a 70-200/2.8 zoom) and in it's day, it was a super sharp lens - I imagine a modern version suitable for high res sensors might be a bit bigger & heavier, but nothing like a 200/2 or 300/2.8.

- Dennis
--
Gallery at http://kingofthebeasts.smugmug.com

Thanks Dennis, and agree that a 200 2.8 would be great!

Hey Jules, thanks for the comments!

Agree the Fuji Loan Scheme is great - I previously borrowed the 80 macro and had a similarity good experience.

The QC checklist that came with the 200 showed it was last loaned out in October, so I guess folk are either unaware of the scheme or not interested in this lens.

i love my 200 F2, i use it as much as can. Amazing focus speed, even with the 1.4. It’s worth every penny, now I’m just waiting to see the new Fuji 200-600.

Beautiful set. Really like # 2

Annoyingly Fuji 'UK' don't offer this service in Northern Ireland so I haven't been able to take advantage of it - maybe some day...

Lovely photos - it's a magical looking lens.

Thanks very much Jim!

That 200-600 does sound exciting. It’ll be interesting to see what aperture/weight trade off Fuji make - I’m guessing from what we’ve seen of it, it’ll be fast and heavy.

That’s a real shame - in England Fuji use a third party lens rental company, so I guess they couldn’t find a similar partner to cover NI.

Thanks for the compliments - I guess I proved the saying that ‘any fool can take pleasing photos with a fast lens’ is true

Oh I don’t know, I’ve had plenty of fast lenses and have produced many a dog’s dinner!