12 lenses of Christmas: September 2023 heralded a quintet of medium format lenses
Exciting times in September for Fujifilm GFX medium format shooters, with the announcement of no less than five brand new Fujinon lenses. Headline attractions included the Fujinon GF 55mm F1.7 R WR premium fast prime, GF 500mm F5.6 telephoto, a GF power zoom for videography and two new tilt & shift lenses in the shape of the GF 30mm F5.6 T/S and GF 110mm F5.6 T/S Macro. The moderately wide-angle was soon to become one of our favorite GF lenses.
It was an exciting month for Nikon Z owners too, with the news that the Nikon Z 135mm f/1.8 S Plena would be imminently available. Designed to give the utmost quality of bokeh, it’s a lens that we were certainly keen to test and much less keen to give back afterwards. Tamron went on to set an October launch date for the Tamron 17-50mm F4 Di III VXD that we first reported the previous month.
Meanwhile, Sigma had its eyes set on Fujifilm shooters, with the launch of its first ever X-mount telephoto zoom. The Sigma 100-400mm f/5-6.3 DG DN OS Contemporary was originally designed for Canon and Sony DSLRs, then reworked for Sony E-mount mirrorless cameras, on its way to the X-mount version. More suitable for a shoestring budget, there was also the announcement of a full-frame compatible TTArtisan 500mm F6.3 prime for Canon EOS R, Nikon Z and Sony mirrorless cameras, with X-mount and GFX mount options to follow.
On the reviews side, September’s standout attraction was undoubtedly the fabulous Nikon Z 180-600mm f/5.6-6.3 VR, which we thoroughly enjoyed testing. It’s Nikon’s first ‘affordable’ super-telephoto zoom for Z-system cameras and well worth the money. We also tested the Nikon Z-mount version of the Laowa Argus 28mm F1.2 FF, a fast and wide full-frame and fully manual lens, and gave that one a more mixed review.
