Fujifilm XF 16-55mm f/2.8 R WR lens will have OIS after all

The third weather-resistant Fujifilm X-mount lens, called XF 16-55mm f/2.8 R WR, might offer built-in optical image stabilization after all, as revealed in the latest iteration of the Fujifilm X Magazine.

The beginning of 2014 has brought the first weathersealed X-mount camera in the world: Fujifilm X-T1. The shooter has been introduced along with the promise that a trio of weather-resistant lenses will become official in the following months.

A couple of them are already official as well as available on the market, while the third one is expected to come sometime in 2015. Although it was expected to come without optical image stabilization technology, the latest edition of the Fujifilm X Magazine is reporting otherwise, claiming that the Fujifilm XF 16-55mm f/2.8 R WR lens will indeed offer built-in OIS.

The Fujifilm X Magazine says that the XF 16-55mm f/2.8 R WR lens will have built-in OIS.

Fujifilm XF 16-55mm f/2.8 R WR lens listed with built-in OIS by official Fujifilm X Magazine

The sought-after weathersealed wide-angle zoom lens for Fuji X-mount mirrorless cameras, which features a bright and constant maximum aperture, might offer integrated optical image stabilization after all.

This means that it will be called Fujifilm XF 16-55mm f/2.8 R OIS WR lens, when it finally becomes available on the market sometime in “early 2015” with a 35mm focal length equivalent of approximately 24-83mm.

When the company confirmed its existence, the optic has been presented as a product that will offer OIS, just like the 18-135mm f/3.5-5.6 and 50-140mm f/2.8 versions, which can already be purchased.

Nevertheless, soon after the early 2014 announcement, the company has updated its X-mount roadmap, removing the “OIS” tag from the model’s name.

Moreover, Photokina 2014 has come, forcing Fuji to confirm that the lens will not have image stabilization because it would make the lens too heavy, too big, or too expensive, while also decreasing image quality, thus not being worthwhile.

Well, the latest iteration of the official Fujifilm X Magazine is here and the lens is clearly presented as having built-in OIS. This could be nothing more than a typo, but it could also mean that the company has managed to fix the issues and to find the perfect solution to meet the demands of most photographers.

Both weather-resistant XF lenses come packed with optical image stabilization technology

Beside the Fujifilm XF 16-55mm f/2.8 R WR lens, both the XF 18-135mm f/3.5-5.6 R LM WR and XF 50-140mm f/2.8 R LM WR come packed with integrated optical image stabilization technology.

The former was released this summer, while the latter became available this fall. As stated above, the trio will be completed in early 2015, therefore we can expect the XF 16-55mm f/2.8 R WR to drop sometime by the end of March 2015.

Meanwhile, the 18-135mm lens is available for about $700 and the 50-1400mm lens costs about $1,600 at Amazon.