The other big news along with the X-T10 was the official announcement of the XF 90mm f/2 WR.

WR FTW

The 90mm marks the the fourth officially announced XF lens from Fujifilm in a row that is weather sealed.¹ I really hope this is a sign of Fuji’s intentions going forward; that every new lens will be weather sealed. Based on the mockups we’ve seen, we can be pretty sure the yet-to-be-officially-announced XF 35mm f/2 and XF 120mm Macro will also be weather sealed.

Quad Linear Motor

It seems like it was just yesterday that Fuji announced the “The World’s First” Triple Linear Motor in the XF 50-140mm. That lens is pretty swift already when it come to AF speed, so this Quad LM ought to help the 90mm focus quickly. Going by Fuji’s own numbers, which rank the 90mm at 0.14 seconds, it won’t be quite as quick as the XF 16-55mm f/2.8, at a mere 0.06 seconds.

Close Focus

There were some rumours that the 90mm f/2 would get us to 1:2 macro levels like the 60mm f/2.4, but it turns out 0.3x magnification is as close as we’ll get. Pairing the 90mm with either of the extension tubes will help, but I still have every intention of waiting for the XF 120mm Macro for my serious close-up needs.

Compact and Lightweight?

I suppose compared to other ways of getting to 90mm it’s reasonably small and light, but this will be Fuji’s heftiest prime to date. Fuji’s reported weight is 540g without the caps. That makes it heavier than even the 10-24mm f/4 and 18-135mm f/3.5-5.6.

Bokeh

I’ll wait until I can do some testing with my own copy before I weigh in on this, but it’s bound to be great. The first comparison will be how it fairs next to the 56mm f/1.2. It may have a shorter focal length, but that extra stop+ of aperture on the 56mm just might even things out.

APD?

During Photokina, I tweeted this:

Interesting tidbit in Fuji’s marketing materials: This [APD] filter has been introduced to the 56mm f/1.2 ahead of others in the line.”
— Fuji vs. Fuji (@FujivsFuji) September 17, 2014

Fuji advised that I not look too far into it, but if there’s another lens that an APD filter might make sense for, it’s the 90mm f/2. I suppose the only trouble is that with a maximim aperture of “only” f/2, the drop off in light gathering might slow the lens down too much for it to be as useful.

Conclusion

This is a focal length I was on the cusp of buying in my DSLR days many times. With the 90mm f/2, I’ll finally have it. At $950 USD, it’s going to make the choice between it and the 56mm a tough one. Look for a Versus comparison article after its release.