FUJINON 1 Review: 1.8 f = 55mm FUJI PHOTO FILM CO. Lens-japan

According provided by FUJINON 1: 1.8 f = 55mm Lens FUJI PHOTO FILM CO. Lens-Japan huge thanks to the reader of Radozhiva - Vladimir Pivovarov.

Fujinon 55 mm f / 1.8

Fujinon 55 mm f / 1.8

FUJINON 1: 1.8 f = 55mm FUJI PHOTO FILM CO. Lens-Japan is an old manual prime lens, the so-called 'about fifty dollars' (its focal length is slightly more than the classic 50 mm). It was originally a stock lens for some Fujica cameras. Due to the fact that it uses the common M42 threaded mount, it is easy to use with modern cameras via a dedicated adapter.

The FUJINON 1.8 / 55 from this review is well built, with the focusing ring having a special grooved rubber coating for easy focusing. Focus ring rotates 180 degrees. During focusing, the body frame extends forward, but does not rotate. Focusing is carried out by moving the entire lens unit.

On a copy from this review, a protrusion on the aperture ring is cut, which transfers the aperture values ​​to the camera. Fuji cameras used this protrusion to read the set aperture and calculate the correct exposure... If this ledge is not cut, it will abut against the 'M42-Desired System' adapter.

Main technical characteristics of FUJINON 1: 1.8 f = 55mm FUJI PHOTO FILM CO. Lens-japan

The name of the instance from the review (as it is written on the lens itself) FUJINON 1: 1.8 f = 55mm FUJI PHOTO FILM CO. Lens-japan 803417
Basic properties
  • M42x1 / 45.5 - common 'M42' seating thread.
  • semi-automatic control of the aperture using the aperture ring and the diaphragm pusher cameras that have it.
  • transmitting the aperture value to the camera for the exposure meter to work (using a special rheostat, works only on Fuji cameras that support this function)
  • manual focus only.
  • simple (single layer) enlightenment of optics. Exact data on the type of enlightenment found.
  • The lens is suitable for full-format cameras.
  • metal case.
Front Filter Diameter 49 mm
Focal length 55 mm, EGF for cameras with an APS-C type sensor is approximately 83 mm
Zoom ratio 1 x
Designed by for film cameras with a frame size of 36 mm X 24 mm
Number of aperture blades 6 rounded petals. At F / 2.8, the petals form a hole with notches. At values ​​from F / 4 (inclusive) to F / 16, the petals form an irregularly shaped hexagon.
Tags focusing distance in meters and feet. Multi-color DOF scale for F / 4 (red), 8 (green), 11 (yellow), 16 (blue). Infrared Shift Indicator Point. A scale with aperture values ​​for F / 1.8, 2.8, 4, 5.6, 8, 11, 16. The ring does not have intermediate fixed values ​​between the specified pairs of numbers.
Diaphragm From F / 2.0 to F / 16.0, it is regulated by the aperture ring, there is no diaphragm operation method switch on the lens. There is a protrusion on the diaphragm ring, for the rheostat to work on Fuji's native cameras.
MDF (minimum focusing distance) 0.45 m
The weight 205 g (approximately)
Optical design exact optical design and pattern not found, but most likely it is a planar or its modification.
Lens hood screwed into the front filter, marking of the original hood not found.
Manufacturer country Japan (Lens-Japan)
Period  Unknown

There are several versions of FUJINON 1.8 / 55, the main ones are:

  • FUJINON 1: 1.8 / 55 FUJI PHOTO FILM CO. LENS-JAPAN, easily recognizable by the chrome diaphragm ring
  • FUJINON 1: 1.8 f = 55mm FUJI PHOTO FILM CO. Lens-Japan shown in this review
  • EBC FUJINON 1: 1.8 f = 55mm FUJI PHOTO FILM CO. Lens-Japan, version with electron beam enlightenment. Most likely there are two versions with EBC enlightenment, which differ in the coating of the focus ring and the assembly of the body.

How to use with modern cameras?

Lenses with mounting thread M42 (M42 X 1 / 45.5), such as the lens from this review, are very easy to use on almost any modern digital camera (both SLR and mirrorless), for this it is enough to choose the right adapter (adapter). You do not need to carry out any additional steps to modify the lens.

The cheapest adapters can be found at Aliexpress.com... There are adapters (adapters) with a chip that provide more convenience during shooting, usually chips are used to confirm focus and / or metering exposure, and form the correct EXIF. The chip does not affect the image quality in any way.

For some SLR cameras (for example, with the Nikon F-mount), you need to use adapters with a corrective lens, which allows you to focus correctly at all focusing distances. For any mirrorless cameras, such a lens is not needed, and the adapter is a simple decorated hollow metal tube with an appropriate mount.

For SLR cameras

  1. Canon: For cameras Canon EOS with bayonet mount EF / EF-S need an M42-Canon EOS adapter, such an adapter with a chip can be found herewithout chip here.
  2. NIKON: For cameras Nikon DX / FXas well as for cameras Fujifilm и Kodak with a Nikon F mount, you need an M42-Nikon F adapter, you can buy such an adapter without a lens and a chip here, with a lens without a chip herewith chip without lens here, with lens and chip here. Why a lens? Why chip?
  3. PENTAX: For Pentax cameras with K mount, you need an M42-Pentax K adapter, you can buy such an adapter here.
  4. SONY/MINOLTA: For cameras with a Sony / Minolta A mount, you need the M42-Sony A adapter, you can find such an adapter without a chip at this linkwith a chip at this link.
  5. OLYMPUS/PANASONIC/LEICA: For cameras with a 4/3 bayonet mount (not to be confused with Micro 4/3!) You need an M42-4 / 3 adapter, you can buy such an adapter here.

For mirrorless cameras

  1. SONY: For cameras with 'E'/'FE' mount series SonyNEX и Sony Alpha you need an adapter M42-Sony E (aka M42-Sony Nex), you can find it at this link. An autofocus adapter is also available for these cameras. Techart PRO Leica M - Sony E Autofocus Adapterwhich can be found at this link.
  2. OLYMPUS / PANASONIC / KODAK / XIAOMI: For cameras with a bayonet mount Micro 4/3 (Micro 4:3) you need an adapter M42-Micro 4/3, you can find it at this link.
  3. CANON M: For cameras with Canon EF-M mount need adapter M42-Canon M, it can be found at this link.
  4. CANON R and RF-S: For cameras with Canon RF mount need adapter M42-Canon R, it can be found at this link.
  5. Nikon 1: For cameras Nikon 1 Series need adapter M42-Nikon 1, you can find it at this link.
  6. Nikon Z: For cameras Nikon Z series (FX/DX) need an adapter M42-Nikon Z, it can be found at this link.
  7. FUJIFILM X: For cameras with mount X need an M42-Fuji X adapter, you can find it at this link.
  8. FUJIFILM GFX: For medium format cameras G-mount need M42-Fuji GFX adapter, you can find it at this link.
  9. SAMSUNG: For cameras with NX mount, you need an M42-Samsung NX adapter, you can find it at this link. There are no adapters for the NX mini camera yet.
  10. PENTAX: For Q-mount cameras, you need an M42-Pentax Q adapter, you can find it at this link.
  11. SIGMA / PANASONIC / LEICA: For cameras with L mount you need an M42-Leica L adapter, you can find it at this link.
  12. LEICA: For cameras with a bayonet mount Leica M need adapter M42-L / M, you can find it at this link.

If you have any questions on compatibility and adapters - ask in the comments (comments do not require any registration at all).

Image quality

In the center of the frame, FUJINON shows normal sharpness even at F / 1.8. At F / 2.8, sharpness becomes good, and at F / 4-F / 8, sharpness is just great. The lens has a nice design and nice bokeh (on the open aperture). Unfortunately, FUJINON is very afraid of backlight, and is also sometimes very noticeable chromatic aberration.

In general - a pretty old fifty dollar, and, aside from the problems with backlight and nuts in the bokeh, it creates an image with a decent margin of quality. And if you believe the rumors that FUJINON fifty dollars have a special 'boke magic', then you don't even want to shoot him with your camera.

You can download RAW + JPEG source files by this link (60 files in the '.ARW' and '.JPG' formats, 700 MB). All photos in the gallery above are on-camera JPEG from the camera Sony a7. On a full-length mirrorless camera Sony a7 I used the lens without any problems with adapter M42-NEX.

It sometimes surprises me why such old Fujinons on the open diaphragm are sharper Nikon 50mm f / 1.8Dwhich is still being produced?

Fujinon 55 mm f / 1.8 and Auto mamiya / sekor 1: 2 f = 50mm

Fujinon 55 mm f / 1.8 and Auto mamiya / sekor 1: 2 f = 50mm

Comments on this post do not require registration. Anyone can leave a comment. Many different photographic equipment can be found on AliExpress.

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FUJINON 1: 1.8 f = 55mm FUJI PHOTO FILM CO. Lens-Japan is another pretty about fifty dollars. It has a nice drawing and is suitable for any photographic work. For practical use, I would look for a version with EBC enlightenment.

Material prepared Arkady Shapoval. Training/Consultations | Youtube | Facebook | Instagram | Twitter | Telegram

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Comments: 33, on the topic: Overview of FUJINON 1: 1.8 f = 55mm FUJI PHOTO FILM CO. Lens-japan

  • Serg

    And in truth, magic is in bokeh.

    • anonym

      One more bewitched. The usual fifty dollars is nothing more.

    • anonym

      Nikononovsky poltos 1.8 w if it is capable of making torsional bokeh on a fully open one, and with an adjusted carcass it is sharp with an open one. And this is without a tambourine and dancing, and even on the youngest carcasses;)

      • zengarden

        Show an example of "twisted bokeh" from Nikon's fifty gallons 1.8G, well, just interesting :)

  • Jury

    I agree about the bokeh - it's really beautiful.

    • Giorgi

      Dumaiu analog Carl Zeisa. Obiektiv prosta class.

  • Andrei

    He draws just fine, as for my taste. Thanks to Arkady for another great review! I'm a fat lois;)

  • Ivan

    Arkady, you have dirt on the matrix. It can be clearly seen in the photos with the cathedral. (where the diaphragm is covered)

    • Arkady Shapoval

      Well, of course there is, as without her.

  • Oleg

    The phrase that made my day - "Sometimes it surprises me, why are these old Fujinons at open aperture sharper than the Nikon 50mm f / 1.8D, which is still being produced?"
    Arkady, thank you so much for your work !!

  • Dim

    In the photo with the cat, the bokeh does not seem to be Meyer's. It is a pity that the aperture blades are few

  • Simon

    Tell me, you can attach fuji to nikon so that infinity would be ...

  • Giorgi

    All true. Stait u menia na NEX. Ia Ocen davolen.

  • Vladimir

    I have one. On open there are HA. He covered it a bit and it is already very sharp. He doesn’t hold back light. But what kind of Boke. The background doesn’t twist the soft color blur. It’s a pity that I didn’t take it from EBC at the time. The lens is very interesting.

  • Simon

    Tell me, you can attach a Fujinon 50 mm F1.4 M-42 to Nikon so that infinity would be ... will the working length allow?

  • koba

    “It sometimes surprises me why such old Fujinons on the open aperture are sharper than the Nikon 50mm f / 1.8D, which is still being produced?”
    Answer: Fuji made these lenses at a time when exactly fifty dollars were considered the main working tool and the competition in this area was simply the highest, in addition, Fuji was aiming to make fifty dollars even better than Lake, and to a certain extent he succeeded, especially in terms of sharpness and bokeh. It used the best types of optical glass, they were just designed for portraits, and therefore were designed so that the sharpness on the open in the center was maximum. Nikon 1.8D uses the cheapest Chinese optical glass (the cheapest Chinese, not even the best Chinese !!!), it has no bokeh as such, and the acceptable sharpness starts from 2,8 (it does not pretend to be more in its price range, it is without competition, it is not designed for professionals with artistic requirements). In addition, since that time, many of the most eminent European companies began producing their lenses on ODM terms (later they extended this scheme to other countries, including China), and Fuji produced lenses for companies such as Hasselblad, Alpa. That is, they had more than enough optical glass of the highest quality then, and they had experience in grinding, and Fuji's production standards for all products in general were always the highest (they are still the highest among Japanese manufacturers). And the last thing - then Fuji designed and produced lenses for large format cameras, and this is not a joke, and after them it was not particularly difficult for them to produce a top fifty. Here are the results that we can now use for only 80-100 dollars ... By the way, Nikon once tried to position its 50/2 ai lens as a competitor to Lake's zoom lens, and it is not far from the latter - in fact, it gives the highest quality picture on aperture 2, and a calm picture, with rich shades, designed primarily for black-and-white photography, and in terms of the level of workmanship it still remains one of the best from Nikon ... The third such swing to compete with the zoom lens from the watering can was another excellent lens Yashica 50/2, it also has amazing sharpness in the open and a wonderful picture ...

  • Enjoy

    About this "If you have any questions about compatibility and adapters - ask in the comments (comments do not require any registration at all)." the question arose how to put such a lens on a Fujica ax-1 carcass (Fujica X Mount bayonet) can someone tell me, I'm not looking for a long time, but I already had time to get pissed off) for all thanks earlier)

  • Fedor

    The lens is made according to the "Unar" scheme of Dr. Rudolph.

    • Rodion

      Is this one?

    • Frodo

      Unar made 55 / 2.2, which is a regular planar, 6/4

  • Yura

    You have a mistake in the article in English. AR coating of lenses in English is simply called lens coating. The word you use enlightenment means "enlightenment", but not in the sense of optics, but in the sense of "he has got enlightenment." None of the technical texts related to this technology, at least I came across, used the word enlightenment in this context.

    • twm

      I think the English version of Radozhiva is entirely machine translation (Google translator, probably). Moreover, not only the body of the article was translated, but also the comments.

      • Alexey

        Yes it is. checked.

    • B. R. P.

      Absolutely.

  • Vladimir

    I got a second Fujinon 55 / 1.8 with EBC enlightenment. The first without EBC from this review. How all this rigmarole ends, I will provide for review by the general public. let's clarify the broad masses of fans of the old manual optics. Sincerely!!!

    • Rodion

      There is a lot of controversy about Oreston, and there were also 2 of these orestons that were optically different. One is identical to the pentacon, the other is not.

      • Vladimir

        Regarding the similarity of the optical schemes of the pentacon 50 / 1.8 ms and Oreston 50 / 1.8, it seems to be true. Today I compared the optical schemes. The number of elements and their arrangement are the same. It can be seen from the internal glare on the lenses. If possible, if readers are interested, I will send it with Oreston 50 / 1.8 for field comparison. Best Regards.

        • Rodion

          There is a version of Oreston with a small zebra ring, like a domiplane. Here it differs from the pentacon and other versions of the oreston.

          • Vladimir

            I have an Oreston 50 / 1.8 aperture ring black and white without small scars. The focusing ring is black. I think it will be interesting to compare them. Compare the quality of glass production technology and anti-reflection technology.

  • Vladimir

    And most importantly, compare lens patterns. This is the main goal of our reviews !!!!!

    • Rodion

      If you are in the Russian Federation, you can send me to Moscow.

      • Vladimir

        I am in Kharkov

        • Rodion

          So, turn to Arkady)

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