By now everyone would have heard about the new lens from Fujifilm
The xf 70-300 mm lens

You may check out the video here

I was very happy to be able to work with the lens recently.
Bringing it out for some bird and wildlife photography around Singapore.

First look at the lens, and I am very surprised with the size and weight
It’s not big at all, and is a very light lens.

Despite that, the lens has got a solid built
Its fast autofocus up to 5.5 stops of optical image stabiliser and weather resistance make it a
natural choice for photographers who shoot wildlife or sports

It is compatible on both 1.4 times and 2 times TC, which at its maximum, can reach up to 900 mm

The OIS can be combined with IBIS systems found in XT4 and X-S10 to add five-axis stabilisation which can further help to minimise camera shakes caused by linear shift

The lens also have a minimum focus distance of 32.6 in (83 cm) and magnification of 0.33x, to enable it to be used to create dynamic closeup photography

It is also weather resistant to protect it against dust and moisture, and can operate at temperatures down to -10 degrees celcius

As a wildlife photographer, we usually have to lug big lenses around for photography
And that itself is a deterrent to people doing wildlife photography

However with the xf70-300 mm lens, this will no longer be an issue
For a focal length like this, the lens is really easy to manage and easy to bring it around

People usually wonder if this lens can actually track birds in flights ?
This will not be an issue, the following images are taken with this lens (with XT4) and even with the 1.4x TC,
tracking and autofocus is fantastic

even tracking the crested hawk through the trees is not gonna be a problem

The shots above were taken at f8, and yes,  at that aperture, you can also get a nice bokeh if you choose a good background.

Bird photography would usually require pretty long lenses with focal length from 600 mm and above
So with the 1.4x TC, which i used for a lot of the following photos, it gives me a focal length of 630 mm
Which is perfect for me

as mentioned earlier,  at f8, and choosing a correct background, you can still get nice bokeh

Alot of people will probably compare this lens with the XF 100-400 mm lens, which one is better or more suitable
However, I think the 2 lenses are independent of each other.

The xf 70-300 mm lens is very versatile
It is small and you can bring it for your overseas trips ( even if you are not into wildlife photography, it’s good for landscapes as well)
Whereas the xf 100-400 mm lens is very much heavier and big
You probably wouldn’t want to lug it along for your normal overseas trip

Some people might not be a full fledged bird/wildlife/sports photography enthusiast, they might just want to try out those genres
so they might not want to invest in a xf 100-400 mm lens ( which is big, heavy and expensive)
But this is where this 70-300 mm lens comes in.. it’s affordable at usd$799, and  if you decide that sports, wildlife photography is not for you,
you can still keep this lens for other genre of photography ( eg landscape and travel)

I do bring a number of cameras and lenses along to Kenya when I go back there every year,
and with this lens, it can also lighten my load in the bag.
this lens will work well with my other lenses.