A 400mm prime you can carry through wet woods at dawn without a cart is a very specific promise, and Fujifilm’s newest X-mount telephoto is built around it. DPReview has published a sample gallery shot with the XF400mmF4.5 R LM OIS WR, tested ahead of launch on a Fujifilm X-H2 and pointed at birds and other distant subjects.
The takeaway from that outing is less about resolution charts and more about approachability. Writer Abby Ferguson, who says bird photography is not a genre she has spent any time with, found that the lens “made the process feel approachable” — the autofocus racked quickly from the close-focusing distance out to infinity, which helped when switching from a near perch to something far off. It is not entirely silent, but quiet enough that the noise did not seem to bother the wildlife at these working distances. Much of the shooting happened in woodland at dawn on fairly high ISO settings, which is exactly where an F4.5 super telephoto has to earn its keep. That aperture, as the gallery notes, is also what keeps “the price and size much more reasonable than they otherwise would be.”
The numbers behind that compromise, from Fujifilm’s official spec sheet:
- Focal length: 400mm, equivalent to 609mm in 35mm format on APS-C
- Aperture: F4.5 to F22, 9 rounded blades
- Construction: 21 elements in 14 groups, including 4 ED and 2 super ED elements
- Minimum focusing distance: 2.75m, maximum magnification 0.16x
- Dimensions: φ104.5mm×239.5mm, φ95mm filter thread
- Weight: approximately 1,245g, excluding cap and hood
- Angle of view: 4.1°
Fujifilm credits enhanced shake detection and an optimized stabilization mechanism with up to 5.5 stops of optical image stabilization, and pairs a high-speed linear autofocus motor with built-in focus presets. The barrel is weather-resistant against dust and moisture, and the tripod collar foot is Arca-type compatible. Both teleconverters work with it: 560mm with the 1.4x, 800mm with the 2x, each sold separately.
Fujifilm announced the lens on September 4, 2026, completing its XF super-telephoto prime lineup. It is listed at US$3,199 and opened for pre-order. For X-mount shooters, the alternative has generally been a slower zoom or a much heavier full-frame rig, so a prime of approximately 1,245g that a first-time bird photographer can pick up and use in low light is a genuinely different proposition.
Earlier on GismoLand: Fujifilm XF400mm f/4.5. Serious Telephoto Reach Without the Shoulder Strain.
