EBC Fujinon 24mm f/2.8
Fuji Photo Film · Fujica ST + Fujica X · 1977
single source, unconfirmedAlso known as: EBC Fujinon SW 24mm f/2.8 · EBC Fujinon-SW 24mm F2.8 · EBC FUJINON·SW 1:2.8 f=24mm · Fujinon 24mm f/2.8 M42 · Fuji EBC 24mm 2.8 M42 · X-Fujinon SW 24mm f/2.8 DM · EBC X-Fujinon-SW 24mm F2.8 DM · X-FUJINON·SW 1:2.8 f=24mm DM · EBC フジノン 24mm F2.8 · Xフジノン 24mm F2.8 · フジノン SW 24mm F2.8 M42
Variants & identification
| Variant | Mount | Years | Serial ranges | Production |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| EBC Fujinon·W (engraved SW) 24mm f/2.8, M42 with Fujica coupling tab | Fujica ST | 1977 | — | — |
| EBC X-Fujinon·W (engraved SW) 24mm f/2.8 DM, X bayonet | Fujica X | 1980–1985 | — | — |
- Whether the X lens carries the same glass as the M42 lens is not stated by any Fuji document consulted. Both are 9 elements in 8 groups with an 84° angle; Wikipedia's statement that the early X-Fujinons share designs with the late M42 lenses is general, and the Flickr FUJICA SLR Users thread's "Fuji did not change the optical formula" is one owner's belief. The two mounts sit in one family on that evidence, with the difference in close focus and weight left open.
- Close focus. Fuji's AZ-1 manual and US brochure both give 0.3m for the M42 lens; Wikipedia's table gives 0.25m, which is the X lens's figure in the 1980 brochure and AX-3 manual. The M42 figure here follows Fuji.
- Dates. No launch year for either version has been found. The M42 lens is absent from the ST701 (1970) and ST801 (1972) manuals and present in the AZ-1 manual (1977); the X lens is in the 1980 AX brochure. Camera-wiki puts the end of X-mount lenses at 1985.
- Blades, launch price and serial ranges are not given by any Fuji document or reference page consulted, and are left out.
How to tell them apart
- Screw thread with a tab on the aperture ring means the M42 lens; a bayonet with a DM engraving means the X lens
- Both are engraved SW and EBC in green on the front, 49mm filter, 9 elements in 8 groups, f/2.8 to f/16
EBC Fujinon·W (engraved SW) 24mm f/2.8, M42 with Fujica coupling tab:
- EBC FUJINON·SW 1:2.8 f=24mm on the name ring; Fuji's own US brochure and the AZ-1 manual list it as Fujinon·W, but the lens is engraved SW, which is how sellers write it
- 42mm screw thread with the Fujica open-aperture tab on the aperture ring and the lock notch on the flange; no A/M switch, so the diaphragm stays wide open on an adapter that does not press the pin
- Black aperture ring and rubberised focus ring, the EBC-generation barrel (japb's Type III); no single-coated version of this lens is documented
- Fit-on hood; 49mm filter; 0.3m close focus on the M42 lens against 0.25m on the X lens
EBC X-Fujinon·W (engraved SW) 24mm f/2.8 DM, X bayonet:
- Fujica X bayonet (65° lock, 43.5mm flange) with the DM engraving: the aperture ring has an automatic position that gives the AX-5 program and shutter-priority modes
- Same 9-element, 8-group construction and 84° angle as the M42 lens; 195g against 173–175g, 45.5mm long against about 43mm, and it focuses to 0.25m instead of 0.3m
- Rectangular push-in hood, 49mm filter
- EBC Fujinon·W (engraved SW) 24mm f/2.8, M42 with Fujica coupling tab: Not in the 1970 ST701 manual and not in the 1972 ST801 manual, whose lens range runs "from 28mm wide angle to 1000mm"; first documented here in the AZ-1 manual (1977) and the undated US EBC Fujinon brochure. 1977 is therefore the first year with a document, not a launch date. Fuji's two documents differ on weight: 175g (AZ-1 manual) and 6.10 oz, 173g (brochure).
- EBC X-Fujinon·W (engraved SW) 24mm f/2.8 DM, X bayonet: Listed in the 1980 AX-5/AX-3/AX-1/STX-1 brochure and the AX-3 manual. Wikipedia says the first X-Fujinon lenses "share optical designs with the late M42 Fujinon lenses"; the element and group counts match and a Fujica group member who owns the M42 lens believes the formula was not changed, but no Fuji document says so, and the closer focus and extra weight show the mount is not the only difference¹.
Specifications
- Formula
- 9 elements in 8 groups (Fuji: 8 components, 9 elements) in both the M42 and the X bayonet version
- Construction
- 9 elements / 8 groups
- Aperture range
- f/2.8–f/16
- Min. focus
- 0.3 m
- Dimensions
- 59 × 43 mm
- Weight
- 175 g
- Filter
- 49 mm
- Years manufactured
- 1977–1985
- Country
- Japan
- Coating
- EBC multicoating on every version; no single-coated 24mm is documented
What reviewers say
- Umberto Rustichelli (rustichelli.net), X-Fujinon version (blog) — "Extremely rare"; excellent in the centre from f/4, the midframe "bad at f/2.8" and the corners poor until f/11; mild barrel distortion, no longitudinal colour, some coma wide open, flare "well controlled, much better than for many other legacy lenses"; solid, tight build.
- calvin83 (MFlenses forum), M42 version (blog) — Hong Kong street frames on a Sony NEX-5N from an owner who calls the lens "rare in every part of the world"; his album note is that it does not excel in sharpness but in colour rendition.
- kyslyak and Colorado Scenics (Flickr, FUJICA SLR Users group) (blog) — An M42 owner finds it "fun, but way too expensive" and believes Fuji kept the formula when it moved to the bayonet; the group's pool held no tagged frames from either version at the time.
History
The 24mm f/2.8 is the widest rectilinear lens Fuji made for its 35mm SLRs apart from the 19mm, and one of the rarest. It is not in the 1970 ST701 manual or the 1972 ST801 manual, which describes the range as running from 28mm to 1000mm; it appears in the AZ-1 manual of 1977 and in Fuji’s US brochure of EBC Fujinon lenses, both of which give 9 elements in 8 groups, an 84° angle, f/2.8 to f/16, 0.3m close focus, a 49mm filter and 175g. Fuji’s paperwork calls it Fujinon·W, but the lens itself is engraved EBC FUJINON·SW, and that is how it is listed for sale. It was only ever sold with EBC multicoating.
It is an M42 screw-thread lens and fits any M42 body, but it is a Fujica ST lens first: the aperture ring carries the small tab that tells an ST801, ST901 or AZ-1 the aperture at full opening, and the flange has the notch for the body’s lock pin. On other M42 bodies and on many adapters that tab can foul the mount, which is why so many Fujinons turn up with the tab filed off, and because there is no A/M switch the diaphragm stays wide open on an adapter that does not press the pin. The X bayonet version of 1980, EBC X-Fujinon·SW 24mm f/2.8 DM, keeps the 9-in-8 layout and the 84° angle but weighs 195g, is 45.5mm long and focuses to 0.25m; the DM engraving means the aperture ring’s automatic position gives an AX-5 its program and shutter-priority modes. Whether the glass is the same is not stated by Fuji, and the two versions are kept in one family on the matching counts alone.
Reviews are scarce because the lens is. Umberto Rustichelli, who found an X version at a Rome flea market and could not find another for sale anywhere, measured an excellent centre from f/4, a midframe that is bad at f/2.8 and corners that do not come right until f/11, with mild barrel distortion, no longitudinal colour and flare better controlled than on most legacy wide-angles. calvin83’s Hong Kong street frames from the M42 lens on a NEX-5N come with the judgement that it is a lens for colour rather than sharpness, and an owner in the Flickr Fujica group calls it fun but far too expensive. Nobody has published a side-by-side of the two mounts.
Buying: the M42 lens is checked for a filed-off tab, a stiff or oily diaphragm and whether the pin has been shortened; the X lens for the bayonet’s lock and the aperture ring’s automatic detent. The Fujica X flange is 43.5mm, so it adapts to mirrorless bodies with a plain tube but to any SLR only through corrective optics, and Fujica X adapters are scarcer than those for common mounts. No launch prices, blade counts or serial ranges have been found for either version, and neither has a launch year: 1977 here is the first document, not the first lens.
This history is AI-written, from the sources listed at the foot of the page. Where the record is silent it says so rather than filling the gap — but no human wrote these sentences.
Example photos
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