EBC Fujinon GX M 100mm f/4
Fuji Photo Film · Fuji GX680 · 1986
Also known as: EBC Fujinon GX 100mm F4 · EBC Fujinon GX M 100mm F4 · Fujinon GX 100mm f/4 · Fujinon GX M 100mm f/4 · Fuji GX680 100mm F4 · GX680 100mm · Fujinon GXM 100mm · EBC FUJINON GX M 100mm 1:4 · フジノン GX 100mm F4 · EBC フジノン GX M 100mm F4 · フジ GX680 100mm · GX680用 100mm F4
Variants & identification
| Variant | Mount | Years | Serial ranges | Production |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| EBC Fujinon GX 100mm f/4 (plain GX marking) | Fuji GX680 | 1986–1997 | — | — |
| EBC Fujinon GX M 100mm f/4 (counter chip, from 1997) | Fuji GX680 | 1997–2010 | — | — |
- Element and group count (8 in 8), closest focus 0.47 m and the φ82 mm attachment thread are from Japanese Wikipedia's Fujifilm product list (Fujinon GX M 100mm F4). English Wikipedia's table agrees on 8/8 and 82 mm and adds f/4–45, 910 g, 101 × 107 × 101 mm and a list price of ¥147,000, calling it a 46mm f/1.8 in 35mm terms.
- 101 × 107 × 101 mm is the lens on the system's standard board; the last 101 mm is taken as the length and no diameter is given. Blade count is not published. A dealer listing quoting 1,620 g is at odds with English Wikipedia's 910 g and is not used.
- The ¥147,000 list price carries no year in English Wikipedia's table and is not indexed.
- Launch year: no source dates the 100mm itself; 1986 is the system's launch, and English Wikipedia says nine unnamed lenses were shown at the 1987 PMA show. Burk was using the 100mm in 2002.
How to tell them apart
- The fastest of the f/5.6-and-slower GX line at f/4, and the first of the wides on the system's standard 82 mm thread and 101 × 107 mm board; 910 g (English Wikipedia)
- Eight single elements in eight groups, as on the 80mm (Japanese Wikipedia)
- No shutter-speed ring; aperture lever on the lens, Seiko shutter timed by the body
- Front ring engraved EBC FUJINON GX 100mm 1:4, or GX M from 1997
- Listing trap: the 100–200mm f/5.6 zoom and Fuji's GX617 and GFX lenses share the Fujinon name; the GX680 prime is on a square electronic board with no shutter ring
EBC Fujinon GX 100mm f/4 (plain GX marking):
- Front ring reads EBC FUJINON GX 100mm 1:4 with no M; no exposure counter chip
EBC Fujinon GX M 100mm f/4 (counter chip, from 1997):
- GX M on the front ring; electronic exposure counter read by the GX680III with Film Holder III (English Wikipedia)
- Same optics, barrel, 82 mm thread and board as the GX version
- EBC Fujinon GX 100mm f/4 (plain GX marking): The pre-1997 marking. No source dates the 100mm's own introduction; 1986 is the system's launch year. Works on all four bodies.
- EBC Fujinon GX M 100mm f/4 (counter chip, from 1997): Introduced with the GX680III in December 1997. English Wikipedia's table gives one set of figures for 'GX (M)'; the counter is the only documented difference.
Specifications
- Construction
- 8 elements / 8 groups
- Aperture range
- f/4–f/45
- Shutter
- Seiko electronic leaf shutter in the lens, timed and cocked by the body: 8s–1/400, B, flash sync at all speeds
- Min. focus
- 0.47 m
- Dimensions
- 101 mm long
- Weight
- 910 g
- Filter
- 82 mm
- Years manufactured
- 1986–2010
- Country
- Japan
- Coating
- EBC multicoating
- Original price
- ¥147,000 (maker's list price; year not stated)
What reviewers say
- Danny Burk, The Luminous Landscape (blog) — In his 2002 GX680III review the 100mm f/4 is his best "macro" lens for the system, reaching 1.3:1 with the 80 mm extension rails; an orchid at about three-quarters life size was made that way. The system's lenses in general he calls "stellar".
History
The 100mm f/4 is the GX680’s moderate wide-angle, a 46mm equivalent on the 6×8 frame by English Wikipedia’s table, and the first lens in the line to reach the system’s standard 82 mm filter thread and standard 101 × 107 mm board: the 50, 65 and 80 all need larger fronts. It is also the fastest of Fuji’s f/5.6-class primes at f/4, a stop brighter on the ground glass than its neighbours, which matters on a camera focused on a waist-level screen. Eight elements in eight groups, all air-spaced, 910 g on the board, bellows focusing to 0.47 m, f/4 to f/45, and the usual Seiko leaf shutter timed by the body from 8 seconds to 1/400 with flash at every speed.
Its reputation rests on close work. Danny Burk, in his 2002 account of the GX680III, calls it the best macro lens of the system: with the 80 mm extension rails it reaches 1.3:1, and he made an orchid at about three-quarters life size with that combination. The rails came with the GX680II in 1994; the 40 mm rails he does not recommend. Because the front standard tilts and swings, the lens can also lay the plane of focus along a tabletop at these magnifications, which is what the camera was built for.
Two markings exist, the plain GX original and the GX M of December 1997 with its electronic exposure counter for the GX680III; both fit all four bodies and share one set of figures in English Wikipedia’s table. No source dates the 100mm’s own arrival, so it is dated from the system’s launch in 1986, and the ¥147,000 list price has no year. Used copies are common, often described by forum users as the one lens they would keep, and the checks are the board contacts, the shutter and the front glass; a dealer’s 1,620 g for the lens appears to be a shipping weight and is not used here.
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
Sample photo wanted — shot with a EBC Fujinon GX M 100mm f/4? We'd love to feature it (with credit).
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