Glass Bodies a variant-level encyclopedia of vintage lenses and cameras by iwillpat

X-Fujinon 50mm f/1.6

Fuji Photo Film · Fujica X · 1980

single source, unconfirmed via machine translation — corrections welcome

Also known as: X-Fujinon 50mm f/1.6 · X-Fujinon 50mm f/1.6 DM · EBC X-Fujinon 50mm f/1.6 DM · X-FUJINON 1:1.6 f=50mm DM · EBC X-FUJINON 1:1.6 f=50mm DM · Fuji X-Fujinon 50mm 1.6 · Fujica AX 50mm f1.6 · Porst Color Reflex 50mm f/1.6 UMC · Xフジノン 50mm F1.6 · EBC Xフジノン 50mm F1.6 DM

Variants & identification

Variant Mount Years Serial ranges Production
X-Fujinon 50mm f/1.6 DM, without EBC Fujica X 1980–1985 — —
EBC X-Fujinon 50mm f/1.6 DM Fujica X 1980–1985 — —
  1. Filter. 49 mm in Fuji's AX-3 table, in Wikipedia's reading of it, on tokyo346's example, on Radojuva's Porst example and on allphotolenses; japb's Porst data sheet says 55 mm, which is not used.
  2. Weight. 175 g in Fuji's table as read by Wikipedia (the Pacific Rim scan reads '110', a misread); 173 g on japb, 172 g on tokyo346 and Kamerastore, 170 g on Radojuva. 175 g is entered from the table.
  3. Construction. Fuji's brochure, the AX-3 and AX-5 manuals, Wikipedia, japb, Radojuva and allphotolenses all say six elements in six groups. Kamerastore's listing says 5 in 4 and tokyo346 says a 4-element, 6-group Gauss, which are the figures for the 55mm f/1.6 and a mistake respectively; neither is used.
  4. Dates. Fuji's 1979–80 brochure lists both versions as standard lenses, so 1980 is entered; japb's '≈1980–83' start reflects that lens's absence from the brochures japb had seen. The mount ended in 1985.
  5. A 1985 German magazine test in which the lens 'beat everything like Leica, Zeiss, Nikon, Canon' at f/5.6 is reported second-hand on DPReview and has not been seen; the single-source badge applies to it.
  6. No launch price has been found in Fuji's brochure, the manuals or the Japanese sources read.
How to tell them apart (expand)
  • Fujica X bayonet, DM orange diamond; 49 mm filter; 0.6 m close focus; f/16 minimum; six blades; six air-spaced elements; 37 mm long
  • EBC on the name ring or not is the only difference between the two variants recorded
  • Part-plastic barrel: Radojuva's Porst example had the rubber lifting from the focusing ring; a snap-on front cap with a lock catch (syobonnull)

X-Fujinon 50mm f/1.6 DM, without EBC:

  • Name ring X-FUJINON 1:1.6 f=50mm DM with no EBC prefix; orange diamond past f/16 on the aperture ring with its push-button lock
  • Standard lens of the AX-1 and AX-3 in Fuji's 1979–80 brochure, beside the EBC version; the AX-5's brochure entry names only the EBC lens

EBC X-Fujinon 50mm f/1.6 DM:

  • EBC X-FUJINON 1:1.6 f=50mm DM on the name ring; otherwise the same barrel, diamond and button as the plain lens
  • Standard lens of the AX-5 in the brochure and in the AX-5 manual ('EBC X-Fujinon 1:1.6 f=50 mm DM, 6-component, 6-element')
  • Sold by Porst as the Color Reflex 1:1.6/50mm UMC X-M F, a 1:1 rebrand differing only in the name ring (japb)

Specifications

Formula
6 elements in 6 groups, all air-spaced (Fuji's AX-series brochure and AX-3 manual: 6-component, 6-element)
Construction
6 elements / 6 groups
Aperture range
f/1.6–f/16
Diaphragm blades
6
Min. focus
0.6 m
Dimensions
61.5 × 36.5 mm
Weight
175 g
Filter
49 mm
Years manufactured
1980–1985
Country
Japan
Coating
single-coated on the plain X-Fujinon; EBC multicoating on the EBC X-Fujinon

What reviewers say

Optical Ratings

Aggregated from the reviews above — follow the links for the full picture.

Vignetting
none reported
Flare & ghosting
flares into light
Distortion
none reported

History

The X-Fujinon 50mm f/1.6 is the standard lens Fuji built for its X-bayonet bodies, and the one most AX-1, AX-3 and AX-5 cameras were sold with. It is a new design for the bayonet rather than a rehoused M42 lens: six elements in six groups, every one air-spaced, where the M42 55mm f/1.8 was six in four. A 49mm filter, 0.6m close focus, f/16 minimum, six blades, 37mm long and 175g. Fuji’s launch brochure for the AX-5, AX-3, AX-1 and STX-1 lists it twice, as a plain X-Fujinon and as an EBC X-Fujinon, with the same construction for both; the AX-1 and AX-3 came with either, the AX-5 with the EBC lens. The same EBC lens went to Germany as the Porst Color Reflex 1:1.6/50mm UMC X-M F, differing only in the name ring.

Both versions are DM lenses. The suffix means an orange diamond position beyond f/16 on the aperture ring, locked by a push button, which presses a pin in the body and lets the AX-5 and the later AX Multi Program run their program and shutter-priority modes; a lens without the diamond, such as the 50mm f/1.9 FM, gives only full-aperture metering and aperture-priority. The f/1.6 aperture itself is the odd thing about the lens, a third of a stop faster than f/1.8, and the aperture ring clicks at full stops only, with no f/2 position, which surprises people the first time.

Reviewers like it more than they expected to. Radojuva, reviewing the Porst version, finds it adequately sharp and contrasty wide open in straight light, prone to flare and contrast loss against the light, free of distortion and vignetting, and remarkable mainly for a bokeh he calls amazing. The Japanese owners on tokyo346 and note.com say the same in their own terms: soft backgrounds, saturated colour, little fringing, no modern sharpness. The DPReview thread carries the strongest claim, a 1985 German magazine test in which the lens is said to have beaten everything in its class at f/5.6, and a modern comparison on a Sony body in which it came out ahead of Zeiss glass; neither test has been seen here and the claim carries the single-source badge. On the EBC question the digital shooters find little difference between the two versions.

Buying one: the X mount is the problem, not the lens. The bayonet lasted from 1979 to 1985, adapters are scarcer and dearer than for M42, and the 43.5mm flange distance means a mirrorless adapter needs its own ring to stop the lens down while a DSLR adapter needs corrective glass. The barrel is part plastic and the rubber grip lifts; check the DM button, the blades for oil, and the helicoid, since serviced examples are advertised as such. Because the plain and EBC lenses were sold side by side, check the name ring rather than assuming. No launch price has been found in any Fuji document read.

Expand Collapse

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 X-Fujinon 50mm f/1.6? We'd love to feature it (with credit).

Live listings

Asking price, USD: a median of $88 across 9 fixed-price listings on 2026-09-20 (middle half $75–$130). First day tracked.

Asking prices from the listings scanned, not sales; junk-flagged rows and auction lots excluded; other currencies are not converted.

Show 6 more listings

Buying from Yahoo! Auctions outside Japan. It is a domestic marketplace: sellers ship within Japan, and most will not register an overseas buyer. A proxy service bids on your behalf, receives the item and forwards it, for a fee and a wait. Buyee, Jauce and ZenMarket each accept a Yahoo auction number directly. Listed alphabetically for information — none is recommended over another, and none of these is an affiliate link.

Listings updated 2026-09-20. Links go to the shop or marketplace that carries the item.

Related: X-Fujinon 50mm f/1.2 DM · X-Fujinon 50mm f/1.9 · Fujinon 55mm f/2.2 · EBC Fujinon 50mm f/1.4 · EBC Fujinon 35mm f/1.9 · EBC Fujinon Macro 55mm f/3.5

Sources (21)

Every page here is assembled from public sources, and the gaps are real ones. If you own this lens, know a serial number I'm missing, or can see where I have it wrong, tell me — corrections, serials and sample photos are all worth having.