For $699 it better be a phenomenal optic. I shall wait and see.

franco said:

I'm sure it'll be great optically - but I think this will be the poorest selling of all the X Series lenses as they are now.
The focal length lends itself to sports, kids, candids etc...and I'm not sure thats where the X pro/XE1's strengths are. Maybe once phase detection reaches the X interchangables...

I do tend to agree but who knows it may be phenomenally fast to focus. :D
As a two lens solution with the 18-55 it will still offer a pretty good focal range for most casual users even if not for sports. If you need a camera solution for an overseas holiday these would cover most bases and be much easier on the baggage allowance than a DSLR equivalent set up.
Guess what. It will hit the stores just in time for the northern hemisphere holiday season. Isn't that a coincidence. :D

Being used to multi thousand dollar Nikon lenses $699 does not seem overly expensive to me with the caveat that the lens performs more like the rest of the Fuji range rather than like a Nikon or Canon entry level kit lens.

franco said:

I'm sure it'll be great optically - but I think this will be the poorest selling of all the X Series lenses as they are now.
The focal length lends itself to sports, kids, candids etc...and I'm not sure thats where the X pro/XE1's strengths are. Maybe once phase detection reaches the X interchangables...

Who knows? And I love my primes... :-)

Well it does include the same focusing motor system as the 18-55, so the expectation should be that it will focus somewhat faster than the primes (why they don't have better focusing motors is beyond me!).

I think the X-E1 sells to a much more casual market, but I agree it is not clear if this type of variable aperture slow tele zoom sells well for enthusiast mirrorless cameras.

The price doesn't seem too bad, but then it will be around 3 times more expensive that some of the "plastic fantastic" 55-200mm slow tele-zooms made by Sigma, Tamron, Sony et al - which are actually optically very good. Of course, the Fuji lens is "faster", but only by a third of a stop at the long end (f3.5-4.8 vs f4.5-5.6).

Yes, it will be "well made" like Sony NEX lenses because it will be clad in a thin skin of metal on a polycarbonate barrel (like the 18-55), and it has OIS which will add to the cost compared to unstabilised rivals.

Given the above, for 3 times their price it needs to be optically pretty special. The greatest disappointment for me is that it is S-L-O-W compared to the f4 tele zoom that was on the original road map. I haven't used a lens that slow for many years, since I gave up on f4.5-5.6 telezooms as they were unusable in all but the best light.

franco said:

I'm sure it'll be great optically - but I think this will be the poorest selling of all the X Series lenses as they are now.
The focal length lends itself to sports, kids, candids etc...and I'm not sure thats where the X pro/XE1's strengths are. Maybe once phase detection reaches the X interchangables...

Who knows? And I love my primes... :-)

Generally, msot people like 85-150mm for portraiture, so having this would be great for that. Unless someone plans on running a telephoto with manual focus - this might very well be the only game in town from Fuji for this focal range - if not forever - then most likely for a long time.