Fujifilm confirmed that a firmware update for its popular XF 16-55mm f/2.8 R LM WR zoom lens has impacted exposure consistency and suspended the firmware download.
“In Ver. 1.30 released on January 22, 2024, it was confirmed that the exposure of images taken with certain focal length and aperture value combinations became abnormal. For this reason, the firmware download has been suspended,” Fujifilm explains on the XF 16-55’s support page.
The company adds that an emergency firmware release is in the works to fix the issue for any users who had already updated to version 1.30 before it was pulled from Fujifilm’s website.
Version 1.30 promised to improve exposure tracking during zoom operation on specific cameras, including the X-H2S, X-H2, X-T5, X-T4, X-T3, X-S20, and X-S10. The prior firmware release, ver.1.20, also promised improvements during exposure tracking, although only during video recording and unrelated to zoom operation. Firmware updates 1.10 and 1.12 also affected overall performance, including concerning manual focus accuracy and software-based chromatic aberration corrections.
Fuji Rumors cites a similar situation with a firmware update for the Fujifilm GF 50mm f/3.5 lens, which was updated on April 27, 2023. That firmware update, version 1.10, was suspended and per Fujifilm’s G Mount lens support page, still is. That firmware, which can no longer be downloaded and hasn’t been replaced with a new version, also promised to improve exposure tracking performance.
However, in that case, while the firmware download was suspended, users who had already installed it can continue to use their lens.
“It has been confirmed that there are some rare cases where the upgrade process fails with Ver. 1.10 released on April 27, 2023. For this reason, we have just removed the download button for this version here. We will resume the download button as soon as a fix is ready. Customers who have successfully upgraded this firmware can continue to use the product,” Fujifilm explains on the GF 50mm f/3.5 R LM WR firmware page.
It is unclear precisely how long impacted XF 16-55mm f/2.8 users will have to wait, but hopefully not long. With modern mirrorless system lenses relying increasingly more heavily on software to perform essential functions, unfortunately, these bugs are inevitable.
Image credits: Fujifilm