NiSi’s New 16mm f/2.8 Ultra Wide Lens

credits: NiSi

NiSi’s new 16mm f/2.8 Ultra-Wide-Angle lens for Fujifilm GFX and Hasselblad XCD systems is here. With a 35mm-equivalent focal length of roughly 12.6mm and a wide 118-degree diagonal field of view, it joins a fairly small group of ultra-wide medium format lenses. While it is not quite the widest non-fisheye option available, that title still belongs to Laowa’s 15mm f/4.5 Zero-D, the NiSi does stand out by offering a much faster f/2.8 aperture, making it one of the fastest ultra-wide lenses currently available for medium format cameras.

The lens uses a 16-element, 12-group optical design that includes three aspherical elements and four ultra-low dispersion elements. According to NiSi, the design was developed to maintain strong image quality across the frame while keeping coma under control. The lens also features the company’s SA+ ultra-low reflection coating, which is designed to reduce flare, ghosting, and stray reflections. Other specifications include weather sealing, low distortion, minimal focus breathing, and chromatic aberration control that NiSi says approaches APO-level performance. An eight-blade aperture is also included, producing eight-point sunstars when stopped down between f/4 and f/22.

At 835g, the lens is not particularly lightweight, although that is to be expected given its combination of medium format coverage and a fast aperture. NiSi says the lens has been optimised for sensors up to 100 megapixels and features a 180-degree focus throw for more precise manual focusing. It is also worth noting that the lens is manual focus only. The NiSi 16mm f/2.8 Ultra-Wide-Angle Medium Format Lens is available for Fujifilm GFX and Hasselblad XCD mounts and is priced at $1,499.