Fuji lens lost in wilderness for 4 months – found, and still works! – By Steve Boykin

By Steve Boykin

I’ve just found a 23mm f/2 Fuji lens that I lost in the wilderness in June. I just happened to be looking down and it was sitting on the ground a few inches from my foot. I had looked in this area before too… I must be honest, I didn’t expect it to work, but when I got home and mounted it on my X-Pro it came to life like nothing had happened.

The glass is fine too. The front element was protected by the B+W filter on it – it was really hard to get off though. The filter cleaned up nicely but had a bunch of water spots on it. The rear element was protected by the cap so is perfect too. The darn thing is, I must have walked past it 30 or 40 times over the last few months. It wasn’t where there was any grass.

The spot where I found it

I am absolutely astounded it still works. The auto focus is like nothing every happened. The aperture and focus ring turn smoothly. There is a slight discoloration on one side on the barrel. It’s the widest part, so it’s probably the part that was touching the ground. The paint is still on the lens too.

As far as the weather is concerned, we had a lot of rain in June through say mid July. Then it was like an oven outside from mid July until last week. Seriously, from mid August until last week it rarely got below 95 degrees with most days getting into the lows 100’s. It would be 90 degrees at 9 PM some days. Then suddenly on Wednesday night the temperature dropped. It was actually in the 30’s yesterday when I found it. We had also heavy thunderstorms Thursday night through Friday AM too.

Close up test Distance focusing test

I have to give them credit. It may look like a relatively inexpensive lens but it’s apparently very well made. I got this one when it was originally released, so it’s maybe 3 years old. I think I got it for $399 with the price being a sale. I paid $449 for the replacement. For that sort of money, this sort of resilience to the elements – especially in a lens filled with electronics – is fantastic.

Share this post:

Find more similar content on 35mmc

Use the tags below to search for more posts on related topics:

Contribute to 35mmc for an ad-free experience.

There are two ways to contribute to 35mmc and experience it without the adverts:

Paid Subscription – £2.99 per month and you’ll never see an advert again! (Free 3-day trial).

Subscribe here.

Content contributor – become a part of the world’s biggest film and alternative photography community blog. All our Contributors have an ad-free experience for life.

Sign up here.

About The Author

Comments

Perry Westbrook on Fuji lens lost in wilderness for 4 months – found, and still works! – By Steve Boykin

Comment posted: 16/10/2019

What an amazing story, I hope you've told Fuji?
Where in the world were you?
Reply

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Hamish Gill replied:

Comment posted: 16/10/2019

I’ve just told them - they definitely needed to know! ????

Reply

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

thorsten wulff on Fuji lens lost in wilderness for 4 months – found, and still works! – By Steve Boykin

Comment posted: 16/10/2019

Great news Steve, congrats. I'll get one with the X-Pro 3 for sure now!
Reply

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Clive Williams on Fuji lens lost in wilderness for 4 months – found, and still works! – By Steve Boykin

Comment posted: 16/10/2019

WR = Wilderness Resistant?
Fuji kit is worth looking after - but it's nice to know that it survives some mistreatment too. :)
Reply

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Ori on Fuji lens lost in wilderness for 4 months – found, and still works! – By Steve Boykin

Comment posted: 16/10/2019

awesome :)
Reply

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Photographer finds fully-functional Fujifilm lens 4 months after losing it in the desert | Photo Valley on Fuji lens lost in wilderness for 4 months – found, and still works! – By Steve Boykin

Comment posted: 16/10/2019

[…] lenses, aren’t necessarily known for their ruggedness or weatherproofing, but a little anecdote from Steve Boykin, writing for 35mmc, shows they’re far from […]
Reply

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Photographer finds fully-functional Fujifilm lens 4 months after losing it in the desert – PixelNova on Fuji lens lost in wilderness for 4 months – found, and still works! – By Steve Boykin

Comment posted: 16/10/2019

[…] digicam lenses are sturdy, however a little anecdote from Steve Boykin, writing for 35mmc, exhibits simply how far weather-sealing in the previous few […]
Reply

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Peter on Fuji lens lost in wilderness for 4 months – found, and still works! – By Steve Boykin

Comment posted: 16/10/2019

I shoot 60/40 digital to film. I switched to Fuji 5 years ago and so glad I did. While not a full frame, I can attest to the ruggedness of their gear. Your 23/f2 story has convinced me to sell my XP1 and older/excess primes I don’t use as much anymore and get the XP3! Thanks! I’ll still have my X100f to keep me happy in the meantime.
Reply

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Photographer finds fully-functional Fujifilm lens 4 months after losing it in the desert - TodayPic on Fuji lens lost in wilderness for 4 months – found, and still works! – By Steve Boykin

Comment posted: 16/10/2019

[…] camera lenses are durable, but a little anecdote from Steve Boykin, writing for 35mmc, shows just how far weather-sealing has come in the past few […]
Reply

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Roger B. on Fuji lens lost in wilderness for 4 months – found, and still works! – By Steve Boykin

Comment posted: 16/10/2019

Remarkable, considering that 60% relative humidity in a storage cabinet can pollute many the lens with fungus in just one year.
Reply

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Fuji lens found after four months in the wilderness, rain and extreme temperatures, and it still works - DIY Photography on Fuji lens lost in wilderness for 4 months – found, and still works! – By Steve Boykin

Comment posted: 17/10/2019

[…] writes that he had looked in the area before, but wasn’t able to find the lens he’d lost. As a matter […]
Reply

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Fuji Lens Rained on and ‘Baked’ in the Wilderness for 4 Months, Still Works – Print on Fuji lens lost in wilderness for 4 months – found, and still works! – By Steve Boykin

Comment posted: 17/10/2019

[…] tells the lost-and-found story on 35mmc, where he describes how he stumbled across the lens earlier this week after losing it way back in […]
Reply

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Jason Waterhouse on Fuji lens lost in wilderness for 4 months – found, and still works! – By Steve Boykin

Comment posted: 17/10/2019

Ask Steve to shine an LED flashlight or iPhone flashlight through the rear element and look into the front of the lens. That'll tell you if any of the glass hazed or grew fungus, some of which may not be visible without shining a bright light through the elements.
Reply

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Fuji Lens Rained on and 'Baked' in the Wilderness for 4 Months, Still Works - 360 Degree Cameras on Fuji lens lost in wilderness for 4 months – found, and still works! – By Steve Boykin

Comment posted: 17/10/2019

[…] tells the lost-and-found story on 35mmc, where he describes how he stumbled across the lens earlier this week after losing it way back in […]
Reply

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Fuji Lens Rained on and ‘Baked’ in the Wilderness for 4 Months, Still Works – CyberSide Tech News on Fuji lens lost in wilderness for 4 months – found, and still works! – By Steve Boykin

Comment posted: 18/10/2019

[…] tells the lost-and-found story on 35mmc, where he describes how he stumbled across the lens earlier this week after losing it way back in […]
Reply

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Fuji Lens Rained on and ‘Baked’ in the Wilderness for 4 Months, Still Works – News Tech Dude on Fuji lens lost in wilderness for 4 months – found, and still works! – By Steve Boykin

Comment posted: 18/10/2019

[…] tells the lost-and-found story on 35mmc, where he describes how he stumbled across the lens earlier this week after losing it way back in […]
Reply

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Φωτογράφος βρήκε τον Fujifilm φακό που είχε χάσει στην έρημο μετά 4 μήνες σε άψογη κατάσταση | pttl.gr on Fuji lens lost in wilderness for 4 months – found, and still works! – By Steve Boykin

Comment posted: 18/10/2019

[…] φωτογράφος Steve Boykin έχασε τον φακό του, ένα Fujifilm XF 23mm F2 R WR (35mm σε φορμά 35mm), […]
Reply

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Fuji Lens Rained on and ‘Baked’ in the Wilderness for 4 Months, Still Works – My Home Tech Reviews on Fuji lens lost in wilderness for 4 months – found, and still works! – By Steve Boykin

Comment posted: 18/10/2019

[…] tells the lost-and-found story on 35mmc, where he describes how he stumbled across the lens earlier this week after losing it way back in […]
Reply

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Perde un'ottica Fujifilm nel deserto per 4 mesi: la ritrova funzionante - Siti Web > Notizie di Marketing e comunicazione on Fuji lens lost in wilderness for 4 months – found, and still works! – By Steve Boykin

Comment posted: 20/10/2019

[…] a uno smartphone Android. Accade invece più difficilmente nel mondo della fotografia. E così Steve Boykin ha voluto raccontare della perdita e successivo ritrovamento del suo obiettivo […]
Reply

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Leave a Comment

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *