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by Alexandra ThompsonTodayNiSi has introduced the 16mm f/2.8 ASPH, an ultra-wide manual-focus prime for medium format mirrorless in Hasselblad XCD and FUJIFILM G mounts. It delivers a 118° diagonal field of view (roughly a 12.6mm full-frame equivalent), a bright f/2.8 aperture, and an optical design tuned for 100-megapixel sensors, all priced at $1,399.
Ultra-wide options for medium format remain scarce, and the ones that exist tend to be either slow, prohibitively expensive, or both. NiSi is positioning this 16mm as a rare middle ground: genuinely wide, genuinely fast at f/2.8, and priced well below the flagship native optics from Hasselblad and FUJIFILM. For photographers shooting the GFX 100-series bodies or Hasselblad’s X system, a fast rectilinear wide that can hold up on a 100MP file is exactly the kind of tool that has been missing from the lineup.
Optics and resolutionAt the heart of the lens is a 16-element, 12-group optical design. NiSi includes three glass aspherical elements and four ultra-low-dispersion elements to control distortion, chromatic aberration, and other optical flaws across the frame. The company describes the result as APO-level color fringing control, a meaningful claim for an ultra-wide where lateral CA typically shows up hardest in the corners.
The lens is engineered around high-resolution sensors, with NiSi stating it maintains resolution edge-to-edge on 100-megapixel medium format bodies. That is the practical bar for this segment, since the FUJIFILM GFX100 II and Hasselblad X2D 100C both resolve at that level and punish any lens that softens off-axis.
NiSi 16mm mounted on the Hasselblad. Image credit: NiSiAperture, sunstars, and low lightThe f/2.8 maximum aperture is the headline for astrophotography and interior work, where light is scarce and wider apertures reduce exposure times. NiSi rounds out the aperture range to f/22 using an 8-blade diaphragm, and the design produces clean 8-point sunstars from roughly f/4 through f/22, a detail landscape shooters will appreciate when working point light sources into a composition.
The aperture ring is clicked for tactile, repeatable stops, while the manual focus ring carries cinema-style markings and rotates through a generous 180° for precise focus pulls. This is a fully manual lens, with no autofocus or electronic aperture control, which is consistent with NiSi’s approach across its stills and cinema optics.
Image credit: NiSiHandling, filters, and buildPhysically, the lens measures 115x88mm (4.53×3.46in) and weighs approximately 835g (1.8 lb), a reasonable figure for a fast ultra-wide covering a sensor this large. The barrel is a weather-sealed metal construction with a sealing ring at the mount, and NiSi applies its SA+ anti-reflection coating and an ultra-hard surface coating designed to resist water, oil, and fingerprints.
Filtration is handled through a conventional 82mm front thread, so standard screw-in filters will fit directly. The lens also includes a custom JetMag Pro 95MAG adapter ring, allowing compatible magnetic filters to be mounted without vignetting. Close focus comes in at 0.25m (9.8in) with a maximum magnification of 0.12x, enough to exaggerate a foreground element for dramatic wide-angle depth.
NiSi 16mm f/2.8 ASPH lens. Image credit: NiSiWho is it for?This is a specialist tool aimed squarely at medium format landscape, architecture, real estate, and astrophotography work. The combination of a true ultra-wide angle of view (diagonal 118°, horizontal 105.9°, vertical 89°), a fast f/2.8 aperture, and resolution tuned for 100MP sensors is uncommon in this format, and the manual-focus design keeps the price accessible. Photographers who need autofocus for events or run-and-gun work should look elsewhere, but for deliberate, tripod-based shooting the manual controls are rarely a limitation.
NiSi is better known in the filmmaking world for its ATHENA cinema primes, and if you missed our coverage, it is worth revisiting our NiSi ATHENA review to see how the company’s optics have performed in motion applications. This 16mm marks a notable step into native medium format stills glass.
NiSi 16mm in use on the Fujifilm. Image credit: NiSiPricing and availabilityThe NiSi 16mm f/2.8 ASPH is priced at $1,399 in both the Hasselblad XCD and FUJIFILM G versions. At B&H the lens is listed as a coming-soon preorder item, while NiSi’s own USA store shows the Hasselblad XCD version on backorder with expected availability of one to two weeks. The box includes the lens, front and rear caps, the JetMag Pro 95MAG magnetic filter adapter ring, and a limited one-year manufacturer warranty.
A fast, ultra-wide native prime for 100MP medium format at under $1,400 is a rare thing. Does a manual-focus 16mm fill a gap in your Hasselblad or FUJIFILM GFX kit? Let us know in the comments below!