Early on, I purchased the 18-55 and 55-200 zooms. Both are excellent. But... I found myself rarely carrying the 55-200 because hefting its additional size/weight around generally wasn't worth the 55-200mm range, which I didn't require that often.
Then I picked up some primes -- the 14mm, 35mm, and 60mm first, and later the 23mm, 27mm, and 56mm. So I sold the 35mm because it was no longer used much, and would have sold the 60mm for the same reason except for its close focusing capability, which was unique in my set of lenses. I also found that I no longer used the 18-55 much, preferring to carry some combination of the 14, 23, 27, and 56mm primes.
Then along came the 18-135mm zoom. I reasoned that if I liked it, it could replace three lenses: the 18-55mm (because it covers the same range), 55-200mm (because I wasn't carrying it much anyway), and 60mm (because the 1:4 closeup capability of the 18-135mm wasn't that much worse than the 1:2 closeup capability of the 60mm).
In a couple days of playing with the 18-135mm, I've been really impressed.
1. The OIS is stellar, allowing handholding at very slow shutter speeds (which is good because it's not a fast lens). At 55mm in low light, the 18-135 outperforms the 18-55mm lens, even though a shot that can be taken at 1/12th of a second with the smaller lens requires 1/6th with the 18-135mm. In spite of the slower shutter speeds, there was greater sharpness in my 18-135mm shots. The larger lens seemed easier to hold steady than the 18-55, but I can't really tell if I'm holding it that much steadier or if the OIS of the newer lens is just more effective, as Fuji claims.
2. The issue of blurring backgrounds is a non-issue for me with this lens. If I'm interested in subject isolation, I'll use the 23mm or 56mm. So the smaller aperture of this zoom doesn't matter much when I have the primes along. And as I said above, its OIS enables me to shoot effectively in light as low as with the 2 other zooms.
3. I'm sure I'll shoot in the 55-135mm range more now than I did previously. Previously I had to carry an additional lens (beyond the 18-55mm) for this zoom range. Now I can cover the entire range with a single zoom lens.
4. The closeup capabilities are very impressive. You can fill the frame with a flower or small object half the size of what you could with the 18-55mm lens. It's still not 1:2 like the 60mm, and I'm sure the 60mm prime is sharper for someone who specializes in closeup photography. But for someone like me who likes going in close only on occasion... the 1:4 shots of the 18-135mm zoom are very sharp and surpass what I can do with any other Fuji lens except the 60mm. Since I have the 56mm for subject isolation in the short telephoto range, and now the 18-135mm for closeups, the 60mm will be going to auction.
So there you have it. I love shooting with the 23, 27, and 56, and want to keep a zoom that will fill in the gaps between them and provide a stronger telephoto than just 56mm. The new 18-135mm checks all the right boxes, not to mention its weather-resistance to complement the T1's. With this single acquisition, I can sell 3 lenses -- 18-55, 55-200, and 60mm -- that weren't getting much use anyway. The question of which lenses to leave behind will be simplified. It is true that the 18-135 weighs 180g more than the 18-55, but it also weighs 90g less than the 55-200, and 400g less than the 18-55 and 55-200 together. Carrying both the 18-55 and 55-200 is little different in weight than carrying two 18-135mm lenses.
Then I picked up some primes -- the 14mm, 35mm, and 60mm first, and later the 23mm, 27mm, and 56mm. So I sold the 35mm because it was no longer used much, and would have sold the 60mm for the same reason except for its close focusing capability, which was unique in my set of lenses. I also found that I no longer used the 18-55 much, preferring to carry some combination of the 14, 23, 27, and 56mm primes.
Then along came the 18-135mm zoom. I reasoned that if I liked it, it could replace three lenses: the 18-55mm (because it covers the same range), 55-200mm (because I wasn't carrying it much anyway), and 60mm (because the 1:4 closeup capability of the 18-135mm wasn't that much worse than the 1:2 closeup capability of the 60mm).
In a couple days of playing with the 18-135mm, I've been really impressed.
1. The OIS is stellar, allowing handholding at very slow shutter speeds (which is good because it's not a fast lens). At 55mm in low light, the 18-135 outperforms the 18-55mm lens, even though a shot that can be taken at 1/12th of a second with the smaller lens requires 1/6th with the 18-135mm. In spite of the slower shutter speeds, there was greater sharpness in my 18-135mm shots. The larger lens seemed easier to hold steady than the 18-55, but I can't really tell if I'm holding it that much steadier or if the OIS of the newer lens is just more effective, as Fuji claims.
2. The issue of blurring backgrounds is a non-issue for me with this lens. If I'm interested in subject isolation, I'll use the 23mm or 56mm. So the smaller aperture of this zoom doesn't matter much when I have the primes along. And as I said above, its OIS enables me to shoot effectively in light as low as with the 2 other zooms.
3. I'm sure I'll shoot in the 55-135mm range more now than I did previously. Previously I had to carry an additional lens (beyond the 18-55mm) for this zoom range. Now I can cover the entire range with a single zoom lens.
4. The closeup capabilities are very impressive. You can fill the frame with a flower or small object half the size of what you could with the 18-55mm lens. It's still not 1:2 like the 60mm, and I'm sure the 60mm prime is sharper for someone who specializes in closeup photography. But for someone like me who likes going in close only on occasion... the 1:4 shots of the 18-135mm zoom are very sharp and surpass what I can do with any other Fuji lens except the 60mm. Since I have the 56mm for subject isolation in the short telephoto range, and now the 18-135mm for closeups, the 60mm will be going to auction.
So there you have it. I love shooting with the 23, 27, and 56, and want to keep a zoom that will fill in the gaps between them and provide a stronger telephoto than just 56mm. The new 18-135mm checks all the right boxes, not to mention its weather-resistance to complement the T1's. With this single acquisition, I can sell 3 lenses -- 18-55, 55-200, and 60mm -- that weren't getting much use anyway. The question of which lenses to leave behind will be simplified. It is true that the 18-135 weighs 180g more than the 18-55, but it also weighs 90g less than the 55-200, and 400g less than the 18-55 and 55-200 together. Carrying both the 18-55 and 55-200 is little different in weight than carrying two 18-135mm lenses.
