Fuji 16-55mm f2.8

Anyone used this lens in anger yet ?

I am deciding whether to get this or the 18-135mm

The 18-135mm is very sharp in the centre throughout the range but merely good at the edges at 18mm although better at the edges above this.

Interested in the MTA curves of the 16-55mm and wonder if it will be genuinely good enough to not need primes in the range as f2.8 is plenty for me to obtain the Bokeh i need at the long end.

I did play with one in a shop and its another size and weight upgrade from the 18-135mm, but a beautiful lens nonetheless. I'd be prepared to shlep it around if the quality was there

rgds

it seems like Fuji's is WAAAAYYYYYY overpriced.

The Photo Ninja said:

it seems like Fuji's is WAAAAYYYYYY overpriced.

Click to expand...

What's your opinion of the price got to do with the question? Start a Fuji lens / Canon lens comparison thread if you think anyone might be interested.

I'd disagree that it's over-priced. I think the price point is spot on.

What I do think is, it's too big a normal zoom lens for a mirror-less camera. By the time you add a grip to the body, to balance the weight, you've lost all the size advantage of owning a mirror-less camera; so you might as well have a DSLR that doesn't have the performance drawbacks of a mirror-less camera.

Also considering the size of the lens, I think it's silly it doesn't have OIS. If the lens was only marginally bigger than the 18-55 2.8-4 then I'd accept they prioritised size and couldn't fit OIS into the design, but considering the size I think it should have had OIS to sweeten the deal and persuade people that the bulk is worth it.

Maybe I'll reconsider my thoughts on the lens if they bring out the X-Pro 2 or an X-T2 with in-body stabilisation.

Hi,

I haven't seen a lab-test report of the 16-55 and I don't think you'll find many people who've had an opportunity to try it yet. There are few out and about, but it's early days. The comparison of prime versus zoom isn't really about sharpness any more. High grade zooms are very very sharp and it's often difficult to tell the difference once both are stopped down a little. What the primes offer is faster maximum aperture and the ability to isolate subjects that that brings with it. The 16-55 simply won't give you f1.2 or f1.4, but if you can live with f2.8 it would be a fine lens (if rather large for travel).

It's probably best to look at your needs and the intended purposes of the two lenses.

• The 18-135 is an all-in-one lens designed for travel and other applications where you want a strong range of FLs and don't want to have to change lenses. It's owners seem to love it. It's slower. It's the only lens in the Fuji range that has instant access to longer FLs without changing lenses. It may be higher in price than some other brand's 18-XXX lenses, but from my reading it's probably a higher grade than most of the species. In Fuji's case it also offers very good close focusing for a lens with a long zoom range. You'd lose 2mm at the wide end compared to the 16-55. To regain that, you'd have to buy either the 14mm or the 10-24mm and carry it too.
• The 16-55 is a high grade, very wide to short tele, constant aperture f2.8 lens. You'd gain a very useful 2mm at the wide end and lose the very useful 55-135 at the long end. If you wanted to regain some reach you'd need to buy and carry one of the telephoto zooms, or await the 90/2, and carry both.

I'd suggest carefully evaluating what you want to achieve with your purchase. Are you traveling? Are you a pro? Do you print large and sell? How much do you need the longer FLs? Do you shoot a lot of video? If you're traveling, I'd take the 18-135 (or the smaller 18-55). If you're looking for the best IQ for printing large, the best subject separation you can get from a zoom, or if you want constant aperture for reasons related to lighting or video, I'd consider the 16-55. If you don't need constant aperture or longer FLs, don't forget that the much smaller 18-55 is faster than the 18-135 and no slower than the 16-55 at the wide end.

Hope that helps. Enjoy whatever you decide.

Rod

Picked up the lens after work today. I do agree with everyone's opinion. Price does seem to be on point, though OIS would be quite nice with that price point as well... but we all know it would probably sky rocket if it did have it. Zoom/AF is quite responsive as well. In regards to size, it is definitely quite huge. I did read somewhere (and would agree) if OIS was added to the lens, the lens might even have gotten bigger too... so might be okay it didn't get OIS hehe.

As a "primary" lens, yes, it would take away from the compact size of a mirrorless camera, but this isn't going to be my primary lens. It'll be a work horse, but i'd still go around w/ my XF35 comfortably as my everyday/everywhere lens. it's actually still quite comfortable to carry around with a wrist strap as well. That's my opinion. But attaching some photos with light edits from LR. I believe the quality is there.


X-T1 at 53.3mm f2.8 w/ X-T1 Classic Chrome


at 16mm f2.8 w/ X-T1

I was able to handle one today and it did seem rather large when I first saw it, but after getting a chance to handle it, it was really not that heavy. The filter size is 77mm, and it was just a little larger than the 18-135mm. I will not be able to pick it up until Thursday if I decide to purchase it, they are not selling any unit till then and I have that one on hold. I am looking at the 16-55mm and a 18-135mm. I have the 18-55 and if I did purchase the 16-55mm, I would use it on a tripod mainly with my XE-1, but I will also use it with my XT-1 as well.

Picked mine up last week. No regrets on it. When you do not need the WR, f/2.8 on the whole focal length then the 18-55 is a nice choice.....

The 16-55 is a nice lens to use. Bit is bulky ;-)

Hi Koban,

Would you mind sharing your first impression? If you have photo samples to include at f/2.8, that would be awesome.

When I have the time I will do on my blog. I trying to get my impression of the X100T first. This one is laying around for to long now. ;-) Hope I have some spare time this weekend...