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Fujifilm XF 18-135mm vs XF 18-55mm + XF 55-200mm for travel photography

Started Oct 11, 2018 | Questions thread
Jerry-astro
MOD Jerry-astro Forum Pro • Posts: 19,920
Re: Fujifilm XF 18-135mm vs XF 18-55mm + XF 55-200mm for travel photography
1

It’s interesting reading all the different answers so far in the thread with very different observations and opinions... some of which are diametrically opposite. My own experience with the 18-135 — which I rented for a period of time — was less than excellent. Long zooms like this are always a bit of a compromise, and as others have reported here, anything much above 90mm or so will suffer somewhat in terms of IQ. That said, the convenience might very much outweigh a small sacrifice in IQ depending on what you’re shooting, how much detail you’re dealing with in your images, and how picky you are about your final IQ.

I found the 18-55 to be an excellent lens with great IQ throughout its range. If most of your shooting is within that range, I might suggest that you might be better off going with that lens and then augmenting it with a tele, such as the XF 55-200 or XC 50-230, the latter being more of a consumer grade lens. There are plenty of choices and your decision will likely end up (as it always is with lenses) to be a tradeoff between IQ and budget.

BTW, the upcoming 16-80 f/4 might also be an excellent candidate if you can wait a bit.

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Jerry-Astro
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