Sharp, but too bulky and heavy

notchy wrote:

Jerry doesn't get 'nit picky or try to scare anyone off' as you suggest above. Just the opposite. And, I also asked the OP to further explain the "Screems Photog" comment...no reply as yet.

The OP probably feels that it's obvious what he meant by "screams photog", not least because he provided the reason, albeit succinctly, in the same sentence, writing:

"but I personally am going for a more low-key look and this lens screams PHOTOG."

That seems pretty clear to me and it's one reason I wouldn't take the 16-55mm on to the streets for general use (the other being that I also find it to be a little heavy and unwieldy for a general carry-around lens).

What's more, the sentiment he expressed agrees with the literally thousands of comments we've seen in these forums expressing appreciation for the size and weight of Fujifilm's APS-C cameras and lenses relative to most comparable full-frame offerings. Clearly, he's declared that someone's baby is ugly, but I'm not sure how writing "in my opinion your baby is ugly" softens the blow very much, not least because the qualifying "in my opinion" is implicit in the shorter version anyway (and implicit in the very act of writing a subjective review).

I briefly owned a refurbished 16-55mm (from the Fujifilm UK store), but returned it on account of it clearly having a poorly aligned element or two. I may well buy another copy if the right deal comes along, but it won't be my first choice when I want my camera to be both light and unobtrusive (that's why $deity gave us the X-Pro2 and the Fujicrons

Edit: I unthinkingly referred to the OP as "he". Apologies if my assumption is wrong!

The reason this subject gets so much "air time" here is simply because perceptions of weight and handling are highly subjective.  What's heavy and unwieldy to you might be comfortable and perfectly fine for me.  I do wish that people might qualify their strong comments a bit more as personal opinion rather than fact, but that's been an issue in forums like this since time immemorial.  Therefore, it's best to assume that what you're reading here represents one person's opinion, as opposed to out and out fact, and base your reactions on that.

While reading all the grumbling about lenses like the 16-55 (AKA "the Brick") and suffering an eye roll or two along the way, I do recognize that what's comfortable for me might well be unwieldy for others.  I, for one, am plenty used to hauling large lenses around having developed an early interest in bird and wildlife photography.  Conversely, someone who's been doing street photography for years would value smaller size, stealth, and other attributes that I might not care as much about.  Said differently, the shoe that fits well on my foot might well not fit at all on yours.  So subjective opinions on size and weight should definitely be taken as personal opinion and treated as such.

If size/handling is a big concern, head to your nearest camera store (assuming you're fortunate enough to have one in reasonable driving range) and handle the gear yourself before committing to it.  Mail order rentals are also an option in many locations (and well worth it IMHO if handling is a big concern).  Also recognize that tolerance for size and weight can be developed over time.  If someone had shown me an X-H1 with 100-400 when I was getting started with photography, I probably would have laughed them out of the room.  It took time and a lot of practice to get comfortable with handling more sizable gear.  That said, I'll still take my Fuji bodies and lenses over their larger DSLR and FF equivalents any day of the week.  But, that's JMHO.

Sorry.  I know... as my bride continually says: "too many words."