I’m considering to get the 16-80mm f4. I currently have the 18-55mm and there is an abismal difference when comparing with primes.
Has anyone here switched from the 18-55 to the 16-80? If so, what are your impressions about the latest? Besides wider and more reach, Is it really worth the upgrade in regards to IQ?
I did, but IQ was not one of my main reasons to "switch" (I still have XF 18-55mm, too, so I can`t really say I switched, but I didn`t use it since I got XF 16-80mm, except for some testing).
I can`t say I like my XF 18-55mm much, though I started appreciating it more as of lately... Sometimes I get shots where nothing is exactly in focus for reasons I can`t explain (other than some lens and/or camera focusing glitch), and I really think my copy is not that good, or at least not exquisite as some other might be (causing lens praises we all heard about) ... or my tolerance/expectation is just more strict/higher, not to say unreasonable?
Anyway, I did some extensive XF 18-55mm vs XF 16-80mm head-to-head brick wall shootout a while ago (hope to post results one day, time allowing), shooting both lenses at 16 - 18 - 35 - 55 - 80 mm (where applicable) and f/2.8 - f/4 - f/8 (again, where applicable), with focus point both at the center but top left edge as well (dealing with field curvature, if any), and overall, XF 16-80mm did came out as a better lens (well, at least concerning my copies of both), being what I hoped for, at least...
But it`s not really day-and-night difference for the most of the time - it was in certain occasions, but then XF 18-55mm came out better in some, too - all again leading to a conclusion that XF 18-55mm is really a capable lens, especially taking into account its size/weight and zoom/aperture it manages with it, and especially if you have a good (or better) copy.
I still have to compare RAW files and with lens corrections turned off, usually making XF 16-80mm even better (edges overall, and wide end in particular), but might be there will be improvement for XF 18-55mm, too - yet it really shouldn`t make that much of a difference for casual, every day shooting, where size/weight could, so that point is still very valid.
For my use case, major takeaways were 16mm wide end and weather resistance, also liking marked aperture ring and expectedly better image quality (even if just a bit), 80mm telephoto end and better image stabilization being just a bonus on top.
BUT, with XF 16-80mm attached, which is not really that larger than XF 18-55mm (in comparison to XF 18-135 and XF 16-55), the size/volume difference is noticeable enough (weight not that much), my X-T3 kind of feels (more) "serious" now (noticeable, attention grabbing, you name it). It`s still not nearly the same as Canon 5D Mark IV with one of its lenses, but it surely reminded me of it even if just a tiny bit, and it`s definitely not something I`m glad about.
That said, a few days ago I had an outing with X-T3 and XF 16-80mm for some 20 minutes under what I`d call "respectable" rain (not a heavy one, but not light, either), both completely uncovered (and mostly on a tripod, even), and I had no issues - nor worries - taking the pictures I wanted, which alone makes it worth it for me.
