Which prime lens + 16-80 for Vietnam, Cambodia and Thailand

I think your choice of the 16-80 is a good one for this purpose, especially if you add a larger aperture prime for some low light situations.

I'd look for several things in this second lens if I were in your situation:

1. Larger aperture — at least f/2, and f/1.r would be better.

2. Autofocus capabilities. (Some non-fujifilm third-party lenses are manual focus only.)

3. In the 23mm to 35mm range, with preference going to wider within that 23-35mm range if in doubt. If you know you want even wider, you might consider as wide as 18mm.

23mm is a good compromise. It is a bit wide, which is useful in tighter spaces, though not so wide that it creates the distorted look that my come from much wider lenses. the f/2 lens may well be sufficient, and it is a good lens that is small and inexpensive. (I carry the older f/1.4 23mm for urban night photography, but that is larger and more expensive.)

While even wider lenses could be useful in some situations, in my experience their usefulness is more limited, and I wouldn't go with one of them for my only prime... with the possible exception of the 18mm focal length if your taste leans that direction. Also, I think your main reason for the prime is the larger aperture, not the wide angle — some something less extreme in terms of focal length is probably better.

As to bringing a longer lens, while it could be useful in some situations, your 80mm focal length will work for quite a few subjects — that's why you got that lens, right! (If you had the 18-55mm instead, you could consider adding the 55-200mm zoom. It is small and light and optically decent.)

victorgm wrote:

Hello!

a couple of months ago I asked you for advice on buying the XS-10 with 18-55 or 16-80. I finally decided to buy a barely new second hand X-S10 which included a 15-45 and I also bought the 16-80 separately.

I've tried both of them a bit, and although I like the 15-45 in terms of size/weight, the electronic zoom feels weird, so I will probably sell it. The 16-80 is at my size/weight limit, but I could get used to it if it helps me take good pictures thanks to its versatility. I didn't choose the 18-55 f2.8-4 because of its more limited focal range, and neither the 16-55 f2.8 or the Tamron 17-70 f2.8 because of their larger size/weight.

Now about the topic:

I'm travelling for 3 weeks to Vietnam, Cambodia and Thailand, and I'd like to get the most out of my new X-S10 and the lenses I'm taking with me. I'd like to travel light, so I've thought about buying at most 1 prime lens to supplement the 16-80. So far I've only used two Lumix 12-32mm and 35-100mm zooms with my old Pen-F, so as I'm not used to prime lenses yet, I guess just one would be fine to start with for going lighter in the cities and night pics.

In Vietnam we will visit Hanoi (street, architecture, portraits, night) and Halong Bay (wide-angle and zoomed-in landscapes), in Cambodia we will just go to Angkor Wat (architecture, landscape, portrait), and then 3 days to Bangkok (street, architecture, portrait, night) and one week to some Thay islands (landscape, portrait).

I've been reading many posts and reviews about Fuji lenses, but I'm still not sure which focal length would make more sense for the type of travel and for pairing it with the 16-80.

- Would a fast wide-angle like the Samyang 12mm, Viltrox 13mm f1.4, 14mm 2.8 or 16mm 2.8 be much better than the 16-80 for landscapes, architecture and night pics? is the IQ difference during daylight much better compared to the 16-80? and could be that focal lengths too "specific" for those kinds of photos so it would require changing lenses often?

- Or maybe better a "classic" focal length like the 23mm f2, 35mm f1.4 or 35mm f2 XC for street, night pics and some close portraits? = so lighter than with the 16-80 but with overlapping focal lengths?

- I would be short of a telephoto lens, but maybe I could skip it on this trip to travel light. The only doubt about this: would the 80mm of the 16-80 be enough for decent zoomed-in landscapes like in Halong Bay?

Many thanks in advance!

Victor