Comparing the XF 18-55 and XC 16-50 (v2)

io_bg wrote:

Thank you! The 16-80 seems like a good idea for a walk-around lens although it's indeed larger and heavier for smaller cameras. Still, considering its vast range it's well sized. I haven't tried the 15-45 though.

Having tried all of these lenses, my thoughts regarding each are:

- 16-50: (had 3 copies) I really like this lens, the optical quality is actually really good (at least in benign lighting), and it also works great for infrared IME. The range is useful, it’s light, it’s easy to use, the OIS is good; the only thing I don’t really like is the lack of aperture ring, but that’s partly why it’s cheap. It came very close to being my one zoom lens.

- 18-55: (had 1 copy) admittedly I only had this very briefly but I didn’t feel it had any qualities that compelled me to keep it. The feel of the lens is obviously a good step up from the XCs, but the image quality didn’t blow me away, the aperture ring is unmarked, and most of all it only starts at 18mm.

- 15-45: (had 4 copies) on paper it’s a winner: it’s the smallest and lightest, it goes to 15mm if you like the wide end (which I do) and it’s sharp, even at the long end if you get a good one. Again, works well for infrared. But it does feel a lot more fragile than the 16-50, the power zoom is what it is (I’m not a fan but could live with it), and it’s not great at handling really challenging light IMO… but the killer for me is the delay in powering up and powering down, while the lens extends and contracts. You can’t just whip the camera out, shoot and move on. For that reason alone I never really used it much.

- 16-80: (had 1 copy) this is the one normal zoom I’ve really loved. Ever (ok, there was one from my film days). The range is super versatile, it’s WR, the aperture ring is nice, it feels like a quality build, the image quality is plenty good enough for me… usability is great, it just ticks all the boxes. I normally use primes, but when I do want a zoom (hiking) this is the one. It’s no crazy big or heavy, but if you’re after a “walk-around”/EDC zoom then I guess the size/weight consideration could steer you to one of the others.