Amateur Photographer - UK (2020-03-28)

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LENS TEST T estbench

MichaelTophamgetstotryoutFujifilm’slatest

5xzoomlensintheever-expandingX-series

S

ometimes,forreasonsthatareusually

unreported,it cantakea whilefor

newlyannouncedcamerasandlenses

to rollofftheproductionline.Onelens

we’vebeeneagerlywaitingto getourhandson

eversinceFujifilmannouncedit in Julylastyear

hasbeentheFujinonXF16-80mmF4R OIS

WR.Aftermonthsof chasingandasking

questionsasto whatmightbeholdingupits

arrival,wewerepleasantlysurprisedwhenwe

recentlytookdeliveryof a reviewsample.

Sowhyallthefussabouta newstandard

zoom?Well,asmanyFujifilmuserswillknow,

therehasbeena lensmissingin theXFlineup

fora whilebetweentheexcellent,but

somewhat limiting, Fujinon XF 18-55mm

F2.8-4R LMOIS(£549)andtheoptically

stellar,butrathermoreexpensive,FujinonXF

16-55mmF2.8R LMWR(£949).TheFujinon

XF16-80mmF4R OISWR,whichcoversa

verypractical35mmequivalentrangeof

24-120mmwitha constantf/4aperture,looks

likeit couldbetheperfecteverydayzoomfor

X-seriesusers,but the question is; is it?

Features

Oneof thebenefits of thelenswe’relookingat

is thatit offersa practicalzoomcoveragethat’s

widerandlongerthantheFujinonXF

18-55mmF2.8-4R LMOIS– a zoomlens

that’sgaineda reputationasoneof thebest

standard zooms on the market for the money.

Betterstill,it hasa constantapertureof f/4

throughitsrangeunliketheFujinonXF

18-135mmF3.5-5.6WRLMR OIS(£599),

whichhasa variableapertureandis slowerat

itstelephotoend.

In termsof size,it’smuchmorecompact

thantheFujinonXF16-55mmF2.8R LM

WR.It’s215glightertoosothere’sa

perceptibleweightadvantage.Theoptical

configurationsees 16 elementsarrangedin

12 groups.Ofthese 16 elements,threeare

asphericalelementsandoneis anextra-low

dispersion(ED)element,whicharearrangedin

sucha waythatthey’reintendedtosuppress

sphericalaberrations,fieldcurvatureand

chromaticaberrationwhilemaintaininghigh

performancefromthecentretotheedge.

Additionally,thelenshasnineapertureblades,

it presents1/3EVaperturecontrolacross

an f/4 to f/22 aperture range and

Fujinon XF

16-80mm F4 R OIS WR

Centresharpnessat 16mm

is good,butcornersharpness

atthewideendofthezoom

isn’tashighlyregarded

Fujifilm X-T3, 1/1500sec at f/4, ISO 160