Amateur Photographer - UK (2020-03-28)

‘Thebarrelisdust-and

weather-sealedatten

differentpoints’

featuresFujifilm’selectronbeamcoating
(EBC)thatguarantees99.8%optical
transmittanceandonly0.2%reflectionin a
widespectrumof lightfromtheshortesttothe
longestvisiblewavelength.
Tooffsettheeffectsof camerashake,the
lensfeaturesopticalimagestabilisation(OIS).
Thisis CIPAtestedto6-stopsandis intelligent
enoughtoautomaticallydetectwhenthe
camerais fixedtoa tripodorusedforpanning,
andadjustsitsoperationaccordingly.The
barrelof thelensextendsasyouzoomin,and
unliketheXF16-55mmF2.8R LMWRthat
usesa twinlinearmotor,it usesa stepping
motorlikewe’veseenusedonmanyprevious
XFlenses.Keepingonthesubjectof focusing,
it hasa minimumfocusdistanceof 35cm,
whichis shorterthantheXF16-55mmF2.8R
LMWR(60cm),butnotquiteasshortasthe
XF 18-55mm F2.8-4 R LM OIS (30cm).

Anotherareaof itsspecificationnotyet

mentionedis its72mmthreadat thefrontfor

attachingscrew-infiltersandadapters.

Buildandhandling

Fujifilm’slensesfortheX-serieshavegained

anexcellentreputationforbeingmadetoa

highstandardandthiszoomcontinuesthat

trend.Toensureit’sa goodmatchwith

weather-resistantcamerasliketheX-Pro3,

X-T3andX-H1,thebarrelis dust-and

weather-sealedat tendifferentpointsandhas

beentestedtoenduretemperaturesof -10°C.

Studythelensandyou’llnoticetherearen’t

anyswitchesonthebarrel.Theopticalimage

stabilisationis controlledviathecamerarather

thanfromthelensandmanualfocuscontrolis

activatedfroma switchat thefrontof most

X-seriescameras.Theaperturering,whichis

positioned towards the rear of the barrel, clicks

throughits1/3EVrange,howevertheclick

stopsaren’tquiteaspositiveasthoseI’veused

onotherX-serieslensesin thepast.Rotating

theapertureringanti-clockwisetoits‘A’

setting,allowsuserstakecontrolof shutter

priorityorletthecameradecideonthebest

aperturesettingin Automode.Justaheadof it

you’llfindthezoomring,whichis rubberised

unliketheapertureandmanualfocusrings.

Thisoperatesverypleasinglyandhasa short

throwacrossa quarterturn.Thezoomhasa

goodlevelortorquethatremainsconsistent

throughitsrange.Tryingoutthemanualfocus

confirmedthatit alsooperatessmoothly.

Forourtestingthelenswaspairedwiththe

FujifilmX-T3.Thepairingcomesto979g,

makingit verywellsuitedfortravelandtimes

whenyou’dliketowalkaroundwitha

lightweightset-upslungoveryourshoulder.

Usingit asaneverydaylensconfirmedwhata

pleasureit is touse.I foundit balancesslightly

betterin thehandthantheXF16-55mmF2.8

R LMWRthathasa tendencytomakeX-series

camerasfeela littlenose-heavyif they’reused

withouta batterygrip.Usingthelensbriefly

withanX-T30revealedthatit handleswelland

looksthepartwithsmaller X-series models.

Imagequality

Thelenswastestedextensivelyovera

two-weekperiodandusedtophotograph

everythingfromwidescenestoclosedetails.

Beforeinspectingourreal-worldshotsweran

the lens through the lab to get a better idea of

Attractivebackgroundbluranda pleasing
separationbetweennearandfarsubjects
canbeeasilyachievedbyusingthelens at
80mmwiththeaperturesettof/4
Fujifilm X-T3, 1/1250sec at f/4, ISO 400

Ifyou’reanX-seriesuser

aftera versatilewalkabout

lensyouneedlooknofurther

Fujifilm X-T3, 1/320sec at f/4 ISO 200