Amateur Photographer - UK (2019-06-08)

subscribe 0330 333 1113I http://www.amateurphotographer.co.ukI8 June 2019 51

LENS TEST Testbench

Resolution

TheresultsfromourAppliedImagingteststellus

thelensgetssharperin thecentrewhenit’sclosed

downfromf/2.8tof/4.There’sa gradualincrease

in cornersharpnessbetweenf/2andf/5.6,withthe

testresultsattheedgereachingtheirpeakatf/8.

Cornersharpnesslagssomewaybehindcentre

sharpnessandthebestedge-to-edgeperformance

is aroundf/5.6.Pushbeyondf/11andyou’llnotice

diffraction starts to reduce overall sharpness.

16mm centre 16mm corner

Fujinon XF16mm

F2.8 R WR

Curvilineardistortion

Shading

Vignettingisn’tanythingtobetooconcernedabout,

withtheshadingcorrectionthat’sbuiltintothefile

metadatadoinga goodjobofcorrectingcorner

shadingin rawfileswhenweprocessedourimages

throughAdobeLightroom.Thecornersappear

approximately0.5EVdarkerthanthe centre when

the aperture is set wide open.

f/2.8 f/5.6

16mm

SMIA TV = 0.0%

TheXF16mmF2.8R WRjoinstheever-

expandingstableof X-mountlenses.Its

metalexteriorandexcellentbuildquality

matchesFujifilm’sothersmallf/2primes,and

thoughtheXF16mmF1.4R WRis betterin

termsof sharpnessandthesuper-shallow

depthof fieldit createswideopen,thislens

presentsa fewadvantagesof itsown.Those

who’dliketo keeptheirset-upaslightand

compactaspossiblewhentravellingor

walkingaroundwitha cameraandsinglelens

willloveitspetitesize.Thenthere’sthecost,

whichat £349representsgoodvalueand

offersanattractive£480savingoverthe

XF16mmF1.4R WR.Addthislensandthe

excellentXF50mmF2R WR to your

shoppingbasketand

you’llstillspendless

thanif youwereto buy

theXF16mmF1.4R

WRonitsown.If you’re

anX-seriesuser,love

thefieldof viewa fixed

24mmlensprovides,

andfancyanexample

that’sreasonablypriced,

thissmallopticis a very

temptingchoicethatis

highly recommended.

Ve r d i c t

Diffractionreducesoverallsharpnesswhenyoustart to push beyond f/11Fujifilm X-T10, 1/60sec at f/16, ISO 640

Price£349

Filterdiameter49mm

Lenselements 10

Groups 8

Apertureblades 9

Aperturef/2.8-f/22

Minimumfocus

distance17cm

Dimensions60x45.4mm

Weight155g

LensmountFujifilm

X mount

Includedaccessories

Lenscaps,lenshood,

wrapping cloth

Data file

sensor,there’snothingtocomplainabout
withregardtofocusaccuracy,butit is good
practicetoselectthesmallestAFpoint
possiblewhenshooting at f/2.8 to ensure
younailthefocus.

Imagequality
ThelenswascoupledtovariousX-series
camerasduringourtesting,includingtheX-T3
andX-T10.WiththeXF16mmF1.4R WRin
ourpossessionwealsotooktheopportunityto
performsomecomparisons.Asyou’dexpect,
thelargerandmoreexpensiveXF16mmF1.4
R WRis opticallysuperior,buttheXF16mm
F2.8R WRdeliversrespectableimagequality.
Inspectingthesharpnessof bothlensesat high
magnificationtoldusthattheXF16mmF1.4
R WRis indeedthesharperof thetwo,which
justifiesthe£480differencein price.Back
tothelensin question,centresharpness
out-resolvescornersharpnessat f/2.8andthe
sameis saidrightthroughtheaperturerange
tof/11wheretheeffectof diffractionstarts
tosoftenoverallsharpness.Sharpnessin the
centreimprovesbystoppingthelensdown
fromf/2.8tof/4,withcentresharpnessat f/8
measuringsimilartothatwideopen.There’sa
verygradualimprovementin cornersharpness
fromf/2.8towhereit peaksat f/8.
Vignettingandcurvilineardistortionareboth
correctedusinglens-specific metadatathatis
accessedautomaticallybytherawconverter
youuse.It’sthereasonyouwon’tfindFujifilm
lenseslistedunderlensprofilesin Adobe
CameraRaworLightroom.
Inspectingseveralof myshotstakenin bright
lightingconditionsrevealedminorfringesof
purpleandgreencolouralonghigh-contrast
edges.Whatwasmoreobviouswasthetrace
of flareartefactswhenshootingtowardsthe
sun.Usersshouldbearin mindthatevenwith
thelenshoodattached,somepost-processing
workmightberequiredtoremovelensflare
whenshootingdirectlytowardsthelight,
as illustrated in the test shots opposite.

Recommended

WithFujifilm’sbaked-insoftwaredistortion

correction,userscanexpectwell-correctedJPEGs

straightoutofthecameraandrawfilestobe

convertedwithnocurvilineardistortion.Thissaves

timesearchingfortherelevantlensprofileand

having to tick the Enable Profile Corrections box.