First thing first, this blog has been a long time coming. I’ve been sitting on years of photos, lens reviews and photographic experiences. I love making photographs, but sharing them with others is difficult when insecurities and indecision arise - Even more so writing about my photographic journey. So here’s to many more blog posts shared, starting with this one.
The All Around Lens Decision
I found myself short for space traveling for a branded shoot on the west coast of the U.S., and while I usually carry a handful of primes, both Fuji and vintage, I opted for just two. Both the 16-55 2.8 and the 23 1.4 provided for a variety of perspectives as well as the drama of f/1.4 combined with my favorite focal length ever. The last day of the branded shoot we visited The Valley of Fire State Park in Nevada, and I decided to leave the flagship zoom on my X-T2 for the entire day. Full sun, temperatures surpassing 100°F, and a beautiful, alien landscape from what I was used to. This write up on the Fujinon 16-55 f/2.8 focuses mainly on its landscape performance and all-day handling in a slightly extreme environment.
Build, Handling, Optics
First, the 16-55 truly lives up to its red badge status. Solid construction, weather-sealing, and powerful IQ make it a joy to use for any context. I know some warn of its weight and imbalance paired with all the X series cameras (except maybe the X-H1) but with the extra grip attached, I enjoyed the heft and size of the lens. Almost 1.5 lbs of lens is unusual for Fujifilm, but I appreciate the presence this lens brings. In my opinion this lens has one of the better aperture rings, not loose like my 23mm and 56mm where you can occasionally change f-stop inadvertently. And, the rubber rings for zoom and focus are really excellently made.
Auto focus is wicked fast, maybe even instantaneous. Enough said.
Optically this lens receives a 9.5/10 from me. Sharp wide open, great micro contrast, wonderful colors, coated excellently, I could go on. After f/4 this zoom is the sharpest i’ve used, possibly the sharpest X series lens… The only negative characteristic I found while shooting this lens - a slight vignette @55mm wide open when shooting open sky on the top corners. Nothing that can’t be corrected quickly in LR, but SOOC it was definitely there. I left 1 photo of a winding road (above) uncorrected to see this effect.
In summation, this lens is an all around beast. If you’re apprehensive about limiting the amount of gear you travel with, this may be the lens for you.
Getting it All
One of the best traits of this zoom lens - diversity in perspective. Shown in the two photos above, simply having this lens on your camera provides for two very different photographs while standing in place only zooming forwards/backwards. The 84mm FF equivalent distance makes for very pleasing landscapes - a look i’ve grown to enjoy and practice more.
Pair your 40 potential focal lengths with a minimum focus distance of 11.81” and you are more than ready for a wide range of nature and landscape photography.
Yes, I love all things Fujifilm. Yes, these are photos I have created. Yes, these are only my opinions and experiences - you are welcome to respectfully appreciate or dismiss them.