In this article I want to do a short focal length comparison of my own Fujifilm XF lenses. But this review is not intended to be a detailed technical test, I just want to show you what viewing angles you might expect from this lenses side by side.
In my opinion Fuji has the most complete portfolio of decent fixed lenses for it’s mirrorless system among all other camera manufacturers. As a result Fujifilm covers every desirable focal length from wide angle to tele, although there are still some small gaps and use cases which might get filled in the future.
A focal length comparison of all my Fujifilm lenses
Please remember that I am not supported by Fuji. I bought all this lenses like everybody else would have to do so. This is the range of glasses which fits my personal photography needs at the moment. Furthermore I simply love to use prime lenses on my Fuji X-Pro 2. But you might have different preferences, dependent on what you shoot and how much you want to spend. Nevertheless I think this focal length comparison might help you to visualize the perspective you may get from each lens.
The Großglockner, Austria’s highest mountain
What you see in this images is the Großglockner, Austria’s highest mountain with a height of 3,798 meters. This pictures were taken from the Alpine chalet Lucknerhaus on 1,920 meters, which is in most cases the starting point for mountaineers climbing the highest point of Austria. This pictures are NOT touched in LR, I just adjusted the white balance a bit for a consistent look and all images were shot with the Velvia film simulation.
Fuji XF 16mm F1.4 R WR – focal length comparison
The Fuji XF 16mm F1.4 R WR is a damn sharp and bright lens with its widest aperture of F1.4. It reminds me of the Canon EF 24mm F1,4 L II USM, which was one of the sharpest Canon lenses I got before switching to Fuji. With a lens this wide you can’t expect a bokeh champion, but the Fuji XF 16mm is still able to deliver smoother and prettier backgrounds than most other wide angle lenses. Mostly I use it for indoor shooting, star trails, or other low light situations. That’s where this lens really shines. In addition it features a solid metal built, a dedicated aperture ring and weather resistance.
Fuji XF 23mm F2 R WR – focal length comparison
The Fuji XF 23mm F2 R WR offers a very convenient focal length for every-day use, street photography, etc. You will get the same focal length as the fixed lens cameras Fuji X100T or Fuji X100F offer. But the optical results of this lens are superior to Fuji’s pancake equivalents, especially in the corners of the image with the aperture wide open. On top of that the XF 23mm is light, small, decently built and one of the fastest Fuji lenses when it comes to autofocus speed. Furthermore it features weather resistance, which is very important for me.
Fuji XF 35mm F2 R WR – focal length comparison
The Fuji XF 35mm F2 R WR is one of my favourite optics I use most of the time. Keeping the X-system’s crop factor of 1.5x in mind, this lens is a normal focal length in Fuji’s portfolio. It will reproduce a field of view that is “most natural” to the observer. Most noteworthy the lens is sharp, bright, delivers a smooth background blur and still keeps weight and size down. Of course it incorporates a dedicated aperture control ring and additional sealings to protect it from changing weather conditions.
Fuji XF 50mm F2 R WR – on my wishlist
The new Fuji XF 50mm F2 R WR would fill a focal gap in my lens collection. But I still did not own it, because I don’t think I would use it so often. Nevertheless I am sure that the new XF 50mm is a great lens, I personally would rather go for an additional camera body at the moment. Currently I am catching myself changing lenses in the field very often, and this will not improve by buying one more piece of glass.
Fuji XF 90mm F2 R LM WR – focal length comparison
The Fuji XF 90mm F2 R LM WR is the lens I really love. It is razor sharp and delivers awesome, silky smooth backgrounds. No doubt, it still impresses me every time I import new images into Lightroom. Although the XF 90mm is a perfect portrait lens, I use it quite frequently to pick out details in the scenery. Nevertheless it is quite bulky, especially with the lens hood attached, I carry it around wherever I go. An additional benefit is the weather resistance, which, as I already said, is an important feature for me.
Fuji XF 100-400mm F4.5-5.6 R LM OIS WR – focal length comparison
The XF 100-400mm F4.5-5.6 R LM OIS WR is my only zoom lens to date. I primarily bought it, because Fuji is currently not offering a prime lens more zoomy than the XF 90mm F2 R LM WR. The XF 100-400 is still a very good lens and delivers noteworthy results for a zoom lens. In addition it’s built like a brick and the autofocus is fast enough to track subjects reliably. Furthermore the optical image stabilizer makes it possible to use this lens handheld in most situations. Therefore I was even able to use it for street photography at night in the city with perfect results. Of course weather resistance is also built in.
Finally take a look at my images of the mountains: With the magnification of the XF 100-400, you start to see the summit cross on top of the Großglockner. Maybe you may even identify the colourful jackets of some mountaineers below the cross. Would you believe that this image was taken from a spot in a horizontal distance of over 6.2 kilometers and about 1,800 meters lower?
Fuji XF2X TC WR – Do you need even more zoom?
Let’s take it to the next level and add the Fuji XF2X TC WR tele converter. By doing this you will transform your XF 100-400 to a 200-800mm F9-F11 telescope. Although you lose a lot of light, it is still surprisingly usable, especially for static scenes. Since the XF 100-400 gets a bit soft at the long end, I found out that stopping down from F11 to F13 at full zoom with the XF2X tele converter improves image quality a bit. As a result this seems to be the sweet spot for this extreme combination.
Did you enjoy my focal length comparison? Leave a comment if you have suggestions for my future articles.
Please don’t steal my images – just kindly ask, if you want to use one of them. All rights reserved.
