Fujinon XF 10-24mm f/4 R OIS lens

In summary
This lens is most likely to be sought after by keen landscape photographers, although architectural photographers could welcome its wide coverage for making small rooms look more impressive. It could also be popular with photographers who specialise in portraiture of large groups of people, particularly when working in cramped conditions.
The combination of the constant f/4 maximum aperture and the Optical Image Stabilisation will provide scope for shooting in low light levels. The minimum working distance of 24 cm in macro mode enables photographers to capture foreground detail within a wider context.
A built-in stepping motor and enhanced focusing system, with high-speed AF and internal focusing, makes zooming a silent and rapid process. The lens barrel length remains unchanged throughout the zoom range and the front element doesn’t rotate, allowing hassle-free use of angle-critical attachments, such as polarising filters
The Fujinon XF10-24mm f/4 R OIS lens ticks most of the boxes for photographers looking for a reasonably fast wide-angle zoom lens. It delivers very sharp resolution in the centre of the frame and pretty good quality in the edges and corners. Lateral chromatic aberration is extremely low and both vignetting and distortion are low enough to be easily corrected (and automatically eliminated in JPEG files).
Although it lacks weatherproof sealing, the integrated image stabilisation is a real bonus that sets this lens in a class above most competitors. So we happily nominate it as an Editor’s Choice.
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Full review
Launched in December, 2013, the Fujinon XF10-24mm f/4 R OIS lens is compatible with all Fujifilm X mount cameras and provides a useful 2.4x zoom range that ranges from the equivalent of 15mm to 36mm in 35mm format. The 10mm focal length is the widest available AF lens so far for the X-mount, although there’s a handful of manual-focus 8mm fisheye lenses from Samyang with various brand names.

Side view of the Fujinon XF10-24mm f/4 R OIS lens without end caps and hood. (Source: Fujifilm.)
Physically, this is a relatively large lens, mainly because of its complex optical design, which uses 14 elements in 10 groups and includes four aspherical elements and four extra-low dispersion lenses, as shown in the diagram belwo. Fujifilm’s proprietary HT-EBC multi-layer coating is applied to all glass surfaces to suppress ghosting and flare, with an additional newly developed coating has been added to the reverse side of the front lens to deal specifically with the ghosting produced by deep concave lenses.

The layout of elements in the Fujinon XF10-24mm f/4 R OIS lens. (Source: Fujifilm.)
The XF 10-24mm lens is compatible with the Lens Modulation Optimiser (LMO) function found in recently-released X-series camera, which has been developed to increase the resolving power at all apertures. The seven-bladed iris diaphragm closes to a circular aperture to create smooth and rounded bokeh effects.
Who’s it for?
This lens is most likely to be sought after by keen landscape photographers, although architectural photographers could welcome its wide coverage for making small rooms look more impressive. It could also be popular with photographers who specialise in portraiture of large groups of people, particularly when working in cramped conditions.
The combination of the constant f/4 maximum aperture and the Optical Image Stabilisation will provide scope for shooting in low light levels. The minimum working distance of 24 cm in macro mode enables photographers to capture foreground detail within a wider context.
A built-in stepping motor and enhanced focusing system, with high-speed AF and internal focusing, makes zooming a silent and rapid process. The lens barrel length remains unchanged throughout the zoom range and the front element doesn’t rotate, allowing hassle-free use of angle-critical attachments, such as polarising filters.
Build and Ergonomics
Fujifilm has developed an enviable reputation for superior build quality and the XF10-24mm lens is yet another example of the company’s dedication. With a metal barrel and solid metal mounting plate this lens is tightly assembled and sports an elegant, low-gloss black finish.
The front element is about 30 mm in diameter and curves outwards inside a mounting that is roughly 10 mm wide. This assembly moves in and out over a distance of about 5 mm as the zoom ring is rotated. Surrounding it is the outer barrel, which carries threading for a 72 mm filter and, on its outer side, anchor points for the supplied lens hood.
The focusing ring is about 15 mm wide and located roughly 15 mm behind the front of the lens. It is clad with fine ribbing, which provides a secure grip. It can be rotated through 360 degrees, providing plenty of scope for fine focusing adjustments.
The zoom ring sits immediately behind the focusing ring, separated by a thin silver band. It’s about 30 mm wide, with the leading 20 mm carrying a slightly coarser ribbing than the focusing ring. The trailing edge of this ring steps inwards and carries focal length settings for 10mm, 14mm, 18mm, 20mm and 24mm, which line up against a white mark on the lens barrel behind the ring.
The final ring on the lens is the aperture ring, which is about 8 mm wide and has slightly coarser ribbing than the zoom ring, making the three rings distinguishable by touch. Click stops allow it to be adjusted in 1/3EV steps when the camera and lens are in aperture priority or manual shooting modes.
Immediately aft of the aperture ring are two sliders, one for switching between automatic (A) and manual aperture adjustment, the latter indicated by an iris diaphragm icon. The other switches the OIS on and off. Fujifilm claims up to three f-stops of shake correction for the system.
Autofocusing is driven by an internal stepping motor, which is nice and fast and almost silent in operation. Manual focusing is ‘by wire’ with little tactile feedback.
The lens focuses to within 50 cm of subject in normal mode but can close in to 24 cm when the macro mode is used. This is closer than most wide-angles lenses of this type.
There is no distance scale and no depth-of-field indicator, although the viewfinder displays in most cameras will show this information for both parameters. It can also be displayed on the camera’s monitor screen.
Built in optical image stabilisation provides a claimed shutter speed advantage of up to three f-stops. Stabilisation is unusual in wide-angle lenses but will be welcomed by many photographers, particularly when using the camera in dim ambient lighting.
The lens is supplied with a cloth wrap that can be used for protection against knocks and scratches when the lens is carried in a camera bag. The large lens hood is petal shaped and attaches with a bayonet mounting. It can be reversed over the lens for storage. The hood is easy to fit, thanks to an index dot, which is aligned with a line on the outer barrel and the bayonet holds it firmly in place.
A large, pinch-type lens cap is also provided. However, unlike the lens cap, we felt was a rather loose fit and easily detached inadvertently.
Performance
Our Imatest tests were carried out with the lens on the Fujifilm X-T10 camera body. Fujifilm’s XF lenses have been consistently good performers in our Imatest tests so it’s no surprise to find the review lens delivered excellent results, particularly in the centre of the field with the shorter focal lengths.
The highest resolution was measured at f/4 with the 10mm focal length and here, edge resolution was also above expectations for the camera’s 16-megapixel sensor. Central resolution exceeded expectations for all focal length settings, and remained so to at least f/5.6 in most cases, as shown in the graph of our Imatest results below.

Edge and corner softening was present throughout the aperture and focal length ranges, although it lessened as the lens was stopped down. Diffraction took effect from about f/9 onwards, with a relatively steep drop between f/10 and f/16.
Lateral chromatic aberration was well controlled for a wide-angle zoom lens and effectively negligible in both JPEG and raw files. The graph below shows the result of our tests with the red line marking the border between ‘negligible’ and ‘low’ CA.

Auto-correction of vignetting appeared to be active for JPEGs across the focal length and aperture ranges. But vignetting was present in uncorrected raw files that were converted into JPEG format using Adobe Camera Raw, although it wasn’t as severe as we expected for the lens type. Interestingly, the 10mm focal length showed a kind of reverse vignetting in which the corners of the frame were actually lighter than the centre. We’re not sure what caused this. Stopping down eliminated any darkening by about f/5 with all focal lengths.
Distortion is also auto-corrected by default for JPEGs when the Lens Modulation Optimiser was switched on in the camera’s menu. With raw files we found slight barrel distortion at 10mm, which vanished by 18mm and switched to slight pincushion distortion at 24mm.
The lens hood helped the review lens to handle relatively strong backlighting quite competently. In fact, we found very little flare in shots, even when a bright light source was within the image frame.
The angles of view covered by this lens are not really suitable for taking close-ups. However, larger flowers and similarly-sized objects could be photographed at close distances with the 24mm focal length and bokeh was quite acceptable at f/4.
Conclusion
The Fujinon XF10-24mm f/4 R OIS lens ticks most of the boxes for photographers looking for a reasonably fast wide-angle zoom lens. It delivers very sharp resolution in the centre of the frame and pretty good quality in the edges and corners. Lateral chromatic aberration is extremely low and both vignetting and distortion are low enough to be easily corrected (and automatically eliminated in JPEG files).
The only negative feature is the lack of weatherproof sealing, which most photographers would expect in a lens costing more than $1000. But, returning to the positives, the integrated image stabilisation is a real bonus that sets this lens in a class above most competitors. So we happily nominate it as an Editor’s Choice.
SPECS
Picture angle: 110 to 61.2 degrees
Minimum aperture: f/22
Lens construction: 14 elements in 10 groups (including 4 aspherical elements and 4 extra-low dispersion lenses)
Lens mounts: Fujifilm XF
Diaphragm Blades: 7 (circular aperture)
Focus drive: Stepping motor
Stabilisation: Yes, optical
Minimum focus: 50 cm; 24 cm in Macro mode
Maximum magnification: 0.16x
Filter size: 72 mm
Dimensions (Diameter x L): 78 x 87 mm
Weight: 410 grams
Standard Accessories: Front and end caps, lens hood, soft carrying pouch
TESTS
Based on JPEG files from the Fujifilm X-T10 camera.



SAMPLES

Vignetting at 10mm f/4.

Vignetting at 18mm f/4.

Vignetting at 24mm f/4.

Distortion at 10mm.

Distortion at 18mm.

Distortion at 24mm.

10mm focal length; ISO 200, 1/350 second at f/9.

20mm focal length; ISO 200, 1/200 second at f/11.

24mm focal length; ISO 200, 1/250 second at f/10.

Close-up at 10mm; ISO 200, 1/140 second at f/4.

Close-up at 24mm; ISO 200, 1/200 second at f/4.

Very strong backlighting; 10mm focal length; ISO 200, 1/180 second at f/9.

Flare; 10mm focal length, ISO 100, 1/500 second at f/5.6.

24mm focal length, ISO 640, 1/18 second at f/5.6.

Stabilisation test: 18mm focal length, ISO 100, 1/3 second at f/4.

10mm focal length, ISO 200, 1/250 second at f/5.6.

24mm focal length, ISO 400, 1/180 second at f/6.4.

10mm focal length, ISO 200, 1/350 second at f/8.

24mm focal length, ISO 400, 1/340 second at f/5.6.

20mm focal length, ISO 200, 1/200 second at f/10.
Additional image samples can be found with our review of the Fujifilm X-T10 camera.
Rating
RRP: AU$1169.95; US$999
- Build: 8.8
- Handling: 8.8
- Image quality: 9.0
- Versatility: 8.5