In summary
The XF 30mm f/2.8 R LM WR Macro provides a worthwhile extension to the macro options already available for Fujifilm’s X-mount cameras, augmenting the existing XF 60mm f/2.4 R Macro and XF 80mm f/2.8 R LM OIS WR Macro lenses. This trio will provide a useful set of focal lengths with 35mm equivalents of 45mm, 90mm and 120mm to suit different subject types.
The relatively short focal length and minimum focus distance make this lens better suited to photographing inanimate objects or preserved or slow-moving insects and arachnids. It’s good for photographing flowers and plants as long as they aren’t in windy conditions. Where it could prove really useful is for documenting small, valuable items like jewellery, coins and stamps for insurance records. It would also be good for tabletop photography.
The standard 30mm focal length, which is equivalent to 46mm in 35mm film format, encompasses a ‘natural’ field of view. This makes it usable for portraiture and snapshots where natural perspectives are desired. The light weight of the lens and its weather resistance could make it a useful addition to the kit of outdoor photographers who enjoy recording close-up stills and video clips.
Full review
Fujifilm’s latest macro lens, the XF 30mm f/2.8 R LM WR, slots in between the 56mm f/1.2 and 60mm f/2.4 lenses to provide a ‘standard’ (46mm equivalent in 35mm format) field of view and greater versatility. Weighing only 195 grams, it is small and light enough to be left attached to a camera as a standard walkaround lens. It is also dust- and weather-resistant and comes with a cylindrical lens hood plus the usual front and end caps and a wrapping cloth to protect it during storage.
Angled view of the Fujinon XF30mm f/2.8 R LM WR Macro lens with the bundled lens hood fitted. (Source: Fujifilm.)
The optical design of this lens (shown below) contains 11 elements in nine groups and includes three aspherical elements and two ED elements that control various forms of aberration. A linear motor drives the focusing group of lens elements to deliver quiet and highly accurate AF in as little as 0.02 seconds.
This illustration shows the positions of the exotic elements in the lens design. (Source: Fujifilm.)
The minimum focus is 10 cm, which means the lens can focus up to as 1.2 cm from the front lens element. The maximum magnification ratio of 1:1 provides true life size reproduction and allows it to be used for capturing fine details of plants and insects, as well as close-up photography of food items where shooting space is restricted.
The lens barrel is weather-sealed in nine places to ensure dust and weather resistance and ability to operate at temperatures down to -10℃. Unfortunately, there’s no stabilisation built into the lens so you’re forced to rely on the IBIS in the camera body.
Who’s it For?
The relatively short focal length and minimum focus distance make this lens better suited to photographing inanimate objects or preserved or slow-moving insects and arachnids. It’s good for photographing flowers and plants as long as they aren’t in windy conditions. Where it could prove really useful is for documenting small, valuable items like jewellery, coins and stamps for insurance records. It would also be good for tabletop photography.
The standard 30mm focal length, which is equivalent to 46mm in 35mm film format, encompasses a ‘natural’ field of view. This makes it usable for portraiture and snapshots where natural perspectives are desired. The light weight of the lens and its weather resistance could make it a useful addition to the kit of outdoor photographers who enjoy recording close-up stills and video clips.
Build and Ergonomics
According to Fujifilm’s press release, the XF 30mm f/2.8 R LM WR Macro lens has been designed and built to ‘achieve a compact form factor’ while maintaining a light weight (195 grams). ‘Metal is used for parts that come in contact with a user during lens operation’ it says, implying that the rest of the lens is made from industrial-quality polycarbonate.
In the user’s hands, the lens feels solidly built and all moving parts operate smoothly. The front and end caps fit snugly, hence our high rating for this category. The hard plastic lens hood is easy to attach and reverses over the barrel for transport and storage.
The front element is approximately 14 mm in diameter. It is surrounded by a ring of fine, concentric ridging to minimise back reflections, which is itself surrounded by another 12 mm wide sloping ring without ridges that leads into the 43 mm diameter, vertical filter threading.
On the outside of the filter thread is 5 mm deep vertical band that carries a bayonet moulding for the lens hood. The lens barrel steps outwards at the base of this band and becomes the 13 mm wide band that carries the branding and name of the lens.
Behind this band is the focusing ring, which is 24 mm wide and mostly covered with moulded ridging. Since autofocusing is driven by the camera, this ring turns through 360 degrees when power is off or the camera is set to single or continuous autofocusing. A white index line on the branding ring provides a reference point for manual focusing. Manual focusing is smooth but lacks the tactile feedback of mechanical gearing.
The linear focusing motor is fast and quiet and since focusing moves internal elements, the lens doesn’t extend or rotate when focus is adjusted.
A 5 mm wide band separates the focusing and aperture rings, the latter being ‘traditional’ on Fujifilm’s prime lenses. This ring is 15 mm wide with f-stops in one-stop increments between 2.8 and 22 engraved and marked in white on the sloping front edge.
Intermediate 0.3EV increments are selected in click-stops between them and a red ‘A’ beyond the f/22 mark sets the lens to auto aperture mode. The selected aperture value is displayed on the EVF and LCD monitor screens and changes as apertures are adjusted.
Behind the aperture marks is a 9 mm wide thickly ridged band that carries a raised lock that must be pushed in to restores the aperture ring to manual adjustment. An 11 mm wide band behind the aperture ring carries the red mounting index dot plus a ‘30’ indicator before the start of the lens mount.
The metal mount is very solid, with 10 gold-plated contact points on its inner edge to carry signals between the camera and the lens. The supplied covering cap fits snugly over it when the lens isn’t in use.
Performance
We tested this lens on the new Fujifilm X-T5 camera, which has a 40.2 megapixel sensor. Our Imatest tests revealed significant edge and corner softening at the widest aperture settings, which continued through to around f/5.6 where the differences between centre and edge resolution began to reduce. The graph below shows the results of our Imatest tests based on JPEG files.
As expected, RAF.RAW files recorded simultaneously with the JPEGs and converted into 16-bit TIFF format with Adobe Camera Raw delivered higher resolution than the JPEGs. Interestingly, however, they also delivered much lower lateral chromatic aberration than the JPEGs, probably because latest version of the software corrects minor aberrations automatically.
The only lens ‘correction’ setting in the X-T5’s menu is for the ‘Lens Modulation Optimiser’, which we set to ‘on’. (We can’t explain the discrepancy between the results we obtained for JPEGs and the converted raw files aside from the auto corrections applied by ACR). The graph below shows the results from the JPEGs, which were all within the ‘moderate’ range – beyond the green line.
Since vignetting is auto-corrected in Fujifilm cameras, we had to check raw files to see its effects. We found some edge and corner darkening in shots taken with the f/2.8 aperture but this declined as the lens was stopped down and became negligible by f/5.6.
Similarly, slight pincushion distortion could be seen in uncorrected raw files. The review lens also produced some attractive multi-pointed sunstars when stopped down to f/22 and pointed towards a bright light source.
Backlit shots were recorded with a wide tonal range and the lens was surprisingly flare-resistant, even when the light source was within the frame. Bokeh was mostly soft and attractive, particularly when backgrounds were evenly-lit. We found a few examples in which bright background highlights showed traces of outlining but, in the main, we’d judge the performance of the lens as good in this respect.
Conclusion
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SPECS
Picture angle: 50.7 degrees
Minimum aperture: f/22
Lens construction: 11 elements in 9 groups (including 3 aspherical and 2 ED elements plus fluorine coating on front element)
Lens mount: Fujifilm X mount
Diaphragm Blades: 9 (rounded aperture)
Weather resistance: Weather- and dust- resistant; barrel sealed in nine places
Focus drive: Linear motor
Stabilisation: No
Minimum focus: 10 cm
Maximum magnification: 1:1
Filter size: 43 mm
Dimensions (Diameter x L): 60 x 69.5 mm
Weight: 195 grams
Standard Accessories: Front and end caps, lens hood, wrapping cloth
Distributor: Fujifilm Australia, 1800 226 355
TESTS
Based on JPEG files recorded with the X-T5 camera.
Based on RAF.RAW files recorded simultaneously with the JPEGs.
SAMPLES
Vignetting at f/2.8.
Rectilinear distortion.
ISO 125, 1/450 second at f/6.4.
ISO 125, 1/1700 second at f/2.8.
Minimum focal distance; ISO 200, 1/27 second at f/2.8.
ISO 125, 1/350 second at f/6.4.
ISO 125, 1/140 second at f/8.
Minimum focal distance; ISO 125, 1/640 second at f/5.6.
An 18-pointed sunstar produced by shooting a bright light source at f/22; ISO 125, 1/34 second.
Strong backlighting; ISO 125, 1/2000 second at f/4.
Bokeh with evenly-lit background ISO 125, 1/640 second at f/3.6.
Bokeh with unevenly-lit background ISO 125, 1/2700 second at f/2.8.
ISO 125, 1/85 second at f/2.8.
Rating
RRP: AU$1129
- Build: 9.0
- Handling: 8.9
- Image quality: 8.8
- Autofocusing: 9.0
- Versatility: 8.5
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