In summary
The 8mm focal length is the widest available for Fujifilm’s X-mount cameras and its constant f/2.8 maximum aperture matches the company’s fastest prime lens, the XF 14mm f/2.8 R.
The zoom range and speed of this lens make it ideal for landscape and architectural photography, particularly in situations where the exaggerated perspective of the short focal lengths is valued. It could also be useful for shooting night-scapes and astrophotography.
Weatherproof sealing makes it tough enough to be used in inclement conditions when paired with a similarly-sealed camera, like the new X-T4 (which includes 6.5-stop image stabilisation) or the X-T3.
Full review
The XF 8-16mm f/2.8 R LM WR lens was announced on 20 July, 2018 but didn’t reach the market until near the end of that year. Fujifilm’s widest X-series zoom to date, it encompasses a 12-24mm-equivalent focal length range with a constant f/2.8 maximum aperture. Sealing has been applied at 11 points for weather and dust-resistance and the lens can be used at temperatures down to -10 degrees C. We reviewed this lens on an X-T30 camera body, which was supplied with the lens.
Angled view of the XF 8-16mm f/2.8 R LM WR lens, shown without the fit-over lens cap. (Source: Fujifilm.)
The optical design of the lens, shown below, is complex with 20 elements in 13 groups. Four aspherical lens elements are included to control distortion and spherical aberration, while six extra-low dispersion (ED) lens elements (three of them super ED elements) are there to control lateral chromatic aberration. An additional element, which adjusts according to the position of the zoom, has been included to correct field curvature.
The optical design of the XF 8-16mm f/2.8 R LM WR lens, showing the positions of the exotic elements. (Source: Fujifilm.)
Nano-GI coating has been applied to the rear surfaces of two front lens elements to suppress ghosting and flare caused by oblique light and ensure natural-looking contrast and colour fidelity. Linear motors provide fast and quiet autofocusing making this lens ideal for use when shooting video.
Weather-resistant sealing in 11 sections of the lens barrel provides protection against dust and moisture, and enables worry-free use in inclement conditions and freezing temperatures as low as -10 degrees Celsius. A water repellent and smudge-resistant fluorine coating has been applied to the front lens elements to make it easy to keep clean.
This lens is supplied with a fit-over front cap (FLCP-8-16) plus the RLCP-001 rear cap and a wrapping cloth. Regular filters can’t be used but systems designed for 150 mm diameter holders can be fitted to this lens.
Who’s it For?
Traditionally, wide-angle lenses are popular with landscape and architectural photographers and often chosen by those who take group portraits. Many also value the different perspective a wider lens can impart to subjects that are normally photographed with longer lenses.
The 8mm focal length is the widest available for Fujifilm’s X-mount cameras and its constant f/2.8 maximum aperture matches the company’s fastest prime lens, the XF 14mm f/2.8 R. However, this lens is expensive and relatively heavy for Fujifilm’s cropped-sensor cameras – but that’s the price you pay for lens speed.
The zoom range and speed of this lens make it ideal for landscape and architectural photography, particularly in situations where the exaggerated perspective of the short focal lengths is valued. It could also be useful for shooting night-scapes and astrophotography.
Weatherproof sealing makes it tough enough to be used in inclement conditions when paired with a similarly-sealed camera, like the new X-T4 (which includes 6.5-stop image stabilisation) or the X-T3 (but not the X-T30). A lighter, cheaper and more compact option is the XF10-24mm f/4 R OIS, which includes built-in stabilisation and is roughly half the weight of the 8-16mm lens. But it’s a full f-stop slower and it’s not weather-resistant.
Build and Ergonomics
Build quality is of a high standard and generally very solid. Much of the exterior of the lens is made from magnesium alloy, which is relatively light but robust. The chromed metal mounting plate fits snugly to the camera body and there’s a visible rubber flange around the mount to keep out moisture and dust.
This diagram shows the positions of the weather-resistant seals in the XF 8-16mm f/2.8 R LM WR lens. (Source: Fujifilm.)
There are three rotating rings on the lens barrel. The focusing ring is positioned at the front of the lens barrel, just behind the lens hood (which is fixed in position). It’s about 18 mm wide and has a finely-ridged, rubberised grip band.
Behind the focusing ring is the zoom ring, which is 25 mm wide, with a 20 mm wide grip band that has slightly wider ridging than the focusing ring. The trailing edge of this ring is stamped with settings for the 8mm, 10mm, 12mm and 16mm focal lengths. Aft of the zoom ring is a fixed 2.5 mm wide band that carries the index mark against which focal lengths are set.
The aperture ring is located immediately behind this ring. It’s 12mm wide and has an un-ridged leading edge that carries aperture settings in one-stop increments from f/2.8 to f/22 plus a red ‘A’ for the auto aperture setting. A 7 mm wide band of relatively thick ridging encircles this ring.
The rest of the outer barrel steps inwards to the lens mount, which is solid chromed metal. Ten gold-plated contacts inside the mount provide contact points for signals to pass between the camera and lens.
Focusing
Focusing is fully internal and driven by the camera so this ring turns through 360 degrees when power is switched off. The front element of the lens doesn’t move, making it easy to use angle-critical filters like polarisers and graduates.
Autofocusing is driven by powerful linear motors that move the focusing elements back and forth. We found the system to be both quick and accurate in most lighting conditions, including when contrast was relatively low. It’s also virtually silent.
Manual focusing is also driven by the same motors, operated electronically through the camera body. Unfortunately, there’s a bit too much ‘play’ in the adjustments, making it difficult to focus precisely at times and there’s no distance scale with depth-of-field markings to make it easier to zone-focus.
As we’ve found with other Fujinon lenses, when autofocusing is set in the default ‘Release’ priority mode, close focusing can be problematic at both ends of the zoom range since the camera will record shots even if they are slightly unsharp. Setting the priority to ‘Focus’ is essential when shooting close-ups. This requires use of the mechanical shutter.
Performance
Imatest showed the review lens to be a good performer on the X-T30 camera supplied for our tests. However, not unexpectedly, this lens suffers from edge and corner softening, although perhaps somewhat less than we expected for such a fast, ultra-wide zoom lens.
We obtained the best performance at the 10mm focal length, where at f/4 and f/4.5 it just met expectations for the sensor’s resolution with JPEG files when sampled around the centre of the frame. (Raw files delivered higher resolution, as expected and shown in the TESTS section below.) Towards the periphery, resolution was somewhat lower, improving once the lens is stopped down beyond f/5.6, as shown in the graph of our test results below.
Lateral chromatic aberration was negligible for both JPEGs and RAF.RAW files. Fujifilm’s cameras provide built-in corrections for this aberration so we had to check raw files, which are uncorrected. Levels of CA for raw files were only a little higher than for JPEGs, for which the results of our tests are shown in the graph below.
Because Fujifilm’s cameras also provide automatic corrections for vignetting and distortion we assessed these factors by looking at raw files. Unfortunately, the latest version of Adobe Camera Raw, our preferred converter, tended to correct both aberrations automatically so we had to use a more basic raw file viewer to check for each aberration.
Vignetting was obvious at all focal lengths with the widest aperture settings, which is not surprising for such a wide-angle zoom lens. Stopping down to between f/5.6 and f/8 suppresses most vignetting, although it became visible again at about f/11 and increased slightly from there to f/22.
Rectilinear distortion was surprisingly low for a lens of this type, with obvious barrel distortion at 8mm, very slight barrel distortion at 10mm and virtually no distortion at 12mm. Slight pincushioning could be seen at 16mm.
Since both vignetting and distortion can be corrected in the camera and are easily corrected in most raw converters and image editors, we don’t see either as a serious problem.
Flare and ghosting were also minor issues and the review lens was an impressive performer, even when shooting directly towards a bright light source. But we’d recommend shooting raw files in contre-jour situations since they make it easier to bring out shadow details.
With a minimum focusing distance of 25 cm across all focal lengths, in theory this lens is not ideal for close-up shooting. However, the ‘stretched’ perspective at the 8mm and 10mm focal lengths can produce some interesting results, particularly when the aperture is stopped down. At wide apertures, bokeh in de-focused areas was surprisingly smooth although slight outlining could be seen around bright highlights in blurred backgrounds, particularly with the 16mm focal length.
Conclusion
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SPECS
Picture angle: 121 to 83.2 degrees
Minimum aperture: f/22
Lens construction: 20 elements in 13 groups (including 4 aspherical, 3 ED and 3 Super ED elements)
Lens mounts: Fujifilm X
Diaphragm Blades: 9 (circular aperture)
Weather resistance: Yes
Focus drive: Linear motors
Stabilisation: No
Minimum focus: 25 cm
Maximum magnification: 0.1x
Filter size: Not applicable
Dimensions (Diameter x L): 88 x 121.5 mm
Weight: 805 grams
Standard Accessories: FLCP-8-16 front lens cap, rear cap, lens hood, wrapping cloth
Distributor: Fujifilm Australia; 1800 226 355
TESTS
Based on JPEG files taken with the Fujifilm X-T30 camera.
Based on RAF.RAW files converted into 16-bit TIFF format with Adobe Camera Raw.
SAMPLES
Vignetting at 8mm, f/2.8.
Vignetting at 10mm, f/2.8.
Vignetting at 12mm, f/2.8.
Vignetting at 16mm, f/2.8.
Rectilinear distortion at 8mm.
Rectilinear distortion at 10mm.
Rectilinear distortion at 12mm.
Rectilinear distortion at 16mm.
8mm focal length, ISO 160, 1/450 second at f/7.1.
10mm focal length, ISO 160, 1/420 second at f/7.1.
12mm focal length, ISO 160, 1/400 second at f/7.1.
16mm focal length, ISO 160, 1/320 second at f/7.1.
16mm focal length, ISO 160, 1/180 second at f/11.
8mm focal length, ISO 160, 1/210 second at f/11.
12mm focal length, ISO 160, 1/210 second at f/11.
Close-up at 8mm focal length, ISO 160, 1/1700 second at f/2.8.
Close-up at 12mm focal length, ISO 160, 1/1800 second at f/2.8.
Close-up at 16mm focal length, ISO 160, 1/1400 second at f/2.8.
Contre-jour lighting at 8mm focal length; ISO 160, 1/500 second at f/5.6.
Contre-jour lighting at 16mm focal length; ISO 160, 1/640 second at f/5.6.
Angled shot showing characteristic wide-angle distortion; 8mm focal length, ISO 160, 1/1000 second at f/8.
8mm focal length, ISO 160, 1/250 second at f/11.
8mm focal length, ISO 160, 1/60 second at f/11.
8mm focal length, ISO 160, 1/100 second at f/10.
16mm focal length, ISO 160, 1/250 second at f/9.
8mm focal length, ISO 640, 1/200 second at f/11.
16mm focal length, ISO 320, 1/100 second at f/11.
8mm focal length, ISO 320, 1/60 second at f/16.
8mm focal length, ISO 200, 1/30 second at f/16.
8mm focal length, ISO 160, 1/200 second at f/11.
8mm focal length, ISO 160, 1/500 second at f/6.4.
8mm focal length, ISO 320, 1/400 second at f/10.
16mm focal length, ISO 200, 1/280 second at f/8.
Rating
RRP: AU$3199; US$1999.95
- Build: 9.0
- Handling: 8.8
- Image quality: 8.9
- Versatility: 8.8
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