FUJIFILM FUJINON ASPHERICAL SUPER EBC XF 18-55mm 1:2.8-4 R LM OIS Lens (f/2.8-4)
Overall Rating:
The 35mm/full-frame equivalent of this lens is roughly 27-83mm. It is made in Japan and was introduced 12 years ago when it debuted at a price of $700 USD. This lens promises to be a good companion to the Fujinon 55-200mm f/3.5-4.8 giving a 18-200mm range.
Performance
This is not the typical kit zoom lens because it is quite sharp and quite fast (f/2.8). Compare this lens to the Fujifilm Fujinon 55-200mm f/3.5-4.8 R LM OIS Lens. Compare this lens to the Fujifilm Fujinon 35mm f/1.4 R Lens. This lens does not focus as fast as the Nikkor AF-P DX 18-55mm/3.5-5.6, but the image quality is better.
No vignetting. At the wide end (18-23mm) there is only slight barrel distortion and the same for pincushion at the tele end (55mm). This cannot be avoided for a zoom so no excuses here. This lens is a tiny bit softer wide-open, as most lenses are. There is just a touch of color fringing mostly on the short end of the zoom in the corners. This amounts to about 2 pixels of color fringing on the wide end and about half a pixel on the long end in the corners using a 24MP sensor. On the long end there is some color fringing in the center.
The Optical Image Stabilization is very effective with this lens as is the Lens Modulation Optimizer which reduces the effects from diffraction (blurring from using small apertures like f/11 and smaller) and this requires a camera like the Fujifilm X-E2 or Fujifilm X-E3.
The autofocus performance is fast and dead silent which makes this a good choice for video work.
Construction
This excellent 18-55mm f/2.8-4 zoom lens is made mostly of metal, its zoom does not creep, its autofocus motor is dead silent, and its front element does not turn when focusing or zooming. All of its functions are smooth; the manual focus ring is deliberate and precise; the zoom ring is firm but easy; the aperture ring is smooth and intuitive. This lens is made in Japan.
Bokeh
The bokeh is, for the most part, nice and smooth. There is a hint of it being busy, but it is better than many lenses out there. The bokeh score is negatively affected due to LoCA being present.
Infrared
The 18-55 OIS lens exhibits infrared hots spots at smaller apertures.
Complaints
The aperture ring has no stop to it. It just turns and turns and turns. This must be because it is a variable aperture lens, however, Nikon produced variable aperture zooms that didn't have aperture rings that turned endlessly. Likewise, the focus ring turns with no stop to it.
Pros and Cons
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Pros
- Optical Image Stabilization (OIS) technology
- Lens Modulation Optimizer (LM/LMO) technology
- fast f/2.8-4 design
- easy to manually focus
- silent focus motor
- no zoom creep
- very good metal construction
- sharp, contrasty performer
- great bokeh
- compact design
- does not flare easily
- features an aperture ring
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Cons
- aperture ring spins endlessly
- manual focus ring spins endlessly
- that it does not flare easily?
- does not like infrared light
Specifications
- Lens construction: 14 elements in 10 groups (includes 3 aspherical and 1 extra low dispersion elements)
- 310g/10.93oz.
- Rounded diaphragm with 7 blades
- f/2.8-f/22
- 30cm/11.8in. closest focus
- Angle of view: 77.4°-29.4°
- Filter attachment size: ø58mm
- Price: $700 USD (2012)
- EXIF: XF18-55mmF2.8-4 R LM OIS
Images
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