Fujinon XF16mmF1.4 R WR

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Ive had the 16mm f/1.4 for about two weeks now. Its very well-built, and if youre used to the build quality on X-series primes this one is right up there with the best of the primes, PLUS its weather sealed to boot! Its got marked apertures and of course the uber-useful DOF/focus scale on the lens barrel, along with the brilliant "clicky" focus ring you can "pull" for manual focus, or "push" for AF. In other words, its got all the stuff I liked about my other favorite Fuji X lenses. This plus the 10-24 are my new go-tos for shooting architecture/home interiors. Physically, the 16mm is like the 23mm on steroids, and its dimensions are a little wider and longer than the 23mm, which was almost the perfect size for the X-T1 in my opinion. I also own the Fuji 10-24 f/4, 14mm 2.8, 18mm f/2, 23mm f/1.4, 35mm f/1.4, 56mm f/1.2, and 50-140mm 2.8, as well as two X-T1 bodies and an X-Pro 1. I rely on my Fuji gear for my livelihood as a freelance photographer, and its great lenses like the 16mm f/1.4 that have given me the confidence to leave Canon behind after more than a decade as a professional FF Canon user. The 16mm has relatively little distortion, is quiet, quick to focus, and accurate. Im noticing that it seems to hunt/struggle to get focus lock on my X-T1 in dimmer, low-contrast situations more than its 23mm and 14mm siblings do, especially in the middle 1-4 meter range, where Ive found myself using it wide open most often and where critical AF accuracy would matter most. Making your AF point larger seems to help a little, but this kind of issue seems like it should be fixable via firmware update in the long run. And really Im nitpicking a bit, just because its a little slower to focus than the 23mm does not mean its actually slow at all. IQ is good to great, but at f/1.4 the 16mm isnt quite as tack sharp as the 23mm or 14mm seem to be when used wide-open. Now dont get me wrong, its still an excellent lens. It just happens to have very impressive siblings. :) Ive just used it to shoot a full two-page magazine spread and from what Ive seen of the print proofs I have no hesitation in saying that this lens will give you excellent results, although at a wide aperture there are sharper lenses in the Fuji X family. By F/2.8 or f/4 this lens keeps up with anything else in Fujis lineup, as well as most every other manufacturer out there. So should you buy it? Currently, Fuji offers a variety of options comparable to the 16mm f/1.4. The 10-24mm zoom, 16-55mm zoom, 14mm f/2.8, and 18mm f/2 all either overlap or get extremely close to the 16mms 24mm-equivalent FOV. All of these options have their own strengths and weaknesses, it just depends on your needs. My intended use of the 16mm is for close-focused shots of people or food/product with plenty of background detail blurred beautifully, and for medium distances wide-open, so I can capture a full-length portrait in the frame with plenty of context around it thats nicely blurred. Its a wonderful tool that gives me new creative options. Im also guessing this lens will be a great "travel with just one lens" candidate, and street photographers will love it. If youre a landscape shooter or do not intend to use the shallow DOF, buy the 10-24 or the EXCELLENT 14mm and save a few bucks. For only $160 more, the 16-55mm f/2.8 is a weather-sealed constant zoom that gives you great IQ with the versatility of a zoom. So yeah, this lens isnt for everyone, but if you know you need what the 16mm f/1.4 is capable of, buy with confidence. It wont disappoint.

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Fujis best lens. People on the Internet say it, so it must be true... right? If I could have only one Fuji lens, this might be it. Which is crazy because its a pretty wide point of view. But when you work this lens the way its meant to be worked, it turns the mundane into magic. My attached photo is a straight out of camera JPG from my X-T2 and XF16mm lens. Classic Chrome, +2 on highlights, shadows, and sharpness. -2 on noise reduction. I spot metered on the coffee cup. Shutter 1/500, aperture f1.4, auto ISO. Such a mundane scene and it just bangs images like this out all day long. Its even good at taking photos of people if you abandon the rule of thirds and center your subject.

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Fantastic. A very nicely balanced lens, sharp, quick to focus. The best part is the 1.4 aperture and the close focus distance, this mixed with the 90mm means you rarely, if ever miss a perfect shot. Update: many months and 10,000 photos later (maybe not that much) this lens is still truly a favorite, while shooting in the northwest I really took this through its paces, I accidentally dropped my camera (16mm and xpro 2) in a tide pool, well the camera and lens did just fine and are still in perfect working order. Gorgeous lens and it produces gorgeous photos

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This lens is absolutely amazing. If you shoot anything where you would need a wide lens then I recommend this lens to you. It is sharp throughout (from corner to corner and also through the aperture range). I love the manual focus ring and I really dig the clicks on the aperture ring. I was surprised at the quality of construction. This lens is heavy duty and when you first hold it you can tell the quality of the build. The bokeh is spectacular (as you can see from the sample photo).

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Its always a little awkward to read photographers resort to poetry when trying to describe a cold, technical device such as a lens. "Magic", "Dreamlike" ... chances are, youve read those words when researching this lens online. Let me start my own rave review by stating that I wasnt even necessarily interested in this focal length! Sure, a wide angle is a good thing to have, but between the very nice and affordable manual 12mm Rokinon / Samyang lens for X-mount, and Fujis own 27mm "pancake", I thought my wide angle needs were pretty much covered. But I kept seeing amazing pictures taken with this 16mm. The sharpness was stunning, the colors were simply beautiful. But who knew how much Photoshop was involved in those results? Im not a technical person really, so I cant give you numbers and statistics. All I can give you are emotions. This lens is a conduit to emotional photography. No idea how thats even possible. Frequently, Ill come home from shooting, convinced that I blew it, that Ive really not caught anything special at all. Then I look at my loot in Lightroom, and some pictures start catching my eyes. I open those in Iridient Developer (write that product name down, friends, and buy this RAW converter, today! It understands this lens, and Fuji files in general, better than any other software Ive tried. Its about 100$, not as comfortable as Lightroom, but... wow.) And then suddenly: There it is on my computer screen, clear as day: The reason I became obsessed with photography in the first place. Enhanced truth. The magic of light and shadow, the dance of colors, the bliss of contrast, the beauty of bokeh, the joy of sharpness. Again: I cant even say Im a huge believer in this focal length! And still: I keep the 35mm f2 on my X-T1 most of the time, and this 16mm on my X-pro1. Thats it. When the situation requires really fast autofocus and a field of vision that is a no-brainer, I grab the X-T1, when I have a moment to really consider my composition and "paint with light", I take out the X-pro1. This lens is not cheap. But I havent had regrets about spending the money for a single second.

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I normally like to take my time with these reviews and write out a long, thoughtful narrative. But its past my bedtime and I have to be up early tomorrow, so Ill make this quick. This lens is spectacular. I switched to Fuji two years ago and I kept hearing how great the 16mm was, but I told myself I didnt really have a need for anything that wide, so I went with the 23mm f/1.4, 35mm f/2, and the 56mm f/1.2. But after shooting fashion portraits for two years and recently getting into video, I was starting to realize how much I missed having a wide angle. So I finally bit the bullet and got this lens, and I regret absolutely nothing. Yes, its a bit pricey, but its worth every single penny. Distortion is minimal and so well-controlled, its super sharp and fast to focus, and HOLY CRAP can it focus close to your subject! Seriously, the minimum focusing distance is a hair under six inches. Im super happy with this lens and so glad its finally part of my collection. Cant wait to shoot with it again. (Tomorrow though, for now, its bedtime.) Kevin Titus Photo Instagram: @kevintitusphoto

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I bought this lens because I found I lacked a decent wide angel lens for indoor group shots - weddings, group events, etc. I used the xf 18-55 lens and a samyang 12mm f2 recently on a shoot. I found the 18mm lacking in sharpness and detail, and just not wide enough on some in door shots. Plus, the OIS doesnt help when photographing kids. The samyang 12mm lacked auto focus and manually focusing at f2, indoors, with bad light, can be challenging. Plus my eyesight is not very good anymore. The 16mm is a gorgeous lens. It is well made, well built, and has that premium look to it. Couple of things I saw that bothered me at first. 1. The lens has a distinct focusing noise. Must be from the micro-motor that Fuji put in it. 2. The hard stops on the focus ring turns past infinity focus. I got over these 2 things. The focus noise is just noise, nothing hampering the operation at all. The focus ring hard stops not matching with the infinity mark seems to be a trait of all FUJI xf lenses (if they have hard stops) and perhaps of all AF lenses in the modern era. The infinity mark does denote infinity focus, so its fine. The bokeh on this lens is very nice. Shot on f1.4 with a subject close by produces creamy background. Having a wide angle that can produce nice subject isolation is very cool. I was missing that on the 18mm. The focus in good light is pretty fast. Not blazing fast, but decent. Low light auto-focus slows down a bit, like all fuji lenses. If I had to compare, it is comparable to the xf 18-55 lens. Not as fast as the 35mm f2. The image is sharp at f1.4. Sure there is corner softness and vignetting, but I crop in my pictures anyway. Very sharp by f2.8 and f4. But we spend the extra money on the extra f-stops, so we might as well use them. In this lens, it does not disappoint. Id recommend anyone looking for a nice 24mm f1,.4 equivalent to buy this lens before the lens sale stops on oct 1st. Its well worth the $799.

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My first "legit" lens... Sharp as you want it to be! Shoot all the way to f16 and this lens will give you an image that is just a pleasure to zoom into. It will obscure your view if you use the OVF on the X-Pro2 but thats not what youre getting it for. This is also a pleasure to shoot from the hip. The size makes it easy to handle, and the DOF scale on the lens helps in zone-focusing. Great for street and portraits. Bottom line, its worth the price tag if you never plan on selling it, and want to make sure you are starting from a new lens. Get a used one and give it some love, the previous owner of that lens probably just couldnt handle its style.

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Probably my favorite lens on my XT2. Superb Fuji quality. 16mm focal length is perfect for me. Super super super sharp. You can crop down images if necessary but I love to play with wide angle lenses. Use this for EVERYTHING! Street, took portrait photos of my wife, macro, etc etc. I especially love the pseudo-macro capabilities of this lens. You can almost touch a subject with the lens, thats how close you can get. Low light performance and bokeh are both superb, man that f1.4! Weather Resistance (WR) is a plus. I purchased the optional metal hood for it and it makes this lens look so sexy, should have come with the lens for the 1k price-tag. You know you want it.... you will not be disappointed. I give this one the 1st spot with Fuji lenses

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I was so happy that Fujifilm was putting out the new 16mm f/2.8, because I wanted a 24mm equivalent lens for my recently acquired XT-2, and did not wish to spend big bucks on this f/1.4 version. I already have a full Nikon system, including fast pro-grade 24mm Nikkors, so I just wanted to go cheap for the Fuji. To my benefit, the f/2.8 version has (as expected) been slow to issue and my patience grew short, so I pulled the trigger on this lens... bye, bye tax refund. I am so impressed in every way with the f/1.4 model, that I will long forget the price difference from the slower lens, but after seeing the selective potential of f/1.4, I know that two steps slower would have been limiting. Additionally, the optics of this lens are every bit as good as the testimonials that can be readily found everywhere that cameras are discussed. The hype is real.

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