Fujinon XF18-135mmF3.5-5.6 R LM OIS WR

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To be honest I was not planning to get this lens. But I did need a good all-in-one zoom for my X-T1 as the only lens I have (had) so far is the 56mm f/1.2 (an amazing gem of glass). Had hoped to get the 16-55mm f/2.8 by the summer/fall of 2014, but when the Fuji roadmap recently changed, and with some more specs announced and sample photos released on this 18-135mm, I decided to give this one a chance as my “light travel” lens. The FOCAL RANGE is quite broad, and certainly useful. Sure, it could be wider and longer, but it’s still a decent wide-angle (27mm) and a decent telephoto (206mm). I’d personally prefer more degrees at the wide end at the expense of the long though (as the 16-55 will be). A 16-120mm (24-180) with at least a constant f/4 would be more in line with my wishes. Yeah, it is kinda SLOW. And I am known for using and loving fast primes (25 years as a photojournalist), so when I first saw the specs on this, I was not even interested. As I shoot a D4 on my day-job, my X-T1 is more of my personal (fun/art) camera. But it is highly capable for pro work, and for some things, I’d prefer it. The useful max f/stops break down like this (or there-abouts) : 18mm 3.5 20mm 3.6 23mm 4.0 28mm 4.2 35mm 4.3 55mm 5.0 70mm 5.3 85mm 5.3 100mm 5.6 135mm 5.6 What the lens lacks in aperture speed, the vibration reduction system (OIS) makes up for. And the OIS in this lens is really amazing, I really think the most useful I have used. Better than my Nikkor 70-200 f/2.8. For most of my pro work, VR or OIS is honestly not very useful to me. I’m more worried about subject movement vs. my hand-holding ability, which is why I prefer (need) very fast glass. I regularly handhold a 300mm 2.8 and have never used a 70-200 2.8 with a monopod—I just use a higher ISO and shoot wide open. But the ability of this lens to keep an image tack sharp at 4-5 stops slower than normal is amazing. And the system is quiet, unobtrusive, and doesn’t shake around. It is very useful on a compact all-in-one lens such as this, which would (in my use) be more for scenics, still life, nature, portrait snapshots---Travel, vacation. I don’t love variable-aperture lenses for my pro work either, but as a travel zoom, its fine. This lens is also highly useful for basic video work (home movies) with the broad focal range and very effective vibration reduction. The SHARPNESS is actually quite good for this 7.5X focal range. Bit soft in corners wide-open, especially at 18mm (I’d almost wish it was less sharp in corners at the long end vs the wide end) but it is still very useful. In fact, it seems resolving enough at EVERY focal length, which is really pretty impressive. Don’t expect it to match your primes, but I haven’t met any lens that does. There are just too many variables to engineer into making this broad a focal range perfect. I’d certainly say it’s the sharpest all-in-one lens I’ve had though. The multiple ED/Aspherical elements probably help out there. CONTRAST is very good all the way through, which adds to the impression of sharpness. Flare seems well controlled and Starbursts look decent too. Can a slow lens like this even have BOKEH? Well, that is probably what is impressing me most with this lens. WIth careful study of background/highlights, it CAN! It’s fairly smooth and creamy for the slow aperture openings it has. Guess the aperture openings stay fairly circular throughout the range and help with OOF highlights for a fairly decent bokeh for a slow lens. The minimum focus distance (MFD) is another highlight for me. It makes this lens way more useful as an all-in-one when you are able to get in close on a flower and just about fill the frame. No, its certainly not a 1:1 macro, but its more useful than most primes with generally more-limited MFD. In real-world shooting it seems to be around 10” in front of front element (filter to subject). This 10 inches or so is comparable across the focal range as well, so you can shoot around the same distances from wide angle (27mm) to telephoto (206mm). This is very useful and the close-focusing is helpful for bokeh in macro-ish shots. One of the major selling points is the WATER RESISTANCE, and that was certainly of interest to me. It’s nice to not have to worry about ruining your lens/camera when you get caught in a shower or want to take a hike and still get nice nature shots in any condition (which is sometimes more productive in cloudy light in drizzle). Well, if you are looking for an exact test on the effectiveness of the water-resistance, I am not gonna be the guinea pig just for tests-sake!! Winking smile As I use the lens more, I will try to add some more observations though. I think the dust-resistance is nearly as important, although not nearly as touted about. Keeping dust particles from blowing around and through the back of the lens onto the fine sensor is very beneficial. But being able to use a one-lens system and not HAVE to change lenses in the field is very important for the effectiveness of the weather-resistance features. I can certainly see this lens as being great for shooting fall scenics and waterfalls in particular (as you generally want a slow shutter and don’t need a fast lens)—the range will be great. It is fairly LIGHT in weight too, making it even better for travel. Although light, the BUILD QUALITY still seems high. The ZOOM ring is very smooth mechanically, and it does not creep around either. I’d prefer a zoom that was totally internal, but probably hard to do with this wide a focal range. My copy seems to be a little tight at just the last few millimeters of zoom, say 128-135mm—but that may loosen with use. The included hood somehow seems a just bit small for the lens girth to me, and the plastic is slightly a lighter shade (grey vs deeper black of lens) which appears a bit mis-matched to me, but not a big deal. Unfortunately, the hood does not have a great “click” stop once in place either, making it a bit loose and prone to falling off. The AUTOFOCUS is internal, so you can easily use SFX filters (esp. polarizers) easily. The AF system is FAST and hits the mark well! I’d say its better than my 56mm honestly, with less hunting. It is also extremely QUIET and SMOOTH. Very pleased with the focus. In conclusion, This is a very USEFUL lens, even though it is slow. If it were faster with an even broader focal range, it would also be very heavy, very large, with a huge front element (that needed 77mm or larger filters). As such, it suits the small mirrorless bodies (such as the X-T1) perfectly as a take-anywhere but highly-capable camera system.

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If you just want to take one lens on a trip, dont know if you want something wide or telephoto, this lens kind of hits all of the bases. After having owned it for many months, I honestly dont use it very often because I get such fantastically better photos out of the Fuji primes. The photos from this lens tend to be a little softer, a little lower contrast, less color pop... just in a word "bland". I dont use this when I want to get great photographs; I use this when I want to be sure to get a photo no matter what. Fuji makes some other zooms with less of a broad range to them that take much better photographs. And if you want the very best, of course, there are the utterly fantastic primes.

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I’ve been shooting with the 18-55mm and 55-200mm for two years now and always wanted to replace them with one lens because: a) I hate to change lenses and I feel like I missed some great shots in the past because of that; b) I hate carrying additional weight with me and 18-135mm weights about half of what 18-55mm and 55-200mm weight together. For two years I couldn’t convince myself to spend that much for a lens that got so many negative reviews claiming it was a mediocre lens for that price. Two months ago I finally decided to get one and boy was I surprised! The quality of my copy is fantastic! I ran some tests comparing all the three on my X-T10 and the 18-135 tops 18-55mm at any focal length and at any aperture. It is almost as good as the 55-200mm and the only way you can see a difference between them is if you start pixel peeping. And even then the difference is very insignificant. I only lose about 1/2-2/3 stops of light which is easily compensated by a great OIS system that can give you up to a 5 stops. It doesn’t reach as far as 55-200mm does but 95% of the time you won’t really miss it (unless you’re a wildlife photographer). 18-135mm is a keeper!

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I bought this lens after finally resolving that I wanted a good all-around lens for travel and studio work where focal length would be unpredictable or varied. I also wanted to change lenses less often. This lens fit the bill perfectly. My general photography genres consist of portraits both in studio and outdoors. I also shoot landscapes, fine art, and macro photography occasionally as well. This lens shines in most situations that I can put it to use. The areas where I would likely choose not to use it would be in extreme low-light situations or where my other Fuji primes are preferred for client work. That being said, other than a lack of bokeh compared to my primes, there is really nothing wrong with this lens. It focusses fast, the image stabilization is great, and the image quality is on par with every other Fuji lens in their lineup. If I had to take just one travel lens for a trip, this is it. The only downside is the weight, but for quality and versatility with this kind of focal range, it cant really be beat.

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This lens may not satisfy those that use pixel peeping as a critical method for deciding which lenses dont make the grade. The edges at most focal lengths are not particularly sharp. The lens is obviously not the fastest lens out there, either. I was somewhat uneasy purchasing this lens as I was concerned about just these issues. However, after spending a weekend shooting with it - about 200 images - I could not be more pleased with the decision. While it is not tack sharp at the edges, the center is very sharp. While it isnt particularly fast, I just bumped up the iso to keep the shutter speeds up to speed. While it is not smooth as silk in changing the focal lengths, it is stiff enough to avoid any creep. There is nothing particularly exceptional about the lens, but there is a great deal that is very good. Out of the 200 or so pics I took over the weekend, there were none that left me disappointed. It produced pleasing colors and contrast and overall satisfying images. The range from 18mm - 135mm just works. Maybe I was too cautious with my expectations about the lens, but I am confident with it after having used in for a couple of days. I have several fast Fuji primes that would certainly offer more pleasing pics at the pixel peeping level, and when I absolutely need fast shutter at wide open. But as a general, all purpose, keep on the camera lens, this one exceeded my expectations. For what its worth, I have had other wide to tele, all purpose lenses on other sensor size cameras, but none left me as pleased with the execution of that concept as this Fuji does. It was very satisfying to use and was pleased with the images that it produced. The in lens stabilization never let me down either.

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I hate shooting with it because Im spoiled by Fujis amazing little primes and it just feels *wrong* on my X-Pro2, but I cant really argue with the results I get. It seems pretty sharp at all focal lengths and the OIS system is a good one. Slow and variable aperture is a bummer but at this price point thats what youre going to get. Overall I think it is a fairly good value as lenses like this go. Good versatility as a travel lens or whatever. Id pack a prime too.

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I LOVE this lens. I bought a fixed focal length lens and this zoom lens, and in the end, this is probably the only lens I needed. I use it with the X-T10; and the body is a bit small to support the size of the lens, so I regret not getting the X-T1 (although it is massively discounted right now, so perhaps I should!), but I love the lens. I I use this for photos of my son, landscape, and wildlife, and it does the trick for all of them.

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I wish that I had saved for the 50-140lens. The 18-135 IS a good value, and probably why I purchased it in the end; having been testing it for the last couple of weeks, I find the AF to be almost useless (under normal day light), and I constantly fidget with the exposure to get some contrast. Im sure that it will be a good travel lens, but Im a prime user and find it difficult to adjust to this slower lens.

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I have only had this lens for a month, so take that into account. I cant speak to its long-term quality, though if its like my other Fuji products, it will hold up beautifully. The initial quality certainly suggests so. This lens is beautifully assembled. The long zoom action does mandate the use of more plastic than in some of Fujis smaller zoom lenses, but it is still several cuts above Canons 18-135, which I also owned for many years. Optical quality is great — sharp from edge to edge at all apertures. There is some mild vignetting at greater zooms, though it isnt egregious. The zoom action is not quite as buttery as on the Fuji 18-55 2.8-4.0, but it is still better than average. Great, versatile everyday lens. If you want one lens to live on your camera, let it be this.

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A great all around lens! This lens is very sharp considering how wide of a range of zoom that it has. It can be a little soft in the edges wide open, but this is really quite minor and you only need to use 1 stop down and it performs very well. I have recently blown up some photos taken with this lens and have been very pleased with how they turned out. The stabilization of this lens is incredible! It really gives at least a four stop advantage, if not five. This is so nice to have in so many shooting conditions. The zoom and focus are both very smooth and the speed of the autofocus is nothing to laugh at, it performs very well in most conditions although not the greatest is low light but I think that is more the camera than the lens. The weatherproofing of this lens is a perfect compliment to the side range of the zoom. When I am in a difficult weather situation, where changing lenses is not plausible, this is a dream to have! You can get such a wide variety of shots while standing in the middle of a storm just due to the perfect combination of weatherproofing, image stabilization, and high quality imaging. In my opinion, it would be extremely difficult to beat this lens when needing that all-around lens!

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