REVIEW: What is the Best Fuji Kit Lens? Part 2


Two weeks ago I received a Fujinon XF18-135mm f3.5/5.6 and a XF18-55mm f2.8/4 to do a comparison on which is the best kit lens for the X Series.  This is a question that I wanted to answer as I had been asked several times over the last few months this very question by readers of this blog and followers on social media.  

I have the superb XF16-55mm f2.8 professional zoom lens but with a Recommended Retail Price (RRP) tag of £959 this lens is quite pricey for most photographers.

I did a first initial test of the XF18-135mm R LM OIS WR on the 10th January (CLICK HERE to see this test) and last weekend I conducted a test of the shorter XF18-55mm R LM OIS with a walk out along the East Lothian coast at Yellowcraig near North Berwick.



First of all, perhaps understandably, the XF18-55mm is a lot smaller and compact than the 18-135mm (and a lot smaller than the f2.8 standard zoom) and it has a maximum aperture of f2.8 to f4 compared to f3.5 to f5.6.  Both lenses have aperture rings (as denoted by the 'R' in the lens title),  which are unmarked due to the variable aperture, they both have linear motors (LM) to speed up the AF response time and have Optical Image Stabilisation built in (OIS).  The one thing the 18-135mm has that the older 18-55mm doesn't is weather resistance (WR).




Both lenses are available in the UK for a street price of £619.00 (WEX Photographic) but if bought with a camera body the lenses can be substantially cheaper.  

For example WEX have the XE2S body only for £549 and with the XF18-55mm this increases the price by just £140 to £689.  Or in other terms you get the XE2S for just £70.  And this combination is also available with £40 cash back until the end of January.  CLICK HERE

At the top end of the scale the flagship XT2 is £1399 body only and is £1649 if bought with the XF18-55mm making the lens £250.  CLICK HERE

So the XF18-55mm can be found for substantially less than the RRP if bought with a camera body, but does this make it any good?  Well in short - 'yes'.  The XF18-55mm might be called a 'kit lens' but this is no plastic body cheap lens make in China or Thailand.  This lens proudly boast a 'made in Japan' label and feels solid in your hand.  This quality extends to the image output which is optically of the high standard expected of any lens in the XF range.





Fitting the XF18-55mm f2.8/4 to the Fujifilm X-T2 I took a series of images as we walked west along the coast with the island of Fidra - which provided the inspiration for Robert Louis Stevenson's 'Treasure Island' - bathed in winter sunshine.

As well as taking wide and telephoto images of the scenery I also focused on some berries, shells and rocks to demonstrate the versatility of this short standard zoom.

Below you will see sample images taken at Yellowcraig.  The image quality is exactly as I expected with edge to edge sharpness, with maybe a little fall off when used wide open at both ends of the zoom range but certainly nothing to worry about.

NOTE:  Fujifilm also produce the XC16-50mm f3.5/5.6 OIS II standard zoom which is a cheaper zoom lens for the X Series.  I haven't included this lens in this Kit Lens test because it isn't an XF lens.


Fujifilm X-T2 + XF18-55mm f2.8/4 - 1/850 @ f8 ISO200 (zoom at 33mm)
Fujifilm X-T2 + XF18-55mm f2.8/4 - 1/640 @ f7.1 ISO200 (zoom at 18mm)
Fujifilm X-T2 + XF18-55mm f2.8/4 - 1/4400 @ f7.1 ISO200 (zoom at 22mm)
Fujifilm X-T2 + XF18-55mm f2.8/4 - 1/500 @ f8 ISO200 (zoom at 21mm)
Fujifilm X-T2 + XF18-55mm f2.8/4 - 1/60 @ f4 ISO200 (zoom at 55mm)
Fujifilm X-T2 + XF18-55mm f2.8/4 - 1/1250 @ f4 ISO200 (zoom at 18mm)
Fujifilm X-T2 + XF18-55mm f2.8/4 - 1/140 @ f4 ISO200 (zoom at 40mm)
Fujifilm X-T2 + XF18-55mm f2.8/4 - 1/250 @ f8 ISO200 (zoom at 18mm)
Fujifilm X-T2 + XF18-55mm f2.8/4 - 1/250 @ f3.6 ISO200 (zoom at 35mm)
Fujifilm X-T2 + XF18-55mm f2.8/4 - 1/250 @ f3.2 ISO200 (zoom at 18mm)
Fujifilm X-T2 + XF18-55mm f2.8/4 - 1/640 @ f7.1 ISO200 (zoom at 18mm)
Fujifilm X-T2 + XF18-55mm f2.8/4 - 1/850 @ f7.1 ISO200 (zoom at 39mm)
Fujifilm X-T2 + XF18-55mm f2.8/4 - 1/13 @ f16 ISO200 (zoom at 18mm)
Fujifilm X-T2 + XF18-55mm f2.8/4 - 1/450 @ f8 ISO200 (Zoom at 18mm)


 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
PLEASE SUPPORT THIS BLOG BY VISITING THE ADVERTISERS ON THIS PAGE
By clicking on the adverts you are helping support this blog - thank you.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

ALL IMAGES (UNLESS INDICATED) ARE THE PROPERTY OF MACLEAN PHOTOGRAPHIC AND CANNOT BE USED FOR ANY PURPOSE WITHOUT PRIOR PERMISSION

MacLean Photographic run Tours and Workshops in East Lothian and the Borders of Scotland.  CLICK HERE for more details and availability



Jeff Carter is an Official Fujifilm X Photographer and was named as a Fujifilm brand ambassador in June 2015. In 2016 he worked with the company on the launches of the Fujifilm X-Pro2 in Tokyo and the Fujifilm X-T2 in Paris in July 2016.  You can view his profile and gallery on the Fujifilm website HERE

If you like what you see on this blog please visit our Facebook page and click 'like'



Comments

Popular posts from this blog

REVIEW: Using Nikon Lenses on a Fuji X Camera

Rode Wireless Go for the Fujifilm X-T4

REVIEW: The New Fujinon 2x Converter