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Image Quality: Sharpness
Any concerns I had about the weight of this lens all but disappeared as soon as I looked at the images from it. This is one very impressive optic. Images are sharp throughout the zoom range and straight from wide open over the majority of the image frame. It’s surprising to see a zoom of this range maintain high image quality even at the extremes of the long end, but it does it. The edges are a little softer wide open, but still quite decent.
I was able to shoot wide open with this lens for any situation, and stopped down, the lens is blisteringly sharp and the edges improve. It’s really a very top-notch effort in this department.
Having a lens that covers this broad telephoto zoom range and yet maintain sharpness throughout the range is a wonderful thing, and it opens up the lens to be used for a truly broad range of subjects.
Image Quality: Bokeh
One thing that is generally compromised when shooting with zoom lenses is bokeh. While the very best zooms are typically pretty good in this department, they also typically cost upwards of $2,000. Mid-range telephoto zooms such as this rarely impress in the smoothness of the out of focus areas, but Fuji bucks this trend convincingly. The 55-200mm has surprisingly smooth bokeh throughout the zoom range. It’s very neutral with no rings on the specular highlights and smooth tonal transitions. Even in the shot to the left, which contains very busy foliage behind the subject, the lens is able to blur the area nicely and provide excellent isolation for the subject.
Image Quality: Color, Chromatic Aberration and Flare
The Fuji 55-200mm has very rich, vibrant color with a neutral color balance. Chromatic aberration is well controlled, with essentially zero lateral CA visible in shots, even at 100%. Longitudinal CA is also well managed and purple fringing isn’t a problem either. Due to the large included lens hood, lens flare is something that is rarely an issue with the 55-200mm, though shots directly into the sun show a veiling flare and loss of contrast.
Overall, the optical prowess of the lens is quite remarkable, especially given the relatively low cost.
Another great lens for fuji it seems… which is pushing me closer to clicking the add to cart on b&h 🙂
Great rev!
thanks for an information packed review that was enjoyable to read , im glad i will be adding this lens to my
x mount stable… the ois which impressed you so , is it noticeably better than ois in the 18-55 2.8-4? [which seems good to me .]
the only lenses i have currently are the 14mm and 18-55 in native mount….this will be welcome
Jordan Steele thank you for nice review !
Thanks for your interesting article and great sample shots. It would be handy to many people, I expect, if you might add your shutter speeds to the captions; people already know the lens aperture range.
I purchased the 55-200 zoom about three months ago, but I’ve been disappointed with the image quality. The sample photos that you provided are great. I’m not sure why my experience with this lens has been somewhat different. The images that I’ve shot have not been as sharp as your samples.
I totally agree with Jordan. This telezoom is an excellent performer, its price is very reasonable. No matter if it is used at full aperture or stopped down, the results are top notch. Love this lens!
It’s a couple of years since you posted this review and lots of lenses have been added to the Fuji system since then. Would you consider adding a post-script to this review to reflect on how the lens compares to more recent Fuji telephotos like the 50-140 or the 90? Like many others I love the compact Fuji primes but often find myself missing a little telephoto reach. I want something longer than my 56 but the bulk of the 50-140 seems to defeat the point of a small mirrorless system. Is the 55-200 the answer I’m looking for or do the newer lenses outclass it?
The newer lenses are definitely better optically. The 90 is the best all around lens yet made for the X series in my opinion. That said, it’s also less versatile. The 50-140 is fantastic, but much, much larger. For what it’s worth, the 55-200 is still what’s in my bag. I may have to add the 90 at some point, though not as a replacement. I did a comparison between the 50-140 and the 55-200 when I had the former for review: https://admiringlight.com/blog/fuji-50-140mm-f2-8-vs-fuji-55-200mm-f3-5-4-8/
Great comparison Jordan – thanks for passing that on. The 90 certainly is tempting. One of the reasons I haven’t yet abandoned my Canon 5DmkII is the 135 f2 which is close to my favourite lens of all time. I’m personally very comfortable with the constraints that field of view imposes so the Fuji 90 may just tip me over the edge! Incidentally I’d like to say how greatly I appreciate and admire your work. The quality of the sample images you provide with your reviews is always exceptional. Thanks for all the advice – and inspiration – you share with us all.
Mine is noticeably soft at 170mm and above, at any aperture. Even manually focusing it. Quite disappointing.
I’ve got it and love it. Use the 55-200mm even for my professional work (theater/ event/ portrait photography). See some samples here: https://tilmankoeneke.de/?s=55-200mm
Cheers, Tilman