{"id":5065,"date":"2015-06-03T17:05:29","date_gmt":"2015-06-03T22:05:29","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/admiringlight.com\/blog\/?p=5065"},"modified":"2015-06-03T17:05:29","modified_gmt":"2015-06-03T22:05:29","slug":"review-fujifilm-fujinon-xf-16mm-f1-4-r-wr","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/admiringlight.com\/blog\/review-fujifilm-fujinon-xf-16mm-f1-4-r-wr\/","title":{"rendered":"Review: Fujifilm Fujinon XF 16mm f\/1.4 R WR"},"content":{"rendered":"

The Fuji 16mm f\/1.4 R WR represents the latest fast prime lens to be added to the Fujifilm X lineup.\u00a0There are now four prime lenses that feature apertures f\/1.4 or faster spanning from super wide to short telephoto. Unlike the other Fuji X primes, the 16mm f\/1.4 is the first weathersealed prime lens in the Fuji lineup, and it fills the niche for a fast super-wide lens. \u00a0The 16mm f\/1.4 has the same field of view as a 24mm lens on a full frame camera, and so is useful for a very wide range of applications, from landscape and architecture to environmental portraiture. \u00a0Can this lens hold its own with the other excellent Fuji primes?<\/p>\n

\"The<\/a>
The Fujinon XF 16mm f\/1.4 R WR on the Fujifilm X-T1<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Construction and Handling<\/h3>\n

The 16mm f\/1.4 R WR shares its design philosophy with the established Fujinon XF lenses, and most closely resembles the 23mm f\/1.4, though as you’ll see below, it’s slightly longer and slightly larger in diameter. \u00a0The overall construction is excellent, with an all metal exterior shell and lens mount, and a solid and smooth focus clutch mechanism for manual focus. \u00a0Perhaps it’s due to the size, or perhaps some small changes that are individually hard to pick out, but the 16 mm f\/1.4 feels like the most solidly constructed Fuji lens I’ve used, even if only by a hair.<\/p>\n

\"The<\/a>
The Fujinon XF 16mm f\/1.4 is slightly larger than the 23mm f\/1.4 and 56mm f\/1.2, but maintains a similar construction and feel.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Despite the slightly larger design, the lens handles as well as any of the other fast Fuji primes. \u00a0You’ll probably want a camera with a bit of grip, so the X-T1 or X-T10 would work very well. \u00a0The other Fuji X cameras will work beautifully too, though I’d recommend one of the add-on grips when shooting with the 16mm, just to make things feel a bit more balanced.<\/p>\n

The 16mm f\/1.4 WR is the first weather-sealed Fuji prime lens, and so features a rubber gasket at the lens mount and some internal sealing as well to help resist water and dust. \u00a0I didn’t shoot in any particularly heavy rain conditions, but I did shoot with it during a passing shower for a short time, and the lens performed admirably, with no apparent intrusion of water into the lens or camera.<\/p>\n

The lens comes with a petal shaped lens hood that reverses easily on\u00a0the lens and snaps confidently into place. \u00a0The hood provides good shading and front element protection without being overly bulky.<\/p>\n

\"The<\/a>
The 16mm f\/1.4 with its included hood<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The focus ring on the 16mm f\/1.4 features the same focus-clutch mechanism found on the 14mm f\/2.8 and 23mm f\/1.4. \u00a0Pull back the focus ring to enter manual focus mode, and you get a full distance and depth of field scale and hard stops at either end of the range. \u00a0Note that on newer camera firmware versions, you must also select manual focus on the camera before it’s enabled. \u00a0The focus ring is smooth to operate, though damping is light.<\/p>\n

The lens also has an aperture ring like most of Fuji’s lenses, and in continuing the tradition of varying aperture ring resistance, it is a looser ring than the recent WR zoom lenses, and has a similar feel to that of the 23mm f\/1.4. \u00a0I’m not sure why Fuji can’t decide on a ring resistance and use that for all of their lenses. \u00a0It can’t be that hard to do. \u00a0There are loose rings like the 14mm f\/2.8, slightly tighter like on this lens and the 23mm, and stiffer rings such as the 60mm macro or 16-55mm f\/2.8 and 50-140mm f\/2.8. \u00a0Personally, I’d like all of the rings to operate similar to those on the f\/2.8 zooms, which have the perfect blend of resistance and ease of use.<\/p>\n

Autofocus performance<\/h3>\n

The 16mm f\/1.4 doesn’t feature one of Fuji’s quietest linear motors like many of the zoom lenses, but the autofocus performance is quite good nonetheless. \u00a0Focus locks on swiftly and very quietly. \u00a0There is some noise if you really listen for it, but unless you are in an exceptionally quiet room, you won’t hear it during normal operation. \u00a0Focus accuracy was very good, and I don’t believe I had a single misfocus during the testing period.<\/p>\n

Focus does slow somewhat in lower light, like all the Fuji lenses, but the speed remains usable in these conditions.<\/p>\n

Continue: Image Quality<\/a><\/h4>\n

<\/p>\n

Image Quality<\/h3>\n

The XF 16mm f\/1.4 R WR fits in a somewhat crowded wide-angle group in the Fuji X lineup, though it’s the only 16mm prime in the lineup at this time. \u00a0There are three zooms that have the 16mm focal length and the 18mm f\/2 is just a bit longer and a bit slower while the 14mm f\/2.8 fills a wider view. \u00a0However, it’s the only super wide with a bright f\/1.4 aperture, and this fact gives the lens some versatility. \u00a0However, it’s only truly versatile if it’s optically good at most settings. \u00a0Fortunately, Fuji has pulled a rabbit out of its hat with one of the best corrected lenses in the X-Series lineup.<\/p>\n

Sharpness<\/h4>\n

The XF 16mm f\/1.4 is quite a sharp lens. \u00a0The lens starts off with high-resolution over the vast majority of the frame right from f\/1.4 and improves from there. \u00a0At the widest apertures only the corners show some softness, while the rest of the frame shows very good resolution. \u00a0Stopping down to f\/2.8 or even better, f\/4 or f\/5.6, brings the corners up to very good territory and the rest of the frame to excellent. \u00a0At smaller working apertures for architecture or landscape use, you can achieve corner-to-corner sharpness. \u00a0The ability for the lens to work very well throughout its aperture range lets you choose the aperture for the desired depth of field you need for the shot, rather than worrying about ‘stopping down for sharpness.’ \u00a0Among the existing XF primes, it’s right near the top. \u00a0I think it’s a sharper lens than the XF 23mm f\/1.4 and similar in performance to the 56mm f\/1.2. \u00a0Truly excellent performance here.<\/p>\n

\"Arches<\/a>
Arches with the Approaching Storm – Fujifilm X-T1 with Fujinon XF 16mm f\/1.4 @ f\/11<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Bokeh<\/h4>\n

The fast f\/1.4 aperture can be helpful in providing some subject separation for wide view environmental portraiture or isolating details while providing some context in the image. \u00a0Fortunately, the bokeh rendered by the 16mm f\/1.4 is quite good. \u00a0While some nervousness can creep in at further focus distances, images where the subject is focused close up leads to buttery smooth backgrounds and smooth, round specular highlights with just a hint of a brighter outer ring. \u00a0Even when focused further away, the subtle blur provides a really pleasing look to the images that makes the subject simply pop and lends real depth to the images. I was very pleasantly surprised by how the 16mm performed in this regard.<\/p>\n

\"Flowers<\/a>
Flowers below the LeVeque Tower – Fujifilm X-T1 with Fujinon XF 16mm f\/1.4 @ f\/1.4<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Contrast, Color and Chromatic Aberration<\/h4>\n

I think the most remarkable thing about the 16mm f\/1.4 is the consistently rich color and contrast that, to my eyes, is essentially identical at every aperture. \u00a0It doesn’t matter whether you’re shooting at f\/1.4 or f\/8, the contrast and color renderings are rich, vibrant and bold. \u00a0The contrast profile is actually reminiscent of Zeiss lenses to be honest. \u00a0There’s often very little post processing, even from a flat developed RAW file, that needs to be done. \u00a0In fact, I actually found some of the JPEG conversions in camera to be a bit too bold when used with this lens…sometimes color and contrast needed to be backed off in the JPEG engine if shooting with a bolder film simulation like Velvia.<\/p>\n

Also surprising is the exceptionally low levels of chromatic aberration. \u00a0Lateral CA is essentially zero, as in, I can’t readily see any in my images, even when viewing at 100%. Even longitudinal CA is extremely well controlled, with only a small red fringe visible in very specific circumstances, and even then it’s quite limited. \u00a0In some circumstances, a small amount of purple fringing can be induced, but it’s very rare and quite minor when it does occur. \u00a0I was not expecting an f\/1.4 wide angle to\u00a0perform this well with regards to CA.<\/p>\n

Distortion, Flare, Vignetting and Coma<\/h4>\n

There’s got to be a weakness with this lens, though, right? \u00a0I mean, no lens is perfect. \u00a0And, well, this lens isn’t either, but we have to go to the end of the review to find it. \u00a0But first, let’s go to more good:<\/p>\n

Distortion….what distortion. \u00a0Much like its 14mm brother, the 16mm f\/1.4 is almost perfectly corrected, optically, for distortion. \u00a0I think I detected a slight hint of barrel distortion in one image, but I’m not even sure about that. \u00a0What’s there is extremely minor, and it fully optically corrected. \u00a0There are no distortion software profiles applied to this lens, and shots, even with lots of straight lines, are quite free of distortion. \u00a0If you look at the first example on this page, you’ll get an idea, as no corrections were applied to that image. \u00a0Eminently impressive.<\/p>\n

\"The<\/a>
The 16mm shows impressive resistance to flare<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Also impressive is the 16mm’s resistance to flare. \u00a0It’s truly one of the best performing lenses against bright light that I’ve used. \u00a0Shots with the sun in the frame show almost no reduction in contrast and ghosting, when you can induce it at all, is limited to a few small spots that are barely visible. \u00a0I was frankly astonished by the flare performance when shooting with the sun in the frame.<\/p>\n

Even vignetting is under control right from f\/1.4. \u00a0There’s some visible corner shading at f\/1.4, though it’s very minor. \u00a0By f\/2.8 it’s irrelevant in the field. \u00a0So…this lens is sharp, has nice bokeh, excellent flare control, low distortion, almost no CA and low vignetting. \u00a0Unfortunately for those looking for the perfect astrophotography lens, there is a weakness, and that weakness is coma.<\/p>\n

\"Buckeye<\/a>
Buckeye Lake Night – Fujifilm X-T1 with Fujinon XF 16mm f\/1.4 @ f\/1.4<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The 16mm f\/1.4 unfortunately does show some coma effects\u00a0at wide apertures, and there’s minimal improvement even stopped down to f\/2.8. \u00a0If shooting subjects with point light sources (such as stars), as you get towards the edge of the frame, the stars will display a flat disc shape around the point source. \u00a0How much this bothers you will be up to each photographer, but there are other lenses, such as the Rokinon 12mm f\/2<\/a>, that perform notably better in this regard. Below is a 100% crop of the image above, showing the coma on the star on the left.<\/p>\n

\"100%<\/a>
100% crop – Coma<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

However, with only that one knock against an otherwise exceptional performance, I believe the 16mm f\/1.4 to be among the finest lenses available for the Fuji X system. \u00a0Well done, Fuji.<\/p>\n

Continue: Conclusion and Image Samples<\/a><\/h4>\n

<\/p>\n

Conclusion<\/h3>\n

Pros<\/h4>\n
    \n
  • Solidly built weathersealed lens with excellent focus controls<\/li>\n
  • Fast and accurate autofocus<\/li>\n
  • Very sharp across most of the frame from f\/1.4 and corner to corner sharp stopped down<\/li>\n
  • Very pleasing bokeh that adds depth to the images<\/li>\n
  • Outstanding color and contrast at all apertures<\/li>\n
  • Very low field relevant CA<\/li>\n
  • Almost no\u00a0distortion<\/li>\n
  • Excellent flare resistance at all apertures<\/li>\n
  • Low vignetting<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n

    Cons<\/h4>\n
      \n
    • Largest Fuji X Prime at its release<\/li>\n
    • Some coma when shooting point light sources<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n

      Again, a very short ‘cons’ list above. \u00a0Fuji keeps cranking out great lenses, and the 16mm f\/1.4 is one of their finest. \u00a0It brings the sharpness and low distortion of the 14mm f\/2.8 and combines it with the great wide aperture performance of the 56mm f\/1.2, while keeping almost all lens aberrations at a minimum. \u00a0The lens is simply optically stellar. \u00a0The only shooters who should pause a bit are those who are looking to use this lens for astrophotography, as it does show some notable coma. \u00a0However, for almost all other shooting scenarios, it’s really hard to improve on this lens. Other than that, the only real sticking point is that it’s a bit larger than some of the other primes, but even then, it’s not really that much larger. \u00a0If you’re in the market for a fast 24mm equivalent, go buy the lens now. \u00a0The 16mm f\/1.4 shows Fuji at the top of their game.<\/p>\n

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