Fujifilm Fujinon XF18mm F2 R Lens

December 01, 2019

Fujifilm Fujinon XF18mm F2 R Lens – Great results.

I have found this to be a first-rate wide-angle lens, very sharp and precise, without absolutely minimal distortion. The build quality is excellent, with precise focus and aperture settings. Now that the price has dropped dramatically since the launch, it is highly recommended as one of a set of prime lenses for the fuji x series of cameras. Particularly recommended for photographers who like to retain human (manual) control and use prime lenses for optimum quality.

Of the three prime lenses launched with the x-pro1 this is optically the weakest. As a travel lens however it is great. It’s light, focusses quickly and, combined with the x-pro1’s excellent high iso handling, can take photos in really low light. I’ve knocked off one star as optically the 35mm and 60mm are noticeably better. If i could only take one lens on a city break though, it’d be this one.

A great lens for your fuji, i have the 27mm also and the 35mm 1. 4, but this lens is so sweet. Use it for street work, landscapes, and even some portrait work but get up close.

4 lens and in many forums people say that this lens is the least good x series lens. It may not be *as good* as the excellent 35mm but it is very good and wide open is working well enough for me to not think about stopping down unless it’s for artistic reasons. I have quite got to like the 28mm (in 35mm equiv) focal length and will keep it when fuji brings out the long awaited 24mm f/1. Just to add, i am very fussy about lenses and this is my backup to nikon d800e. I have noticed that many people who own this lens have been selling and buying the new zoom. It may be worth a look on auction sites for lightly used versions, it may save you a little as there are quite a few for sale out there at the moment.

4 but wanted something wider and physically smaller/lighter. I was also considering the 16mm but the deal breaker was the 18mm’s smaller stature (and lower price). I took this lens with me on a recent holiday and it performed excellently. The f/2 aperture is great for low light shots; images are sharp and colours are nice. I didn’t experience any problems with slow or noisy af hunting and the low profile & weight mean it’s a great ‘street’ lens. I have an x-t10 and even though this isn’t massively smaller than the 35mm, the pancake style nature of the 18mm makes a big difference to the overall feel of the camera. Imho, the 35mm is a better lens but the 18mm is different enough to make a direct comparison pointless.

Bought this lens in used, but otherwise mint condition. It may be one of the older lenses in the xf range but it performs perfectly when matched to my x-pro1 body. I can’t say if xt1 users would find the af sluggish but i certainly didn’t. Pin sharp across the frame when used at f8 and also very good when fully stopped down. There is a slight softening at the edges when wide open but in real world use this is hardly an issue, especially when coupled with the shallow depth of field the f2 appeture gives you. Handling wise this is a compact lens that fits the ‘rangefinder’ style of body i have with the x-pro1 perfectly. The fully marked aperture ring works well and the ‘fly by wire’ manual focussing is smooth and predictable. Because of it’s size, the combination doesn’t garner much interest and can be used as a descrete street camera. The lens is equally at home capturing landscapes or for close in portraits. I’d also say it would make a great travel option if you need to travel light.

One of the first fuji x mount lenses released with the x-pro 1. The design is externally focusing with a traditional focus motor, which with the 35mm f1. 4 lenses resulted in slow and slightly noisy focusing. Since the focus throw on this lens is so short, the focus speeds tend to be better. The centre of the frame is always very sharp even from full aperture. Unfortunately, the same cannot be said for the edges and corners, which are soft, and remain slightly soft even when stopped down. As a result, this isn’t an ideal architecture of landscape lens, as the edges on the ‘long’ side of the frame never fully ‘come in’ (on 16mp). On a positive note, it is small and light, and the performance is good for most social, reportage and street photography. For the price i paid not long after release, it was not good value.

Great price for a very underestimated lens. I am loving the results from it.

+ solid construction, but aperture ring is slightly looser than 35mm lens. + 116g, light+ 52mm thread (same as 35mm lens)+ lens hood has rubber cap+ convenient external aperture ring+ manual focus ring well damp+ reasonably sharp wide open, less sharp than 35mm lens. + great image quality, colours+ beautiful bokeh but not much for a wide angle lens+ no visible vignetting+ reasonable af speed, faster than 35mm lens- dust gets inside the lens easily- lens cap difficult to pinch- rubber lens hood cap easy to drop off when knocked- not internal zoom- noisy focusing mechanism, not good for video. – slight chromatic aberration (purple fringing) at wide open- easy to flare- manual fly-by-wire implementation has lag, impaired by evf low refresh rate- minimum focus distance of 18cm- have to use evf when shooting at minimum focus distance. – ovf framelines covers less than 100%. Photos will be larger- ovf parallax adjustment not that significant for wide angle lensin terms of optical quality, the 35mm lens is one notch better. However, i still find it a joy to use on the x-pro1 because that sensor is just too good. I actually use this lens more often than the 35mm lens because i prefer a wider view.

Here are the specifications for the Fujifilm Fujinon XF18mm F2 R Lens:

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Lightweight and versatile 18mm XF F2 Lens (equivalent to 27mm on a 35mm format) produces enhanced image resolution right to the image edge
All glass aspherical lens polished to perfection and treated with Super EBC coating
High quality metal barrel and precision machined 1/3 step (19 stops) aperture ring
Filter size: 52mm. Specifically designed to maximise the mirrorless design of the body the X Mount has a short flange back distance of 17.7mm
F2.0 Maximum aperture. Maximum magnification – 0.14x