Fujifilm WCL-X100 Review
Introduction
The WCL-X100 is an 0.8x wide-angle converter for the popular Fujifilm X100 compact camera. This conversion lens attaches directly onto the X100 and converts its 35mm lens to a 28mm wide-angle. Manufactured in Japan, the Fujifilm WCL-X100 features an all-glass optical construction using four elements in three groups, with Fujinon EBC coating. The Fujifilm WCL-X100 is available in black or silver for £249.99 / $349.95 in the UK and the USA, respectively.
Ease of Use
The Fujifilm WCL-X100 lens
The Fujifilm WCL-X100 lens, isometric view
The Fujifilm WCL-X100 lens, isometric view
For a tele-convertor, the Fujifilm WCL-X100 is a rather big lens, adding an extra 37mm to the X100's existing optic, although it's not too heavy at 150g.
The Fujifilm WCL-X100 lens alongside the X100 camera
As you would expect from a tele conversion lens that costs this much, build quality is excellent. The Fujifilm WCL-X100 feels very solid in your hand, with the all-metal construction inspiring confidence and matching the X100 camera. As the WCL-X100 simply screws into the front of the X100's lens, the focus and aperture rings are the standard X100 ones.
Front of the Fujifilm WCL-X100 lens
Rear of the Fujifilm WCL-X100 lens
There are no markings of any kind on the WCL-X100. It accepts 49mm filters, so the LH-X100 lens hood and PRF-49S protective filter can be used on the conversion lens as well as the X100 itself.
Front of the Fujifilm WCL-X100 lens
Rear of the Fujifilm WCL-X100 lens.
The WCL-X100's optical construction employs four glass elements in three groups to help keep aberrations to a minimum and uses Fujinon's Super EBC coating.
Front of the Fujifilm WCL-X100 lens, in-hand
The lens ships with front and rear lens caps and a nice quality cloth bag to store it in.
Auto-focus
The auto-focusing speed and noise with the WCL-X100 are exactly the same as on the X100 - we couldn't discern any noticeable differences between the two. The main change from a usability point of view occurs when using the optical viewfinder - rectangular markers showing 80% of the the edge of the frame are displayed to help you compose the shot correctly. Otherwise the X100 operates in exactly the same way as it does without the WCL-X100 fitted.
Chromatic Aberrations
Chromatic aberrations, typically seen as purple or blue fringes along contrasty edges, are impressively well controlled with the WCL-X100- the examples below show the worst-case scenario.
Light Fall-off
With the lens wide open at f/2, you can see some slight light fall-off in the corners. Stopping down helps, although to completely get rid of this phenomenon, you will need to use an f-stop of f/4 or smaller.
Macro
The Fujifilm WCL-X100 commendably maintains a close-focus point of 10cm from the film/sensor plane, exactly the same as the X100's native 35mm optic, and Fujifilm quotes a maximum reproduction ratio of 0.8x for the lens. The following example illustrates how close you can get to the subject, in this case a CompactFlash card.
Close-up performance
Bokeh Examples
Bokeh is a word used for the out-of-focus areas of a photograph, and is usually described in qualitative terms, such as smooth / creamy / harsh etc. Below you'll find some examples, but you are also encouraged to check out our sample images.
Sharpness
In order to show you how sharp this lens is, we are providing 100% crops on the following page.