Fujifilm XF 16-80mm F4 R OIS WR Review
Introduction
The Fujifilm XF 16-80mm F4 R OIS WR is a new weather-resistant, standard 5x zoom lens for Fujifilm's X-series mirrorless cameras.
The Fuji 16-80mm lens offers an angle-of-view range similar to that of a 24-122mm lens in a 35mm system and features a constant maximum aperture of f/4 throughout the range.
Other highlights include a close-focus point of 35cm, an iris diaphragm with nine rounded blades, a linear motor-driven focusing system that allows the camera to to achieve fast and silent autofocus, and silent operation with very little breathing for video recording.
The Fujifilm XF 16-80mm F4 R OIS WR's optical formula is comprised of 16 elements in 12 groups, including three aspherical lens elements to control spherical aberration and distortion and one ED glass lens element to reduce field curvature and spherical aberrations.
It offers an impressive 6.0 stops of built-in optical image stabilisation (OIS) according to CIPA guidelines and is sealed at 10 different locations, making it both dust and weather resistant and capable of operating at temperatures as low as -10°C.
The Fujifilm XF 16-80mm F4 R OIS WR lens is currently available priced at £769.99 / $799.95 in the UK and the US, respectively.
Ease of Use
The Fujifilm XF 16-80mm F4 R OIS WR is a compact, lightweight standard zoom lens, weighing 440g and measuring 88.9mm when set to the 24mm focal length.
It does gradually extend as you zoom from 24mm to 80mm, reaching 131.5mm in length at the longest focal length.
The overall build quality of the Fuji 16-80mm is very good, certainly in keeping with a high-end X-series body like the X-T3 that we tested it with.
The Fujifilm XF 16-80mm F4 R OIS WR lens has a metal mount, mostly plastic construction with some metal elements, and a non-rotating 72mm filter thread.
The zoom ring is generously wide and has a ridged, rubberised grip band. Zooming is not internal, meaning the length of the lens changes while you zoom by about 4cms.
The Fuji 16-80mm F4 R OIS WR features a dust-proof and waterproof structure with weather resistant sealing applied to 10 different areas of the lens, making it a perfect partner for the weatherproof X-T3 camera that we tested it with.
Both the zoom and the focus rings are smooth in action without being loose. Zoom creep is not an issue. The focus ring is wide enough for easy use but has no “hard stops” at either end of the focus range.
The Fujifilm XF 16-80mm F4 R OIS WR lens has a traditional aperture ring on the lens barrel, which allows you to set the aperture in 1/3 steps. It is clearly marked with the 6 full aperture settings that run from f/4 to f/22 plus the Auto setting, and it has a hard stop at either end. The aperture ring is nicely damped and makes a distinctive click as you change the setting.
The Fujifilm XF 16-80mm F4 R OIS WR offers 6.0 stops OIS, meaning you can shoot in a wide variety of situations including low-light and indoors without worrying about camera shake.
There's no dedicated switch to turn it on/off though, requiring a visit to the main menu system, although usefully the camera automatically detects when it is fixed to a tripod or when panning and adjusts the OIS mode accordingly.
The Fujifilm XF 16-80mm F4 R OIS WR lens has an internal auto-focusing (IF) system with a very quiet linear motor. In practice, we found the auto-focus to be fast, quiet and accurate, and well-suited to both stills and video.
Thanks to the IF mechanism the front of the lens does not rotate on focus, which is very good news for anyone looking to use the lens in conjunction with a polariser or graduated neutral density filter.
The lens features full-time manual focusing. After half-pressing the shutter button to autofocus on the subject, adjustments can then be made using the manual focus ring. You can even engage manual focusing by rotating the focus ring while pressing the shutter halfway during AF lock.
In terms of accessories, the lens ships with a large plastic petal shaped hood and the usual Fujifilm soft lens bag.
Focal Range
At the 16mm end of the zoom range, the Fujifilm XF 16-80mm F4 R OIS WR lens has an angle of view of 83.2 degrees.
16mm
At the 80mm end, the angle of view narrows to 20.1 degrees, which can be described as short telephoto.
80mm
Distortion and Vignetting
At the wider end, the Fujifilm XF 16-80mm F4 R OIS WR exhibits little barrel distortion, producing a very good performance for a 24mm focal length.
There's some slight vignetting in the corners at both ends of the zoom range when shooting at f/4, requring you to stop down to f/8 to completely avoid it.
16mm
80mm
Chromatic Aberrations
Chromatic aberrations, typically seen as purple or blue fringes along contrasty edges, are not really a problem with the Fujifilm XF 16-80mm F4 R OIS WR lens, as shown in the examples below.
Macro
The Fujifilm XF 16-80mm F4 R OIS WR is not a macro lens. The close-focus point is at 35mm from the sensor plane over the entire zoom range and the maximum magnification is 0.25x at the 80mm focal length. The following example illustrates how close you can get to the subject.
Sunstars
The Fujifilm XF 16-80mm F4 R OIS WR produces very nice sunstars when stopped-down to f/16 and f/22, although unwanted flare effects are apparent when shooting directly into the sun, even with the lens hood fitted.
Bokeh
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.
Fujifilm have paid close attention to this aspect of lens use, employing a 9-segment diaphragm with rounded blades for more pleasing bokeh.
In our view, their efforts have been pretty successful when shooting at the f/4 maximum aperture - see the examples below.
Sharpness
In order to show you how sharp this lens is, we are providing 100% crops on the following pages.