Fujifilm XF 80mm f/2.8 R LM OIS WR Macro Review

Name: Fujifilm XF 80mm f/2.8 R LM OIS WR Macro
Brand: fujifilm

January 18, 2018 | Mark Goldstein |

Introduction

The Fujifilm XF 80mm f/2.8 R LM OIS WR Macro is the first dedicated 1:1 macro prime lens in Fujifilm's XF line-up, and it also has built-in OIS, offering 5-stops of image stabilization. The weather-proof Fujifilm XF 80mm f/2.8 R LM OIS WR Macro lens offers an angle-of-view similar to that of a 122mm lens in a 35mm system, ideal for portrait and macro photography, and a bright f/2.8 maximum aperture for low-light shooting and throwing the background completely out-of-focus. Other highlights include an iris diaphragm with nine rounded blades, an aperture ring on the metal lens barrel, Super EBC coating for improved optical performance, minimum working distance of 25cm/9.8", and an optical formula that comprises 16 elements in 12 groups, including one aspherical, one Super ED and four extra low dispersion elements. The Fujifilm XF 80mm f/2.8 R LM OIS WR Macro lens is available now for £1249.99 / $1199.99 in the UK and the US, respectively. The lens is also compatible with the XF 1.4x TC WR and XF 2x TC WR teleconverters which extend the effective focal length to 171mm and 244mm.

Ease of Use

The Fujifilm XF 80mm f/2.8 R LM OIS WR Macro is one of the biggest prime lenses in the X-system line-up, weighing 750g and measuring 13cm in length, understandable given the amount of glass used in its construction. As you can see in the pictures below, it complements the top-of-the-range Fujifilm X-T2 camera very well, not feeling at all front-heavy and more than matching the body in terms of its build quality.

The Fujifilm XF 80mm f/2.8 R LM OIS WR Macro lens boasts a metal mount, high-grade metal barrel and non-rotating 62mm filter thread. The focus ring is generously wide, smooth and beautifully well-damped in action without being loose, and has a ridged, rubberised grip band. There are no “hard stops” at either end of the 25cm-infinity focus range though.

The lens has a dedicated focus range limiter switch with three settings - Full, 0.5m-infinity and 0.25-0.5m - allowing you to quickly set the focus range for more responsive focusing depending on the distance to your subject.

The Fujifilm XF 80mm f/2.8 R LM OIS WR Macro is the latest weatherproof XF lens to be released, featuring a dust-proof and waterproof structure with weather resistant sealing applied via 11 special seals on the lens barrel, making it a perfect partner for the weatherproof X-T2 camera.

The Fujifilm XF 80mm f/2.8 R LM OIS WR Macro lens has a traditional aperture ring on the lens barrel, which allows you to set the aperture in 1/3 steps, complete with full aperture markings on the lens barrel. The aperture is also shown in the viewfinder or on the LCD screen. The aperture ring is nicely damped and makes a distinctive click as you change the setting. The aperture ring toggles between auto aperture control (the ring is set to A) or manual aperture control (the switch is set to one of the aperture values).

The Fujifilm XF 80mm f/2.8 R LM OIS WR Macro lens is driven by a Linear AF Motor. In practice, we found the auto-focusing system to be fairly quick, silent and reliable - it's not up there with the fastest X-series lenses in terms of AF speed, but it is respectably quick for a dedicated macro lens.

The front of the lens does not rotate on focus, which is good news for anyone looking to use the lens in conjunction with a polariser or neutral density filter.

In terms of accessories, the lens ships with a very large plastic round-shaped lens hood and a lens wrapping cloth, rather than a case.

Focal Range

The Fujifilm XF 80mm f/2.8 R LM OIS WR Macro lens has an angle of view of 20.1°.

Distortion

The Fujifilm XF 80mm f/2.8 R LM OIS WR Macro doesn't exhibit any distortion, as you can see in the photo below, and vignetting is very well-controlled too even wide-open at f/2.8.

Chromatic Aberrations

Chromatic aberrations, typically seen as purple, blue or green fringes along contrasty edges, were only noticeable by their complete absence from our sample images.

Macro

The Fujifilm XF 80mm f/2.8 R LM OIS WR Macro has a close-focus point at 25cm from the sensor plane and a maximum magnification of 1x. The following example illustrates how close you can get to the subject, in this case a CompactFlash card.

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 attention to this aspect of lens use, employing a 9-segment diaphragm with rounded blades for pleasing bokeh. In our view, their efforts have been pretty successful - see the examples below.