Fujifilm 8-16 f2.8 Long Term Review
I never set out to own this lens. When the XT4 first came out a few years ago there was a bundle deal where if purchased together, I would save over £500 on this lens. So given that most of the financial hit will be taken away (if I sold it), I decided to give it a go. To be honest I hardly ever shoot this wide as it’s just not my style, however there were times where this lens came in super useful and I now used it enough to be able to give you a quick review.
Build Quality
I sound like a broken record now but overall the build quality is good. The lens is build very well out of solid materials and everything feels premium. I did notice that the focus ring is pretty loose compared to other f2.8 zooms but this isn’t an issue, just an observation. The body withstands scratches and although I haven’t abused this lens, I’ve never ran into any issues. The lens cap is prone to scratching and it can mark the lens.
Ergonomics
This is a giant and hefty lens that only feels normal on bigger bodies like the XH. Even on an XT this is just too big. The zoom is smooth and well damped. Note that the glass element considerably moves in and out inside the lens although there is no visible barrel. This helps with keeping dust and moisture out for the most part however at the extreme end the lens element is pretty exposed and prone to accidental damage. As mentioned before the focus ring is pretty loose which might make precise manual focusing more tricky but not an issue. The aperture ring is great. The biggest issue with this lens is the lack of filter thread. This means that there is no easy way to attach filters such as ND or CPL. There are solutions however they would double the lens size with ease. For some people this could be a deal breaker.
Image Quality
Image quality is very good. The key take away is that this is a rectilinear lens. To put simply, it ensure that all the straight lines remain straight as you can see in the examples below. If you’re shooting mainly architecture, this is a worthy feature. This isn’t the sharpest lens out there especially at the wider focal lengths however it’s not soft either. Colour rendering and tonality are both good and in line with other Fuji glass.
Autofocus
Autofocus is very good given the LM motors with no real issues to report. I have used this lens on a huge selection of Fuji cameras and all worked great.
Summary
From a technical standpoint this lens is incredible. The image is very good and the fact that it’s rectilinear is fantastic. However I can’t recommend this lens at all, to anyone. First of all is the price… it tends to vary between £1300 and £1600. Secondly it’s the insane size and weight which renders it useless for travel. Thirdly it’s the fact that for less than half the price you can get a Sigma 10-18 f2.8 which is 1/3 of the size and weight while having a proper thread for filters. If you just want a wide angle, this lens is not it. If you’re a pro architecture photographer who needs 8mm and doesn’t travel too much then maybe there is a use case for you. However for 99% of people this lens is pointless.
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