Tested! Fujifilm XF 16mm f/1.4R WR
May 6th, 2015
These are my first tests of a brand new, production copy of Fujifilm's XF 16mm f/1.4R WR prime lens. Raw files were processed in Iridient Developer. No barrel distortion or chromatic aberration corrections were applied since none are needed for this fantastic new weather-resistent wide-angle lens, equivalent to a 24mm on a full-frame sensor. At very close focus distances there is an ever-so-slight hint of some barrel distortion (right edge of photo 3 for example) but at further distances, the lens appears to be perfectly corrected. Note that the curvature of the bridge deck at the top of photo 22 is real and is not due to the lens! Some slight perspective corrections were applied to yield parallel buildings on a few shots. EXIF metadata can be seen under the enlarged images after clicking on a thumbnail.
Basically this is a "must have" lens for anyone wanting to shoot wide-angle with a Fujifilm X-system. The new 16mm is on par with the very best, fast f-stop, wide-angle primes from any manufacturer, and with its near complete lack of distortion and chromatic aberration, I'd say that it is better than most too. With Fujifilm's Nano-GI lens coatings, flare is also exceptionally well controlled (see photo 29), something that fast, wide-angle primes are often not good at. Sharpness at the plane of focus is also very good, even wide open at f/1.4, as seen in shots 21 and 33, and wide f-stop bokeh when focusing close (photo 9 for example) is also surprisingly smooth and pleasing. I am definitely purchasing the new 16mm for myself!
1
XE2_BC15_02844-rd
2
XE2_BC15_02863-rd
3
XE2_BC15_02866-rd
4
XE2_BC15_02871-rd
5
XE2_BC15_02876-rd
6
XE2_BC15_02884-rd
7
XE2_BC15_02886-rd
8
XE2_BC15_02887-rd
9
XE2_BC15_02896-rd
10
XE2_BC15_02903-rd
11
XE2_BC15_02905-rd
12
XE2_BC15_02908-rd
13
XE2_BC15_02923-rd
14
XE2_BC15_02925-rd
15
XE2_BC15_02935-rd
16
XE2_BC15_02938-rd
17
XE2_BC15_02941-rd
18
XE2_BC15_02948-rd
19
XE2_BC15_02953-rd
20
XE2_BC15_02958-rd
21
XE2_BC15_02964-rd
22
XE2_BC15_02975-rd
23
XE2_BC15_02982-rd
24
XE2_BC15_02999-rd
25
XE2_BC15_03004-rd
26
XE2_BC15_03007-rd
27
XE2_BC15_03009-rd
28
XE2_BC15_03021-rd
29
XE2_BC15_03026-rd
30
XE2_BC15_03028-rd
31
XE2_BC15_03030-rd
32
XE2_BC15_03043-rd
33
XE2_BC15_03047-rd
34
XE2_BC15_03053-rd
35
XE2_BC15_03055-rd