Fujifilm XF 16mm f2.8 R WR Honest Lens Review11 min read

This is one of favourite lenes ad the same time it is also one of my least favourite lenses, but not for the reasons you might think. Let me explain. 

The Fujinon XF 16mm f/2.8 R WR, is the lens that has spent the most time on my Fuji X-T30. In fact it probably stayed on my camera for 4 years plus and I have had this nifty lens for 5 or more years. 

In fact I only started to swap it out when I bought the Artisan 1.2 (50mm equivalent) lens and even then I have still used it a whole bunch. That is a another review I hope to do very soon, its a terrific little lens. 

So yes I guess you could say this is going to be a real life, lived-with-the-lens review. 

First impressions

I remember the day I picked it up in Hong Kong. I basically had read or heard nothing about it, but instantly fell in love with the form factor. 

I wasn’t put off by the wide nature of the lens, because I had gotten used to using the Fujifilm XF 18-55mm f/2.8 at 18mm. Actually I should say unprepared because the view from this lens feels much wider than the the kit lens, and to be honest I would never want to go any wider than this.

To mention that kit lens, it’s a great and I will also do a review on that. It came along with my now deceased X-T1 and I used the thing exclusively for a very long time. 

Review of the XF 16mm f/2.8 R WR

So back to the form factor. The lens is not flush to the camera body by any means, but it rather pokes out like a cute nose, it doesn’t protrude too much and it actually enhances the aesthetics of the camera.

To me it kind of reminds of some of those expense vintage lens I can’t afford, in appearance at least. I think you can also get this in silver as well, but I always prefer black for gear. Although if somebody handed me a rainbow colored M10 I wouldn’t say no.

The image below shows that the 16mm lens is just a little larger than the 7artisans 35mm.

The balanced handling

I have no reason to believe it would be any different for any other Fuji body the lens’ shape and size is excellent. Its light, and in the case of my camera it sits so well in my hand. You don’t even notice it. 

Probably my main reason for buying this is lens is the fact the finger grip on the XT-30 is minimal, so the longer heavier kit lens used to pull in the wrong direction making the handling a little more precarious. 

Discreet

But for the possible exception of compact cameras or similar Ricoh cameras I don’t believe any camera is invisible or discreet (people even notice these). If a YouTuber or camera review tells you:

“People will never notice you when you take a photo with this small camera.”

I call BS. Especially if you’re a stranger in a strange country. It’s difficult for behave normally when we looking for good shots. We often stand around looking for interesting scenes that include, buildings, people or light. So at best we look like tourists, at worst we look like thieves looking for someplace to rob.

This 16mm f2.8 lens does what all small camera bodies do. It looks less threatening. Big lenses, bodies simply look too obvious and intimidating, even when shooting from the hip. 

This neat little lens excels, on a small body like the X-T30 for these very same reasons.

Weather sealing

I want to tell you I have used this lens in all conditions. I want to tell you I have used this camera neck deep flood waters like Steve McCurry, or in the desert or hot steamy jungle environments. The truth is, I haven’t. My X-T30 and yours, is not weather sealed.

However the camera and lens has been in, humid environments and in rain with the help of an umbrella in the rain. So in this sense I have not tested out the weather sealing.

Build Quality & Durability

What is more important to me when talking about the lens’ quality, is the question of robustness.  I have dropped it with the camera attacked several times from knee height. It has however survived perfectly. 

The lens’ body is mostly metal. The focus rings and aperture rings have that nice grooved grip for easy adjustments and are very intuitively placed and spaced. The markings are clear and are easily seen. 

No complaints at all about the build quality at all.

Image Quality & Sharpness

This is the important one. I mean no matter how tough or great a lens looks, it needs to perfom well enough.

The image spharpness of the lens is really good. I would say the sweet spot for me is around F6. However I really shoot beyond that. I do however often shoot at around 2.8, I try not to but it happens. In these cases the images are a bit soft.  

Distortion

At the sweet spot or hight, when the light permits the images are great. The only down side of the lens is the distortion at the edges. It is important to not, that is not the problem of the lens as much as the characteristic of the focal length. Wider lenses often distort around the edges.

That said I think this is a great lens for those wide shots where you’re catching wider scenes. Below I have an example where I almost took a photo from the hip, I managed to capture a fairly decent street scene, at an important moment.

I’d suggest in most cases to keep the main subject in the Center of the frame. The minumn focal range of 17 cm is not wonderful. So you will get nothing that resembles as macro shots with this lens. 

If you do get close to your subject, for a close up portrait for example you will get a fisheye like distortion. Its better for you to find the right distance, if you want avoid this obvious distortion. 

Low Light & Aperture Performance

At f/2.8, this camer is a not a low light demon. You will need to search out strong pools of light to get the best out of the picture. This is the main reason I often find myself shooting wide open, which often requires low shutter speeds, which it turn often leads to blurry pics.

My suggest would to keep this lens for better lit subjects and you will do fine. 

Autofocus 

There is not much to say about this, in my opinion in good light as is with the camera itself, autofocus is fine. Not great. That seems to be a greater issue with Fujifilm though. 

Again best to avoid low light scenarios if you want sharp images. For the photo below I was sitting at a small restaurant, when this girl ran up up to say hello. I snapped away and the focus worked really well.

Street Photography

Low light scenes aside, I would say this is a great lens for street photography for the following reasons.

• If your looking to be subtle and don’t want to disturcb the scene the wide angle nature of this lens make its good for hip shots. The field of view is simply wider, so a greater chance to capture something of what you want in your frame. With practice this can get surprising successful.
  Its a great lens for the wider shots. 
• If you’re looking to capture a busy street scene with groups of people, queuing up at a shop, or pedestrians charging across the street, this is a good lens.
• I have enjoyed a lot of success with this lens at in door settings where the space is tight, good example is shots on the subway. A 50mm lens for example is simply too tight in closed spaces.
• I have found it particularly useful for shots of tall, or wide buildings as well.
  in tight, enclosed spaces — trains, stairwells, home environments.
  

(For this pic, it was a complete from-the-hip kind of shot)

There is a downside to some these positive aspect as well.

• I have already mentioned the distortion, if the subjects are too close. Although if this is what you are looking then it can be a positive. 
• This is not a problem of the lens but the focal length. Wide shots don’t make it easy to single out specific elements of the scene.
• I find it easier to take better street shots with a 50mm, you can single out an element in a scene, it might be somebody smoking or reflection in a window. Its much hard to captcha a big scene of people (I mostly do street photography) and make it into good photo. There are simply so many moving parts. However if you manage to do it, then that is amazing.
• If you are into street portraits I think this focal length could be challenging. That is unless your looking for environmental portrait where the surroundings are all part of the story.

Honest Final Thoughts

Would I recommend this lens. That is a resounding yes. I think everyone should try out this focal length. It is so much fun and rewarding, especially when all the elements come together. 

The prime lens looks great on the camera. Its light, its fun and it’s weather proof. Spend sometime with this focal length. There is one down side to this 16mm focal length. You will need to get much close to your subjects. The 35mm or 50mm equivalent lend you a more comfortable distance. That’s unless your shooting from the hip and people might not notice at all. However prepare your gentle should for many missed and blurred shots.

There is nothing wrong with this lens, its a great lens. If you want low light abilities move on to something that can give you that f1.4 or f1.2. The lens is very durable and will not let you down. 

If you buy this lens, you will have a lot of fun. I know I did. You may not settle on this lens and focal length but its so fun and comfortable to handle. I’d suggest to spend a year or so with a focal length, it will help you to improve, collect images and have a lot of fun in the process. That’s the whole point of photography if you ask me.