Fuji XF 16mm f/1.4 R WR

Fuji have officially announced their latest prime, the FUJINON XF 16mm f/1.4 R WR,→ the first prime in their line up to offer weather resistance. You can count on a Versus article involving this lens once I get my hands on it (and have ample time to do my testing and analysis), but for now, you can check out a few initial impressions posts on the lens.

The first is from Tomasz Trzebiatowski over at Fuji Love. It’s a nice overview, however there is one statement that has me genuinely stumped on its meaning:

Images are crisp, but still not overly sharp.

I can’t say that I’ve ever heard of over-sharpness being a problem on the hardware level. I’d be interested to know what Tomasz means by that.

Next up, Neill Soden, despite admitting he’s not a fan of wide angles, appreciated the 16mm, and has a good size comparison photo of the new wide angle next to what was previously Fuji’s chunkiest prime, the 56mm f/1.2. Neill’s impressions are a testament to the impact 2mm can have on wider focal lengths.

Max Demartino has posted full resolution JPEGs over on his site. Full crops from a pre-production lens are a rare find.

Flemming Bo Jensen has probably the most interesting to read impressions on the new wide angle. If I had to choose one review to read this would be it. The astro capabilities in particular have my interest piqued.

Björn Moerman has gone to town, posting test charts, product shots, bokeh samples, the works.

UPDATE:

Ivan Joshua Loh has posted his thoughts on the 16mm as well. It won’t be replacing his 23mm f/1.4 anytime soon, but that will be the case for just about anyone who owns the 23mm. Ivan references the weather sealing of the 16mm though, which could end up being a big reason why I have it attached to my X-T1.

Ben Cherry is another recipient of a pre-production unit. I’m happy to see him address the potential duplication or even triplicating of adding this lens to your bag, and he calls attention to the size difference between it and the 14mm, which is substantial.

Conclusion

Fuji has really gone to town on shipping out samples to get the word out about their new kit. There’s a bit too much gushing for my taste, but it’s tough to get beyond the initial excitement of a new lens and get the feel of it, warts and all after only a few days. Sometimes you need weeks to really get a sense of whether or not it’s something you reach for regularly.

I’m looking forward to having my own impressions of this lens. It will be interesting to see how it compares to the 14mm f/2.8, and both the 10-24mm f/4 and 16-55mm f/2.8 at 16mm.