Fujifilm just announced the XF 18mm f1.4 R LM WR Lens. We tested it out to see just exactly what it is capable of shooting. Here is our review.
The size of this lens is a little taller than a 16 millimeter 1.4 but it is still a compact lens. Overall, it is not that heavy and fits nicely on a Fujifilm xt4 body.
The image quality on this lens is excellent. It was sharp when wide open at the minimum focus distance and you get that nice fall of the bokeh. Fujifilm does note that minimal chromatic aberration is a design that they built in the lens.
The minimum focus distance on this lens is quite impressive, as it can focus as close as 20cm. This makes this lens considerably more versatile. When shooting wide open at 1.4, the lens is still sharp at its closest possible focus. With its ability to focus so close, the out-of-focus bits of the image get very dreamy making for some really beautiful bokeh.
When stopped down to f16, for instance, the lights have that cool starburst look, and the bokeh rounds are near perfect.
The lens is designated as a WR lens, this means that it is weather-resistant against most elements. This feature makes this an awesome lens for travel and documentary work.
Another great addition to this lens is that it has a proper aperture ring, and it can go all the way from 1.4 to f16. The automatic lockout is also nice if you want to shoot this in a fully automatic mode.
The 35-millimeter equivalent to this lens is 28 millimeters, which is a fantastic focal length. This would great for landscape and maybe street photography.
This is the perfect lens for night photography. We were able to shoot some great shots while using the Xt4 with the 18mm. Overall, it was a great experience. The night was very bright with a super moon, so it was easy to see everything perfectly in the dark. The 1.4 aperture helped keep the shutter speed fast and ISO low. We were shooting at ISO 250, wide open at 1.4 with an exposure time of 10 seconds. We recommend this lens to anyone interested in night and astrophotography.
Smooth Focus
With such a smooth focus, this new lens can definitely handle shooting in the bright desert light. We took the opportunity to take the lens out to shoot the Desert X exhibits around the area.
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