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Home โ†’ Reviews โ†’ Cameras and Lenses โ†’ Fuji XF 8-16mm f/2.8 R LM WR Review

Fuji XF 8-16mm f/2.8 R LM WR Review

By Nasim Mansurov 5 Comments
Last Updated On February 5, 2024

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Fuji XF 8-16mm f/2.8 R LM WR vs Fuji XF 14mm f/2.8 R

Even though the Fujifilm XF 14mm f/2.8 R is a fairly old lens, it is still a very sharp optic, as can be seen from the below charts:

Fuji XF 8-16mm f/2.8 R LM WR MTF Performance 12mm

Fuji XF 14mm f/2.8 R MTF Performance

Obviously, we are comparing a high-quality prime to a zoom lens, but still, the differences are obvious – the 14mm f/2.8 R is a much sharper lens at every aperture, especially in the extreme corners.

Fuji X-T30 Image Samples #33
X-T30 + XF8-16mmF2.8 R LM WR @ 14.9mm, ISO 160, 1/80, f/8.0

Fuji XF 8-16mm f/2.8 R LM WR vs Zeiss Touit 12mm f/2.8

What about the Zeiss Touit 12mm f/2.8 lens? Let’s see how the two compare at the same focal length of 12mm:

Fuji XF 8-16mm f/2.8 R LM WR MTF Performance 12mm

Zeiss Touit 12mm f/2.8 MTF Performance

The Zeiss Touit 12mm f/2.8 isn’t as sharp as the XF 14mm f/2.8 R lens, but it is still a relatively strong performer. Here, we can see that it has about the same level of sharpness as the XF 8-16mm f/2.8 R LM WR wide open, and slightly better center sharpness at f/4. However, when it comes to its corner performance, it is certainly better than the XF 8-16mm f/2.8 R LM WR at f/5.6 and smaller apertures.

Fuji X-T30 Image Samples #7
X-T30 + XF8-16mmF2.8 R LM WR @ 16mm, ISO 160, 1/240, f/5.6

Fuji XF 8-16mm f/2.8 R LM WR vs Fuji XF 10-24mm f/4 R OIS

Lastly, let’s take a look at how the XF 8-16mm f/2.8 R LM WR compares to the popular XF 10-24mm f/4 R OIS at similar focal lengths. These are obviously very different lenses, especially when it comes to their price points:

Fuji XF 8-16mm f/2.8 R LM WR MTF Performance 10mm

Fuji XF 10-24mm f/4 R OIS MTF Performance 10mm

As you can see, the two lenses differ quite a bit in their sharpness characteristics. While the Fuji XF 8-16mm f/2.8 R LM WR is not wicked sharp at f/2.8, its performance is excellent when stopped down a little, especially in the f/4-f/5.6 range. It has noticeably better mid-frame and corner performance, and suffers a bit less from field curvature issues.

Let’s see what happens when the two lenses are zoomed in a little. Here, I am comparing 16mm on the 8-16mm to 18mm on the 10-24mm, because I don’t have any 16mm data for that lens:

Fuji XF 8-16mm f/2.8 R LM WR MTF Performance 16mm

Fuji XF 10-24mm f/4 R OIS MTF Performance 18mm

Once again, the performance of the XF 8-16mm f/2.8 is very consistent at different focal lengths. While the 10-24mm suffers when zoomed in, the 8-16mm shows excellent overall sharpness, especially in the extreme corners.

Overall, the Fuji XF 8-16mm f/2.8 R LM WR is very good optically. While it is not as stellar as some of the Fuji primes like the XF 14mm f/2.8, it delivers very consistent results at every focal length, which is quite difficult to achieve for a zoom lens…

Table of Contents

  • Overview
  • Optical Features
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