Fuji XF 16-55mm f/2.8 R LM WR lens review with samples

Thanks for your reviews. It`s lovely to listen to them. They are best mix of duration vs. detail and do give me a good impression of what improvements those Fujiglases might bring to me. Please keep on sharing your experiencs ... especially with Fuji of course :)

The xh1 and this lens are made for each other, I very rarely take this lens off mine, the xh1's ibis takes the 16-55 mm to another level, great for photography and steady enough for video,and the larger xh1 body balances the lens beautifully.

Very useful review, cheers. Would it be possible to do a side by side comparison of image quality of this one and 18-55 f2.8-4 across the focal range please?

You are my absolute reference for lenses reviews !!
HUGE THANKS, Chris !
Take good care of you. :-))

For still photography this lens is fantastic. It’s way sharper and the color and contrast are far better than the 18-55. It’s night and day with my XT3 and my 18-55 and 16-55. I can tell the difference without pixel peeping. The lens is not big at all. It’s smaller than all other manufacturers equivalent for Mirrorless and much much smaller than full frame equivalent. Please be honest to people when doing reviews. This lens is a lot better than the 18-55.

Is there any cheaper equivalent from other manufacturers?

how is the zoom ring?? Is it smooth? want to usw foe video purposes?

Use it on a camera body that has Ibis and stop worrying about it. Nice review though.

Just picked one of these up used. Had an 18-55 up until recently, but wasn’t using it. But then, I got some freelance work where I could really use a general zoom. Very happy with it so far!

Did u Revenew fuji 70-300?

Now with a T4, there won't be a demand for new lenses to be OIS. Sad for us T2 users.

I would so like to love this lens, but it just falls flat for me. This is giving basically equivalent results to a Nikon Z 24-70 F4 full frame lens, that weights less, is smaller and provides better or equal image quality. For me personally this is one reason why I will very much reconsider switching to a Fuji system as good glass is everything (I do love that they are the only ones that have a decent mirrorless aps-c lens line up at Fuji)

227th.

Who looks at the corners of photos? If you have people looking at the corner of your photos, then they are not very interesting to begin with.

If only the 18-55 had weather sealing

The Case for Christ, I love that book!

Does it really have a soft zoom mechanism

Chris, I have been following your reviews for a few years now and always enjoy the balanced way you approach them. Found this review interesting as I have both these lenses, I will need to do some comparisons. Personanly the water resistance was a big draw to me for travel photography. I also do a lot of IR photography and the 16-55mm's ability to stop down past f8 without creating a horrible IR hot spot is an advantage for me over the 18-55mm which cannot really go below an aperture of 5.6 without the tell tale spot in the middle of the image becoming obvious. A bit specialised I know but a factor for me.

Makes me realise how forward Samsung was with their 16-50mm F2-2.8 lens, real shame you never tested this beast.

With the Xt4 this lens is pretty much perfect

Christopher, if you use this lens in the XT-4 that has inbody stabiluzation, that problem is solved?
Than you and congrats in the channel 🙏

Not sure why so many praises this lense as after 35mm the photos is totally garbage, especially at 55mm is impossible to keep sharp photos, I wish I could return it but will be definitely selling it.

Been checking out reviews of the 18-55 for a while now, but your review/comparison did it for me, and I've just bought a new 18-55, and can't wait to see that it'll do. Thanks for your factual and honest reviews. 👍👍👍

I am considering this for xt4 which has 'IS'. Would is change Christopher's mind?

Equivalent numbers seem off. Fuji is 1.5 crop factor, so it's 24-82.5 f/4.2 equivalent.

is this compatible with fuji xa3?

If you got a camera with ibis in it, I'm sure the 16-55 would take the cake over the 18-55.

If this is as good as the Canon 24-70 f2.8 L it's a bargain; that lens is nearly £2K; I've got the MK1 version (adapted for the X-H2) but it's starting to malfunction and becoming uneconomical to repair. I'm mighty tempted to replace the Canon lens with this.

Now that the XT5 is out, this lens has become more enticing than ever.

I personally like primes. I have the 16mm 1.4, 23mm 1.4, and the56mm 1.2, and I really love the image quality. However, I find myself bringing the X100V out almost exclusively nowadays, and when I need zoom, I leave all the fast primes at home and just use the 16-80. Additionally, the 56 1.2 is pretty difficult to focus on kids and moving objects wide open. So I ended up stopping down to 2.0 or 2.8 anyway. I used to bring the 16mm 1.4 for indoor gatherings, but again, nowadays I almost exclusively bring the X100V, sometimes with the WCL converter if I needed the wide angle. So the primes have become like trophies in the camera box at home. I sometimes wonder if I actually like shooting primes at all! 🤣

This is the reason I might switch to the XT5 + XF16-55 F2.8 given there’s IBIS in that body now. When i needed the zoom, I can probably live with the extra weight. And when I go out and about, the compact X100V is still my first choice. So this might simplify my gear to X100V, and the XT5 + XF16-55, and possibly another tele zoom for the occasional wildlife photography.

Nice review, I have XT30 pair with fuji 16mm 2.8 and 35mm 1.4, looking for a lens that could bring in a go.....16-55 2.8 or 18-55 2.8-4 should i buy....? or just add anothe 50-140 to get all the lens range, i am still considering, what do you think

my only worry is the lack of weather sealing on the 18-55 :(

So depressing watching your videos a few years later - "this comes in at a very pricey £900" - It's currently £1799 on WEX haha

Thanks a lot for this video, Christopher. I just love how all of your reviews follow exactly the same workflow, it really makes comparison of the different lenses and their quality a breeze!
In one of the latest videos, you mentioned that now you have X-H2 - exactly the camera I want to get, but wondering how Fuji XF 16-55mm f/2.8 R LM WR will perform with 40MP sensor? Thanks again

i hate lens without OIS and hate body without IBIS, cause not everybody not drinking coffee.
if a 200USD lens has no OIS, its understandable.
if the argument is to keep the lens small and compact but u still have to bring the tripod than its defeating the argument it self.
small lens + tripod or large lens + OIS?
why cant anybody be just like panasonic? they can make small lens with OIS or small body with IBIS.
gx85 for example.
if the argument the larger sensor needs bigger body to put the IBIS, well sony A7c is a full frame with IBIS.

Fujinon xf 16-55mm f2.8 r lm wr
A lens of remarkable quality in optical and mechanical terms, excellent brightness but a very big flaw: the rubber of the zoom (ring grip) is worn and detached when using the lens in a non-intensive way and for short periods. Considering the cost of the lens, I expected the best in everything, also because it is sold as a "tropicalized lens" that is resistant to bad weather, dust, etc.; for the replacement it must be sent only to the assistance center in Milan at your expense, the cost of the tire change between 100 and 150 euros. An old zoom lens used for over 20 years on an analog SLR the tires are practically undamaged.
BIG DISAPPOINTMENT (video available)

but 18-55 isn't weather resistance

This lens will never leave my collection. It’s super sharp, never misses a shot, 2.8 constant aperture is great, the build quality is insane and it produces great sunstars (unlike the other Fuji standard and travel zooms). I like the 18-55 for travel, but if quality really matters, the 16-55 is superior.

Shamai palp? at the begninning of the video? Did I catch that right? What does it mean?

Yes, Canon 17-55mm is old fashion. I wish they made a newer lens 16 55mm f2.8 for the RF system ..canon is walking backward, not forward not enough lens for apsc...any recommendations I planing to get second camera a fujifilm xs10 or xt30ii or xh1 xt200 which is best ?

Sample variation is the big issue here.. I've seen 18-55s way better than lower grade 16-55s and vice-versa. The same for focus accuracy.. buying a lens is chance and luck.

Putting this on sx20

This lens is released in 2015, and reviewed in 2019...

In 2024.. I'm still waiting the newer version of this😞

Unnecessary annoying music

For how big and heavy it is it shouldn’t have that much vignetting. A uv or nd filter is gonna make it much worse. That’s the dealbreaker for me.

You won’t be happy on video shoots with 18-55. Not really good in auto focus. For video purposes 16-55 is the way to go.

I tried two of these when it first came on the market... both de-centered. Then quickly realized that my 18-55 was a much better lens, lighter, with OIS. Looking forward to the Mark II version of the 16-55 though, which may just win me over!

FUJİ cameras have IBIS right now and for this reason, there is no need to be negative about lack of image stabilization. X T 5 and new ones have IBIS.