JONAS RASK

FUJILOVE
LENS GUIDE

FUJINON
XF16MM F/1.4R WR
This lens guide will be all about how I think of the individual
lenses, and for what usage I f ind them best suited. What this
lens guide will not be about, is MTF Char ts and numbers.
In this episode I will talk about a lens from a g roup of focal
lengths that I don’t use that of ten. The wide ang le lens -
XF16mm f/1.4R WR

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I am a standard focal length photographer.
That means 35-50mm. That is just how my eye
and mind works. - But once in a while I find it
incredibly refreshing to use wide angle lenses. bigger than it probably could have been, and that
This is mainly when I do landscape photography, is the only complaint I have with this lens. The
but also for concerts and general reportage the size. It takes a battery grip and one of the top end
wide angle focal lengths can be quite creative to cameras such as the XT2 or X-Pro2 to feel natural
use. I always think of the various lenses in terms in weight/size distribution. But this glass is grade
of what it can do for my creativity. Not as much A quality optics, so it more than makes up for
how it can render a specific scene as it was meant the size.
to be seen. The image quality of the 16mm f/1.4R WR is
The XF16mm f/1.4R WR is one of Fujifilms superb. at f/1.4 it is sharp to the very edges of the
great light gathering lenses. It features a pull- frame. It doesn’t vignette, and it doesn’t distort.
back-manual-focus-ring just like the 14mm f/2.8 It really is a stellar optic. It has fast autofocus
and the XF23mm f/1.4. This makes the lens a big despite its size, and it has a very sturdy design
that really begs to be taken around the world.
The out of focus qualities of this lens is nothing

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less than stellar. It’s very close to that of the
23mm f/1.4, so expect some great looking bokeh
from this lens.
Even though its not a lens that I use often, I to 24mm in full-frame-land, so it’s not really an
do have some pointers as to where I think it ultra-wide, like the 10-24mm f/4. - It differes
really excels. from the 23mm focal length in that you are now
in “proper” wide angle territory. It makes you

1 LANDSCAPES
A wideangle lens is a musthave for any
rethink your compositions because it simply feels
different from a standard wide focal length.
landscape photographer. It is the only way to The lens is sharp even at f/1.4 - also at long
visually convey the vast epic of the landscapes. distances, so pushing the light at the end of the
The wideangle lenses opens up the scenery and day during sunset is no problem for this lens,
pushes away the background. It gives a feeling even if you forget your tripod. It has a natural
of being in a very immersive scene when you sweet spot at around f/5-6 and its optimal
observe the pictures. The 16mm is equivalent rendering distance is 10-40m out at this aperture.
It renders foliage and greens in a very crisp and
color correct manner.

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 The distortion is barely noticabel, If there is any.
It is really well handled in this lens. Something
that really means a lot when doing landscape
shots. documentary photography can be quite intriguing.
The weather resistance sure comes in handy as Your main subject will stand out much clearer at
well for a trip out into the elements. closed down apertures because you push away
When I look at the shots that I have taken with the background while sucking in the foreground.
my XF16mm f/1.4 there is about 70% landscape - But still you get much information in your frame.
shots. This is clearly what I feel this lens is best A lot of reportage photographers have either 24
suited for. or 28mm focal lengths in their kit because of this
reason.

2 DOCUMENTARY
The way you can get images rendered with
It begs you to get in close, and when you do,
you get great images. It has a great benefit of
a wide angle like the the 16mm for street and not being too wide, and the minimum aperture of
f/1.4 makes it easy to create som unique looking
subject separated images.

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3 MACRO
A complete surprise to me when I first started
using the lens was the incredible near focus
capabilities. This lens is a macro lens in disguise! WHY SHOULD YOU SAVE YOUR MONEY?
- That is, if you can live with the distortion at If you shoot landscapes, have the XF14mm f/2.8,
closeup distances. It focuses to as close as 15 cm! the XF10-24mm f/4 and a tripod and are perfectly
But because of the optical curvature it means happy with those setups.
that the focus plane at these close distances isn’t If you’re a die-hard corporate headshot type of
entirely straight. This means that you will get your photographer this probably doesn’t fit your style
best results when entering your subject. at all!
When you mix up those three shooting
conditions above, you can see that it is a very SO WHY SHOULD YOU BUY IT?
versatile lens. And it really is. If zoom lenses Because you get amazing bokeh and light
aren’t your thing, this lens would be my gathering in a wideangle lens that even does
recommended “holiday/vacation/travel” lens. It is macro. Why haven’t you bought one already?
a very versatile tool.

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