Top positive review
5.0 out of 5 starsCheap But Great
Reviewed in the United States on January 20, 2016
This lens seems to be a screaming deal, especially when bundled with the 16-50mm kit lens and the closeout XA-1 body, heavily discounted. This bundle is so inexpensive at current price levels, you could pay as much for a single comparable item.
If you read reviews, the X-A1 body is very well liked, and logically should be the standout item in the bundle. After using the body and lenses for a while, one may just conclude that the 50-230mm lens is the star of the outfit.
This lens produces terrific images, even in less than perfect light, handheld -- one could say out of all proportion to it's price. I am constantly surprised by the sharp, lively, images produced by this lens in far less than ideal conditions. Another reviewer had compared this to a comparable Nikon VR zoom, which I also have. The OIS seems to perform better than the VR in this instance. In any event, I just like the images produced by this lens. It's hard to describe, but there's something about shooting with this lens on a Fuji X body, with the camera set to some of the useful film simulation modes.
It's working so well that I am using it on my XE-1 body now, and am no longer looking at the comparable XF zoom lens. The XF version may be marginally better (not actually sure how to define better), but at this level of image production, why pay more for less reach?
Some may say if they had made the barrel out of metal, in Japan and not China, Fuji could easily charge much more than the current price for it. It is probably only because it's so cheap that it is not getting the attention and acclaim of some of the other Fuji XF lenses. This lens is punching way above it's weight in terms of images produced and the inherent value represented.
As for the maximum aperture of F4.5 -- there are plenty of great F4.0 zooms made by each major manufacturer, since not everyone can afford the F2.8 versions. With this lens, defocused fore and background is pretty easy to obtain.
The images won't know it's made by an "economy" lens.
