Amazon.com: Customer reviews: Fujifilm XF16-80mm F4 R OIS WR

Extremely functional, and practical walkabout lens

Reviewed in the United States on June 16, 2021

I used to think I needed fast prime lenses. I used to carry around the XF 50mm F2.0, XF 16mm F2.4, XC 35mm F2.0, and the XC 50-230. This replaced all of the prime lenses. Having to stop and change lenses for a shot, either because I could not walk to frame the shot or because the subject was short-term... really put a damper on my ability to enjoy my camera.

At 16mm this is very sharp. Every Fujifilm lens is sharp, and I've heard every reviewer claim that each different lens is the 'sharpest'. But I think the secret to Fujifilm lenses is that they are all the sharpest. At 80mm this is very sharp.

At F4 this lets in enough light and with IS (if you have a camera with IBIS), you are given a lot of freedom to use slower shutter speeds in low light conditions. My F2 primes have the exact same problems this lens does in low light conditions. The autofocus is weak in low light. This is a flaw in most Fujifilm cameras and lenses, not specific to this lens. You won't notice any difference from any of your other lenses in terms of autofocus power.

I am using this on the X-T30 and the X-T4. And it is my current go-to lens. I am considering the XF 70-300mm to replace the XC 50-230, but that's a discussion for another review.

But with this lens, I can do 90% of my shooting. The autofocus is solid and the control rings are well made. The lens hood is a bit big, and I question if anyone really uses them correctly. And when in the storage position (backwards mounted) it blocks the manual focus ring. That's my only complaint, and since I don't use the hood often not even a strong complaint.

16 people found this helpful

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AMayday

This has become one of my favorites…

Reviewed in the United States on August 9, 2023

Verified Purchase

I debated whether to give it 4 or 5 stars. I LOVE Fuji and almost everything they make. This lens gets mixed reviews and that’s because even their cheap lenses are stellar, so we’ve all come to expect perfection. This lens isn’t perfect. It’s not as sharp as a prime lens or the 18-55. But it’s certainly sharp enough for most needs, and nothing a little sharpening in photoshop can’t make up for. What it lacks in tack sharpness it absolutely makes up for in versatility. The lens never leaves my camera when I’m traveling because it really give me that bit of extra wide and lots of extra reach.

What I would say is make sure you get a good copy and make sure it’s working right and firmware is up to date. I had to return one (not to Amazon) and then had to update to see the best results. Old firmware had some issues.

I’ve used this lens to shoot landscapes and parties professionally and have not regretted buying it at all.

8 people found this helpful

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David M.

Durable and all purpose

Reviewed in the United States on December 18, 2020

Verified Purchase

The image stabilization seems to be fairly good although not as good as in body image stabilization. It feels sturdy can withstand mud and rain. The lens Hood isn't big enough to be useful, and really should be metal. Not too large of a lens but I use an X-T1 camera. For some reason I find the extra 2 mm in the wide end to make quite a difference. Wide distortion isn't that bad. Should be about $200 cheaper.

One person found this helpful

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R.McK

Sharp, super useful lens!

Reviewed in the United States on October 31, 2019

Verified Purchase

This is another winner XF lens from Fuji! Super useful telephoto, very well built. Yes, I was a bit concerned about the F4 minimum f-stop of the lens, but all the other excellent quality of the lens overwhelm this single characteristic. And, of course, the lens would have had to be significantly larger to have 2.8 f-stop. And I am simply not a person who worries too much about bokeh. The xf 18-55 is a very good lens, but I really wanted the extra reach of this lens, so it really fills a 'need' for me. I was also concerned about the weight. I find this to be a factor with the 16-55 lens. But for me, this lens on my X-H1 is just a fantastically useful combo for the kind of travel, family, and landscape photography that I end up doing. Is it ever going to replace my f 1.4 16mm or my 56mm or my 80mm macro. No, of course not. These are gems that bring joy every single time they are attached to the camera. But this lens will do well for me. Like my X-100f, my X-H1, or my several excellent Fuji lenses, just having and using them brings a certain joy to my life.

29 people found this helpful

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Erich Ball

Great Zoom Range

Reviewed in the United States on April 13, 2023

Verified Purchase

I love the weight of this for the zoom range that you get. The f4 aperture speed is not ideal, of course, for low light photography but with the IBIS in the XH2, plus the lens stabilisation it's quite easy to work around this limitation.

The 24-120mm FF equivalent zoom is very handy and, with the separately purchased 2x teleconverter, will make for a very useful zoom range to carry in a very light package; ideal if you're hiking.

According to reviews I've read the lens is not ideal, as it's supposed to be a little soft in the corners and is not as sharp as some others. Softening of the corners is not really noticeable to me although I'll compose my photograph then zoom out a little so that I can crop back later and get the full photo I want, without the soft corners. Sharpness? I'm not seeing a real problem. I suspect that it's the pixel-peepers, who zoom right in on photographs, who complain about that. For normal use this is not noticeable to me but there are plenty of ways to improve your sharpness anyway.

I'm very happy with this lens.

9 people found this helpful

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Hung Truong

Fit to be a true low-quality kit lens.

Reviewed in the United States on February 28, 2020

Verified Purchase

For all those praising this 16-80mm as "SHARP" Have you all compared it with the Fujinon XF18-55mmF2.8-4 R LM OIS, and the XF 16-55mm f/2.8 R LM WR???. This is my experience on all three of those lenses. the 18-55mm came as a 'kit' lens with my Fuji X-T3, I was very happy and surprised how good it was, way much better than a few of my Nikon supposedly "PRIME" lenses. I kept it for 6 months, then decided to upgrade to the 16-55mm f/2.8; this was "PERFECT". When the 16-80mm released, I read, and watched all the "reviews" hundreds of them from various top sources, I thought it's time to "upgrade" again. Sold the 16-55mm f/2.8, bought the XF 16-80mm f/4, a minimal loss of one stop in aperture, but gaining in the longer reach, and weight... I went out the whole day to test the new lens, try to go and take as much of the same photos I did on both the lenses I had.
They were all disappointed!!! At various settings, and zoomings, apertures, the photos were all let down!!! Center and corners were not as sharp as the two lenses I sold, even compared to the XF18-55mmF2.8-4 "kit" lens, and of course not fit enough to rank up there with the prime 16-55mm f/2.8!!! Luckily I was able to return the 16-80mm, and I ended up purchasing the 16-55mm f/2.8 again. Lesson learned!

50 people found this helpful

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Kurt Miller

Better than expected…

Reviewed in the United States on May 5, 2022

Verified Purchase

This lens surprised me. I have the 16 f1.4, the 35 f1.4 and the 56 f1.2, not to mention the 50 f1.0 (yes, I’m crazy and I paid $1,500 for it but I love that big honkin’ beast). But this 16-80 could , if you were smart, cover that whole range in style and save about $4,000. That’s a LOT of scratch, just to make sure you can shoot with candlelight in the dark with blowout bokeh.

I can almost kick myself for buying those other lenses, though I enjoy them all. But this lens is very, very good. I am extremely happy with it, and I might as well be honest. It’s a “one lens.” Don’t let the f/4 scare you; the IS is so good it lets you make up for the lack of super-wide aperture. Plenty of subject separation, especially at 80mm.

Look, I don’t typically do reviews, because I don’t care about other photographer’s needs. But this lens is VERSATILE, and I don't have to swap lenses or carry more in my backpack. I might super glue it to my X-T2. God bless!

23 people found this helpful

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StuE

Good Lens, Not Quite Good Enough

Reviewed in the United States on July 6, 2021

Verified Purchase

I ordered this lens to see if it could replace my Fujifilm 18-55. Having a good mid-range zoom that was slightly wider and longer than what I've used for the last 8 years was appealing. The 16-80 arrived and I returned it 48 hours later.

As mentioned in the headline it's a good lens but not as a replacement for the 18-55. While the zoom range performed as expected the lens wasn't as good at focusing corner to corner as the 18-55. For video the 16-80 exhibited much more focus breathing. Even though the lens offers a slight gain on the wide side and a significant increase on the long end it was while using these added lengths that the 16-80 had the most trouble creating sharp enough corners.

I don't often take pictures of brick walls, my shots are almost always of three dimensional spaces, so I don't expect razor sharpness center to corner from a lens (especially at this price range). But I do shoot landscapes which includes a good percentage of panoramas. A lens that is too out of focus in the corners creates repeated soft zones across stitched image sets. The 16-80 didn't work very well in my application where the 18-55 has done a good job for years.

Between purchasing the 16-80 at $599 during a sale and selling the 18-55 for $125 I didn't find enough value or improved image performance to support the net $475 expense - $675 expense when it's not on sale.

The 16-80 offers a good range of focal lengths, I could see it as a travel zoom or for less critical family / event shots. The image stabilization was very good but I didn't think it was that much better than the 18-55. If you have the lens and like it your use case is probably different than mine. If you are buying a camera with this lens in the kit you'll probably get along with it. But if you have the 18-55 and shoot more than family/party/travel I wouldn't suggest that the 16-80 is an upgrade.

20 people found this helpful

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Borderlight

Ideal zoom

Reviewed in the United States on July 8, 2021

Verified Purchase

I watched a YouTube video by a photographer who has owned, at one point, every Fuji X-lens before I purchased the 16-80 f4. He rated it a 10 out of 10 and among his top four preferred Fuji lenses. After using the 16-80, I agree. Combined with the Fuji X-S10’s comfortable grip, there’s no problem toting it around. For some it might be a little heavy, but actually only 4.5 oz. more than the 18-55 that I recently replaced. The 16-80 (24-120 equivalent) provides a better range of focal lengths compared to the 18-55. It’s weather sealed, has actual f-stops, OIS that shuts off automatically when used on a tripod, and a consistent f-stop throughout the range that works easier with electronic flash. Use this lens with a couple of fast primes and you are all set for most situations.

3 people found this helpful

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Amazon Customer

Depends on what you need

Reviewed in the United States on September 29, 2020

Verified Purchase

I was looking for an X mount standard zoom mainly for architecture and landscapes. For this purpose, this lens is not sharp enough to the edges, nor does it render foliage very well even where it's sharp. It doesn't stand up to comparison with, for example, an Olympus 12-45mm (same range in Micro Four Thirds numbers, same price). It does have some very nice things about it such as compact size and weight for this zoom range, with nice solid feel and handling.

In case you're considering the Fuji X mount system for the first time (as I was), from trying several lenses and reading lots of reviews, I think it's quite fair to say that Fuji is best for other uses. For example portraiture or street photography, where soft edges are less noticeable, or even desired.

8 people found this helpful

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