One of Fujifilm's most loved lenses gets rebooted, 10 years later
In what will be music to the ears of Fujifilm fans, the manufacturer has unveiled the Fujinon XF 16-50mm f/2.8-4.8 R LM WR – an update of the beloved Fujifilm XF 18-55mm f/2.8-4 R LM OIS that is now 10 years old.
Having received a development announcement earlier this year, at the Tokyo 2024 X-Summit, the XF 16-50mm f/2.8-4.8 R LM WR was "officially" announced at today's Sydney 2024 X-Summit.
As expected, the main improvement here is the new lens' ability to resolve all 40.2 million pixels on Fujifilm's latest crop of image sensors – something its predecessor was unable to do, given its age and relative simplicity of optical design.
This makes the XF 16-50mm a perfect companion for modern X Series cameras like the newly announced Fujifilm X-T50. Indeed, the company is now bundling the lens as a kit with the X-T50 as well as the X-T5 and X-S20.
In addition to being a high-resolution lens, the XF 16-50mm is also weather-sealed – another important upgrade over its predecessor, and always a welcome feature for a kit lens.
As you may have noticed, though, there is a disparity in the focal lengths between the optics. While the new 16-50mm lens (a 24-75mm full frame equivalent) is slightly wider than its 18-55mm (27-82.5mm equivalent) counterpart, it is also slightly shorter.
That will no doubt make a difference, depending on what you shoot. Personally I find that having a little extra width on a standard zoom is generally more helpful, particularly for video, but mileage will obviously vary. The new lens is also a smidge slower than the old one, dropping from a maximum aperture of f/4 at the long end to f/4.8.
The Fujinon XF 16-50mm f/2.8-4.8 R LM WR goes on sale May 28 priced at $699 / £699 / AU$1,299.
Take a look at the best Fujifilm lenses available for the APS-C X Series as well as the best Fujifilm GF lenses for the medium format GFX system.
