a hands on review
Fuji expands the optical system of its X cameras with the introduction of the XF 55-200mm (83-300mm equivalent) telephoto zoom lens. It compliments the current medium range zoom, the Fuji 18-55mm (27-83mm equivalent), and will be the second of three zooms intended for the X series cameras. The super wide angle 10-24mm (15-36mm equivalent) will complete the series later in the year.
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| The Fuji 55-200mm zoom mounted on an X-Pro1 and shown next to the current 18-55mm lens. |
The build quality of this lens feels solid and comfortable, weighing in at 20.46oz (580g). It is 4.65" (118mm) long with a diameter of 2.95" (75mm). With the hood it extends 7.25" (184mm) from the camera. It accepts 62mm filters, and focuses as close as 3.1' (1.1m) for a magnification of .18x. The variable aperture of f/3.5-4.8 closes down to f/22.
My first test is always to examine the sharpness of a lens, with particular attention to the corners of the frame. This lens passed with flying colors. Corners were sharp at all focal lengths and even with the aperture wide open. I have included some of the test images below with a link to download the high res version so you can judge the performance for yourself.
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| There is no apparent linear distortion at any focal length as you can see from the photo above and those below. Click here to download a hi res version of this file. |
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| This is a brick wall test shot at three different focal lengths, 55mm, 100mm, and 200mm. Download the hi res versions using the links below. |
The photos above also demonstrate the lack of linear distortion at all focal lengths. Vignetting also appears to be absent.
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At 3.1' (1.1m) the lens is not setting any records for close focus, but with the equivalence of 300mm focal length you can get substantial enlargements like the example above. |
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| The new zoom is a comfortable size as can be seen in this comparison with the 18-55mm model. |
The lens hood is large but can reverse on the lens for storage, making it a more compact package for travel. The optical viewfinder does not have frame lines that zoom in and out to show the focal length as it does for the 18-55mm lens. It does show a frame line for the 55mm focal length and the relative position of the focus spot within the frame. With a lens of this extreme length frame lines would be impractical. An electronic viewfinder is really the only way to go.
A big plus of the lens is its Optical Image Stabilization (OIS) feature, which is activated by a switch on the lens. This adds 4.5 extra stops of stability for hand held photography. All the test images in this post were shot hand held.
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| Click here to download a hi res version of this image. This image should provide a good example of there resolution capabilities of this zoom close to full extension. |
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| Click here to download a hi res version of this image. |
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| Check out the corner sharpness of this image. Click here to download a hi res version of this image. |
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| Click here to download a hi res version of this image. |
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| Click here to download a hi res version of this image. |
Conclusion:
Looks like Fuji produced another winner with the 55-200mm for its line of zoom lenses. It shows true professional qualities: no distortion, solid build, high resolution, image stabilization, and quick focus. This is a lot for a lens with a $699 price tag, much better than most zooms I have tested in this price range, and even better than some costing several times as much.
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