Brilliant Performer | The Fujinon XF 18-55mm Zoom.

I’ll put my cards on the table right away: I’ve developed a slightly tumultuous relationship with zooms. They’re very useful tools but I’ve come to realize they also tend to drive me into what I’d call visual laziness.

When I decided to jump to the X system as my one and only kit, I also embraced the fact that I’d be shooting with nothing but primes. In fact much of that decision was coloured by my experience with the X100’s fixed focal length and the way it affected my shooting reflexes. Not that this was anything new: I used Nikon primes as well. But committing to a single focal length for extended periods of time wasn’t something I’d really done before.

When I shoot a prime I need to move — Obviously; I need to walk in order to alter my distance to the subject; and while I walk my brain works, and when my brain works it notices its surroundings and finds details or angles I often would’ve overlooked otherwise. But with a zoom… No matter how much I try, it’s always much too easy to fall back to those old reflexes. Twist in, twist out.

Maybe if we stopped calling them zooms in the first place. That word doesn’t do justice to what’s going on optically. Maybe instead we could describe them as multi-focal lenses. There’s definitely something pretty fantastic about having the equivalent of 8 primes on a single lens… IF you use it as such. IF you understand how to use each individual focal length in the right context, and how each one changes the entire aspect of an image way beyond making things look nearer or closer. Compression, distortion, spatial perception. Of course you can also use it to get a closer shot of that mountain way out there; but perhaps if you actually GO to the mountain, something amazing will happen along the way.

Right, so where was I? Ah yes: no zooms for me.
Huh…

1/60 sec at f/4, ISO 800 | 44mm.

1/600 sec at f/3.2, ISO 1000 | 28.9mm.

ENTER THE “KIT”

I had seen several images taken with the Fujinon XF 18–55mm lens already and had come away rather impressed. London fashion photographer Michelle George for one; Damien Lovegrove ’s work as well. And I also knew this would be a very useful lens to have in my kit. What I didn’t expect was to fall in love with it. It’s just outstanding.

First off: the build is fantastic. Everything about it is smooth, sturdy and slick. I adore my XF 35mm lens, it’s one of the best lenses I’ve ever used; but compared to this one and to the 14mm, I have to admit it feels very 1.0. Optically it performs beautifully, but Fuji seem to have refined the builds significantly with their second crop of lenses: they have more heft, they feel less plasticky and the entire mechanism is much more polished. Even their auto-focus sound is less jarring. Speaking of which…

GET YOUR MOTOR RUNNING…

I thought the zoom Fuji had sent me was broken. I honestly did. I was in the studio when I mounted the lens to the camera for the first time; I tried the AF at 18mm, about three feet away: no sound. None of the usual in/out focussing motion I’d become accustomed to with the 35mm. No bzzz…grrr as it searched. So I took it off, mounted it again. But this time I zoomed to 55mm and focused further away… It did work; but it was dead silent. This lens uses a new linear motor which completely transforms the AF experience. Much faster and much, much smoother.

All Fuji lenses so far have offered outstanding optical quality and this one is no exception: as most reviewers have stated, this is not your standard kit lens. At all. Yes, it has a variable aperture, something I never thought I’d ever purchase again. But in all other aspects this is a pro level lens as far as I’m concerned. Do I wish it was f/2.8 all the way though? Yes, I most definitely do. But I’ve psyched myself into thinking of it as f/4 with a 2.8 bonus at 18mm, which is pretty much where that aperture is confined to. For strobe lighting it isn’t at all a problem as I’ll rarely go below f/4 anyway. If I do I’m going for something else entirely and probably hovering more around f/1.4 on the 35mm.

Now, in natural light this will obviously become more important. But thankfully the OIS system (image stabilization) works extremely well. When you couple this with the X-Pro1 or X-E1’s high ISO performance you end up with a very capable solution. I’ll still reach for faster glass if I can but it’s not a deal breaker. My only gripe is not being able to set the aperture by looking down at the lens, something I’ve become accustomed to with the X cameras; but then adaptation is always the name of the game.

1/220 sec at f/3.2, ISO 2500 | 30mm.

1/40 sec at f/4, ISO 1600 | 55mm.

1/60 sec at f/4, ISO 1250 | 55mm.

OVF TRICKS

Fuji could’ve said: it’s a zoom lens, use the EVF; and it would’ve been perfectly acceptable. But although you’ll definitely want to use that EVF for any mission critical framing, they’ve actually implemented a surprising OVF solution. When you hold the viewfinder selector for a few seconds, it magnifies the view around the frame lines instead of switching you to the EVF. You’re still in the optical viewfinder but no longer framing with what can be a ridiculously small rectangle in the middle of the window. An icon appears in the display in case you should forget you’re using the magnified view. Hold the switch again to return to normal. Great idea. What’s more: this view won’t reset on its own and will remain until you manually switch it off; so you can go to the EVF and back or turn off the camera without having to wait those sometimes precious few seconds again.

SOLD?

Absolutely. As surprised as I am to say this, it’s a no brainer. Until we get the extremely anticipated 56mm f/1.2 — yes, it’s now 1.2!!!!! — This will be my 85ish equivalent. It’s a great lens to have in my arsenal, especially for studio work.

If you’re looking for an all around travel zoom lens, this will certainly do the job and then some. Personally, I still prefer something smaller and less visible and the X100S remains the ultimate travel solution for me. As I said earlier, I like committing to a single focal length and forcing my brain to make the most out of it.

But I love what Fuji has done with this lens. And it certainly bodes well for the upcoming XF 55–200mm. More random images below. For all posts and essays featuring this lens click here.

Later…

P.S You know what I’d like? A zoom lens on which I could lock the focal lengths. Lock that barrel down. I know, it's weird… Not going to happen but I’d love that.

Adaptation | Testing a Nikon Adapter with the X-Pro1.

I have a gig coming up for which I'll probably need the new 14mm XF lens (what's life without rationalization), which means finally jumping in with both feet and getting rid of my remaining Nikon gear. Why? Because I don't use it, I don't plan on using it and it'll help fund the new kit. If a situation arises where I need a DSLR (or anything else) I can always rent. But before doing so, I wanted to see if I could possibly salvage some of my glass for use with the X-Pro1. You never know. One of the great advantages of mirrorless systems is their ability to use most lenses out there with an appropriate adapter. When I first looked at this option last summer, the landscape was rather bare but now: choices aplenty. So I turned to Ebay and ordered a Rainbow Imaging Nikon G adapter with aperture ring for a whopping $24, shipping included. I figured I didn't have much to lose.

I hadn't been expecting much at this price point so I was pleasantly surprised: metal, sturdy feel, didn't look half bad either*. 

But the best part of it is: it actually works. A few bucks and I'm shooting the X-Pro1 with a whole new range of focal lengths. Perfect right? Hmm... It is fun... But there are some  things to be aware of:

• The camera needs to be set to Shoot Without Lens which means no focal length info in the EXIF.
• G lenses don't include an aperture ring and the one on the adapter doesn't communicate with the camera, so you set it by eye through the LCD/EVF while half-pressing the shutter. It's very... Let's go with "vague" for lack of a better term.
• No communication means no info: everything you shoot shows up as f/0. Fastest glass I've ever owned ;)
• No AF and no IS either. That fast and heavy telephoto just got a serious case of the jitters (case in point: a Nikon 70-200 2.8 that made no sense at all).
• This specific adapter's aperture ring has an extremely short throw. It's about 1/8th of a turn from one end to the other. Not very precise to say the least. 

You quickly realize that beyond this basic ability to mount a lens, it actually needs to make sense overall. There's a reason the XF lenses are so light: they're meant to balance with the X-Series bodies. Some of the lenses I tried made the kit seriously front heavy. Interesting to see though... 

Bottom line: I'm glad I didn't spend a boatload on a $200+ adapter. From the few days I've had with it, it's just not something I'd use as part of my main shooting workflow. Compared to shooting native lenses it leaves a lot to be desired.

That said I will be keeping a few things, and surprisingly not what I would've expected. Expensive and fast Nikon glass is usually on the heavier end of the spectrum so the few lenses I'll be keeping are actually my lightest and cheapest; which is perfect from a seller's standpoint. I'm keeping the Sigma 70-300 Macro, maybe the cheap but often impressive Nikon 50mm 1.8D (still not sure about that one) and the original Lensbaby. Stuff I wouldn't get much for anyway and that might be fun to have around. They also all have their own aperture ring (well, the Lensbaby doesn't but it's fixed anyway). I would've preferred keeping the 10mm fisheye but the small built-in tulip hood that surrounds the glass shows up in the images. If I miss it I'll get the Samyang alternative sometime in the future.

That Sigma tele btw has always surprised the hell out of me: it's not the best built lens in the world, it's not fast (f/4-5.6), the manual focus ring is wobbly, it doesn't have IS but... Every time I've used it I've been super happy with the results. I guess they must've done something right. You just need to be aware of its weaknesses and work around them.

I'm including my tests below: first the 70-300 (#1-2-3-4-5), then the 50mm (#6-7-8-9) and finally the Lensbaby (with the f/2 aperture insert). In case you're wondering the images of the X-Pro1 with mounted lenses above were shot with the X100.

Later

* I've heard this adapter's fit can sometimes be less than perfect and the connection to the camera can be a bit loose. I was lucky as mine doesn't have that problem. But it's something I wanted to mention in case you plan on buying.