FUJIFILM XF 50-140mm f/2.8 R LM OIS WR Reviews
Sharper than my Nikon 70-200mm lens
By Ron
Rated 5 out of 5
Date: 2023-02-21
I bought this lens the same time I purchased the Fujifilm X-T5 camera when my D800 died. I highly recommand this lens as I have noticed it's sharper than my nikon lens was and so much lighter to carry. In testing I have found I need to add at least a stop and a half to my exposures for the best results. The X-T5 in my tests have been able to handle a plus 3 exposure with no loss of high ligth details
A Great Lens
By Van
Rated 5 out of 5
Date: 2023-01-07
I have just got my new fuji 50-140mm f2.8 lens. It's a great lens. Very sharp, a fast aperture, and a very useful focal length. This lens fits nisely between my walk about 16-80mm and my supertelephoto 150-600.
Great lens!
By Grant
Rated 5 out of 5
Date: 2022-12-14
This lens fully lives up to its reputation for great build quality, feel and sharp images. In my much earlier film shooting days, with Nikon cameras, one of my favorite lenses was the Nikkor 80 - 200 2.8, which was a very big and heavy lens but produced great images. In the APS format this Fuji lens is the approximate equivalent of that lens but is much more compact and lighter which I appreciate.
Outstanding Sharpness - Optical Perfection
By Mark
Rated 5 out of 5
Date: 2022-12-05
This lens is amazing. I own the Canon EF 70-200mm f2.8 IS II, and this is just as good, cheaper, lighter and with an outstandingly useful tripod foot/collar. I have all the fast fuji glass (90/f2; 60/f2.4; 56/f1.4; 35/f1.4; 23/f1.4; 16/f1.4 and 18/f1.4), so I know what the best images from Fuji kit look like. This is on a par with the best of them (it shouldn't be given that its a zoom). It's a useful portrait and landscape lens. With my Canon 500D close up lens/dioptre, it's a great macro lens and what I really like about it is the clarity without the need for fill flash. This is the equivalent of the Canon, but so much easier and lighter to use - overall greater utility compared to the Canon. Professionally, I've shot weddings with the Canon lens, and halfway through, the weight really cripples your arm. The Fuji 50-140 feels like a featherweight by comparison and gives images that are just as pleasing. The smaller XT series cameras are the perfect match, and really help keep the weight down. On it's own, close focus is nothing special, but sharpness, speed, stabilisation, Weather resistance are stunning characteristics that make this special. Ignore what people say about this being heavy. It is not at all heavy compared to the competition, and balances well on XT bodies. You don't need a grip either as the tripod foot makes holding it very manageable.
Build quality is outstanding. I can imagine it will really take what nature and my clumsiness throw at it.
B&H service was amazing as always - I had it within a week, and I live in Adelaide, Australia, so full marks for service.
Bottom line - buy this lens, you won't regret it. I have just bought the Fuji X-T5, so stabilisation on that body will be amazing, but the lens is also capable of stellar images on older bodies such as the X-T2 and X-T3, which are still competitive devices a hairs breadth beneath the current state-of-the -art.
Speechless
By Robert
Rated 5 out of 5
Date: 2022-10-19
I have avoided zooms like the plague and ONLY carried primes. This is the first zoom that I have used that doesn't ask me to sacrifice something... speed, IQ, internal zoom etc. Amazing.
Beautifully made. Beautiful images.
By J Breckenridge
Rated 5 out of 5
Date: 2022-04-04
First class lens that is capable of making beautifully sharp, contrasty images with great color rendition. Buy it.
Stunning images, internal zoom mechanics
By Craig
Rated 5 out of 5
Date: 2023-02-01
A perfect lens for its focal length. The one knock is that the lens hood is UNBELIEVABLY cheap at awful. Barely attaches to the lens with a simple UV light filter. I would pay extra for an aftermarket metal lens hood if one existed.
Essential legendary equipment
By Matt
Rated 5 out of 5
Date: 2023-01-24
This lens is one of my favorites because it just gets the shot whether the action is fast or slow. Being a bigger and heavier lens, however, I recommend using it with a battery grip (that greatly improved comfort using it on my XT3).
Optically this lens is razor sharp edge to edge with colors that pop and excellent subject separation throughout the range. It definitely has a sort of look to it that is hard to put my finger on, but I like it a lot. I find image quality peaks at about f/3.6-f/16 or so. Wide open at f/2.8 it is just a touch (and I do mean touch) softer with perhaps a little less contrast. Bokeh is excellent, but I have seen better sunstars. When this thing flares it flares in a pretty epic way. But in my case I've found it pleasing and tried to incorporate it into compositions. MFD is a lengthy three feet or so, typical for lenses like this and something I'd always prefer to be shorter. Hence it is a tad more constraining to use the lens indoors, though I do so a lot. Magnification is low, but this lens still pulls it off well when you zoom in all the way and add a crop - its that sharp.
AF is excellent - other than the soft whir of the motors, or thunk when you switch it off, it is smoking fast. Even in poor light, I find this lens to be quick and virtually hunt proof - it just works. If only they were all like this.
OIS is excellent - I've nailed focus at 1/15th all the way out to 140mm. OIS generally doesn't interfere with my action shots, but from time to time I do shut it off just to eliminate that possibility. It would be nice if it had a panning setting.
Handling and feel of the lens is great - the aperture ring has strong, positive clicks, and the zoom ring is comfortable and fast. The manual focus ring is, IMO, too slow - even when I really rip on it, it seems to take its sweet time (probably to aid precision, however). I love the metal build, but can note that it can get ripping hot in the summer, and freezing cold in the winter. Hence the broad rubber zoom ring is pretty important here.
Tripod collar is easy to drop into portrait mode, and makes a useful hand grip. But it is a tad annoying to take on/off as it is a tight space - not to mention you better insure they aren't loose each time to use the lens. Lens hood on mine is wiggly, and never seated itself as easily as it should have - I eventually cross threaded mine in the moment, probably ruining it though it still works. It's a poor fit, in other words, not becoming of a $1,600 lens.
Other than that the 75-214mm-ish range of this lens combined with its fantastic image quality and overall performance makes it a very rewarding to use despite its size, weight, or cost. On more than one occasion this has been my one lens choice for landscape, portrait, and action. Its high versatility and performance makes it in many ways a far better value than some other Fuji lenses (cough, prime lenses, cough).
