p.1 #1 · Fujifilm XF 50-140mm f/2.8 IOS rolling impressions
I thought I should start this thread since I was able to take the lens for a spin today and people are probably going to be receiving theirs in the nex few days or weeks.
I had the chance to take the lens for a walk for couple of hours during my (long) lunch break. The Fuji X lenses are up to date rather compact and lightweight so I was not that interested in a big lens like the 50-140. Like many of you I had read blogs about the lens and I even watched an unboxing video yesterday. When I got the lens in my hands my first thought was that it's not as big as I thought it would be. Seems like the small Fuji bodies made the lens somehow look bigger. The size and weight is similar to the Canon 70-200/4 IS I had but shorter. I does feel heavy but only compared to the Fuji X primes. Without the hood off it's reasonably compact and about the same size as 55-200 fully extended. The lens feels solid and well made. Zoom and focus turn smoothly and the aperture ring is firm and secure (unlike some of the primes). The tripod mount also feels very solid and turning it is very smooth compared to what I used to with my Canon tele lenses. I was expecting a lens case but Fuji decided not to include one like Canon and Sigma (and probably Nikon) do with their tele lenses. It's not the end of the world but somehow I was expecting it with the $1600 lens.
We had our first snow this year today so I took it to the park. I had read much praise of the lens sharpness and can confirm it is bleedingly sharp from wide open and over all the zoom range. Color an contrast is also very good wide open and I could not see any CA. The lens has very little vignetting, I was expecting some at f/2.8 but could not find it in the images and actually added vignetting to some in post. Focusing was instant and secure and far better than what I'm used to with the other Fuji lenses. The lens felt much like the 70-200 lenses I've had before. The Canon 70-200/4 L IS is a great lens and using the Fuji 50-140/2.8 IOS felt very much like it which is a huge praise. It also reminded me a bit of the Sigma 70-200/2.8 EX I had but with better focusing and sharper at the long end.
As for the bokeh I had seen examples (discussed in another thread) where the bokeh does not look too good. So I tried including busy background in my images to evaluate how much of a problem it is. To be short I wasn't able to reproduce the harshness seen in the examples I had seen. Maybe I had better shooting condidtions, I don't know but it looks just fine in the images I took. The lens might not a "cream machine" but is still able to make smooth backgrounds for portraits if you know what you're doing.
Before my walk in the snow I was curious about the lens but not really excited. I felt that such a big lens conflicted with the Fuji concept of small gear. Now I have however started thinking I should sell the 55-200 for it and figure out how I'm going to pay for the rest. The lens is awesome and I NEED to have it!
This couple kindly accepted to pose for me. This image has busy tree branches in the background. Would smooth out a little bit more with full frame but looks good enough to my eyes. Here I added vignetting since there was none and I felt the image needed it. https://farm8.staticflickr.com/7570/15328502413_7597bffea6_o_d.jpg
And finally I met these two fellas on the parking lot by the lighthouse. While I was freezing in my parka these two were going surfing! The light does not last long up here in the north so they didn't want to waste any time chatting with me and ran off as soon as a shot the frame. https://farm8.staticflickr.com/7521/15948132395_8f6822bcf0_o_d.jpg
p.1 #2 · Fujifilm XF 50-140mm f/2.8 IOS rolling impressions
Thanks for reviewing this fantastic lens. As far as I can tell from all the samples, the bokeh is only a problem with foliage in the background. Probably not a big deal for the most part.
p.1 #3 · Fujifilm XF 50-140mm f/2.8 IOS rolling impressions
leo11877 wrote:
Thanks for reviewing this fantastic lens. As far as I can tell from all the samples, the bokeh is only a problem with foliage in the background. Probably not a big deal for the most part.
Another foillage effect....I can just imagine the arguments already.
By the way, these are some really nice, crisp shots.
p.1 #6 · Fujifilm XF 50-140mm f/2.8 IOS rolling impressions
I bought this lens today as well. I shoot performing arts primarily, so I'm almost always at f/2.8, so this lens is the primary reason I got the XT1 as a weight-saving move. I was pretty freaked out at the post showing the really crispy bokeh, but I did the deal anyway. I was concerned about what it would do to out-of-focus faces. Happily, my first results are promising. The operation of the XT1 (which I got last week) and this lens are very dissimilar to my tried and true 5D3 and 70-200 f/2.8, so this capture is pretty much a throwaway, but it does serve to illustrate that not all OOF elements are unacceptable with this lens. It's going to be a keeper for me.
p.1 #7 · Fujifilm XF 50-140mm f/2.8 IOS rolling impressions
Thank you for all these images. Apart from the branches in #1 they all look good (and branches with their high contrast are always an issue). Very helpful.
p.1 #9 · Fujifilm XF 50-140mm f/2.8 IOS rolling impressions
Looks like an awesome lens. I really love what I can do with the 55-200mm so the 50-140mm is going to be awesome. But the 55-200mm @ $500 is a great bang for your buck. Has decent bokeh and I was able to shoot at my daughter's recital low light @ ISO 1600-6400 and got great results. I wouldn't mind picking up this lens at $1200 similar to the Canon 70-200mm F4L pricing. :-)
p.1 #10 · Fujifilm XF 50-140mm f/2.8 IOS rolling impressions
I think your vignetting in the picture of the couple may be having the effect of exaggerating the actual contrast of the OOF area. For comparison sake, could you post it without vignetting, too?
p.1 #11 · Fujifilm XF 50-140mm f/2.8 IOS rolling impressions
I shoot JPEG+RAW so here's the JPEG shrunk down to the same size (and under exposure corrected by brightening by with curves). In retrospective I did lift the image to much. The pinkish tone of the original looks better and truer to the low sunlight.
p.1 #12 · Fujifilm XF 50-140mm f/2.8 IOS rolling impressions
Ive seen some of that same bokeh using a D700 and 135mm f/2 DC lens. I think it is what it is. You are making it tough for me to avoid getting this lens though. How does it handle? Are you using a grip of any kind?
p.1 #13 · Fujifilm XF 50-140mm f/2.8 IOS rolling impressions
I didn't have any grip. I always have an L bracket on the body which makes it tiny bit larger and easier to hold and with such a lens as the 50-140 you will anyways always be holding the lens with your left arm and operating the camera with your right. I didn't feel I needed a grip for the lens.
p.1 #15 · Fujifilm XF 50-140mm f/2.8 IOS rolling impressions
My sample just came in. I had handled it at Photokina, and this one feels the same. Smooth zoom ring, very nice apeture ring (clicky and somewhat stiff - no accidental movement here.
It's definitely big for a mirrorless lens. A bit bigger and heavier than the Olympus 40-150/2.8, though it handles well. I guess because the lenses as a whole are larger on Fuji, it doesn't feel as out of place on the Fuji due to size, but it isn't going to be a lightweight carry. Build is excellent, the hood is nice with a nice removable piece to allow for rotating a polarizer while the hood is on, and the smoothest operating tripod collar I've ever used. Only been a few minutes and I'm already thinking of ways to save up for one...what can I sell, etc.
Although, I have to say: image quality is downright terrible. Just awful. Super soft, horrid bokeh and chromatic aberration is off the charts. Ok, none of that is true.
Only taken about 10 shots, but what I've seen is impressive. The first few samples I've taken have been really sharp across the vast majority of the frame right from f/2.8, even at 140mm. Need to take a LOT more images, as I have gotten some slight softness due to camera shake on a few images, but plenty were sharp. (testing out the OIS too in my first few shots). Speaking of OIS: I was able to get tack sharp shots at 1/12 second at 140mm, so that's not too bad (that's 4 full stops...didn't go slower, but I'll try it for sure).
p.1 #19 · Fujifilm XF 50-140mm f/2.8 IOS rolling impressions
Oh - one other thing: I noticed this when enlarging the image on the LCD at Photokina, but can verify on full size images, at least so far, the lens appears to be essentially apochromatic. I can't see ANY chromatic aberration at all when shooting flat text on a white background, or at an angle at f/2.8, no lateral, no longitudinal, no purple fringing on chrome...nothing. I don't know if I've ever seen a zoom lens perform this well in this department. Of course, this is just in the limited situations I've put it through so far...it may appear at further distances, etc, which I'll test out, but so far...really incredible in that department.
Dec 10, 2014 at 02:39 PM
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p.1 #20 · Fujifilm XF 50-140mm f/2.8 IOS rolling impressions
Jman13 wrote:
Oh - one other thing: I noticed this when enlarging the image on the LCD at Photokina, but can verify on full size images, at least so far, the lens appears to be essentially apochromatic. I can't see ANY chromatic aberration at all when shooting flat text on a white background, or at an angle at f/2.8, no lateral, no longitudinal, no purple fringing on chrome...nothing. I don't know if I've ever seen a zoom lens perform this well in this department. Of course, this is just in the limited situations I've put it through so far...it may appear at further distances, etc, which I'll test out, but so far...really incredible in that department....Show more →
Is there software correction for CA in camera with this lens?
