FUJIFILM XF18mmf1.4 - Long term review

I bought the Fujifilm XF18mmf1.4 2 years ago and it has become my most used lens, whether it is for video or photos. Today, I will give you my long term review of this lens after 2 years of use.

Build Quality of the FUJIFILM XF18mmf1.4

The overall build of the XF18mmf1.4 is good. It is solid and even after 2 years of heavy use, it is still in premium conditions. A few scratches here and there but that is about it. The aperture ring is a little loose to my liking, but this is not due to the test of time, as it has been like this since I purchased it. It can happen that you accidentally bump onto it and change its value.

This lens is also Weather resistant. I have taken this with me in the rain, near sand and I don’t tend to protect it too much while shooting. When my clients want to have a shoot in a specific location, I cannot say no because of my equipment, I need the equipment to be able to catch up and shoot in any conditions. And so far, no issue with this lens, even after 2 years.

Handling of the FUJIFILM XF18mmf1.4

While the XF18mmf1.4 is on the bigger side when it comes to FUJIFILM Prime lenses, when paired with the likes of the X-T5 or the X-H2S, there is absolutely no problem when it comes to handling it. It might feel a bit more out of balance on bodies such as the X-T50 or the X-E line but definitely manageable. The Aperture Ring is easy to reach and its placement is intuitive, making it a great lens to work with and overall, the handling is pretty good. The focus is by wire, meaning that you won’t be as precise as other lenses with it but it is comfortable to use. I definitely prefer the more traditional mechanical focus for this kind of application but we are dealing with electronic focus here so it gets as good as it can get.

Image quality

The image quality that you get out of the XF18mmf1.4 is just superb. Sharp throughout the frame, even at f1.4, it even gets better at f2.8 and above. I personally have no issue shooting most of the time at f1.4 with this lens because I know that the image will not be too soft. The contrast is also very good and there the chromatic aberration is mostly non-existant.

One amazing quality of the FUJIFILM XF18mmf1.4 is its close focus distance. You can get amazing shots very close to your subject and really take advantage of the high aperture of the lens to create very interesting kind of shots. It really offers a lot, if you are able to take advantage of its unique characteristics.

Autofocus

If you are looking for what is the best autofocus in the FUJIFILM system, look no further. And despite the terrible firmware updates that we got lately on the FUJIFILM system, the 18mmf1.4, with linear motors, is not to blame here. Overall the autofocus is silent and performs very well. This lane works really well in my portrait session for environmental portraits. If I want something wider, with movement in the scene, this is definitely the lens that I will reach for. It focuses well, quickly, paired with the right camera/firmware.

My favorite lens for story telling

The 27mm focal length (18mm on Fuji) is my favorite for storytelling. Why? Simply because I am able to include both my subjects and my scenes. Its close focus distance also allows for very interesting POV shots or interesting angles to really focus on something close to the camera. I like showing what is going on around my subject, I also enjoy having enough depth of field to be able to understand where my subject is. And it is also very interesting to be able to have the subject extremely close to the camera, to really feel like you are immersed in the frame. And the FUJIFILM XF18mmf1.4 allows you to do pretty much ALL of that.

Conclusion

If you are looking for a wide angle lens that you can use for both photos and videos for your FUJIFILM system, I would totally recommend the FUJIFILM XF18mmf1.4 . It offers a great mix of IQ, build quality, AF and has become my favorite lens on the system.

Watch the full video here.