New Lens Day!

Happy New Lens Day to me! After 3 months of waiting and tearily waving goodbye to £1,149.00 (thank you very much sir), I’m now the proud owner of a Fujifilm XF 16-55 R LM WR Mark II.

It’s got to be worth the money in model number complexity alone.

For the uninitiated, this is a mid-range zoom lens. Mid-range in that it’s not an ultra-wide angle lens (I have one of those: a 10-24mm), nor is it a long telephoto lens (I have one of those too: a 70-300mm). This sits firmly in the middle, covering slightly wide, slightly telephoto, and everything in between. A very flexible and incredibly difficult range for lens manufacturers to get right, especially in terms of outright image quality.

My previous lens (a 16-80mm f/4), was sold to ease the financial pain of this purchase and was replaced because it performed as its moniker suggested; a useful jack of all trades, but just not good enough if I want to make images that I’m happy to sell. I’d occasionally get an absolute cracker with it, but just as often, the images would be a little soft in the corners and not quite there. A great lens for travel, mind, especially if the photos are only going to be viewed on screen or printed at a relatively small size.

With an f/2.8 maximum aperture, my new lens is quite fast and will let in lots of lovely light - a must here for at least 3 out of the 4 seasons. The “WR” means weather resistant - another must, particularly for Argyll. The quality seems to be up there too - it seems incredibly sharp in the few test shots I’ve already taken. I really can’t wander around the hills and forests with a big bag of pin-sharp prime (single focal length) lenses. You might get away with a couple of primes doing street photography where you can simply move your feet to change your composition, a) because your subjects are generally not too far away, and b) you’re unlikely to step off a cliff. No, I need a really top quality, mid range zoom. If I have to go out with just one lens, this will be it. It will also handle real-estate commissions, portraiture, and product photography. It would probably do weddings, but there’s no way I can cope with needy brides at my age (daughter’s wedding aside).

I guess the way I’ll keep you updated is by posting some nice images. I’m not really one for unboxing videos and desk-based reviews. I hope I like it. I hope you do too as somehow, I’ve got to pay for it…