Fujifilm Fujinon XF 18-55mm f/2.8-4 R LM OIS Lens Review

Fujifilm Fujinon XF 18-55mm f/2.8-4 R LM OIS Performance

At 18mm and maximum aperture, sharpness in the centre of the image area already approaches excellent levels, with clarity towards the edges of the frame approaching very good levels. Stopping down a little results in a dramatic increase in clarity in the centre of the frame down to f/5.6, where sharpness is outstanding in the centre of the frame, and approaches excellent levels of clarity towards the edges of the frame.

Zooming to 35mm results in sharpness reaching excellent levels in the centre at maximum aperture, but clarity only just reaches good levels towards the edges of the frame. Stopping down at this focal length does little to improve sharpness in the centre with clarity towards the edges improving to very good levels by f/8 at the expense of a reduction in clarity in the centre of the frame.

Finally at 55mm, Sharpness in the centre of the frame falls just short of excellent at maximum aperture again, although the clarity towards the edges of the frame has fallen to fairly good levels here. Stopping down improves sharpness across the frame with peak clarity in the centre of the frame being achieved at f/5.6 and at f/11 toward the edges of the frame for this focal length.

Resolution @ 18mm

Resolution @ 35mm

Resolution @ 55mm

How to read our charts The blue column represents readings from the centre of the picture frame at the various apertures and the green is from the edges. Averaging them out gives the red weighted column. The scale on the left side is an indication of actual image resolution. The taller the column, the better the lens performance. Simple. For this review, the lens was tested on a Fujifilm X-Pro1 using Imatest.

Chromatic aberrations are well enough controlled for a zoom lens with fringing only just exceeding three quarters of a pixel width towards the edges of the frame at f/4 and 35mm. This level of fringing is just getting to the level where you may notice it, so care may need to be taken when shooting scenes containing high contrast.

Chromatic aberration @18mm

Chromatic aberration @35mm

Chromatic aberration @50mm

How to read our charts Chromatic aberration is the lens' inability to focus on the sensor or film all colours of visible light at the same point. Severe chromatic aberration gives a noticeable fringing or a halo effect around sharp edges within the picture. It can be cured in software. Apochromatic lenses have special lens elements (aspheric, extra-low dispersion etc) to minimize the problem, hence they usually cost more. For this review, the lens was tested on a Fujifilm X-Pro1 using Imatest.

Falloff of illumination towards the corners of the frame is pretty well controlled. At 18mm the corners are 1.6 stops darker than the image centre at maximum aperture, and at 55mm the corners are 1.8 stops darker. Visually uniform illumination is achieved with the aperture stopped down by two stops from maximum throughout the zoom range.

Just over 0.2% barrel distortion is present throughout the zoom range. Not only is this remarkably consistent performance for a zoom lens, but the level is so low that it will be very difficult to spot.
Flare isn't an issue with this lens and contrast is retained well when shooting into the light, with or without the supplied petal shaped hood.

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