Like most photographers these days, I use a standard zoom lens for everyday shooting. You just can’t beat the combination of convenience, versatility, and (hopefully) quality. Compared with most ‘kit’ standard zooms that have a slower and often variable aperture, the Fujifilm XF 16-55mm f/2.8 R LM WR II is the second edition of the company’s ‘red badge’ range-topping model, with a relatively fast and constant f/2.8 aperture rating. It couples that with a 24-84mm ‘effective’ zoom range in full-frame equivalence, the APS-C format X-mount lens equating to a ‘trinity’ standard zoom.
Trinity zooms tend to be big, heavy, and somewhat less convenient for everyday shooting. This one finally replaces Fujifilm’s nine-year-old original version of the lens, which was already relatively compact and lightweight, with a lens that’s even smaller and lighter, despite bigging up the resolving power to suit Fujifilm’s latest 40MP cameras like the X-T5 and X-T50, as well as others in the line-up of Fujifilm’s best cameras. All in all, it aims to be one of the best Fujifilm X-mount lenses that money can buy.
