My Fuji system is small and light with superb the XF lenses and the cameras themselves are a joy to use. They have a plethora of small light and quite bright prime lenses and they really shine. However, I think quite a few photographers like to use zoom lenses because they are more practical than prime lenses. It's not always possible to zoom with your feet.
Having said that, this post isn’t really about the Fujifilm cameras or their XF lenses but about their second tier (cheaper) XC lenses. One would expect these cheaper lenses to produce lower grade images as the price difference is quite significant. Is this really the case?
Let’s look at these lenses:
XC 15-45mm F3.5-5.6 OIS PZ
Price: €250 average
Weight: 135g
Filter: 52mm
Small light and has nothing really to compare it to in the XF range of lenses. 35mm equivalent to 23-69mm. Personally I find the rather a strange range for a lens and if someone has any idea about why they chose that, please let me know. I have no idea. I can’t complain about the build quality either. Granted, not as sturdy as the XF lenses but it doesn’t feel cheap either. As you can see it is a power zoom lens which, I admit, is not my favourite sort of lenses. I really prefer the manual zoom type.
The only real XF alternative for this lens is the 18-55 f2.8-4.0. Although it is classed as a kit lens, the images it produces are excellent. If you wish to purchase this lens new it will cost you €700 today. That is why I bought my second copy on ebay for €250.
The second lens:
XC 16-50mm F3.5-5.6 OIS II
Price: €300 (not available everywhere)
Weight: 195g
Filter: 58mm
35mm equivalent to 24-75mm. An excellent mid-range zoom. This is the lens that nearly every FF user has in their bag. Again I can’t complain about the build quality. It auto focuses quite fast and is accurate. What more could you want.
So after seeing the images, would you upgrade your lens to the XF 16-55 f2.8 lens? That’s the XF equivalent to this lens. It costs around €1350 with a weight of 700g. Personally, I wouldn’t, but many would especially professionals who require the f2.8. It also has a 77mm filter which makes filters quite expensive.
The third lens in the lineup is the:
XC 50-230mm F4.5-6.7 OIS II
Price: €400 (this is for the version II)
Weight: 383g
Filter: 58mm
35mm equivalent to 75-345mm. Quite impressive and image quality is very, very good in my opinion.
Replacing this lens with the 55-200 f3.5-4.8 will cost you €650 and it weighs nearly double at 580g. In my opinion the 55-200 is not that much better than this lens and I wouldn’t upgrade. The only reason I have it is when I bought into the system the XC lenses weren’t on the market.
So, my final verdict on these three lenses is very positive. Image quality is very good and the lenses are lighter than the XF series (although there is a reason for that). I can't see professionals using these lenses but for the amateur looking for cheaper lenses they are excellent value for the money. I don't think anyone would be disappointed with the image quality.
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