PROS
- Strong center sharpness.
- 7.5x zoom ratio.
- Image stabilization system.
- Even illumination from corner to corner.
- Quick focus. Sturdy, weather-sealed build.
CONS
- Inconsistent edge quality.
- Some distortion at 18mm.
- Expensive.
BOTTOM LINE
The Fujifilm Fujinon XF 18-135mm F3.5-5.6 R LM OIS WR lens is well made and covers a long zoom range, but we expect more consistent performance at this price point.
Design
The 18-135mm$899.00 at Amazon measures 3.9 by 3.0 inches (HD) at its shortest, weighs in at 1.1 pounds, and supports 67mm front filters. It does extend when zooming. The barrel is a mix of metal and polycarbonate, with an o-ring seal around the mount that completes the weather-resistant design. The sealing is a big benefit for owners of an all-weather body like the X-T2, and is lacking from both the 18-55mm and 55-200mm.
There are three dials and two switches on the barrel. One switch toggles the optical stabilization system; the second switches between manual and automatic aperture control. An unmarked ring, at the base of the lens, turns to control the f-stop when manual aperture control is enabled. Since the lens has a variable aperture design, it’s not marked, so you’ll need to pay attention to the rear display or viewfinder in order to determine which aperture the lens is set to at any given time.
The zoom ring, covered in knurled rubber, sits in the middle of the barrel. It has a modest amount of resistance when turning, so you can adjust the zoom with precision, but it’s in no way difficult to use. Zoom settings are marked at 18, 23, 35, 55, 70, 100, and 135mm. The manual focus ring sits at the front; it also features a straight line knurled textured, but is bare metal rather than rubber. There’s little resistance, so you won’t get any sort of tactile feedback when adjusting focus manually, typical for a mirrorless system lens.
Minimum focus is 1.5 feet (0.45-meter), which gives the 18-135mm a near-macro magnification rate at its longest focal length. When focusing as close as it can at 135mm, it projects images at 1:3.7 life-size, which certainly adds some versatility when shooting smaller objects. It’s another area where it betters the 55-200mm zoom, which tops out at 1:5.6 magnification at 200mm.
The internal focus motor is speedy. When paired with the X-Pro2$1,699.00 at Amazon the lens locks and fires in less than 0.2-second at the wide angle setting and in less than 0.1-second when zoomed all the way in.
Image Quality
I tested sharpness using Imatest and the 24MP X-Pro2. At 18mm f/3.5 the zoom puts up strong results in the center of the frame (3,022 lines), but very weak edge performance (789 lines) leaves the periphery of noticeably blurry. The average score, calculated using Imatest’s standard center-weighted evaluation, works out to 2,333 lines—that’s better than the 1,800 lines we like to see in a photo, but be aware that performance is not equally strong throughout the frame.
Stopping down to f/5.6 bumps the score to 2,554 lines, but edges still lag well behind the center, showing just 1,319 lines. The story is about the same at f/8. To get the most edge-to-edge crispness out of wide-angle shots, set the lens to 18mm f/11—the average score is at its peak, 2,817 lines, and the edges of the frame are quite sharp, 2,256 lines. There’s a drop in image quality at f/16 (2,539 lines) and at f/22 (2,202 lines), which is expected.
Things are better at 35mm than they are at 18mm. At f/4.3 the lens notches 2,414 lines, with edges that lag behind the center, but are still acceptable (1,853 lines). Narrowing the aperture to f/5.6 bumps the overall sharpness to 2,932 lines, with performance that hovers around 3,000 lines through the majority of the frame and dips to about 2,450 lines at the periphery. Image quality remains strong at f/11 (2,986 lines), but takes a dip at f/16 (2,702 lines) and a more significant hit at f/22 (2,234 lines).
At 70mm strong performance is maintained. At f/5.3 the zoom notches 2,707 lines on the center-weighted test, with 2,800-line scores through most of the frame and edges that dip to 2,222 lines. Narrowing the aperture a tiny bit to f/5.6 nets a significant increase in performance—the average score jumps to 2,975 lines, with near even performance up to the edge of the frame (2,865 lines). The story is the same at f/11 (2,909 lines), and the expected drop in quality sets in at f/11 (2,604 lines) and f/22 (2,143 lines).
There’s a decrease in clarity at 135mm. At f/5.6 the average score dips to 2,048 lines, with edges that are soft (1,604 lines), but not as blurry as at 18mm f/3.5. Stopping down to f/8 improves the overall score to 2,446 lines, and bumps edges to about 1,950 lines. Peak performance hits at f/11 (2,747 lines average, 2,465 lines at the edges), and the expected diffraction sets in at f/16 (2,525 lines) and f/22 (2,255 lines).
I’d like to have seen more even performance across the zoom range, especially when you consider that the zoom carries a premium price when compared with similar 18-135mm SLR lenses, which typically sell for around $500 to $600. But, if you’re willing to live with inconsistent clarity at the edges of the frame, the Fujinon lens delivers solid center performance throughout its range.
We look at more than sharpness when it comes to lens performance. Distortion is a minor issue, with about 3 percent barrel distortion visible at 18mm, and no distortion visible at other tested settings. The barrel distortion gives straight lines the appearance of a slight outward curve, but is pretty easily corrected with software. Chromatic aberration, which can rear its head in the form of unwanted color fringing in high-contrast areas of the frame, isn’t an issue.
Imatest evaluates a flat gray frame (captured with the aid of an ExpoDisc) to see how evenly light is projected onto the image sensor using its Uniformity analysis tool. The 18-135mm is a strong performer here. Corners at 18mm lag behind the center by about one f-stop at f/3.5 through f/11, which is a rather modest deficit when compared with other zoom lenses. When zoomed the illumination is even from corner to corner.
Conclusions
Recent lenses for the Fuji X system have been consistently excellent, but the Fujifilm Fujinon XF 18-135mm F3.5-5.6 R LM OIS WR is more down to earth. If you’re expecting an optically perfect gem, you’ll be disappointed. But when compared with other 18-135mm designs, it’s a pretty solid performer. Center sharpness is strong throughout the zoom range, distortion is nominal and only visible at 18mm, and illumination is essentially uniform from corner to corner at all but the widest angle. Add a weather-sealed design, quick autofocus, and a solid build, and you have a lens that is a good all-arounder, with a notable exception: edge performance is quite weak at 18mm, and a bit spotty at 135mm. These are compromises that you live with when choosing a zoom, especially one that covers such a long range. You’ll get better image quality by opting for a two-lens kit that consists of the 18-55mm and 55-200mm, but you’ll lose the convenience of a single-lens solution, and neither of those lenses offers an all-weather design.
Sоurсe: pcmag.com
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