Price when reviewed
I need to test a production sample fully before passing final judgement but the Fujifilm Fujinon XF 18mm F1.4 R LM WR looks and feels the business. It’s well made with a smooth-running focus ring and an aperture ring with just the right degree of friction.
It’s great to see a lock for the auto aperture setting as it means an end to switching accidentally to manual exposure mode when you’re shooting in shutter priority mode and the like.
The lens also appears to produce impressive sharp results with little sign of vignetting or chromatic aberration.
The Fujifilm Fujinon XF 18mm F1.4 R LM WR is designed for use on Fujifilm’s X-Series mirrorless cameras like the Fujifilm X-T4, Fujifilm X-S10, X-Pro3 or the petite Fujifilm X-E4.
As those cameras have an APS-C format sensor, the XF 18mm F1.4 R LM WR has an effective focal length of 27mm. That makes it suited to shooting landscapes or cityscapes, but it could also be used for environmental portraits or group shots at weddings and other (socially distanced) gatherings.
The Fujifilm XF 18mm F1.4 R LM WR is constructed from 15 elements arranged in 9 groups. Six of those elements make up the focusing group and they move in unison to deliver consistent sharpness at all focusing distances by reducing the aberration fluctuations that can occur.
Fujifilm uses the letters ‘R’, ‘LM’ and ‘WR’ in the XF 18mm F1.4 R LM WR’s name to indicate that it has an aperture ring (R), a linear motor (LM) for focusing and it’s weather-resistant (WR).
As the focusing is internal, the lens doesn’t change length nor does the front element rotate during focusing. The latter is especially useful when graduated ND or polarizing filters are used.
Also, as the focusing group only travels by 2.5mm (0.1inches) when the focus is moved from the closest focus point (20cm or 7.87inches) to infinity, focusing is very quick. According to Fujifilm, it can take as little as 0.04 seconds.
Its metal barrel gives the XF 18mm F1.4 R LM WR a familiar high-quality feel while its weight of 370g /0.81lb hints at the high status of the glass within its 68.8 x 75.6mm dimensions.
Should you wish to focus manually, you’re likely to find that the broad focus ring is within natural reach of your index finger and thumb as you support a camera such as the X-S10 or X-T4. The ring has a smooth action with enough tension to make subtle focus shifts easy with pressure from your finger.
It takes roughly a 180° rotation to adjust from the closest to the furthest focusing point. However, the mechanism is focus-by-wire and there are no physical stop points, you just see that the endpoint has been reached on the viewfinder or screen display.
As usual, the aperture ring is between the lens mount and the focus ring. This is marked in whole stops from f/1.4-16 with click-stops enabling the aperture to be adjusted in 1/3EV steps.
Like the recently announced (and reviewed) Fujinon XF 27mm F2.8 R WR and Fujinon XF 10-24mm F4 R OIS WR, the XF 18mm F1.4 R LM WR’s aperture ring has a lock button that comes into play when it’s set to the ‘A’ for automatic position. The lens can only be rotated away from the ‘A’ setting when the button is pressed. That’s very handy as it’s easy to rotate the ring accidentally if you’re gripping it as you raise the camera to your eye.
I have a pre-production sample of the Fufujilm XF 18mm F1.4 R LM WR which isn’t suitable for a full review, but I am able to share a few images from it along with my initial findings.
On the Fujifilm X-S10, which has the X-Trans CMOS 4 sensor a Processor 4 engine, the XF 18mm F1.4 R LM WR focuses quickly and smoothly. It’s not silent, but it’s very quiet.
Image sharpness appears very good throughout the aperture range, with the results at f/1.4 especially impressing. Combining the widest aperture with the minimum focus distance of 20cm enables subjects to be isolated against an attractive blur.
I will study the results from a production sample lens in more detail, but vignetting and chromatic aberration do not appear to be significant problems.
These images were shot with a pre-production sample of the Fujifilm Fujinon XF 18mm F1.4 R LM WR on the Fujifilm X-S10, final image quality may change from what is seen here.
Follow the link to browse and download full-resolution sample images.
