Fujifilm’s Fujinon XF 18-55mm f/2.8-4 zoom lens is a popular choice as a kit lens with Fujifilm’s X-series of cameras. It’s relatively compact and highly versatile. The focal length ranges from wide-angle to moderate telephoto (when accounting for the cropped sensor). Its maximum aperture of f/2.8 (when zoomed out) comes in handy in the kind of variable lighting you get out and about on your travels. It also has optical image stabilization built-in, which is useful in many of the same types of conditions. And it has very respectable optical performance at a reasonable price.
All in all, it makes for a very appealing choice to take along with your X-series body for general travel photography and street photography. So I thought it might be useful to post some real-world examples of photos I’ve taken with this lens. My hope is that they might be useful to someone trying to decide whether the 18-55mm will be suitable for what they’re after.
This lens’s formal name is the Fujinon XF 18-55mm f/2.8-4 R LM OIS zoom lens. And while it is often included as a kit lens and bundled with bodies like the X-T3 and X-T2, it’s a big step up from the kind of lenses that give “kit lens” a strongly negative connotation. It’s one of the better kit lenses I’ve used, and it’s sold as a standalone product and makes for a great choice for a versatile, good-quality everyday shooting lens.
At its widest, it has a focal length of 18mm. Zoomed all the way in, it has a focal length of 55mm. When used on X-series cameras, which have APS-C cropped sensors, it’s the equivalent of using a 27mm to 84mm lens on a full-frame camera (i.e. 35mm equivalent).1 I’ve posted some practical examples of the Fujifilm XF 18-55mm’s zoom range separately.
It has a maximum aperture of f/2.8, but it’s not a constant maximum aperture throughout the zoom range. That is, when you’re zoomed out wide at 18mm, you can get a maximum aperture of f/2.8, but as you zoom in, the available maximum aperture reduces in small increments until you get fully zoomed in to 55mm, at which point your maximum aperture available is f/4.2
It’s also an aspherical lens, which means that it greatly reduces some of the common kinds of optical distortion that you can get with simpler lens designs. If you’re adding filters, it takes 58mm screw-on filters.
So here’s an assortment of photos I’ve taken with the Fujifilm XF 18-55mm lens on X-T3, X-T2, and X-T1 bodies. I’ve tried to include various apertures and zoomed focal lengths while also emphasizing general travel-type photos. As you’ll see in some of the shots, the optical performance isn’t perfect — there’s some barrel distortion, especially when zoomed in, and there are sharpness issues at the smallest apertures around f/22 — but overall, the performance is quite good for such a cost-effective, compact, and versatile lens.
Sample images taken with a Fujifilm XF 18-55mm
I’ve included the zoom and aperture information in the caption of each image, and you can open up a full-size version by clicking on the image.
Price & availability
You can buy Fujifilm’s Fujinon XF 18-55mm f/2.8-4 R LM OIS zoom lens by itself (i.e., without the camera body). It’s also often offered bundled with Fujifilm X-series cameras like the X-T5, X-T4, X-T30, and X-S10.
Buy new
Check the current price and availability at:
Buy used
Obviously, stock levels of used gear fluctuates a lot. But there’s a good chance of picking up a used copy in good condition at:
Rent
You can rent it from:
Accessories for the Fujifilm XF 18-55mm f/2.8-4 lens
Filters. It takes standard 58mm screw-in filters: Polarizer | UV/Haze | ND.
Manual. You can find the manual here (PDF).
Right now I only have samsung S8 build in camera, but low light photos are really bad with washed out colors. Now I want to buy a normal camera that would shoot better low light photos compared to my phone. I have a quession, is fufjifilm X-T30 + Fujinon XF 18-55mm f/2.8-4 R LM OIS a good choice? People say photos in low light condotions depends on brighter aperture, but my S8 phone already has f/1.7, while the lens from this article is f/2.8 so theorethically low light photos should be even worse compared to my phone, but practically your low light photos looks WAYYYY better compared to my S8 photos.
While it’s true that f/2.8 is technically smaller than f/1.7, it’s not an apples-to-apples comparison in this case because the sensors and lens openings are very different. The much larger sensor alone will make a big difference. So the low-light performance out of the X-T30 will almost always be much better in low-light despite how impressive some of the latest smartphone algorithms are. Sony’s Alpha range cameras also have excellent low-light performance and are worth a look.
It seams that I should forget about my phone camera specification because like you have said there are obvious differences in size and quality.
When it comes to sony there is one particular model I’m also considering. Sony a6400 has similar price and low light performance is indeed superb (at least from my point of reference)
https://youtu.be/YVIMTWaBnwI
I have found out also sony a6400 vs fujifilm xt-30 low light comparisons and it looks like both models should offer equally good low light performance, but after studying informations in regards to both cameras I think fujifilm xt-30 should be more user friendly camera and fuji 2.8-4 lens more universal.
https://youtu.be/Lcr7ytM_TVM
https://youtu.be/8ZN-t2jY39o
These low light comparison videos looks stunning.
Thank you David for including so many full resolution photos because you helped me to make a final decision. Your low light photos looks MUCH better compared to my S8 phone, so I will be happy with XT30+f/2.8 combo anyway :).
Glad it’s useful. I also have some high ISO photos from the Sony a6400.
I have finally bought X-T30 + kit 18-55 2.8-4 lens and I’m shocked how much better photos I can take take now. In extreme low light conditions (where I cant see anything with my own eyes) and 1s shutter speed that thing can see in the dark and picture is not filtered like on my S8 phone :P. What’s more I’m shocked how more real colors and contrast looks like on xt30, and not to mention 55mm is extremely usefull during shooting portraits. People say camera build in phones are good enough but I say that’s BS, because the difference is staggering. I have comparisons between my S8 and xt30 photos and all people say the difference is huge :P. Now I just have lear photography secrets in order to make better pictures :D
Glad you’re enjoying the new camera!