{"id":21672,"date":"2018-06-26T12:19:38","date_gmt":"2018-06-26T21:19:38","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/danbaileyphoto.com\/blog\/?p=21672"},"modified":"2018-06-26T12:19:38","modified_gmt":"2018-06-26T21:19:38","slug":"falling-back-in-love-with-the-fujifilm-xf-50-200mm","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/danbaileyphoto.com\/blog\/falling-back-in-love-with-the-fujifilm-xf-50-200mm\/","title":{"rendered":"Falling Back In Love With The Fujifilm XF 50-200mm"},"content":{"rendered":"

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Back when I first started shooting full time with the Fujifilm X Series cameras, the XF 55-200mm<\/a> was my go-to telephoto lens. At the time, it was Fuji’s longest focal length lens. They hadn’t come out with the high performance 50-140mm f\/2.8<\/a> yet, so for long lens work, this was our\u00a0only choice.<\/p>\n

With a maximum aperture of f\/3.5-4.8, the 55-200 ins’t an exceptionally fast lens, nor does it have the fastest AF motors. However, it has four\u00a0things going for it:<\/p>\n

    \n
  1. It has a nice\u00a0long\u00a0reach. (300mm view angle equivalent compared to full frame focal length.)<\/strong><\/li>\n
  2. It’s sharp as hell. (That Fuji glass, you know!)<\/strong><\/li>\n
  3. It has excellent OIS lens stabilization.<\/strong><\/li>\n
  4. It’s\u00a0a nice size and\u00a0weight for travel.<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

     <\/p>\n

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    When I first got the X-T1 in February, 2014 and took it to Iceland for a week, the 55-200 went with me.\u00a0I’ve always loved the photos I shot with it over there, and I remember being very impressed with how well it performed. I shot a bunch of photos of this frozen waterfall below, handheld at speeds between 1\/25-1\/60 sec., zoomed all the way out to 300mm, and they were all dead sharp. That’s how good Fuji’s OIS is.<\/p>\n

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    Also, while the AF isn’t as fast as some of the newer Fuji lenses, the 55-200 is no slouch. Over the years, I’ve used it to capture a wide range of\u00a0action subjects, from sports to wildlife. On all the new Fujis, which have faster image processors, the AF performance is even faster than it was on the X-T1.<\/p>\n

    As I look back, quite a number\u00a0of my favorite X Series photos from around 2013-2015 were shot with the 55-2200. In fact, with a few of them, I hadn’t remembered which lens I’d used until I looked at the metadata in my image catalog. I was pleasantly surprised by what I found.<\/p>\n

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    As often as I used the 55-200, though, as soon as Fuji released their XF50-140, which is a full-on professional grade, fixed f\/2.8 workhorse telephoto zoom, my\u00a055-200 went back onto the\u00a0camera shelf, where it sat unused for over three years.<\/p>\n

    Lured by faster glass, faster autofocus and a much beefier lens barrel, the 50-140 has gotten all the attention for a long time. Or at least most of it.<\/p>\n

    Sure, there have been plenty of times when I’ve left the 50-140 behind. After all, it’s a pretty big lens. I don’t often\u00a0take it into the backcountry,\u00a0and I rarely travel with it. That’s where the\u00a090mm comes in<\/a>. The 90 is so freaking sharp and it’s f\/2, so it’s earned a special place in my heart.<\/p>\n

    However, a few weeks ago,\u00a0I decided to pull the lonely\u00a055-200 back off the shelf and give it some much-needed love<\/strong>. Using your least-used lens is actually a great way to shake up your creativity, so I figured why not? Let’s see what this thing can do.<\/p>\n

    And guess what? I suddenly remembered that the XF 55-200 is actually a great lens!<\/strong> I’ve been having lot so fun shooting landscapes with it during the past month and I’ve found that nothing has changed. It has a nice long reach, it’s still razor sharp, it has excellent stabilization, and it’s so much more enjoyable to carry than the 50-140. It actually fits in my small hiking photo pack with no complications!<\/p>\n

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    Lens choice is all about tradeoffs and it always comes down to a compromise between speed, weight, performance, and price. If you don’t want to carry a big heavy lens, and you don’t regularly shoot fast action, the 55-200 is an excellent telephoto\u00a0for general photography, landscapes and travel.<\/p>\n

    It will still give you excellent image quality and color reproduction, and the extended focal length range will come in handy for a wide range of subject matter.\u00a0For many subjects, you don’t need to worry about the slower aperture. Just crank the ISO dial up a few clicks or hold still and take advantage of the highly capable stabilization.<\/p>\n

    If you actually look at the lens design, the 55-200 is almost identical to the XF100-400<\/a>, and that one is incredible sharp. Where do you think the Fuji engineers got the template for the bigger\u00a0one? That’s right. They obviously did\u00a0a lot right with\u00a0the 55-200, which opened up the door to what is currently Fuji’s longest lens.<\/p>\n

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    So, after 3 years of neglect, I’ve fallen back in love with the XF55-200mm<\/a>. The romance has been rekindled. All the good things about this lens have earned it a regular place in my bag again and I’ve been impressed with the quality of the imagery I’m getting with it.<\/p>\n

    I’m usually\u00a0a 3-lens guy, with an occasionally 4th, and\u00a0these days, I’m often heading out with the wide angle 14mm<\/a>, the sweet little 35mm f\/2<\/a> for the middle range, and the\u00a0newly 55-200\u00a0for the long end. If you’re looking for a versatile telephoto lens with a nice long range\u00a0that’s easy to carry and that doesn’t have an enormous price tag,\u00a0then look no further.<\/p>\n

    Give it a try and you may find yourself falling in love with the 55-200 <\/a>too.<\/p>\n

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