Fujifilm Fujinon XF8mmF3.5 R WR Fujifilm - Review 🏆

The Fujifilm Fujinon XF8mmF3.5 R WR is a prime wide-angle lens designed for Fujifilm's X-mount mirrorless cameras. With an equivalent focal length of 12mm in 35mm terms, this ultra-wide prime lens captures an extremely wide field of view and is well-suited for landscapes, architecture, and interior photography.

Key features and specifications:

• Focal Length: 8mm (35mm equivalent: 12mm)
• Maximum Aperture: f/3.5
• Minimum Aperture: f/22
• Lens Construction: 10 elements in 8 groups (2 aspherical elements, 1 ED element)
• Number of Aperture Blades: 9 (rounded aperture)
• Minimum Focusing Distance: 0.12m
• Maximum Magnification Ratio: 0.14x
• Filter Thread: 62mm
• Dimensions: 60.5mm diameter x 51.7mm length
• Weight: 235g
• Weather Sealed Construction

With its ultra wide-angle perspective, fast f/3.5 maximum aperture, close focusing ability, and weather sealed design, the XF8mmF3.5 R WR lens provides unique creative possibilities for Fujifilm X-mount shooters.

Build Quality

The Fujifilm XF8mmF3.5 R WR lens features an all-metal construction with a weather resistant design. The lens barrel and mount are made from metal which gives the lens a solid, durable feel. There is a rubber gasket around the lens mount to prevent water and dust from entering the camera when paired with a compatible Fuji X-Series weather sealed camera body.

The lens features 9 aperture blades and has a minimum focusing distance of just 12cm. Overall the build quality feels very high-end and the lens seems like it could stand up to consistent professional use. The weather sealing also makes this a great choice for outdoor photography in less than ideal conditions.

The Fujifilm X-T30 II with XF18-55mm is a versatile and highly capable camera kit. The X-T30 II features a 26.1MP APS-C X-Trans CMOS 4 sensor and X-Processor 4, offering high-resolution images and 4K video recording. It has a robust autofocus system with face and eye detection, making it ideal for portrait photography. The included XF18-55mm lens covers a useful focal length range and features optical image stabilization, providing sharp images even in lower light conditions. This combination makes for a powerful tool for both photography enthusiasts and professionals alike.

Image Quality

The Fujifilm Fujinon XF8mmF3.5 R WR lens produces images with excellent sharpness, smooth bokeh, and minimal chromatic aberration.

Sharpness

This lens is incredibly sharp, even when shot wide open at f/3.5. Center sharpness is excellent starting at f/3.5, and corner sharpness is very good by f/5.6. Stopping down further to f/8-f11 yields tack sharp images from edge to edge. The sharpness across the frame is very consistent.

Bokeh

The bokeh this lens produces is quite pleasing. Out of focus highlights are rendered smoothly and circularly. There's a nice falloff from in focus to out of focus areas. The bokeh helps subject separation and isolation.

Chromatic Aberration

Chromatic aberration is very well controlled. There's minimal fringing present even in high contrast situations. The images have a clean look straight out of camera without odd colored fringing.

The Fujifilm XF23mmF1.4 WR is another standout lens, ideal for photographers who need a versatile, high-quality prime. This 23mm lens features a wide f/1.4 aperture, offering excellent low-light performance and the ability to create a shallow depth of field. The image sharpness at f/1.4 is impressive, with exceptional detail and contrast. The lens construction ensures that chromatic aberrations and distortions are minimized, making it perfect for both landscape and portrait photography. With weather resistance, it is also durable enough for challenging conditions.

Autofocus

The autofocus performance of the Fujifilm XF8mmF3.5 R WR lens is excellent. It focuses quickly and silently thanks to the inner focusing system. The speed is fast enough for street photography and capturing candid moments.

Focus acquisition is accurate in most lighting conditions. It may struggle a bit in very low light, but overall it locks on reliably. This accuracy applies to both still subjects and moving subjects. The lens tracks subjects smoothly when shooting video.

The autofocus motor itself is virtually silent. You don't hear any noise or pulsing when it focuses. This stealthy performance makes it great for unobtrusive shooting.

Overall, the autofocus capabilities of this lens make it a very versatile option. The fast, accurate, and quiet performance suits many different types of photography from landscapes to portraits to street photography. It pairs well with Fujifilm's phase detection AF system.

Manual Focus

The manual focus ring on the Fujifilm XF8mmF3.5 R WR lens provides a smooth and precise focusing experience. The focus ring is generously sized and has a ribbed rubber grip, making it easy to turn. The damping of the focus ring is well-judged, providing enough resistance for accurate focusing without being too stiff.

Focusing manually with the lens is highly accurate thanks to the focus-by-wire mechanism. This allows you to dial in precise focus adjustments down to fractions of a millimeter. The focus throw from minimum focus to infinity is about 90 degrees, which gives you plenty of room to fine-tune focus precisely. Overall, manually focusing with this lens is a pleasure thanks to the well-damped focus ring and accurate focus-by-wire system.

Optical Performance

The Fujifilm XF8mmF3.5 R WR lens delivers excellent optical performance for a wide angle prime lens. It produces sharp images across the frame, even when shooting wide open at f/3.5.

Distortion is very well controlled for a lens this wide. There is only minor barrel distortion, which is easily corrected in post processing if needed. Architectural photographers in particular will appreciate the lack of distortion.

Vignetting is also not a major issue. There is some slight corner darkening wide open, but this clears up significantly by f/5.6. Most lenses exhibit some vignetting wide open, so this is nothing out of the ordinary.

Flare resistance is quite good thanks to the lens' complex optical design. The 9 blade aperture helps produce pleasing sunstars when stopped down. The nano-GI coating also reduces flare and ghosting. Strong side lighting may produce some flare artifacts, but overall the lens handles challenging lighting well.

The optical design utilizes 17 elements in 12 groups, including 2 aspherical elements and 2 extra-low dispersion elements. This advanced formula contributes to the excellent sharpness and lack of distortion. Fujifilm's lens engineers have done an impressive job with the optics in a compact wide angle prime.

Handling

The Fujifilm XF8mmF3.5 R WR lens is compact, lightweight and well-balanced on Fujifilm X-series mirrorless cameras. Its dimensions are 2.8 x 2.4 inches (72 x 61mm) and it weighs just 9.88 ounces (280 grams). This makes the lens easy to carry around all day without fatigue.

Despite its small size, the lens feels sturdy and solidly built. The metal exterior contributes to the premium quality feel. The lens mount is also made of metal for durability over years of use.

The lens handles well during use. Its size and weight make it comfortable to hold. The short length means the lens doesn't add much bulk to the camera. Everything stays compact for discreet shooting.

Balance on camera is excellent due to the lens' light weight. It doesn't cause the camera to feel front-heavy or off-balance. This allows easy panning and tilting without straining your wrists. The lens pairs especially well with Fujifilm's smaller mirrorless cameras like the X-T30.

Overall, the handling experience of the XF8mmF3.5 is refined. Fujifilm designed this lens to be highly portable and usable for long periods of time. Photographers who value small equipment will appreciate the lens' compact form factor.

Value

The Fujinon XF8mmF3.5 R WR lens offers excellent value for money in its class. At around £600, it is very competitively priced against similar prime lenses from other manufacturers.

Compared to equivalent lenses from Canon, Nikon and Sony, the XF8mmF3.5 is less expensive while still delivering outstanding image quality and performance. Many competing 8mm f/3.5 prime lenses cost £800-£1000, making the Fujinon lens a real bargain.

For landscape, architectural and street photographers using Fujifilm's APS-C mirrorless cameras, this lens delivers tremendous value. Its fast f/3.5 maximum aperture produces beautiful bokeh and performs well in low light. The weather resistant construction offers durability when shooting outdoors. And the compact size coupled with fast, quiet autofocus makes it highly versatile across many genres.

At this price point, there are few other lenses that can match the XF8mmF3.5's combination of optical quality, features, and performance. It punches far above its weight given the reasonable asking price. For Fujifilm shooters looking to add a high-quality wide angle prime to their kit, this lens represents outstanding overall value.

Pros & Cons

Pros:

• Compact and lightweight design makes it highly portable
• Fast aperture of f/3.5 allows for shallow depth of field
• Excellent sharpness and clarity across the frame
• Virtually no distortion, vignetting or chromatic aberration
• Quick and quiet autofocus performance
• Useful minimum focus distance of 0.25m for close-up shots
• Weather-sealed construction for use in challenging conditions
• Solid all-metal build quality with smooth focus and aperture rings
• Great value for the quality and performance

Cons:

• No image stabilization
• Manual focus ring could have more damping
• Price is still relatively high for an F3.5 prime lens
• Not compatible with teleconverters
• Can struggle a bit in very low light situations
• No click stops on aperture ring

Overall, the Fujifilm XF8mmF3.5 R WR lens provides stellar optical quality and construction in a compact form factor. It's an extremely sharp, distortion-free lens ideal for landscapes, architecture, interiors, and astrophotography. The fast aperture produces pleasing bokeh, and the weather sealing expands shooting capabilities. Autofocus is snappy and accurate. The manual focus ring could be a bit smoother, and the lack of image stabilization may limit handheld low light use, but at this price point it's still a great value if an ultra-wide prime is what you need.

Conclusion

The Fujifilm Fujinon XF8mmF3.5 R WR is a fantastic lens that delivers excellent image quality in a compact and durable body. Its wide angle of view makes it a versatile option for landscapes, architecture, interiors, and environmental portraits. The fast f/3.5 maximum aperture produces pleasing bokeh and allows handheld shooting in low light. Autofocus is snappy and accurate thanks to a quiet internal focusing system. The lens is also weather resistant and can withstand splashes and dust.

Manual focus feels smooth and precise due to the focus ring's dampened movement. Optical performance is outstanding across the frame with minimal distortion, vignetting and chromatic aberration. The all-metal construction gives the lens a premium, robust feel that inspires confidence. At just 155g, it's easy to carry around all day.

The XF8mmF3.5 R WR punches above its weight in terms of image quality and functionality. It's ideal for Fujifilm X-series mirrorless shooters who want an ultra-wide prime that can handle a variety of scenarios. Landscape and architectural photographers will love the dramatic perspectives it offers. The fast aperture also makes it a good choice for astrophotography. Street and documentary shooters will appreciate its compact form factor and unobtrusive look. For those needing an affordable, high-performing wide angle prime, the XF8mmF3.5 R WR is an excellent option and easy to recommend.