With your videos it is for me always the case that I come for the gear review and stay for the photos at the end 😂 you are such a gifted photographer

As always your videos are excellent, strait forward and informative. I recently picked this up to replace my 16 1.4 and have no regrets. it's easy to have with me and it gets me out there. Im not a professional so lately my philosophy of "less is more" is working well for me. My present kit is a Fuji Xpro-2, XH-1 and a Richo GR III. Lenses I own Xf 16 2.8, 18 2.0 23 2.0 35 2.0 and 50 2.0 . My 23 1.4 is about to be sold. I can carry all of this with me in my Peak Design 10L Everyday Sling. I mainly shoot street. Thanks for your videos.

Great video! I use mine on a X-A3. You are right, it is just fun to use. Happy New Year!

Awesome. I just picked this up for my old X-T20 as a little walk around combo. I was pleasantly surprised.

Looks like a very handy lens. I like small format, wide(ish) angle lenses and this looks rather attractive to me. I do have a 10-24 and use it at the 10mm end regularly as well as a TTArtisans 27mm f2.8. The 10-24 is a bit bulky and the 27 not as wide as I prefer so this 16mm might be one for me to consider. Nice video, Dylan. Thanks and Happy New Year for 2023.

I love this little lens for everyday carry.

Thanks for the great video! I was planning on taking the 27 2.8 on my next travel. This looks like a great possible addition’ :)

always enjoy seeing your images....there's an ethos in your work that's captivating. zen billings canada

One of the first lenses I got for X-Pro3. Aside from the size, one of the best parts of it is the close focusing distance. It's a really fun lens for taking nature close-ups as well. And so inconspicuous to carry around.

I have a copy. I rarely use it. Some how the 35mm or 50mm both F2 are my favourites. But on the XT3 it is sharp enough when shooting F8. Beautiful photographs.

This is a great fun lens. It feels like the perfect focal length for just having mounted and on a wrist strap when exploring urban environments. Especially if you don't want to draw attention to yourself. I could not say the same about the 16 1.4 which also suffers in the corners and borders. The 18mm 1.4 is spectactular as is the 33 and others. But they tend to be used then put back in the bag until the next shot I visualise would be perfect for that lens. The 16 2.8 keeps me trigger happy. Qs for IQ... well it will be replacing my x100v at a fraction of the cost. Not quite as compact, but it fulfills the brief of a small unobtrusive package better in my book. I can see this coming on an upcoming trip to London, leaving the 18 1.4 behind! Never imagined that would be the case.

Thanks for this review. Your professional perspective tops other Fujifilm reviewers and is among the very few reviewers of Fuji gear and photography that I trust. I bought the 16 f2.8 recently and haven't used it a lot to-date, but it appears very sharp for my needs (travel), with good contrast and color. Like you said, it's greatest strengths are its small size, light weight and portability for travel, without sacrificing very good image quality.

Your review is quite helpful. As a photo enthusiast, I have learned that “good enough” works day in and day out. I just rented this lens and took it into Yosemite National Park. It was the perfect choice. Your content is always helpful. Regards…Wayne

It's a cracking little lens. Excellent review, thanks. On my XT5, I triple it with the 23/f2 and 50/f2. I think is is better in the corners than your impression, if, and only if, one is viewing images without resorting to pixel peeping. As photographers, we are prone to pixel peep, but most viewers, such as family members, do not. For me, I use my 16-55/f2.8 for convenience when I do not want to change lenses, such as when hiking with family and friends, but I use my 16/23/50 for fun.

I've come back to this video as I am contemplating eating my words and grabbing this lens. I've been on a bit of a transition of late, trialing out the XF50-140 and Sigma 18-35/1.8 (with the Fringer III adapter), for all of my professional event work. I am just getting a little over carrying a bag o' primes around with me everywhere throughout the day. Currently this is working so well that I am thinking of selling all my Fuji primes and staying with this combo for the foreseeable future. BUT... after the last wedding, the reception dance shots which I used the weighty Sigma 18-35 (mostly at 18mm), my wrists were not happy. This is because I tend to hold an AD200 in one hand and the camera in with the other and deploy that 'dragging the shutter/mix strobe and ambient' combo thing (which folk seem to love), and just getting into those interesting compositions with operating the camera with one hand was just getting tiresome. (Yes I could get a speedlight on camera instead and solve some of this but I like the lighter Xpro trigger and use it for other ocf work during the night). Seeing as most of these particular dance shots are around 1/4 or 1/5th, this then means the apertures are fairly stopped down anyway and the wide angle f2.8 wouldn't be a drawback. I do still have my 16/1.4 but for this case usage I'd happily trade the faster aperture for the lighter lens with better AF. As you say its the kind of lens you can find a place for in your bag or on your person and it wouldn't be annoying to ferry around. The 16/1.4 is quite a lot larger and starts to become bother. Thanks again.

As always, great review! I've always had a 24mm lens from my film days and into my Nikon DSLR period, so when I got into the Fujifilm system the 16mm was a must have lens. At the time the only option was the f/1.4 version so that is what I bought. It is a terrific lens, worthy of all the praise, but it is large and heavy, especially if you are using it on an X-E series body. So when the 16mm f/2.8 came out I bought it right away. I agree with pretty much everything in your review. This is my choice (I still have the fast lens too) for daylight f/4 to f/11 shooting. I probably use the f/2.8 version 80% of the time unless I know absolutely that I'll need the fast aperture for low light or selective focus. One thing that I use the 16mm f/2.8 lens for is to shoot square photos. When shooting 1:1 images, the 16mm gives a field of view, side to side very close to a 23mm (35mm FF equivalent). The 16mm on a X-E body is just fun to use for this.

Thanks Dylan

Would love it if you would test out the new 27mm 2.8. WR lens. I know some photographers are interested in using this focal length for street photography. The only issue I have with it is the F stop, which I think could’ve been an F2 or even a 1.7. This is a unique perspective versus the 35 or 50 mm that most photographers have on their cameras. I’ve seen some images of a 40 mm and find it a very interesting perspective. 🖖

Amazed

Gorgeous images! Difficult to see how it is lacking a bit in IQ with your expertise in using it Dylan. 👍👍

I love my 27mm f2.8 (newer version with the aparture ring). Have you had any experience with it? I have also the 33mm f1.4. Brilliant couple of lenses that complete each other quite well

Thank you I was waiting for you do this review. I might pick one up, only because it is portable and the xf18mm f2 just hasn't convinced me based on people's reviews. I find it interesting this lens is on the 40mp resolution list with those "soft" edges, but the xf16mm f1.4 isn't.

I've really enjoyed mine. I used it a lot around the holidays here at home to get photos at parties without crowding people into the frame.

I have the 16-80 lens & xT5 Not on Fuji’s list for optimum use for the 40 MP sensor Any advantage for me to add this 16 mm f 2.8 I do love small lenses and sort of wished I hadn’t sold my 35f2 but I did get the 33f1.4 and love it

I bought a used copy as I wanted a faster AF lens with weather sealing compared to my 18mm F2, especially after I picked up a X-Pro2, it's also great on my X-E3

Nice video, how is the focus breathing for video? Currently I use the 10-24 F/4 for video which has little to no focus breathing but is an F/4 which is somewhat problematic in certain indoor situations All my Primes are 35mm or longer (which is too tight for what i shoot) So really looking at either the 16mm F/2.8, the 23mm F/2 or the sigma 16mm F/1.4 Acceptable photo quality is good enough as this will mainly be used for 4K footage, just not sure if 1 stop is worth the investment in the 16 f/2.8 (all be it a small investment) If money was no object I'd just get the 18mm and new 23mm F/1.4s and call it a day. Most of the shooting is in manual focus, but I want the autofocus to work well enough for video, for the occasions when it is needed (I know the sigma 56 F/1.4 is fine autofocus for video, but the 16mm sigma is an older design and i've had no chance to test it, and i'm more inclined to go Fuji native glass when possible) thanks

I do find it interesting, there was a lot of people ditching the 16/1.4 for the new 18/1.4 and then coming back to getting that 16mm fix. I have the 16/1.4 and am very happy with it, I don't even find the size too off putting and appreciate the 1.4 for event work. I have the 23/2 and 50/2 as well, so I am well aware of the allure of the tiny fujicrons, I guess I feel like the 16/1.4 is one that perhaps just has to make it into the bag regardless. If the 16/2.8 was a f2 then that would really throw a spanner in the works, but for me I feel like I can't afford or really justify the 18/1.4 and 16/2.8 so my compromise is to make do with the 16/1.4. For event work f2.8 is pushing it (I try to keep f2 as the limit), so the 16/2.8 is really cancelled out as being an option even though its size and weight is a strong allure. Nice review. All the best for 2023 Dylan.

Maybe more credit is due since Fujifilm themselves listed the 16mm 2.8 as having resolution suitable for the 40MP sensor and not the f1.4.

Thank you for the review. I was about to pick up the XF18 f2 (even it is outdated for many people) mainly for documentary photos and tourism with my X-E4... but now wondering, this 16 f2.8 is it the one to choose instead? Wondering because you are mainly talking about landscape photography with this lens, is it a bit too wide for documentary in streets compared to 18mm? Thank you.

If i buy small crop fuji camera (i use GFX as primary) then i buy: SIGMA 16mm F1.4 ;-) and 28/2 ttartisan (AF too half proce, same qulaity) - sigma is better that fuji

Hello again Dylan. I just read your Vietnam article at Fujilove. I have the X-T5 with the 16 f2.8, 23 F2, and 35 f1.4 for the same reasons you took these focal lengths to Vietnam (though I haven't been to Vietnam). I was surprised you said the 16 f2.8 missed focus "more than a few times". You didn't mention you saw that in your initial review. I haven't noticed this problem but to be honest I haven't used the 16 that often, having only recently bought it. Do you have any explanation for the missed focus? Does it change your opinion of the lens? So far, from what I have seen with it, my copy seems to perform well. Hopefully I'll have more opportunity to use it in the near future and report back. Thanks for your reviews.

Hi Dylan, You and other reviewers have found this lens not the sharpest, especially in the corners; yet Fujifilm lists it as suitable for optimal results with their 40MP sensor cameras. Do you have any thoughts on this? Thanks very much, GB

Do you recommend buying the Fujifilm XF 16mm f2.8 or the Laowa 10mm F4 cookie?

Im new in photography, just bought xs10. Can someone share where to focus when take landscape photography?

Isn't TTArtisan 17/1.4 more interesting option? I mean.. Who needs AF in wide angle anyway? ;)

Any ideas why the 16mm 2.8 is on the 40MP compatibility list and the much more expensive 16mm 1.4 is not?

Did Bret Hart become a photographer?

Corners? If people are looking at the corners of your photos, then your photos was not that good to begin with.