Your camera is compatible with the following native X-mount (APS-C) or G-mount (44×33mm medium format) lenses:
In addition to native X-mount and G-mount lenses, you can also attach a host of current and older lenses from other manufacturers via suitable adapters. Remember that by using a “dumb” mechanical adapter, adapted lenses will always operate at the set working aperture. Autofocus, program AE, and shutter priority AE will not be available, either. Third-party smart adapters (which are mostly available to adapt Canon EF lenses to the X-mount or G-mount) are more expensive and can overcome these limitations.
X-mount compatible Samyang lenses are just like adapted lenses! |
Manual focus lenses from Samyang/Rokinon/Walimex and similar brands aren’t native X-mount lenses. They simply come with a compatible mechanical mount, so you don’t have to buy an additional adapter. These lenses behave like other adapted third-party lenses: they don’t communicate with the camera (there’s no data transmission because there aren’t any electronic contacts), there’s no autofocus, the live view [12] operates with the currently set working aperture, and you can only use AE modes A and M.
Zeiss Touit lenses |
Even though Touit lenses with native X-mount compatibility offer great image quality and work like Fujinon XF lenses, Zeiss tends to be hesitant to support new camera features with lens firmware updates. It took Zeiss about half a year longer than Fuji to offer PDAF support, and there is still no LMO support. There’s also no indication that Zeiss wants to continue with the Touit line of lenses.
This tip is of the “what you always wanted to know but never dared to ask” variety:
Many XF, XC, and GF lenses feature built-in Optical Image Stabilization (OIS). In addition to that, the X-H1 and the upcoming GFX 100 offer In Body Image Stabilization (IBIS), which works with all lenses, even manually adapted third-party lenses.
OIS and IBIS perform the same task: they prevent camera shake and blurry images in situations that require you to take handheld shots at a slower-than-usual shutter speed.
To control the OIS/IBIS, XF and GF lenses offer a dedicated OIS on/off switch on the lens barrel. The OIS in XC lenses is controlled through the camera menu. The same applies to the IBIS of the X-H1 with lenses (native or adapted) that don’t have built-in OIS.
For handheld shots, an old rule of thumb recommends using shutter speeds that are at least as fast as the reciprocal of the full-frame-equivalent focal length that is in use. For example, with a 50mm lens and an APS-C crop factor of 1.5, the minimum safe shutter speed for handheld shooting would be [1/(50 × 1.5)] s = 1/75s. In other words, when you are shooting handheld with a 50mm lens and don’t want shaky images, you should use shutter speeds at least as fast as 1/75s. Or you can use the OIS to add a few more stops.
Of course, rules of thumb don’t apply to everybody. Some users have quite steady hands, while others have a shaky grip. The settings and equipment that work for me may not work for you. However, the OIS will always give you a few extra stops of shutter-speed headroom.
In SHOOTING MENU > (SHOOTING SETTING >) IS MODE, you can choose between two basic OIS modes:
Please note that the OIS can also introduce camera shake, especially at faster shutter speeds. This adverse effect is more likely to occur in OIS mode 1 than in mode 2. However, OIS mode 1 is more effective when used at very slow shutter speeds, such as 1/15s, 1/8s, or even 1/4s.
These are my recommendations for using OIS and IBIS:
By the way, OIS and IBIS both emit a soft humming sound, even when the function is turned off. Don’t worry about the noise—it’s perfectly normal.
Important: If you are using manually adapted third-party lenses on an X-H1, its IBIS can only perform correctly if you have entered and selected the focal length of the attached lens in SHOOTING MENU > SHOOTING SETTING > MOUNT ADAPTOR SETTING.
OIS and motion detection: what’s going on? |
When Auto-ISO is active, and you are shooting in either aperture priority A or program AE P, most entry and enthusiast level models (e.g. X-E3, X-E2S, X-T20, X-T10, X-T100, X-M1, X-A series, etc.) offer another OIS option: motion detection. When the camera detects subject movement at the time of shooting, this feature increases the shutter speed by one or two stops to reduce unwanted motion blur. To compensate for the reduced exposure time, the camera will increase the ISO value of the shot accordingly.
Motion detection reacts on either subject movement or camera movement, both of which can’t be compensated by the OIS. This makes it possible to select a slower minimum shutter speed in the Auto-ISO settings (which would be suitable for static subjects). However, when the motion detection registers subject or camera movement while the shutter button is half or fully depressed, it will temporarily increase the minimum shutter speed by one or two stops. It’s a smart way of adapting to a quickly changing scene.
Motion detection can be combined with both OIS modes (1 and 2). You can find these options in the OIS menu as CONTINUOUS+MOTION (OIS mode 1 with motion detection) and SHOOTING+MOTION (OIS mode 2 with motion detection).
Don’t forget that these two additional OIS options are only available when Auto-ISO is active, and the camera is set to either aperture priority A or program AE P. To grant motion detection sufficient operating room, the Auto-ISO ceiling (MAX. SENSITIVITY) should be set to a reasonably high value, such as 6400 or 12800 (if available).
Important: Higher-end models like the X-Pro2, X-T1, X-T2, X-T3, X-H1, and GFX 50 don’t offer motion detection OIS options because these cameras are lacking automatic scene recognition (SR+) functionality, which is a prerequisite of motion detection.
How the XF23mmF1.4 R, XF16mmF1.4 R WR, and XF14mmF2.8 R are different |
Unlike standard X-mount lenses, the wide-angle primes XF14mmF2.8 R, XF16mmF1.4 R WR, and XF23mmF1.4 R feature a more traditional manual focus ring with a clutch mechanism.
Fujifilm offers two versions of the XF56mmF1.2 R portrait lens: a regular version and an APD version. Please note that the newer and more expensive APD version is not replacing or succeeding the classic XF56mmF1.2 R lens. It’s not even per se considered an overall improvement. It’s just different. APD presents itself as another option for photographers who shoot portraits at a wide-open aperture and want very smooth bokeh.
Let’s first establish what the APD (apodization) filter is actually doing. This non-removable filter sits in the same optical plane as the aperture, and its effect is actually quite similar: It reduces the amount of light that reaches the sensor.
Here’s the difference from regular aperture blades: Normal blades feature hard edges, whereas the APD filter works with a smooth gradient (like a radial neutral density filter) that gets increasingly translucent from edge to center of the image circle.
The gradient of the APD filter has an additional softening effect on out-of-focus areas: the hard and defined edges of blur discs are literally filed off. The effect decreases as the lens is stopped down, and at apertures of f/5.6 and smaller, the APD filter has no effect at all. That’s why Fujifilm recommends using the XF56mmF1.2 R APD between f/1.2 and f/2.
So why not dump the regular XF56mm lens and replace it with the APD version? It’s because the APD filter introduces shortcomings of its own:
The APD version is significantly more expensive than the regular version, so you basically have to pay more for less performance. For the APD version to be a reasonable choice, you really have to love its softened, out-of-focus blur when shooting wide-open.
Using the Lens Modulation Optimizer (LMO) |
Most enthusiast and pro-level camera models support the Lens Modulation Optimizer or LMO. This feature premiered in the X100S and X20 fixed-lens cameras (where it can’t be switched off). It counteracts common optical phenomena (like diffraction [18] and corner softness) when the camera converts the RAW data into JPEG images. To make it work, the firmware of the attached lens sends its LMO correction data to the camera as hidden metadata with every image.
If your lens supports the LMO (all Fujinon XF and GF lenses do), you should enable the function by selecting SHOOTING MENU > (IMAGE QUALITY SETTING >) LENS MODULATION OPTIMIZER > ON.
You can also use the built-in RAW converter of your camera (PLAYBACK MENU > RAW CONVERSION) to enable or disable the LMO for a specific JPEG result. With this method, it’s easy to create and compare versions of a shot with and without LMO enhancements.
The LMO takes care of the following optical effects:
LMO corrections are based on complex deconvolution [19] algorithms. Currently, this is only supported in-camera with the built-in RAW converter. External converters such as Adobe Lightroom, Adobe Camera Raw, Capture One Pro, Silkypix, Iridient Developer, or Photo Ninja can’t process LMO data. This means that LMO corrections are only visible in JPEGs that have been generated by the camera.
Things you should know about digital lens corrections: |
Most modern lenses achieve their optimal image quality through a combination of optical and digital corrections. Corrections are mostly applied to the three following phenomena:
Some camera makers rely on dedicated correction profiles that must be provided by each RAW converter maker. Fujifilm isn’t one of these companies: all current Fujifilm cameras save digital corrections as metadata in the RAW file. RAW converters can access this lens-specific metadata and use it to apply appropriate corrections. This way, the built-in RAW converter and external RAW conversion software, such as Adobe Lightroom, Silkypix, Iridient Developer, or Capture One, can use the metadata in the RAW file to correct or mitigate vignetting, distortion, and chromatic aberration.
A major benefit of this method is that many RAW converters automatically support new lenses since Fujifilm delivers the correction data via the RAW metadata. However, there’s also a drawback: some RAW converters (such as Lightroom, Adobe Camera Raw, and Silkypix) don’t give you the option to switch off metadata-based digital lens corrections, even if you’re convinced they aren’t necessary. Since digital distortion correction always results in some loss of image sharpness and detail due to the required stretching and interpolation of pixels, this can be a headache for some users. Obviously, not all subjects or images require the same amount of digital correction (it can also be a simple matter of taste), so full user control over the application of digital lens corrections is a very nice feature.
Luckily, software like Iridient Developer and Capture One offer control over how much digital metadata distortion (or vignetting) correction should be applied. Other programs (like Photo Ninja and AccuRaw) simply ignore lens-correction metadata. With such programs, all corrections must be applied either manually or by using a dedicated profile.
Important: Adobe Lightroom and Adobe Camera RAW offer additional lens-correction profiles for X100 series cameras that (if you choose to activate them) are applied on top of any correction that is already applied based on the RAW metadata. The combination of metadata-based and profile-based correction is designed to render perfectly corrected X100/S/T/F results. However, in the real world, “clinically perfect” is often too much, so it will depend on the subject and your personal preference if (or to what degree) you want to apply these additional correction profiles.
X100 series and X70: Using wide-angle and tele conversion lenses |
The X100 series is famous for its built-in 23mmF2 lens. Many things changed and improved during the journey from the X100 Classic to the X100F, but the lens (which corresponds to a 35mm field of view in full-frame terms) remained mostly the same.
For added flexibility, you can attach wide (WCL-X100 & WCL-X100II) or tele conversion lenses (TCL-X100 & TCL-X100II) to your X100/S/T/F. The WCLs convert the focal length of the camera’s built-in lens to 19mm, and the TCLs turn it into a 33mm outfit. In full-frame equivalency terms, this corresponds to 28mm and 50mm lenses. Adding a WCL or TCL doesn’t impact the speed of the resulting lens, so the aperture numbers on your camera remain valid.
Optically, there is no difference between the older and the newer “type II” versions of the wide and tele conversion adapters. It’s just a matter of convenience—the newer versions are automatically recognized by the X100F when you attach and remove them from the camera’s lens, but the older are not. Instead, you have to go to the SHOOTING MENU > (SHOOTING SETTING >) CONVERSION LENS menu and tell the camera when you attach or remove an older conversion lens (WIDE, TELE, or OFF).
If you already own a legacy WCL-X100 or TCL-X100 converter from a previous X100, X100S, or X100T camera, you can keep using it on your X100F. Just don’t forget to tell the camera when a conversion lens has been attached or removed. Here’s why:
The newer type-II conversion lenses can save you from forgetting to tell the X100F about attaching or removing WCLs and TCLs. If you are a frequent user of a first-generation WCL or TCL, I recommend adding the CONVERSION LENS menu option to the MY MENU of the X100F for quick and easy access. You can edit the MY MENU with SET UP > USER SETTING > MY MENU SETTING.
Important: Since the X100, X100S, and X100T do not feature automatic WCL or TCL recognition, it doesn’t matter if you attach older type-I or newer type-II conversion lenses to any of these cameras. You always have to manually tell these cameras when you are use a conversion lens.
Analog to the X100 series, you can turn the 18.5mmF2.8 lens of the compact X70 into a 14mmF2.8 lens by attaching the WCL-X70 wide-angle conversion lens, resulting in a 21mm “full-frame” equivalent. Again, you have to manually inform the camera (SHOOTING MENU > WIDE CONVERSION LENS > ON) in order to avoid unwanted distortion and vignetting. Don’t forget to switch this option off again when you remove the conversion lens.
Using teleconverters |
Teleconverters are installed between the camera body and an XF or GF lens, where they extend the effective focal length of the lens by a factor of either 1.4 or 2. This leads to losing either one or two aperture stops of brightness, and it puts a (small) toll on image resolution. Hence, teleconverters should be used in concert with premium lenses that offer a resolution reserve that’s big enough to render the inevitable toll on image quality practically invisible.
As of December 2018, there are four teleconverters available from Fujifilm:
Unlike screw-on conversion lenses for the X70 and X100 series, XF and GF teleconverters have an impact on the speed (maximum brightness) of the resulting lens package.
To give you an example, the XF2x TC WR effectively turns the ultra-sharp XF80mmF2.8 R LM OIS WR Macro lens into an XF160mmF5.6 R LM OIS WR Macro. Setting the aperture of this combo to f/2.8 actually means setting an effective aperture of f/5.6. Using a 2x teleconverter, the light loss comprises two stops, whereas 1.4x converters take away one stop of light.
Luckily, all this is recognized and handled by the camera and lens firmware (as long as you have kept them up to date). The firmware will automatically adjust the on-screen displays and the EXIF [23] data to reflect the effective aperture values. It will also change the lens-correction metadata (factoring in updated values for distortion, vignetting, and chromatic aberration) and include the presence of the teleconverter in the EXIF lens description. For example, a GF250mmF4 R LM OIS WR becomes a GF250mmF4 R LM OIS WR +1.4x.
Depending on the quality of your individual lens copy, using the XF100–400mmF4.5–5.6 R LM OIS WR in concert with an XF2x TC WR tends to stretch things thin with regards to performance and image quality, particularly at the long end of the lens. At effectively an 800mm focal length (that’s a full-frame equivalent of 1200mm), the wide-open aperture of this combo is f/11, which can make it hard for your camera’s autofocus to gather enough light to operate quickly and precisely. There’s also some loss of resolution—not only because of the optics involved, but also often due to atmospheric effects when you are capturing far-away subjects.
Macro extension tubes |
You can add macro capability to many of your GF, XF, and XC lenses by using Fujifilm’s electronic macro extension tubes: MCEX-11 or MCEX-16 for X-mount, and MCEX-18G WR or MCEX-45G WR for G-mount.
You can download PDF files ([24] and [25]) from Fujifilm’s website that show how the different extension tubes enhance the magnification factor of each X-mount or G-mount lens. Please note that the camera’s electronic depth-of-field/distance scale doesn’t reflect the use of macro extension tubes.
A word of caution: Stay away from cheap third-party macro extension tubes with electronic contacts. Some of them turned out to be a bad fit, damaging cameras and lenses.
It’s also not recommended to stack more than one macro extension tube on your camera.
Use the included lens hood! |
Most Fujifilm XC, XF, and GF lenses come with a fitted lens hood, which should be used whenever possible. Apart from its optical benefits, the hood protects the lens and the front glass element from damage.
Lens hoods can pose problems, too: they make the lens appear bigger than it is, and they can shade the in-camera/on-camera flash or the autofocus assist light. They also use up extra space in your bag, although most hoods can be reverse-mounted on the lens for transport purposes.
When you shoot with a small shoe-mounted flash, or when you depend on using the AF assist lamp, it’s best to remove the lens hood.
Sadly, X100 series cameras don’t come with an included lens hood. However, there are offerings from Fujifilm and aftermarket manufacturers. My personal choice is the original Fujifilm LH-X100. This hood comes with an AR-X100 adapter ring and is compatible with the WCL-X100 and WCL-X100II wide-angle conversion lenses.
The 23mmF2 lens in the X100F is susceptible to lens flare, especially when you shoot against a bright light source like the sun. This can result in a decrease of contrast, which can add a “dreamy” look to a scene. If you don’t like that, try to shade the lens from the light source with your hand, or add contrast during post-processing.
Important: Don’t use screw-in lens hoods with lenses that feature a retractable inner tube, such as the XF27mmF2.8, XF60mmF2.4 R Macro, or XF35mmF1.4 R. The inner tube doesn’t respond well to shocks and pressure. By using a screw-in hood, you’d directly transfer pressure or shocks from the lens hood to the delicate inner lens tube. It’s a recipe for disaster.
Lens protection filters—yes or no? |
Digital cameras don’t require the UV or skylight filters that used to be very popular in the days of analog film photography. This means that a permanently affixed filter has no optical purpose, and only serves as protective glass. This additional glass can have a negative effect on image quality, especially at night or when you shoot against a bright light source. Filters increase the chance of ghosting, unwanted reflections, or a loss of contrast.
I recommend using protective filters only in situations that require this additional protective layer. In most situations, the lens hood should provide sufficient protection. If you still decide to use a filter, make sure to choose a high-quality product. For example, Fujifilm offers protective filters that feature the same Super EBC coating used on their GF/XF/XC lenses. Be prepared to pay a premium, though.
39mm filters can be tricky! |
The XF60mmF2.4 R and XF27mmF2.8 lenses require filters with a 39mm thread. Those filters are designed to allow the inner lens barrel freely retract into the outer barrel while the filter is attached. If this isn’t possible (for example, because a thin step-up ring is directly attached to the lens or because the filter’s overall diameter is too large), the lens can be damaged when the filter or step-up ring collides with the outer barrel of the lens.
A typical indicator for this and other mechanical lens problems is a message alerting you that the camera needs to be switched off and on again. A possible solution is putting a spacer (a suitable 39mm filter, for example) between the lens and the step-up ring. You should remove the glass from the spacer. You can refit a cheap, old, or unused 39mm filter to do the job as long as it doesn’t interfere with the outer lens barrel when the inner barrel is retracting.
Don’t forget that screw-in lens hoods are an absolute no-go for a lens with retractable inner barrels like the XF27mmF2.8.
Switch off the camera when exchanging lenses! |
The user manual of your system camera asks you to switch off the camera before exchanging lenses. Then again, who cares, right? In the heat of the moment, many of us forget (or simply don’t have the time) to follow this advice, and so far, nothing terrible has happened.
However, instead of making a bad habit out of this, we should consider why Fujifilm is actually asking us to exchange lenses only when the camera is turned off:
Lens sample variation and how to deal with it |
It’s true: Not all copies of a specific lens type are the same. Some copies are better than others, often also depending on what you shoot, what settings you use and what you look at in the end result. This applies to all lenses from all well-known manufacturers, so it’s not Fujifilm-specific.
That said, most of us are using Fujinon lenses, and as somebody who has tested, owns or has owned at least one copy of every GF, XF, XC, and Zeiss Touit lens model, I am happy to report that quality issues with individual samples are quite rare. Yes, each lens copy is unique, but the differences in image quality are usually negligible in practical use. You could measure them, but you can’t see them in a normal shot.
Thanks to their less complex construction, prime lenses rarely exhibit sample variation issues. Real problems are more common with complex zoom lenses, and they are typically related to decentered lens elements, which results in visible corner softness affecting one or several image quadrants. In my experience, the most likely candidates for this issue are the XF10–24mmF4 R OIS and the XF18–135mmF3.5–5-6 R LM OIS WR.
Decentered lenses can be realigned and calibrated by Fujifilm (this service should be free within the warranty period), and I recommend that you document the problem for the service technician if you are confident that one exists. Testing for a decentered lens can be performed at home in several ways. One simple but effective method is suggested by Lensrentals [26], another one by the German website Onzesi [27] (English Google translation here: [28]).