The Fujinon 18-55mm f/2.8-4 R LM OIS Review

I’ve always believed that an all-around zoom lens is a must for all photographers. Yes, generally, a prime lens is the better quality lens but, for maximum flexibility, a standard zoom is a must in my opinion.

This is because there are times when you can’t move close enough to your subject if you are using a wide prime lens. There are also those times when you don’t have enough room to move back when you have a telephoto prime lens. And, let’s say you both have a wide and a prime lenses, there are times however when changing your lens is less than ideal. Examples for each case are: say, you are in a zoo - you can’t walk up to a lion to photograph it when you have a wide prime; or, you are in a room with your friends and you want to get everybody in the shot for a group photo - if you are using a long prime lens, you just won’t have enough space to move back; and, finally, when it is especially windy outside, or when you are on a beach, or when it’s raining - you don’t want to remove the lens from your camera body else dirt or sand or water might get in your camera!

The Fujinon 18-55mm f/2.8-4 R LM OIS lens is an ideal all-around lens. Yes, the name is a mouthful... The 18mm end (on an APSC sensor, this is equivalent to 27mm) is wide enough for street and landscape photography and the 55mm end (equivalent to 82.5mm) is long enough for portraitures and for moderate zooms.

When the wife and I went to Tokyo, Japan last year for a short trip, this lens was the only one I brought with me. It was the only lens that I needed.

The lens is sharp and it focuses quickly (paired with a Fujifim X-T20). It is lightweight yet feels premium in the hand. You can adjust the aperture manually via 1/3 stops. There is no marking on the aperture ring however - you will only be able to tell what aperture you are in if you look at either the back display or through the electronic viewfinder. The lens has image stabilization up to four stops so, theoretically, you can shoot with a shutter speed as slow as 1/8 of a second. I have tried it. It works!

There are a couple of switches on the body of the lens:  

• the Optical Image Stabilization on/off switch
 
• the aperture mode switch (whether you want to be at full auto or at aperture priority)

It cannot get any simpler!

As I’ve said, I believe that this is a perfect all-around lens. If a Fujifilm camera owner gets to have only one lens, I feel that this should be it. You can take it when you travel. You can photograph your family and friends with it. You can take landscape photos. You can do sports photography with it. And, as for me, I can use it to cover events!

The photos produced by this lens are sharp and the focusing speed is fast. And it comes in a lightweight body.

This lens is the perfect travel lens!

Oh, special tip, when I cover events, I don’t use the f/2.8 aperture setting. I don’t want to be “surprised” when I go towards the long end of the lens where the maximum aperture will be f/4. I just use a maximum of f/4 whether I’m in the wide end or the narrow end so that, all things being equal, my shutter speed will be constant also. Only the ISO will change depending on the scenery.

The Fujinon 18-55mm f/2.8-4 R LM OIS is Highly Recommended!

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