Happy new year everyone! I hope you had a great start to 2015. I know I did. I never did one of those, so I guess 2015 will be the year. Life has a tendency to be less cooperative sometimes. Anyways head over to if you are curious to see if I will follow through. Just before christmas, Fujifilm Nordic was generous enough to let me try out this lens during the holidays. I appreciate a small kit, not a big one. But with that being said, I know there are MANY photographic disciplins that simply require a lens such as the 50-140mm. Equivalent to a 70-200mm on a 35mm camera this lens is just what any pro photojournalist want. For a lot of wedding photographers the 70-200 is an absolute workhorse, and it is the lens that brings home the cash. So for the Fujifilm X-system to evolve into a more pro oriented market segment this lens is absolutely necessary! Build and Design For a small mirrorless system this lens is big. If, on top of that, you want OIS and a quick AF motor, and it WILL be big. But compare it to its 35mm world equivalent 70-200mm you save roughly 40% in size and weight. If you want this on your X-T1 you should get the battery grip. It makes the camera balance with the lens much better. The build is fantastic. It has a nice heft, the focus ring is super smooth, as well as the zoom ring. The aperture ring clicks perfectly. The tripod stand can be loosened using 2 screws. Fujifilm should have designed something better. I just leave it on and turn it 90 degrees to the side. I suspect it has something to do with the OIS or the focus motors. You have to put your ear within millimeters of the lens to notice. The AF is mostly great and fast. It locks on, and is quite precise. I tested it on my running kids, and it had no trouble keeping up. But when the light gets tricky or low, it does hunt at times, which actually caused me to miss some shots. I had an editor sample, so maybe this is corrected in the final retail version. Image Quality This is where this lens totally blinds you. Be prepared to be amazed at how sharp this is. The image quality from this lens is simply astounding. It really is tack sharp!! The session was a dual light setup using a 40 inch shoot through as primary, and a small softbox from below off camera using the FlashQ trigger. Below is a 100% crop of the last image in the series. Specular highlights are mainly structurally smooth, and it renders very smooth backgrounds. Harsh scene with christmas lights. Yet the bokeh is quite pleasing. And then it gets better. Still very, very, very sharp though. The OIS is fantastic. It really is quite good. So even after dark this thing becomes VERY useful. Samples As per usual these samples have been processed in Lightroom 5. They were taken using the X-T1. Conclusion The Fujinon XF 50-140mm WR OIS is an incredible lens. While not a lens I would add to my setup, this is definitely one of the best lenses currently available from Fujifilm. This monstrous Fuji is about the same weight as a full frame 70-200 f4 Canon or Nikon, and in terms of the ability to do selective focus, there is no weight saving. The only weight saving is the body. Same goes for a Canon 85 1. In the case of the 85 canon VS the Fuji 56, they are almost the same weight, and the Canon is half the price. You are absolutely correct if you are talking aperture only in terms of object separation. So at dark hours, the 2. Yes it is quite large but it is a joy to use, it has a wonderful quality feel about it. But overall this is a superb lens equally as good as the Nikon f2. Enjoy your New Year. Great images and great review. I had originally purchased the 55-200 after deciding the 50-140 was just too heavy for me. However, the 55-200 had a slight wiggle when mounted on my X-T1 so I returned it. Thank you for reading the blog. The statement simply refers to the fact that it does not fit my shooting style. I enjoy your blog. Now, after you had your hands on thr 56, 50-140 and 90 mm lenses — which one could you recommend? I am using 35 prime, 18-55 kit lens and the 55-200. I know this is a difficult question, but sure you can help me to find the proper solution. What do you think about image quality when comparing this lens with 90mm? I have 90mm and im thinking to ditching it for 50-140mm because of the range and OIS. Does 50-140mm suitable for traveling? My friends suggest me to keep 90mm and take 18-135 or 55-200 instead. Really love to hear your insights. I had the 50-140 for several months last year and enjoyed it. My question is this. Shortly after months of using this lens on my xt1, my camera stopped reading lenses. It would power on but acted like it had no lens no matter what lens I put on. It was sent in for repair and they eventually replaced or adjusted the metal mount. Is the 50-140 too heavy for the small frame of the xt1? If not, it might just have been an untested fluke with my xt1. Thanks for your comprehensive review! I purchased a used one and have used it a several track meets. Tracking focus worked well for subjects that were at least 20-feet away. Other commentors have valid points on out-of-focus areas and blur compared to a Canon 70-200mm f4 which I used in my decades of shooting Canon. All true, but not the only thing that matters. For sports, I used a monopod to ignore the mass factor. Weather sealing is a must and I can go full manual with the EVF to capture tricky shots like high jump and pole vault. I find that tracking ability on the X-T2 is dependent on settings and focus zone size.
