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XF 18-135mm

UHDR

New member
I flicked through the forum, it seems not many people use/talk about the 18-135mm. i'm currently using 16-50mm XC on my XE1 and found it to be a beautiful match (definitely more than my leica collection). but if i were to grow the system, then may be adding a 10-24mm and replace the 16-50mm with 18-135mm... but apart from initial review and test shots, I haven;t found much.

could it be down to the price? but i thought a lot of X-T1 was sold with 18-135mm discount voucher, no one took up the offer? or are they still travelling and hasn't come back yet? :D
 

Swissblad

Well-known member
This lens seems too large and heavy to me to be balanced on the X-T1.
I borrowed the 55-200mm and returned it for that reason.
With the X-T1 I want to travel light…..
I'm really happy with the smaller 18-55mm lens, which has excellent quality.
If I do buy new lenses for this kit, it will be the 10-24mm and a few short/medium primes.

For some other views on this lens, refer to Tom Grill's blog
 

woodyspedden

New member
I flicked through the forum, it seems not many people use/talk about the 18-135mm. i'm currently using 16-50mm XC on my XE1 and found it to be a beautiful match (definitely more than my leica collection). but if i were to grow the system, then may be adding a 10-24mm and replace the 16-50mm with 18-135mm... but apart from initial review and test shots, I haven;t found much.

could it be down to the price? but i thought a lot of X-T1 was sold with 18-135mm discount voucher, no one took up the offer? or are they still travelling and hasn't come back yet? :D
If you are O.K. with size, I would consider the 18-55 and the new to be released (November) 40-140 2.8. The kit lens is just stunning, perhaps the best of it's kind on the market and the new lens promises a world class 70-200 (35mm Equivalent) offering.
 

UHDR

New member
This lens seems too large and heavy to me to be balanced on the X-T1.
I borrowed the 55-200mm and returned it for that reason.
With the X-T1 I want to travel light…..
I'm really happy with the smaller 18-55mm lens, which has excellent quality.
If I do buy new lenses for this kit, it will be the 10-24mm and a few short/medium primes.

For some other views on this lens, refer to Tom Grill's blog
ah! i see. i actually handled the lens itself when it was first in stock, but i wasn't allowed to mount it on any camera. in isolation, i thought it was surprisingly light for its class. but if you think X-T1 is otu of balance, then it must be worse on X-E1 !

If you are O.K. with size, I would consider the 18-55 and the new to be released (November) 40-140 2.8. The kit lens is just stunning, perhaps the best of it's kind on the market and the new lens promises a world class 70-200 (35mm Equivalent) offering.
i actually went from 18-55 to 16-50 :loco: i dont think the extra stop and reach were needed, comparing to the weight saving and extra wide 2mm of the 16-50. BUT if the tele now extends to 135mm, then i dont mind too much...i just hope the image quality is more or less the same as the shorter brothers. :D

Thanks both for some insights. :D
 

Swissblad

Well-known member
The 18-135 will be a compromise - and I don't think will have IQ to match the 18-55, which is astonishingly good for a kit lens.

best is give it a try - perhaps you can rent or borrow a copy - have a chat with your dealer.
 

UHDR

New member
yea i think i will do just that. afterall it's big on XT1 then may be quite out of proportion on XE1. the 10-24 is also quite big.....
 

stef_

New member
I was very impressed of the 18-135. Last vacation I used it 80% of the time even when I was carrying the other lenses with me.
It is a very good 18-135.
And it was really fun to make photos in the rain.
 

fordfanjpn

Member
I bought the 18-135. It's a great lens but it does make the camera feel too big and heavy for walking around with. Especially with the grip on it. If I'm going out specifically to shoot something, then it works, but what I normally want is a camera that I can just carry around with me for street shooting, and for that, the 18-135 is really too big. I still have, use and love the X100S, so I don't want my X-T1 to be a whole lot bigger/heavier than that. In retrospect, I probably should have kept the kit lens. Maybe I'll get another one.

Bill
 

David Schneider

New member
My main use for my XE2 is travel. I like to keep weight on my shoulder light so I'm staying with the 18-55, the 14mm, and a vintage Nikon Series E 100mm f2.8. I own a 55-200mm, but find I don't use it enough to justify the weigh, especially if traveling in cites where it would get less use. Some might find the 18-135 and 14mm a great travel combo, but I've found I use the 18-55 about 60-65% of the time, the 14mm about 25-30% of the time, and a longer lens just about 10% of the time.
 

jsf

Active member
I use the 55-200 a lot, and I find the weight about 500g to be perfectly in balance with the camera (XT1), also about 500g. I would think that the weight of the 18-135 to be not so much of an issue as long as you liked the focal length. I have the 14mm which I thought would be my go to lens, and I have found that on this system I use it very little, while on my d800 I use the 20mm mostly. Couldn't tell you why this is so. I also on the Fuji system own the 27mm pancake. I would have said that this focal length is useless. But on the Fuji it is spectacular. It is sharp beyond belief and weighs about 100g. It gets a lot of use more than the 14mm, and I do not usually use a normal lens on the Nikon. What I think is the Fuji is my travel camera and by the nature of what I like to photograph on my travels is different enough than when I am "serious" as with the Nikon.
 
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