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Fuji Standard Zoom Showdown Part 2 | XF 16-55 II vs 16-50 vs Sigma 18-50
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Feb 10, 2025
Photographer Dustin Abbott compares the new Fuji 16-55 F2.8 II to the Fuji 16-50 F2.8-4.8 and to the Sigma 18-50mm F2.8 DN to see which of these three zooms works best on Fuji's modern high resolution cameras. Can the new Fuji zooms ascend back to the top? Sigma 18-50mm X-Mount Text Review: http://tinyurl.com/18-50Xreview | Video https://youtu.be/x1ENIuuPpLE Fuji 16-55 II Text Review: https://tinyurl.com/16-55IIda | Video https://tinyurl.com/16-55IIvid Fuji 16-50mm Text Review: https://tinyurl.com/XF16-50da | Video https://tinyurl.com/XF16-50Review Purchase the Sigma 18-50mm F2.8 DN @ B&H Photo https://bhpho.to/3Gg9IZB | Adorama https://howl.me/ck5oQ2442bK | Amazon https://amzn.to/3GihcLS | Camera Canada https://shrsl.com/4bnwh | Amazon Canada https://amzn.to/47sScxb | Amazon UK https://amzn.to/3MWksjO | Amazon Germany https://amzn.to/47veOgI Purchase the Fuji 16-55mm F2.8 II @ B&H Photo https://bhpho.to/409BLnd | Adorama https://howl.link/cpyefynjj69zj | Amazon https://amzn.to/407zkkP | Camera Canada https://shrsl.com/4t134 | Amazon Canada https://amzn.to/40ovWUn | Amazon UK https://amzn.to/4fHofNi | Amazon Germany https://amzn.to/4fQnVMh Purchase the Fuji 16-50mm WR @ B&H Photo https://bhpho.to/40ADTph | Adorama https://howl.link/6cmasm9u3ox4h | Amazon https://amzn.to/4hiNWox | Camera Canada https://shrsl.com/4tcm9 | Amazon Canada https://amzn.to/3PCnzOv | Amazon UK https://amzn.to/3Wn7Vuj | Amazon Germany https://amzn.to/3Wox1ZL Check out the DA Merch here: https://bit.ly/TWIMerch | Become a Patron: https://www.patreon.com/dustinabbott | On the Web: http://dustinabbott.net/ | Sign up for my Newsletter: http://bit.ly/1RHvUNp | Instagram: http://bit.ly/DLAinsta | Facebook: http://on.fb.me/1nuUUeH | Flickr: http://bit.ly/1UcnC0B | 500px: http://bit.ly/1Sy2Ngu Follow Craig @ https://www.instagram.com/craigstoffersen/ Want to support this channel? Use these affiliate links to shop at: B&H Photo: http://bhpho.to/1TA0Xge Adorama: https://howl.link/nt4zdz1goa7ql Camera Canada: http://bit.ly/DLACameraCan Sony Canada: https://www.thesonyshop.ca/?ref=abbott Amazon: https://amzn.to/3HrY64d
View Video Transcript
0:00
[Music]
0:10
hi I'm Dustin Abbott my most popular
0:13
video of 2024 was a three-way comparison
0:17
between what I call the standard Zooms
0:19
for the Fuji X Mount platform and so at
0:22
the time that included the uh Fuji 18 to
0:25
55 mm f2.8 to4 ois lens the fu UI 16 to
0:30
55 mm f2.8 lens and then sigma's 18 to
0:34
50 mm f2.8 lens now the results from
0:38
that particular comparison were somewhat
0:40
surprising the two Fuji lenses though
0:43
more premium in theory than the Sigma
0:46
lens were showing their age both of them
0:48
being about a decade old and as a
0:50
byproduct the newer lens actually won in
0:53
a surprising amount of categories when
0:56
it came to overall performance in areas
0:58
like autofocus and even image quality as
1:01
well today it's time for part two
1:03
however because Fuji is back with two
1:05
new lenses replacing the lenses that we
1:07
used in the comparison last year and so
1:09
today we're going to see how the new 16
1:10
to 50mm f2.8 to 4.8 R lmw lens compares
1:16
to the sigma along with the new 16 to
1:19
55mm f2.8 R
1:22
lmw Mark I lens does and uh these two
1:26
new lenses from Fuji they're changed in
1:28
a variety of ways when it comes to the
1:31
16 to 55 mm it is vastly reduced in size
1:34
and weight with the 16 to 50 mm they
1:38
really tweaked the formula it's a
1:39
different Zoom range it's uh you know
1:42
it's has different features to it and so
1:44
it's really quite a different lens in
1:46
many ways even though it is the direct
1:48
replacement for the 18 to 55 which is
1:51
now discontinued so first of all let's
1:54
talk about price prices go as far as
1:56
MSRP the cheapest is the sigma at 5
2:00
$549 it's been around for a while so
2:02
it's often available for less than that
2:05
the next is the 16 to 50 mm that uh kind
2:08
of has two price points one is its MSRP
2:12
$699 however if you buy it in kit with
2:15
three current cameras that it's sold in
2:17
kit with you can get it for as little as
2:19
$400 the 16 to 55 is the premium lens in
2:23
the class and it comes with the premium
2:25
price it's going to cost you a whopping
2:27
$1,200 to acquire it
2:30
so a quick overview of strengths and
2:32
weaknesses for each of these lenses the
2:34
sigma strength is it has good Corner
2:36
sharpness it has that constant f2.8
2:39
aperture it is lightweight it has a good
2:42
price tag to it its weaknesses is it
2:45
really is bad when it comes to the
2:47
zooming and refocusing and the warping
2:50
effect it has the worst fringing by far
2:53
of the three different lenses the 16 to
2:55
55 mm itch strengths are as it has the
2:57
lowest fringing it has the longest reach
3:00
at 55 mm it is the sharpest lens it is
3:03
the nicest build quality and most
3:05
features it has the best autof focus of
3:08
the trio and it produces the most
3:10
premium looking images it weaknesses is
3:13
as though both lenses go to 16 mm on
3:15
paper it's not quite as wide in practice
3:17
as what the 16 to 50 mm is it has a bit
3:20
of a rough Zoom action with a little bit
3:22
of a catch about 3/4 of the way through
3:25
the zoom uh action here and it's not
3:28
just my copy I've read some similar
3:30
complaints from some others it is still
3:32
although vastly reduced in weight it is
3:33
still the biggest and the heaviest it
3:35
has fairly High Distortion and really
3:38
heavy vignette though it's the biggest
3:40
it has the heaviest vignette of the trio
3:42
and so definitely some weaknesses the
3:44
weaknesses and strengths for the 16 to
3:46
50 mm the strengths are as noted it's
3:48
the widest at 16 mm it is the lightest
3:51
it is the shortest it has the potential
3:53
to be the cheapest if you buy it in kit
3:55
it has the lowest Distortion in vignette
3:57
and it is an internally zooming lens now
4:00
which is not true of either of these
4:02
others which are externally zooming
4:05
overall the weaknesses are that it is
4:09
definitely softer than what the 16 to 55
4:12
mm is in terms of overall sharpness and
4:15
in some areas even still a bit behind
4:17
the sigma it has the slowest maximum
4:20
aperture particularly on the telephoto
4:22
in it's not as long at 50 mm as what the
4:25
sigma is so they you know got a little
4:27
extra on the wide end but it gave a
4:29
little bit on the telephoto in it has
4:31
smaller specular highlights it has the
4:33
weakest contrast now when it comes to
4:35
build a quick look at the sigma it is a
4:37
very compelling size in weight for a
4:39
constant f2.8 lens it's 61.6 mm X 76.8
4:44
mm in length it is 285 G in overall
4:48
weight build quality feels you know
4:51
really quite good um there's something
4:53
about it where it has a premium feel
4:55
even though it is the cheapest in price
4:58
it does have a weather Sealing gasket at
5:00
the lens mount though it doesn't have
5:02
internal seals unlike the Fuji lenses
5:05
has the lowest MSRP but on the negative
5:07
side it has the smallest Zoom range it's
5:10
2 mm less than this lens and 7 mm less
5:14
than this it goes far less wide as you
5:16
can see in this comparison uh there's a
5:19
lot less in the frame on the wide end
5:21
and it is the only one here that has no
5:24
aperture ring and that is a really big
5:26
factor for a lot of Fuji Shooters who
5:28
are accustomed to their lenses having an
5:30
apture ring the 16 to 50 mm um positives
5:34
on the build include it has internal
5:36
zooming which is great it is now the
5:39
lightest lens of the trio only 240 G it
5:43
has the widest framing as mentioned
5:45
before it is potentially the cheapest in
5:47
kit it has a very high level of
5:50
magnification negatives include that
5:52
variable apperture and it gets dark fast
5:55
it has an aperture ring but it's not as
5:57
functional it has no markings there the
6:00
16 to 55 mm has the best zoom range plus
6:04
five relative to the 16 to 50 plus 7
6:06
relative to the sigma it has the most
6:08
professional grade of build and weather
6:11
ceiling it is the premium lens and it
6:13
feels like it it is the only one that
6:16
has what I would call a fully functional
6:18
apertur ring with actual markings on
6:20
there the ability to use it in the way
6:22
that most people are accustomed to using
6:24
aperture rings on their Fuji lenses this
6:27
is the first of Fuji's lenses to have a
6:29
dclick option and so if you're shooting
6:32
video it gives you the ability to do
6:33
aperture racking in a way that neither
6:36
one of the other options will do it has
6:38
the highest number of aperture blades 11
6:40
versus n for the other two lenses on the
6:43
negative side it is the largest and
6:45
heaviest yes this the weight is reduced
6:47
but it is significantly heavier than the
6:50
other options it is the most expensive
6:52
and both most expensive in many cases by
6:55
a pretty large margin and it has the
6:58
issue with the zoom the one build issue
7:00
that I will point to there I did a lot
7:03
of autofocus tests in compar comparing
7:06
these lenses and the sigma here has an
7:09
STM or a stepping Focus motor the Fuji
7:11
lenses have linear Focus Motors I was
7:14
really surprised but the sigma actually
7:16
won the first comparison I did last year
7:18
against the older lenses even though
7:20
they also had linear Motors things are
7:22
different this time around however and
7:24
so what I found and you can see here
7:26
just as focus goes back and forth that
7:28
the uh 16 to 55 mm took first place it
7:32
has the fastest and the most confident
7:34
autofocus definitely when it comes to
7:36
Stills it's rocking along the 16 to 50
7:38
mm is pretty close behind there just
7:41
very very slightly slower and very very
7:43
slightly less confident but it is
7:45
focusing very nice and quickly the sigma
7:48
is a little bit slower and you can see a
7:50
little bit more micro pulses where it
7:52
you know does a little bit of a rack in
7:53
the wrong direction so a little bit less
7:55
confident all o overall than what the
7:58
two Fuji lenses are
8:00
I say the same thing in conclusion for
8:01
this section that I said last year and
8:03
that is that the newer technology wins
8:06
last year that was Sigma this year it's
8:08
definitely Fuji in their newer lenses
8:11
likewise in doing video test I did a
8:15
variety of comparisons and Drew
8:16
conclusions and once again the 16 to 55
8:19
mm Mark I is the winner it strengths are
8:23
it does good Focus pools you know
8:25
racking from one Focus point to another
8:27
I found that it had the most rea focus
8:30
it is the best to react to focus changes
8:32
either a subject moving towards the
8:35
camera or and picking Focus back up it
8:37
also was the most stable when it came to
8:40
static shots none of the pulsing that
8:42
the older version showed the negative
8:45
though is that I saw on those Focus PS
8:47
that sometimes there were some little
8:48
micro pulses like the last 2% it needed
8:51
to do an extra pulse to lock Focus there
8:53
and then also that you know physical
8:56
issue when it comes to the zoom means
8:57
that I wasn't able to smooth smooth as
9:00
or Zoom as smoothly during video as what
9:02
I would like because it would get that
9:04
catching point and so it's a little bit
9:05
more abrupt as you can see here in
9:08
second place uh I have the 16 to 50 mm
9:11
though it's by the tiniest of margins on
9:14
the plus side it does the best of all
9:17
three of these lenses when it comes to
9:18
the focus PS there's less of that little
9:20
micro pulse at the end and so really
9:23
nice and smooth result there because
9:25
it's internally zooming it is the nicest
9:27
Zoom action if you're going to be even
9:29
in this shot here for example I shot a
9:32
handheld shooting at the Frozen Pembrook
9:35
Marina and so zooming in and out I um I
9:38
could you know even handheld Zoom
9:40
reasonably smoothly it also showed quite
9:42
low Focus breathing on the negative side
9:45
I found that it wasn't nearly as
9:47
reactive as the 16 to 55 mimer and that
9:50
really played out when I did my hand
9:53
test and I found that it just it was
9:56
just so slow sometimes in reacting that
9:59
by the time it started to focus on my
10:01
hand for example my hand was already
10:02
starting to be removed and so I would
10:05
like to see a little bit more
10:06
reactiveness on the 18 to 50 mm it is in
10:10
third place but it's not by a large
10:11
margin the reactiveness I found was
10:14
about the same as what the 16 to 50 mm
10:16
was overall um you know Focus Works
10:19
relatively well the big negative for the
10:22
Sigma lens is that if you're zooming you
10:24
get some really obvious warping and then
10:28
completely like losing focus and having
10:30
to uh you know kind of find Focus once
10:33
again as you're zooming in and out I
10:34
also found that the focus pulls are less
10:37
confident and there's just more uh
10:39
stepping more pulsing and just overall
10:42
in those settings it just wasn't as good
10:44
and a little bit more Focus breathing
10:46
than the other three and so in this case
10:48
uh Sigma has lost its place on autofocus
10:50
at the top of the Heap and has been
10:52
moved to the bottom of the Heap frankly
10:53
that's probably where it should be
10:55
though I will say that Sigma does a good
10:57
job as a third party and as a lens
10:59
frankly that really isn't new itself
11:02
it's been out for Sony emount for over
11:04
four years and so at this stage I think
11:06
that it's doing a pretty good job of of
11:08
kind of holding its own but there are
11:10
some areas where it is a bit
11:12
disadvantaged now when it comes to the
11:14
image quality I did a number of other
11:16
testing comparisons as a part of that
11:18
and so I would say that the major
11:21
disadvantage kind of the single biggest
11:23
disadvantage of any of these three
11:24
lenses comes from the 16 to 50 mm and
11:27
that is the fact that it has that
11:28
variable aperture and thus it is just
11:31
much darker by the time you reach the
11:33
telephoto end as compared to the other
11:35
two lenses and that that applies in a
11:37
lot of factors in low light conditions
11:39
means that the sensor's got less light
11:41
to work with for autofocus it means that
11:43
you're going to have to be shooting at
11:44
higher ISO settings and thus potentially
11:46
having more noise in your image and so
11:49
that is a big factor that must be
11:50
considered now in other areas let's look
11:53
at vignette and Distortion in this case
11:56
the 16 to 50 is actually the best of the
11:58
bunch when it comes to distortion on the
12:01
on the wide end all of them are none of
12:04
them are great let's put it that way and
12:06
they're all almost equally bad in this
12:09
case it was plus 21 to correct the
12:11
barrel distortion on the wide end and
12:14
then on the telephoto end it's it's
12:16
easily the best of the bunch because all
12:18
of them show pin cushion Distortion this
12:19
shows a relatively mild amount and it
12:21
only required a minus four to correct
12:23
the pin cushion Distortion where it
12:25
definitely wins by a big margin is when
12:27
it comes to the vignette it shows only a
12:31
plus 44 to correct on the wide end and
12:34
then on the telephoto end it only
12:35
required a plus 28 to correct in second
12:39
place is the 16 to 55 mm and it shows
12:42
just a little bit more pin cushion or
12:44
excuse me little bit more Barrel
12:45
Distortion plus 22 versus plus 21 and
12:49
then on the telephoto end it shows the
12:51
strongest amount of pin cushion
12:52
Distortion it is a minus33 to correct
12:56
for it there however where it it it is a
12:59
bit of a loser is when it comes to
13:01
vignette and it surprisingly has a lot
13:04
more vignette than what the 16 to 50
13:06
does it has required a um plus 91 to
13:10
correct for on the wide end and a plus
13:12
84 even on the telephoto end and and so
13:16
but I will give it a little bit of
13:17
credit because in its Corrections both
13:19
on the barrel and then on the telephoto
13:22
in both Corrections were more linear
13:25
than either of the smaller zooms which
13:27
had a little bit of a mustache pattern
13:29
that remained there the sigma it takes
13:32
the the the third place though Again by
13:34
a small margin it has the most Barrel
13:36
Distortion plus 24 and so a little bit
13:39
more Barrel Distortion and then on the
13:42
telephoto end it's almost as bad for pin
13:44
cushion Distortion a minus1 it also has
13:46
the most vignette on the wide end a plus
13:50
92 to correct for it and then a plus 80
13:54
so roughly equal to this lens 16 to 55
13:57
in correcting the ven yet on the
13:59
telephoto end and as noted it has a
14:01
little bit of a mustache pattern and so
14:04
first place second place third
14:07
place when it comes to Chromatic
14:09
aberration this is easily number one it
14:12
shows the lowest amount of Fring on both
14:16
the uh the longitudinal style and the
14:18
lateral style chromatic aberration it
14:20
really is a great job very very well
14:22
corrected second place is the 16 to 50
14:25
mm it doesn't have a lot of longitude
14:29
style but it does have a bit of lateral
14:30
style chromatic aberration the sigma
14:33
shows a lot of very strong very strong
14:36
longitudinal chromatic aberration it is
14:38
the most likely fringing that you're
14:40
going to see in an image even without
14:42
zooming into it so definitely the loser
14:44
by a good margin in that regard now
14:47
finally in the resolution category the
14:50
sharpest and the best lens here is the
14:52
16 to 55 mm it's obviously by far the
14:55
largest lens and so they were able to
14:57
just kind of do more with the Optical
14:59
design than with the other two lenses
15:01
and so it is the most consistently sharp
15:03
lens throughout the zoom range it has
15:06
the best corners everywhere save at 55
15:10
mm sigma's a little bit better at the on
15:13
the telephoto end in the corners but
15:15
everywhere else this has the better
15:16
Corners it has the best contrast and by
15:19
a pretty obvious margin I would say as
15:21
you can see here it is the most
15:23
consistently good overall in performance
15:26
in second place I actually have a tie
15:28
between the other two lenses the 16 to
15:30
50 mm has slightly better corners on the
15:33
wide end than the sigma but sigma's a
15:35
little bit better on the telephoto end
15:37
the sigma obviously has the win for the
15:40
aperture Advantage versus the 16 to 50
15:42
and also on the telephoto end it has a
15:44
little bit better Corners than what the
15:46
16 to 55 Mark I does as far as color
15:50
goes you know I like Fuji colors and
15:53
Fuji's Optical glass really well and so
15:56
my instinct is is that the Fuji lenses
15:58
have the better color however when I
16:00
shoot images side by side frankly I it's
16:03
hard for me to perceive a difference and
16:05
so I'm not really going to award
16:06
anything there all of them produce good
16:08
colors so let's talk about bokeh in this
16:11
category I give the win to the 16 to 55
16:14
it has the ability to produce the most
16:16
amount of bokeh uh the most defocused
16:19
backgrounds because it has the longest
16:20
focal length it also doesn't have
16:23
fringing in its bokeh specular
16:25
highlights and I just find that the look
16:27
of images is the richest coming off the
16:29
16 to 55 and I just just kind of
16:32
instinctively side by side I like the
16:34
images from it the best second place
16:37
actually goes to the sigma it has decent
16:39
geometry it does have some fringing in
16:41
its specular highlights but the 16 to 50
16:44
mm because it has such a slow maximum
16:46
aperture it just you can't get a very
16:49
strong defocus of anything so it
16:51
produces the least amount of bokeh and
16:53
so I give the the second place win there
16:55
to the sigma so we're going to wrap this
16:58
up by giving you reasons to choose each
17:01
one of these lenses choose the sigma
17:03
because it has the cheapest MSRP it has
17:06
a constant f2.8 aperture it has fairly
17:09
competitive autofocus and image quality
17:11
it's it's a balanced lens it has a very
17:14
nice level of magnification and as you
17:16
can see it is very Compact and so there
17:19
lots of good reasons to choose that how
17:21
about some reasons to choose the 16 to
17:22
50 well if you buy it in a kit lens as
17:25
as a kit with a camera it is the
17:27
cheapest lens in the bun
17:29
it is the only internally zooming lens
17:31
which could be very very useful it does
17:34
have weather ceiling which and to a
17:36
better degree than what the sigma has it
17:38
is the lightest lens here in the bunch
17:41
and it has pretty consistently good
17:43
autofocus by most metrics finally the
17:46
reasons to choose the 16 to 55 mm it is
17:49
the premium option here and so it has
17:51
the most professional grade of build it
17:54
has the best zoom range it has the best
17:56
feature set it has the lowest amount of
17:59
fringing of any type it has the best
18:01
overall image quality and of the free it
18:03
definitely produces the most special
18:05
looking images it has the best autofocus
18:08
here in conclusion it is the best
18:11
standard apsc Zoom that I have tested to
18:14
date and or at least as far as a
18:16
standard zoom and so that makes it a
18:18
very very strong lens so a sense of
18:21
order has been restored the first party
18:23
lenses from Fuji are now mostly better
18:26
than what the sigma is but I think the
18:27
sigma is going to continue to be
18:29
intriguing because it's small it's
18:31
cheapish it's lightweight and has that
18:33
constant f2.8 aperture and so for those
18:36
that are looking more at this tier well
18:39
the choice is a whole lot harder if
18:40
you're wanting the best I can now safely
18:43
tell you the 16 to 55 Mark I is the way
18:46
to go now if you want more information
18:48
about any of these three lenses you can
18:49
check out my full review of each of them
18:51
it's going to be linked in the
18:53
description down below as always thanks
18:55
for watching have a great day and let
18:57
the light in
18:59
[Music]
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