Fujifilm Fujinon XF 16 mm f/2.8 R WR
4. Image resolution
Let’s remind here that the best fixed-focal lenses from the Fujifilm X system tested that way, can reach 80 lpmm and the decency level is set near 44-45 lpmm. Lately we have tested the Fujinon XF 50 mm f/2 R WR with the help of the X-T2 camera and it proved to be one of the sharpest lenses of the system, getting to 83 lpmm at the maximum.
Let's check how the tested Fujinon XF 16 mm f/2.8 R WR compares – its results in the frame centre and on the edge presents the graph below.
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The performance in the frame centre can be described only as brilliant. Already at the maximum relative aperture you deal with results of 60 lpmm so far above the decency level. By f/4.0 the lens reaches the peak of its possibilities with a value of almost 77 lpmm. It is a really impressive performance, comparable to the results of f/2.0 fixed-focal lenses mentioned in our introduction; mind you they have it easier - because of the faster apperture there is more room for stopping down before diffraction starts choking resolution.
Small dimensions of the lens, its wide angle of view and the mirrorless system in which the rear element is positioned close to the sensor – all of this seems to be a perfect recipe for problems on the edge of the frame. In the case of the Fujinon 2.8/16 these problems are particularly prominent near the maximum relative aperture where resolution results are below the decency level. That level is reached only on stopping down the aperture to near f/3.5. In this part of the frame the lens reaches the peak of its possibilities by f/5.6-8.0 apertures where the MTFs keep a sensible level of 55 lpmm. Still that value remains by 15-20 lpmm lower than resolution reached in the frame centre by the same apertures.
It would be difficult to compare the performance of the Fujinon XF 2.8/16 to the values reached by its faster 1.4/16 brother because it was tested on a different camera body, with a different pixel density. Still it seems the slower model shouldn't be ashamed of its performance at all. It fared equally well as its faster and more expensive brother.
At the end of this chapter, traditionally, we present crops taken from photos of our resolution testing chart saved as JPEG files alongside RAW files we used in our analysis above.
| Fujifilm X-T2, JPEG, f/2.8 |
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| Fujifilm X-T2, JPEG, f/4.0 |
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