Fujinon XC 16-50mm F3.5-5.6 OIS II: The Urban Traveller

Fugace Selfie on the run at 16mm setting

 Many of us are looking for the magic lens that will be "the one and only" optic to bring with them. That elude device should be compact, light, first class quality, practical, sturdy and doted with a fairly large maximum aperture. For sure this concept does not exist in this modern era. So contemporary designers are trying to imagine many compensating technologies to cope with traditional constraints. Optical Stabilization (or image captor stabilisation), Higher ISO sensibility availability,
Extended variable vocals range (zoom) , In-board camera image post-processing, etc are part of the actual answers offered by manufacturers.

And more and more these technological advancements are responding to many of those very demanding exigences.Many of the so-call kit lenses are now very fine products that deliver high quality picture results without  big compromises.

The Fujinon XC 16-50mm F3.5-5.6 OIS II lens is a good illustration of that trend. Its focal range is particularly interesting for urban or traveling photographers.

Flare with strong front lightning: The Fujinon XC 16-50mm maintains its creativity.

A good pick-up street lens

With a widest angle of more than 80 degrees the
XC 16-50mm is a useful lens for contextual photography allowing the user  to work with very close subjects and preserving its environmental context. Interior and urban projects can be apprehended with ease. Some photographers will propose it as a good landscape or even architectural tool. Since proportions of the objects can be sometime strongly altered at its widest setting I will stay caution with that kind of general advice.

Another area of interesting purpose of the Fujinon XC 16-50mm lens is more related with spontaneous photography like street photography or off-camera shooting (without looking at the viewfinder or view screen). In that case after-cropping can be done at the expense of loosing some image definition.

Photography is also a visual expression that requires impact at first and spontaneous photography is mainly about that. At every moment a quick swing of the focal ring of the lens can transform it as a small telephoto on the ready with a little more of one aperture stop lost (so beware about your shutter speed).

Minette; Ray of Light

The finesse of the Fujinon XC 16-50mm OIS II lens can be observed with this B&W picture of our beloved Minette if you examine the details of its fur.  This prove the ability of the lens of doing good close-up subjects with extended detail separations.


The Fujinon XC 16-50mm OIS II lens is not part of the XF Fujifilm X-mount series. It translates by a lighter construction, the absence of an aperture ring and visibly by the use of more plastic components. On a very intensive use the lens may show a faster  rate of wear but this point has yet to be proven. Ruggedness may be another weaker point and I won't recommend it for careless users who like to bang expensive photo equipment. So it is not a  real photojournalist lens in the traditional way of working but the Fujinon XC 16-50mm OIS II can be a very handy and fine tool for photographers who will treat it with respect.


The Fujinon XC 16-50mm OIS II is the kit lens for urban traveller.