My first few days with the Fujifilm XF 80mm Macro

Fuji’s lens lineup continues to expand and what once was a clearcut decision for me turned into a dilemma of sorts: Do I invest in the highly regarded 50-140mm telephoto zoom or take a chance on the newer 80mm prime lens with its macro capability and 1:1 magnification?

After considering the most likely use cases I’d have in mind for my next “long” lens (and also factoring in the $400 price difference), I went with the 80mm.

So far: no regrets.

This isn’t meant to be an exhaustive, scientific breakdown of Fuji’s new prime lens, but after a week or so of use, I’ve come away with some initial thoughts. Such as:

My goodness, the Fujifilm XF 80mm is sharp

I’d read reviews suggesting this lens might be TOO sharp for portrait work. And if I were making my living taking such photos, I could understand the concern. As someone who only occasionally dabbles in portraiture (say, for a friend’s new LinkedIn headshot or something), it seems to fare quite well for my tastes.

I’ve resorted to dialing back many of the sharpness settings I usually apply in Lightroom, so I can definitely see where folks are coming from when they talk about it capturing too much detail. For me, though, it falls into that “good problem to have” category.

And since I’m aiming to use this in other scenarios, I figure that sharpness will come in handy elsewhere too.

Another realization dawned on me this past week:

I’m rethinking how and where I take photos.

I’m by no means an accomplished macro photographer, so this 80mm opens up a whole new world to me. I’ve been walking around simply considering and appreciating everyday objects and locations in new ways thanks to the close-up details this lens is capable of.

That’s probably old news to the more experience macro shooters out there, but for me, this lens offers some exciting new possibilities.

Retro-style lightbulb shot with X-T2.

If I must pick nits at such an early stage, I can talk about how large this lens is. It may not be as gargantuan as, say, the 100-400mm I rented for a weekend, but it’s not a petite lens. And it might seem a bit unbalanced mounted to an X-T2. Adding the optional battery grip and, perhaps, a solid tripod plate can help even things out, but then you’ve got a sizable setup on your hands.

A quick trip to the scale shows with the battery grip attached, tripod plate mounted, and a full complement of three batteries on board, you’ll be pushing 4 pounds. Which isn’t monstrous, but it’s not exactly a featherweight setup.

Air bubbles in a Purell bottle. Shot with an X-T2 at f/8 (1/30s).

Also, the way the inner workings glide and move a bit on their own is a little unsettling, even though I know it’s perfectly normal.

Still, these are minor things, and it’s nothing I wasn’t aware of before making the purchase. I’m sure I’ll find other, more substantive areas to critique once I more fully explore the limits of this lens, but so far, so good.

And, as I mentioned, this isn’t meant as an all-encompassing review. I’m aiming to do that in the near future. For now, I just wanted to share my first few thoughts with this exciting new lens.