Fujifilm Fujinon X Lens XC 50-230mm F4.5-6.7 OIS II Lens

Fujifilm  Fujinon  X Lens XC 50-230mm F4.5-6.7 OIS II Lens

Introduction

The Fujifilm XC 50-230mm f/4.5-6.7 OIS II is a follow-up to the original lightweight, affordable telephoto lens that has been designed for the X-system. The XC in its name, as opposed to the XF of other Fuji lenses, denotes that is intended to be more affordable, particularly for users of Fuji’s cheaper models, such as the recent X-A10.

Mounted on an APS-C-sized sensor, the equivalent focal length of the lens is 76-350mm, making it ideal for wildlife, sports, or anything where the subject is some distance away.

Compared to the older model, Fuji says that this version offers better build quality, smoother operation, and an improvement in optical image stabilization. It now offers up to 3.5 stops of exposure compensation, compared with 3 for the previous model.

The lens features 13 all-glass elements in 10 groups, including 1 aspherical lens and 1 ED element.

Although it is likely to appeal to XA users, it can also be used on any of Fuji’s other X-series cameras, such as the X-E2S, XPro2, or X-T2.

The Fujifilm XC 50-230mm F4.5-6.7 OIS II costs £329 / $399.

Ease of Use

Considering the focal length this lens offers, it’s very lightweight, and not too oversized. When using it with one of the smaller cameras in Fuji’s line-up, such as the X-A3, it manages to stay reasonably well balanced - although you may find you need to use your free hand to secure it for the best experience.

Cameras like the X-A3 don’t have an inbuilt viewfinder, so you will have to use the screen to compose your images. This can be a little trickier when you’re using a long telephoto length lens on a small body, but the image stabilization does a good job of helping to keep the subject steady enough for you to compose your shot, even at the furthest 230mm reach.

The lens itself is very minimalist in approach. There are no buttons or switches on the lens. Unlike some XF lenses, there’s no aperture ring either, so you’ll need to make any adjustments on the body of whichever camera you’re using. On some older models, you may need to perform a firmware upgrade to be able to use the command dial on the camera to adjust the aperture.

Despite being one of Fuji’s cheaper models, the build quality still feels well put together, although it doesn’t match the highest quality of Fuji’s XF lenses. The lens has a plastic mount and barrel, but the silver finish of the sample we were provided with looks stylish enough.

In the middle of the lens is the zoom ring, which is fairly wide and has a ridged, rubberized grip. Just behind this, you’ll see markings for different focal lengths throughout the range to help guide you to the focal length you want. Zooming is not internal, so the lens will extend as you zoom in - the lens reaches its longest point at 230mm, but compacts away relatively well when in the 50mm position.

Just in front of the zoom ring is a manual focusing ring. It is ridged, but it doesn’t feature a rubberized coating. Its movement is fairly smooth and fluid, but with just enough give to make precise autofocus adjustments easy. There are no hard stops at either end of the focusing ring.

Optical image stabilization needs to be turned off in-camera, as there’s no switch or button on the lens itself.

The Fujifilm XC 50-230mm f/4.5-6.7 OIS II comes with a supplied plastic bayonet hood to be used to prevent flare in bright sunlight. You also get the front and rear caps.

Auto-focus

For focusing, the Fujifilm XC 50-230mm f/4.5-6.7 OIS II uses a high-precision stepping motor. Most of the time, the lens locked onto the target quickly, efficiently and quietly. Some hunting took place at the full 230mm focal length, especially if the subject was low contrast or erratic movement. The front of the lens does not move when focusing, which makes it suitable for use with various filters.

Focal Range

At the 50mm end of the zoom range, the Fujifilm XC 50-230mm f/4.5-6.7 OIS II has an angle of view of 31.7 degrees. The 35mm equivalent focal length is 76mm.

50mm

At the 230mm end, the angle of view is 7.1 degrees. The 35mm equivalent focal length is 350mm.