Fuji XF 27 f2.8 WR - The “don’t think, just bring” Lens
Zenfone 10
The XF 27 f2.8 WR out for a brisk November walk.
Overview
I swear I have no intent on being a gear reviewer! It’s been a minute though, and I’m happy to share some knowledge on something that I’ve found to work exceptionally well, or poorly for that matter. With some proper mileage on this little pancake I can thankfully say that in this case it’s the former. It also helps be working through my own kit and figuring either where a lens fits in or if it goes on market place.
The XF 23 f2 was my previous small and do it all solution. Ultimately I wasn’t thrilled with it’s wide open performance up close, the 35mm equivalent focal length always felt a bit too in between for me. Even though that was a small lens I’d still put it more under the muffin category, while the XF 27 is a wee thing and truly a pancake ... Fuji should make some f4 crepe primes!
X-T4 | XF 27 f2.8 WR | ISO 160 | f5.6 | 1/1400s
Mt Swanzy looking all contrasted and textured with the bright sunny afternoon light.
I had a trip lined up to Spain and Portugal where I’d be shooting a wedding. Had all the fancy big guns packed up for that, but I still wanted something small and unassuming for general use for the rest of the trip. I’d also often thought it would be a good adventure lens as well, turning whatever body you have into somewhat of a point and shoot. A last minute frantic search led me to finding ONE in stock in Calgary, and it showed up at my door a few days before leaving. Cutting it a little close, but that was beat by my Intrepid 4x5 arriving the DAY before leaving, which got locked in the parcel box because the postman apparently couldn’t be bothered to knock on the door or leave a key parcel box. I digress, that story is for another post in the works.
X-T4 | XF 27 f2.8 WR | ISO 160 | f8 | 1/320s
I’d go back to Lisbon just to spend a day endlessly shooting these trolleys.
Build & Handling
If you want a lens to simply get out of the way, this is it. It can’t be overstated how insignificant the proportions of this thing are. Take whatever Fuji body you have with a lens cap on, then take the rear cap off of any Fuji lens and stack it on top of the body cap and that’s roughly the size of the XF 27. In reality it’s a few millimetres wider, and if you’ve got the little hood on it’s taller, but it’s a good approximation of what you can expect.
It weighs 84 grams. That basically means if you’re carrying your keys, wallet, and a bottle of water in a bag then the little pancake lens basically doesn’t exist. In a blind test I think you’d be hard pressed to tell if it was mounted on the body or not. It’s basically the same weight as the NP-235 battery, which clocks in at 80 grams.
Size is it’s biggest asset, but also a bit of negative as well. The aperture ring isn’t ribbed for your selecting pleasure the entire way around; the top and bottom quadrants are left smooth for numbering the stops. It’s not a huge issue though as I’ve found the auto aperture lock button acts somewhat like a thumb tab from an old school range finders focus mechanism and makes it a little easier to work with. It has precise clicks, with a pleasant moderate amount of resistance. Mostly I’m just happy it has an aperture ring at all, as that’s something that put me off the original and third party equivalents.
X-T4 | XF 27 f2.8 WR | ISO 160 | f8 | 1/550s
An interesting silhouette of a person would have elevated this shot even higher, but I’m okay with the emphasis being on the light and lines.
This is the first lens that had the auto aperture lock button introduced on it, and it only requires pressing to take the lens out of auto aperture. All lenses introduced since with the auto aperture lock require pressing the button to get into auto aperture as well. I’m an aperture priority kind of shooter, so it’s a minor annoyance as personally I’ve always found it more likely to accidentally knock it into auto than out. It’s not an issue though, just something to be aware of, and if you’re in toeing the line in the f11 or f16 realm then odds are whatever your shooting will offer enough time to press the little button if you accidentally turn too far.
The manual focus ring is rather narrow and a bit awkward to work with, but the fact it exists at all is nice “just in case” feature to have. The style of shooting you’re likely to do with this lens generally doesn’t lend itself to needing one. Biggest complaint there is that the combined aperture and focus rings take up the majority of the lens barrel so there’s not a lot to grip while taking the lens on and off. Not really a fault of this lens in particular, more-so the reality of living with any lens this small.
There’s a hood. A tiny wee one. It threads into the inner barrel of the lens. The hood is a nice sturdy metal one, and whether or not it does a whole lot might be up for debate, but the hood with the push cap on is basically the same size as the normal cap, so might as use it. Plus I think it looks kind of cool for what that’s worth.
X-T4 | XF 27 f2.8 WR | ISO 160 | f8 | 1/80s
Reflecting on the ascent of Mt Abbott, the start of the Asulkan Traverse. I need slower friends.
Focus and Image Quality
Alright into the good stuff. The little XF 27 can produce some amazing images out of a very tiny package! It’s not the image quality champion, it’s not without fault, but it certainly exceeds expectations for something so diminutive.
From wide open it’s adequately sharp, but it really shines at f5.6 for the centre or f8 for the corners to catch up as well. If it’s bright out you can set it there and basically ignore aperture for the rest of your day unless you’re going out of your way to be all artsy with subject isolation stuff. It’s about as sharp as the outgoing 16-55 set to the same focal length, which is four times the price and eight times the weight.
X-T4 | XF 27 f2.8 WR | ISO 160 | f5.6 | 1/900s
Pier life at the end of La Rambla in Barcelona.
There’s a bit of optical distortion that’s corrected in software. I really don’t like distortion in lenses, and the trend of using software to compensate is a recipe for softer corners. I’m also not a fan of Fuji’s inconsistency in that department. Some are perfectly corrected, others it’s seemingly an afterthought. At least in the case of the XF 27 the amount is slight, and given it’s size I can forgive not dealing with it optically.
It vignettes a fair bit wide open. It’s far less of an issue correcting for that, and for the types of photos this lens is intended for I don’t see it being an issue.
Background blur and subject isolation is possible. Normal focal length and f2.8 gives you a decent amount of melty goodness. It’s got some character though, a little bit of an edge on the balls still and they’re a little mishapen towards the corner. It’s fine though, it’s not a portrait lens so don’t expect miracles, and again the fact that it’s possible at all adds to the versatility of the tiny lens.
X-T4 | XF 27 f2.8 WR | ISO 160 | f2.8 | 1/300s
Can it portrait? In a pinch, I think so. Yours truly enjoying some birthday wine in Ronda.
Focus and Fuji is a sore spot for a lot of people, and this lens is a mixed bag. It’s quick enough and generally accurate, and again given it’s size and weight it’s easy to forgive it not having a quad linear magnetic magic rail-gun inside launching those little elements to infinity and back. The downside is that the inner barrel dances back and forth beyond the face of the lens, probably a design choice that preserves close focus quality or something, and it does so with the soothing sound of a dying dot matrix printer. I think I just dated myself with that one. It’s not obnoxious, it’s barely noticeable when out using it in the noise of the real world, but when you first get it and excitedly slap it on in your quiet living room and paying extra close attention to your new toy, it’s hard not to think the whole operation is a little less refined than it ought to be.
My Use Case
This is my “don’t think, just bring” lens. I wanted it for travel, both so that I didn’t have to carry something so heavy as a fast prime or big zoom and also doesn’t scream “rob the rich tourist” either. Photography on a holiday feels more casual with a little lens like this and subconsciously felt more relaxed shooting with it on trips. It allows me to focus more on the being on vacation part while still getting some bangers.
X-T4 | XF 27 f2.8 WR | ISO 160 | f8 | 1/280s
Misty and moody outside the Biblioteca de Montserrat. The little bird really makes it for me.
It’s my “transform <X body of your choice> into a point and shoot” lens. Some adventures are limited for space, like the Asulkan Traverse I did in August. That was 24km, 2500m elevation gain, 7 summits, all in 15 hours with a tiny 20L climbing bag. Even with the tiny lens I couldn’t squeeze the camera in the bag, it just lived on the peak clip from the moment I left camp at 5am.
Even on longer backpacking trips that are photographic specific it’s easy enough to bring. Say you’re going with the 16-55 and 50-140 ultimate combo, I’ll bring it as a tiny lens strapped to the body for hiking antics while the big guns stay in the pack until I’m setting up for serious photography.
X-T4 | XF 27 f2.8 WR | ISO 160 | f4 | 1/1600s
Dancing around on The Dome, peak 4 of 7 on the Asulkan Traverse.
I also wanted it for family trips. I do a lot of flying to visit my daugther, and while I always want to capture wonderful memories with her, I most want to focus on quality time and have the photography get out of the way. This lens allows for that while still letting me stick to a carry on bag.
It’s a great lens to slap on the camera and bring just in case. Best camera is the one you have with you, right? Not being a heavy giant is one less excuse for not tossing it in your bag and bringing it on your commute/bike ride/neighbourhood walk/family bbq/whatever.
It’s great for little photo walks around the neighbourhood. It’s great for family day at the beach with the kids. It’s either great or at least serviceable for just about anything you can imagine apart from maybe extreme sports and astro.
Summary
It’s the smallest, lighest, and cheapest of the XF lenses, in a focal length that might be a bit odd for some but it’s about as normal as it gets, and on top of that it performs as well as some glass costing exponentially more. That’s a pretty compelling argument! It’s hard to imagine a photographer that couldn’t put this lens to good use.
I somewhat wonder if Fuji ever updates the XF 18 f2 if I’ll be tempted by that. Still have all the positive traits mentioned just with an equally versatile wider focal length. Then I’d have a XF 33/1.4 and XF 18/2 duo for all my travel/family/street photography needs.
It gets 4.5 out of 5 potatoes in my book. Only docking points for the unrefined autofocus, which is mostly forgivable as a trade-off to it’s diminutive size, and bit for the price. It may be the cheapest XF lens, but it’s far from inexpensive, and given how little lens there actually is you can’t help but think it should be less.
Grab one, don’t think too hard about bringing it, and get lots of wonderful images without being weighed down.