Fujifilm 18-55mm lens review after 3 years of Constant Use

Today I give my opinions on the Fujifilm 18-55mm f2.8-4 lens for photography and videography. After 3 years of professional use, I thought it was high time I did a lens review for this wonderful little fuji standard zoom lens.

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[davidhatfieldphotography]

I checked all my Fuji lenses about 3 weeks ago, after I noticed some very out of focus areas at the edges of my 18-55 lens at 18mm. I taped a £10 note to a wall and used a tripod, taking different images at each marked focal length, with OIS on and off. I expected the sharpest image to be around f5.6., but to my surprise it was definitely at f11. I also did notice that the OIS was affecting the edge sharpness, even hand held at 18mm, so it is currently switched off. I made a small table of sweet spot apertures, I now keep in the bag, it’s a matrix for the 18-55, 10-24 & 55-200 at each focal length. Your video has given me the confirmation that the results for my gear seem fairly comparable. Many thanks Ian.

[mikefoster]

I've had my 18-55mm for a week now. I was getting frustrated with soft and inconsistent pictures. It LOOKS like the issue is that I needed to change my IS (image stabilisation) setting in my X-T30 menu from Continuous to Shooting Only. I'd read a couple of posts online where people had tried that, compared pictures, and found it better. Something to do with continuous creating a build-up of vibration that doesn't matter when filming so much but hurts still pictures. I've only tried the difference today and THINK I can spot a benefit. My pictures are really clear today, perhaps helped by the bright weather outside ... or by this potential fix. Will see.

[ksnmurthy]

Very elaborate study with great detail and effort. And finally simplified the process for selecting the lens. Thanks for sharing.💐

[craigcarlson]

Ian, that’s super interesting finding about f11 being the sharpest aperture setting. Well done and very helpful!

[Russellhawker]

Another great video. Love my 18-55. Had it for years now (since 2015). I planned to switch it out for the 16-55 in 2018. But soon as the 16-55 arrived i got buyers remorse. The 16-55 was also too heavy, unbalanced my X-E2s. Plus i'm a lousy photographer and couldn't justify it anyway. Thank the lord the retailer took it back and i never sold the 18-55....phew!

[Giantcappuccino]

Nice video. I love it when you realize that something that you already own is still top notch!

[panaitescustefan]

I have been shooting at f 11 for a couple of years now(travel, landscape, etc) and I really love the outcome from this lens. Like you, I had it in pouring rain, snow, etc and it didn't stop working. The only reason why I would upgrade to the 16 55 os the constant f2.8 because I shoot a lot of sport lately. Other than that coupled with any fuji body it will produce some amazing images!

[Simonpeckham]

Great insight into the lens. I have to say the greatest feature for me stick it in manual focus mode and run 18mm (28mmff) for street it is absolutely brilliant in this mode. Love the lens.

[spandsbab]

Best "kit lens" I have ever had, punches way more than it's price

[canyildiz]

This lens has been my closest confidant for 3 years now and have alot to thank it for - it allowed me to experiment and try new things. But yh, just kinda ended up growing out of it once i started discovering my style. And this goes for any kit lens really - they're too general, capable of just about anything in small doses. So for beginners, kit lenses are amazing, and this one in particular is a beast.

[markhou]

The first thing that I noticed was the excellent contrast when I first picked it up

[creativepicnl]

Just ordered the xt4 with the 18-55. I initially went for the 16-55 but when I discovered that there isn’t ois in the lens I changed the order. I would be using the fuji mainly for video and use fullframe for pro photo but how I see this I could potentially bring the fuji with me on assignment and do some proper photography as well. Nice testing and thanks for the effort.

Ps. Testing after 3 years is perfect. It just shows how durable it is!

[belazification]

13:38 I think that fuji cameras have a setting for diffraction compensation in menu. It was activated probably.

[garethmcfarland]

As ‘kit’ lenses go this one is very good, possibly the best I’ve ever used. As an outright lens it’s good but not excellent, although it does represent great value for money. I ended up selling mine and getting the 16-80mm which I don’t regret at all. I was content with the trade off of aperture at the wider end for a significantly wider focal range and the quality (of my 16-80 anyway) is superb - it holds its own against my 35mm f2. With the price differences it is difficult to recommend one over the other. Personally I’d rather have the 16-80 however the (at time of writing) approx £200 difference (used) is significant and some may prefer to buy the cheaper 18-55 and add a fast prime.

[stephenschmid]

Very good, thanks Ian. I'd love to see you compare the 18-55 with the 16-80 and 18-135. I'm trying to determine which one to use as my single "travel lens" when I want to go very light.

[lumilikha]

A unique perspective! It's reviews like this that make me want to go back to using my 18-55 even with my Fuji primes! Thanks, Ian!

[LyndonPatrickSmith]

Great review! I think that “turn off the OIS when you’re using a tripod” adage came from Canon. I shot that system for years and the results were very noticeable if you forgot to do this. 5 years into Fuji, I still try to remember to turn off OIS when I’m using a tripod. Old habits...

[gant]

Very informative, just the type of information I was looking for. Thanks

[mickeli]

Just bought me X-e3 with that lens, and was really positivly suprised when i compared it to my usual Pentax 35mm limited, wich is a very good lens. The Fujinon is not far behind. Thats pretty amazing.

[EricPalmerBlog]

Enjoyed your sage advice. Great video!!! Thanks for sharing.