Fujifilm Fujinon XF 18-120mm f/4 LM PZ WR Lens Review

Things do have a habit of moving in circles, and currently, we are seeing the rediscovery of the Power Zoom. This is finding a new audience, not least because it offers a way to zoom smoothly for videographers, avoiding the shuddering that manual zooming can create. Fujifilm's new APS-C crop sensor lens is such a Power Zoom. The coverage of 18-120mm is a highly practical range for a standard zoom, having a "35mm equivalent" field of view of 27-183mm. The f/4 maximum aperture is constant over all focal lengths, a real convenience, and the lens is much smaller and lighter than the equivalent f/2.8 lens would be. So, let's take the brand new lens and the brand new 40MP Fujifilm X-H2 body and find out how it handles and how it stacks up in the technical tests as well.

Fujifilm Fujinon XF 18-120mm f/4 LM PZ WR  Handling and Features

There is never any doubt that Fujifilm is capable of making excellent lenses, and the new 18-120mm immediately impresses with its solid build. It is moderately heavy at 460g and measures 77.3mm in diameter and 123.5mm long. That length does not alter with focus or zooming, which are both internal, so the lens balance remains constant. This is ideal for balance on a gimbal and is a benefit to videographers in particular.

From the front, a bayonet-fit petal lens hood clips slickly into place and shows no sign of being likely to detach during use. Within the bayonet fitting is a conventional 72mm filter thread. The front (and rear) elements are Fluorine coated to resist dust, grease and moisture and indeed the whole lens is weather resistant, as described by its WR designation.

The focusing ring is activated in the camera menus and can be inert, work when AF is active or just work in MF mode. Focusing is down to 0.6m (23.6 inches) at all focal lengths, for a maximum magnification of 0.2x. This is reasonably close, but not as close as some manufacturers manage with their 18-135mm lenses.

Behind this, the zoom ring is generously sized and, as with all the lens controls, electronic. The Power Zoom ring is next and can be used to zoom or to focus as required. The rate of zoom can be adjusted by turning the ring

either gently or more forcibly. The zoom action is commendably smooth. It does however generate some noise. The PZ ring can be used as a focus ring and the function is selected using a small Z/F button. As if this was not enough, a third method of zooming is available using the small rocker switch that in itself combines the Fn1 and Fn2 buttons. Various functions can be assigned here.

One thing that is common to all the methods of zooming is that it is difficult to set a precise focal length, something that perhaps affects lens testers more than most photographers. If using the ring for focusing, it does work but precision is more difficult than using the manual ring.

Optical construction is 15 elements in 12 groups, including 3 Aspherical and 3 ED (Extra Low Dispersion). The diaphragm has 7 rounded blades and its action is stepless.

For all of these functions to work properly we need to be sure that the camera firmware is up to date. The following cameras are compatible with everything this lens can do: X-H2, X-H2S, X-T4, X-T3, X-S10.

There is no built-in image stabilisation, so the lens is dependent on the IS built into the camera body. For this photographer on this day, the advantage gained was around 3.5 stops, not remarkable by current standards but still very acceptable.

Handling, in general, is totally hazard-free and the weather resistance enables us to carry on shooting regardless of the weather, although as always it is worth remembering that the camera is dust an moisture-resistant and not waterproof. With fast and virtually silent AF and the ability to zoom ultra-smoothly when shooting video, this is a very versatile standard zoom.