In my quest to find the best lens combination for photography, I tried many different brands and focal lengths to see which worked for me and delivered the image quality I wanted. One thing is missing, however, and that is a good, lightweight, affordable telephoto lens for long hikes. Enter the Fujifilm XF 70-300mm f/4-5.6 R LM OIS WR.
Luckily for me, one of the students in the night class had a lens and kindly loaned it to me to see what I thought. In return, you borrow Fujifilm XF 16mm f/2.8 R WR, when he was looking to buy one of them.
the need
Not every lens is necessary, and sometimes, we just go with it, but I really lacked the reach I needed for my photography. When I got the X-T3, I had Fujifilm XF 55-200mm f/3.5-4.8 R LM OISit’s a good lens, but it doesn’t have the focal distance I claim.
Quality build
As expected, the XF 70-300mm f/4-5.6 R LM OIS WR Well built and weather tight. Weighing in at 588 g with dimensions of 132 mm when retracted and 204 mm fully extended, this lens is barely noticeable in your camera bag considering the focal distance it offers. The equivalent focal distance in full-frame is 107mm to 450mm, so you have plenty of access to size.
With 5.5 stops of OIS (Optical Image Stabilization), the lens is very capable of producing sharp photos in a variety of conditions, including low light. The focus and zoom rings are smooth and precise, with good friction, which means even on rainy and windy days you’ll have no problem using them. The aperture ring closest to the camera body works as expected. However, no aperture markings are visible, so you’ll have to rely on your viewfinder for that. 
The lens is made of plastic and includes a large plastic lens cap. It has a filter thread diameter of 67mm. The lens itself doesn’t have an AF/MF switch, but it does have a focus limiter and aperture switch, allowing you to control the aperture from the camera or lens. There’s no tripod collar for the lens, but after a quick search online, there’s plenty if you need it. I tried it on two tripods, my usual one, the INNOREL ST324CT . carbon fiber tripod, there’s no creep, and the KandFConcept tripod is light, creating some sort of crawling sensation. So, if you have a lightweight tripod and want to shoot with this lens mounted on it, I might as well consider a sturdier head for it. 
Performance and image quality
This lightweight telephoto lens delivers excellent image quality at all focal lengths. With a minimum focusing distance of 85cm and fast autofocus, the lens performs well and the resulting images are clear and sharp. As a lightweight lens, carrying it around and shooting all day with it is no problem. Fit neatly F-Stop Navin Bagthe size of the lens taking into account the achievable focal length means I can carry this lens and the other without a backpack, just a shoulder strap.
For the 300mm focal length when the subject is close, the image output quality is never degraded and the bokeh it produces is well accepted considering the aperture.
Out of all the photos I took while testing the lens, only a few had noticeable chromatic aberration at 100% zoom, which was easy to correct in post-production.
Did it go far?
As mentioned, the main reason I tried this lens out was the image quality at long distances, so that when we are hiking, I can trust the images produced and not be discouraged when back home to edit. I set the camera to aperture priority and shot everything handheld, shooting as much as I could at different focal distances, so that when I got home I could peek at the pixels to see the results. fruit. I’m not usually a pixel viewer, but to be sure of this lens I really needed to see that there were no blurred pixels in the distance. Our eyes don’t see every branch 1 km away, so I wouldn’t expect a lens to be visible, but I would really expect not to see too many pixels mixed together and the lens has provided Granted the files were clearly better than I expected. all at different ISO levels and shutter speeds.
What I Like
- Lens portability
- The quality of sharpness it delivers.
What I don’t like
Long term thinking
The lens is lightweight and compact in terms of focal length and delivers sharp results throughout. This will fill in the gap I’m currently missing in my setup and provide the quality my images desire. Yes, there is a larger and more expensive 100-400mm, which I might try at some point, but financially it’s not a viable option. Furthermore, being a heavier lens, it’s not so great for longer hikes.
This lens delivers in every aspect, weight, size, weather resistance and image quality, and performs surprisingly well. For landscapes and the types of images I’m taking, this fits my budget, weight, and size range, so here’s another one to add to this year’s shopping list. The XF 70-300mm f/4-5.6 R LM OIS WR might just be the lens you’re looking for.
