Hi Andy I'm so pleased to hear another positive review about this lens. I bought it earlier this year after having a free trial from Fuji and I was blown away by the speed of focus and the sharpness even with the 1.4x attached (obviously only in good light) I shoot mainly Fuji but was using the Nikon D500 and 200-500mm lens for wildlife as I like you weren't happy with the 100-400mm lens. I've now bought the amazing XH2s to use with this lens and wow! What a great combination that is for wildlife but also moon images (I'll be out later capturing the near Full Moon rising
How do you like the Fuji setup compared to the Nikon? I use to own the Nikon 200-500 paired with my old D3 loved that setup. I now own the Fuji xh2 and I just got the 70-300 yesterday, and I’m very impressed for birds in flight it’s excellent but obviously still a little short so this lens would be the next step is it worth it?
@@clearviewmarinehi I prefer it to the 200-500mm because of the extra reach and the fact it doesn't extend when zooming. It's quite light compared to other super telephoto lenses. The f8 doesn't bother me as I'm happy to shoot up to 6400. I found the 200-500mm soft at 500mm
Almost now my standard lens! I shoot mainly military re-enactment, aircraft and natural history and in my 60+ years experience it is the best at a sensible price.
Great review of a fine lens Andy. I have one, paired with a X-H2. Taken some great images with it, including birds in flight, which many critics of the lens say isn't possible. My experience is that I have to adjust the camera settings (especially AF) carefully to get good images. For landscapes at the long end I struggle mostly with haze impacting sharpness of an image - nothing to do with the lens.
Hey Andy - another gem you have shared thx! I am an ex capetonian living in Hampshire ..wish i could have been your location scout I miss my old home🌈hope you enjoyed your stay and enjoyed the abundance of great locations and great food/coffe culture?
Hi Andy, Another great video. The dune shots are incredible .I have always appreciated your approach of acceptable sharpness and shooting how a scene makes you feel. So I'm happy with the 10-24 and 55-200 and a couple of primes when I pretend to be a street or portrait shooter!! Thank you for all of your videos over the years, they have been enjoyable and influential and I look for to many more in the future.
Thank you for your thoughts on this lens and for pointing out some issues, especially the sharpness and speed. I switched to Fuji when this lens was released, and it was one of the main reasons. Before, Fuji just could not replace my Sigma 150-600C paired with my Canon 90d. So I got the XH-2s, paired with this lens (and, of course, other lenses), and loved the saved weight I had to carry around. While I’m quite happy with Fuji in general (helping me find my creative side in photography), I do find that the pictures with this lens in particular do not shine when comparing them with my DSLR 90d/Sigma 150-600 combination. The big plus is the weight, making it easier to carry, but from the image quality perspective… sorry, no dice! Overall I’m „ok“ with it, but it bears compromises, especially when taking pictures of birds etc., the autofocus struggles quite a lot, making me miss shots that should be easy to get. Just my thoughts and experience. Of course I’m as always impressed by the landscapes you get out of this lens, just my favourite!! Love your videos, thanks again for this review.
@@gregboyce360 I had the Sigma for Canon EF and on an Canon camera body (Canon 90d). Does Sigma make that lens for Fuji X? I do not think that the Sigma and an EF to Fuji X adapter would be a better choice than the native Fuji lens. I tried a Canon 100mm macro with the adapter on the XH2 and it was miles away from the Fuji 90mm in all cases, image quality and also autofocus. And that was a superb lens on the Canon. But I have not tried the Sigma with the adapter. Hope I could help…
A wonderful review, as always. I think the applications for this make absolute sense for desert landscapes, and some seascapes as you have shown. I'll be doing a shoot in the Swiss Alps and having not been there am wondering if there will be any opportunities to use this there? I had been planning on the 70-300.
I’m a working professional who shoots architecture and lifestyle for my employer- and they’ve supplied me with Sony system which has been great for their needs. Lot of video, lifestyle interior and exterior projects. However I personally use Fuji system for my own work, and prefer the look the Fuji system makes over Sony. In fact I often have to supplement my projects with my company using my personal Fuji equipment to enable me to capture images I envision when out in the field. Anyway I recently purchased the 150-600 for landscape and wildlife photography, and have found it to be quick and sharp. It does have limitations - and I’m not sure if it’s the XH2 sensor, the lens or both - but in low light dark areas of a subject can tend to look muddy and smudgy, like backlit areas etc. when trying to stretch your exposure. However in bright or when subjects are sufficiently lit- it’s incredibly sharp based on some recent wildlife shots I’ve made. In my experience, paired with the XH2 and using bird subject detection it has performed AMAZINGLY and does a stellar job locking into birds even obstructed by thick and moving foliage and branches on a windy day. So far I love the lens, yes an F4 would be nice but would also mean thousands of more dollars and weight as the trade off. Excellent images in this video- stunning dune shots. Love it.
Would love to get your take on the Tamron 150-500 vis a vis this and the Fuji 100-400; seems like a compelling solution for those like me on a budget but needing that reach :)
Another very useful review, Andy. I've been looking at this one for a while now. So far, I've been happy enough with the 70-300 with the 1.4 tc, which is fast, small & light enough to earn a regular place in my camera bag. Given the size and bulk of the 150-600, I suspect I would only take it along for dedicated wildlife shoots, which so far account for only a very small part of my practice. But if this changes...
Want to lay my hands on one for a field test, then take it from there. The Fujinon 100-400 did worry me beyond 300mm, so I'd love to try out this one. We shoot wildlife over quite long distances. Don't go near lions; they don't brush. 😂
Great photos and thanks for the review , did you use it on any moving objects such as birds ? The 100-400 struggles in low light and think maybe in the good old English weather it would struggle even more .. anyone else had experience over here in uk ? Thanks
It definitely struggles more in poor light, AF gets slower and less certain and you'll need to bump the ISO, especially for moving subjects. That said, it does pretty well (all things, e.g. f8, considered) outwith situations such as denser woodland (where the 70-300 is probably more useable and useful anyway) or heavy overcast skies or evening gloom where you definitely start to lose detail. But in good light, even with the 1.4 TC, it is very useable and I've had some very nice shots in those situations. It will all depend on your use case and expectations I guess! I'll also note, this is on an X-S20 (though it was fine on the X-S10 too, just the AF was more hit or miss there, as you'd expect).
Hello Andy... exceptional video as always 🙂I'm thinking about replacement of my canon FF DSLR by fujifilm system. Could you please make a review of fujinon XF 16-80 F4 if it's possible? It will be very helpful for me to make a decision. Thanks in advance. At the end I want to say I learnt a lot from your channel in past few years 👍
Thanks Andy for all your nice videos. I was very much interested in your opinion about the XF 150-600 because I have owned 2 of them the past year and I almost stopped phographing because of this lens and sold all my equipment. I had a very bad experience with this lens. Here is my story about this lens (sorry for the length of my story). Most of the time I shoot birds, insects, airshows, animals and people. I had the XF 100-400 with and X-T3 and I had a love/hate relation with this one. It was always my plan to switch entirely from Canon to Fuji but because of my love/hate relation with this Fuji lens I kept my Canon 7DII with the EF 100-400II because for me it was more reliable. So when the X-H2S and the XF 150-660 came out I saw it as a change to switch totaly to Fuji. Sold my Canon stuff and bought the X-H2S and the XF 150-600 and a few months later also the X-H2. I took my first pictures with the XF 150-600 lens on aug 22th 2022 and the results were nice. No as good as with the Canon lens but I thought that I had to get used to the new lens. But the results did not get better but after 4 months the results got wurse and I did not know why. Now I have maybe an assumption what was wrong with it. Especially taking pictures of flying birds was most of the time terrible. They images were very unsharp. The lens had an issue focussing correctly I was trying to figure out what was wrong. Send my H2S back for repairs but after I got I back the result stay about the same. A little bit better. In april 2023 the dealer took the lens back and gave me a new one. Had the same result. The lens, or maybe I, was not capable to take sharp pictuers of flying birds. My keeper rate was down to 20% and in the 7 months I used this lens I shot almost 6400 images with it. Beginning of May I was so frustrated with this lens I wanted to sell everything and stop photographing. Then something happend. I could get the XF 70-300 with a discount so I bought that one. I could always send it back if the results were the same. I thought the results would be the same but 'supprice'. With this lens I could suddenly make sharp pictures of birds again. It is still so much fun taking images with Fuji cameras. I know other people make beautifull pictures with this lens of flying bird but I’am done with this lens. I still have the H2S and H2 and today I made some pictures with the Viltrox 75mm and the results are very good. I still have a few lenses with my Fuji cameras and the longest lens I kept is the XF 70-300. I returned the XF 150-600 and got a refund and sold my XF 100-400 and the X-T3. For shooting Birds I went back to the Canon R6II and as lens I bought the RF 100-500 and, for me, the results are so much better (sorry Fuji). Why did I tell this, too long story? Because after I sold a few Fuji lenses and X-T3 and bought some Canon gear to replace it I read something that could explain why the XF 150-600 and also XF 100-400 lens was not functioning correctly. I had, after a few months of using the XF 150-600 lens to overcome the sometimes not focussing in short distances issue, switched the AF + MF to ON and I read that this would negative influences the birds eye detect system. So if others experiences this same issues then before you sell everything put AF + MF to OFF and test if the focus system is working better. Sorry about the long story and my bad english (not a google translation) but I’am dutch. Do I have regrets of returning to Canon for bird photography? No. For me it is so much better. Do I sell the rest of my Fuji stuff? No absolutely not. It is to much fun to making pictures with the Fuji Cameras. Regards Han
AF+MF setting overrides "shutter" and "focus" priority settings. If AF-C is set to "focus priority" (it is "shutter priority" by default), AF+MF ignores that. I keep that setting off because one can setup Manual focus mode to include AF-C back button focusing (hence it is a somewhat redundant feature). I don't think AF+MF is enabled by default. Subject detection (i.e. face+eye/bird whatever) ignores any settings you have selected for AF-C modes including the custom modes. Hence, if you have set AF-C to mode "2", to instruct the camera to "ignore obstacles" and track a fast-moving subject, the subject detection, if switched on and detecting a subject, will ignore all of that and do whatever it is programmed to do. I'm guessing your main issue was with subject detection, but without knowing how you tried to get your shots (i.e. shutter settings, focus zone settings, OIS settings), it is impossible to know for sure what went wrong. It is usually advisable to set OIS to "shooting only" (or off, if shutter speeds are very high), and play with the AF-C settings to help the camera lock on better. I don't generally use subject detection because I'm used to taking manual control since cameras rarely do exactly what I want in all conditions. Good luck with your Canon!
@@matt88169 thanks for your explanation. If I only did know that a few months ago I could have tested that and maybe I never bought the Canon. Don’t get me wrong. I love making pictures with the Canon but I also love my Fuji’s. So now I have 2 different brands.
I agree with you about this lens not performing well with birds. The edges of the birds are never sharp (not just soft edges, but diffracted or something) and I’ve tried so many settings. I went back to shooting birds with the 100-400mm. I keep hoping there will be a firmware update that will help. Love Andy’s landscape shots with it!
In regards to the city test pictures. It looks like the hot air could be making some of the pictures less sharp. Either way, it could be nice to have that reach sometimes.
Thank you so much for your work and videos! I would love to know how this compares with the lens built in the Sony DSC HX10 Mark IV, it surprises me a lot that this Lens from the Sony has an aperture between 2.8 to 4 all the way zoomed in and it produces very clear images, and it is very, very fast, how comes Fujifilm makes that aperture so limited!? Many greetings from Germany
@@AndyMumford Well, the lense of 2.8 to 4 just explains it by itself! and all together, lens and camera weights less that this lens of Fujifilm, then to notice the problems it has of focus, darkness, etc! And by the way, you are the guy reviewing lenses and camaras, so my tip to you is, you must check the Sony and review it, after that, you will feel very dissapointed about this Fujinon Lens! That is what I meant! Many greetings to you and thank you for your reviews and work.
Thanks a lot for a great and detailed review! A question, if you would like to give me a recommendation: I do landscape, the most (that is then, not wildlife, at least not yet ;)). I have the 55-200 and often feel that I am limited in making closer shots or creative scenes in landscapes. I see that I can choose between 70-300, 100-400 or this. I understand that this gives me a lot more opportunities, but how about quality (or other features) differences between the lenses? Thanks in advance :)
Thanks for the comment. I think this is a very specialized lens, so I wouldn’t recommend it above the other lenses you mentioned. Personally I love the 70-300 and think it pairs well with the 16-80. Otherwise the 55-200 is a great lens. The 100-400 is a little heavy and for me the 70-300 is a better, more flexible lens
IMO the 70-300 is better than the 55-200, and in some ways, better than the 100-400 (nicer magnification, for example, a bit wider / broader focal range). BUT it really doesn't share the build quality of either of those lenses, or the 150-600. It is not that it is "bad", but it is plastic/telescoping design which you may or may not care about (I don't mind). Originally I wanted one myself but it was never in stock, and eventually I gave up after over a year and got the 50-140, which is better overall for what I like to do anyway. That said, I'd still consider it for its overall outstanding performance and useful reach etc. IF you think you'll be getting into wildlife, I'd just get the 150-600, personally, and be done with it. What the 150-600 adds in size and weight, it gives back in terms of reach and better image quality overall.
Gorgeous photos, truly. Given your interests, have you tried pixel shift with this lens? Seems, conditions permitting, it may provide better detail. Do you also shoot with the 50-140? How might that compare in terms of IQ overall on the 40mp sensor? I'm not 100% sold on the 40mp sensor, as I'd personally rather see Fuji produce a 20-30mp option that advances ISO performance and readout significantly - certainly some new sensors from Sony and Canon have shown this can be done (on FF at least). I also wonder if you've had a chance to try the 150-600mm on a 26mp body - IMO the image quality on my XT3 seems as good as it gets, and this lens in particular produces usable images IMO even at f/22. I have shot some portraits with this lens and color/contrast/resolution were all very exceptional working within 10-30 feet or so (and the compression/bokeh - holy crap). That experience and a few others gave me confidence that the image quality is way up there - the rest of the issues relate to conditions, composition, and steady hands. One thing I'd note is that I need to remember to shut off OIS if panning/tracking/using a tripod. Despite Fuji's literature (which claims OIS automatically detects and "locks" on tripods, for example), I think OIS has negatively impacted sharpness at times when I've gone above about 1/1000 on the shutter dial and forgotten to turn OIS off. I think it also spoiled a few tripod-mounted shots. Overall, however, I find the lens to be amazing and I look forward to taking it out more.
Thanks for the comment. I've tried pixel shift a few times with both the GFX and XT5 and to be honest it's not really useful for landscapes. If there is anything moving at all...leaves, grass, then it's blurred due to the time interval between the images. It's really designed for studio and archival work as there are very few completely stationary landscapes. I don't have the 50-140mm as I prefer lighter option, and at f7,1 it doesn't really perform significantly better than the 55-200. "I'm not 100% sold on the 40mp sensor, as I'd personally rather see Fuji produce a 20-30mp option that advances ISO performance and readout significantly - certainly some new sensors from Sony and Canon have shown this can be done (on FF at least)" Isn't that exactly what the X-H2S is for?
@@AndyMumford thanks for you reply. Pixel shift not necessarily a killer feature for landscape then-but that makes sense. As for the other comment, the XH2S has the readout speed but ISO performance took a hit and IQ overall not improved over my XT3, from what I’ve seen. Definitely would like to have seen far more from the $2,500 asking price. The 40mp sensor seems great but also took a hit in ISO performance-whether or not that matters to me I wouldn’t know for sure until I tried it in some challenging conditions. My comment was meant to imply that I would personally accept a penalty in max resolution if it meant another half/full stop of dynamic range/ISO performance could be had. I’ll keep dreaming.
I love this lens (slow f8 and all), a great lens crippled by Fuji’s notoriously mediocre AF (X-T5). Seriously Fuji, it has been 7 years switching from Canon to Fuji, why is this such a hurdle for you to overcome…?
Hi ! Thank you very much, Andy, for this great review ! What a mindblowing quality of shots ! (as always) I've got the 70-300mm + 1.4x TC and I feel like the XT5 resolution is too much for this combo : sharpness isn't great @420mm F8.0, it gets a little bit better at F10, but is never "great". This 150-600mm is very tempting, but this warbly-warmy effect is very marked at these very long focal lengths, what do you think about it ? I feel like this lens is "just" great for its reach and not its performance (as the 70-300mm is great for its compactness/reach ratio). Take good care ! Colin
It really depends on the focal length. Cropping to get a 600mm equivalent image on the GFX with the 100-200mm would mean cropping in so deep that there wouldn't be many megapixels left.
Hard to say. Depends entirely on what you need it for. It's a while since I used the 100-400, so I can't compare IQ, but this certainly has faster focus and longer reach.
Hello I would like to ask you what you think I using 100-400 mm plus 1.4x teleconverter What you think it is worth do update???for 150-600 Thank you for your time
The focus points are on the lighthouse, so if the focus appears to be beyond the lighthouse that must be the lens back focusing, which is an altogether different problem. However, from the images I took in Lisbon (not the lighthouse) it's pretty clear that it's not focusing error.
@@AndyMumford Agreed. One other thing to consider. Sharpness should be judged with either “clear seeing” (little to no atmospheric turbulence) or with subjects that are closer (less atmosphere between subject and lens). This is especially true at wider aperture openings. 600mm/8 = 75mm diameter aperture. Light wavefronts entering that 75mm aperture at different locations within the aperture get distorted differently by the different turbulence they traveled through, even just an inch or two over. This is akin to shooting through thick aquarium glass with a wide aperture. A phone camera and your eyes give sharper images through aquarium glass (not optically perfect glass) because they have tiny openings vs your prime lens. Large telescopes, such as Keck, use adaptive optics to combat this. Even so, I agree that the lens may not be “spectacularly” sharp.
This lens would have been such a home run for sport / wildlife photographers if it were 200-600 f5-6.3… unfortunately it’s more of a landscape lens and Fuji af tracking still sucks 😒
Not sure it's really designed as a landscape lens...it has very limited use for that. I took this on the one trip I would ever need longer than 400mm for landscapes
@@AndyMumford very true, the 70-300 is really the better landscape option. My point was that this lens is not well suited for anyone even half serious about wildlife photography… which begs the question: who was this lens made for?
I had the same experience but for me it was not the speed of focussing but more accuracy of the focus system. I had a love/hate relation with my XF 100-400 but for me, it was way better then the XF 150-600.
"Every time, your content stands out. Thank you for maintaining such high standards, Mr. Mumford!"
Thanks so much for watching
The images you've used as examples and stunning!
Thanks so much 🙏
Great photos Andy, really wonderful images. This lens compliments your incredible photography skills.
Thanks so much for watching
Fantastic piece of glass, thanks for a great hands on review.
Thanks for watching
Thanks for the lovely review, Andy. I’m besotted with your images of Namibia! I hope you’re well. 👍🦘
Thanks so much for watching Peter
Great photos! Amazing landscapes in particular! Thanks for sharing your experience.
Thanks for watching, glad you enjoyed the video
Nice pictures and honest review of the lens capabilities! Íve thought of this lens for a long time!
Thanks for watching, glad you enjoyed the video
Hi Andy I'm so pleased to hear another positive review about this lens. I bought it earlier this year after having a free trial from Fuji and I was blown away by the speed of focus and the sharpness even with the 1.4x attached (obviously only in good light) I shoot mainly Fuji but was using the Nikon D500 and 200-500mm lens for wildlife as I like you weren't happy with the 100-400mm lens. I've now bought the amazing XH2s to use with this lens and wow! What a great combination that is for wildlife but also moon images (I'll be out later capturing the near Full Moon rising
Thanks for the comment, sound like you’re having fun with the lens.
How do you like the Fuji setup compared to the Nikon? I use to own the Nikon 200-500 paired with my old D3 loved that setup. I now own the Fuji xh2 and I just got the 70-300 yesterday, and I’m very impressed for birds in flight it’s excellent but obviously still a little short so this lens would be the next step is it worth it?
@@clearviewmarinehi I prefer it to the 200-500mm because of the extra reach and the fact it doesn't extend when zooming. It's quite light compared to other super telephoto lenses. The f8 doesn't bother me as I'm happy to shoot up to 6400. I found the 200-500mm soft at 500mm
Lol, this is arriving today for me. Excited to hear your thoughts!
Thanks for watching, hope you enjoy the lens
Used it today for deers and sea eagles at the coast of german „ostsee“ in national park in the near of Zingst. Amazing results!
It’s a lovely lens
You need a wildlife trip to Pantanal Brazil with this lens! Great video!
Indeed I'd love to at some point
Grate video, as always....and your photos, of course!
Thanks so much for watching
Almost now my standard lens! I shoot mainly military re-enactment, aircraft and natural history and in my 60+ years experience it is the best at a sensible price.
Thanks for the comment
Great review of a fine lens Andy. I have one, paired with a X-H2. Taken some great images with it, including birds in flight, which many critics of the lens say isn't possible. My experience is that I have to adjust the camera settings (especially AF) carefully to get good images. For landscapes at the long end I struggle mostly with haze impacting sharpness of an image - nothing to do with the lens.
Thanks for the comment
I get a high return on birds in flight using an XT3 body. Not a lens issue, it's how it is used!
@@paulbroadbent6352Thats encouraging. Ive been debating getting this lens to use with an XT3 for birds in flight and other wildlife.
Great review, thanks Andy. You helped me decide to purchase this lens.
Thanks for the comment, glad the video was useful
Hey Andy - another gem you have shared thx! I am an ex capetonian living in Hampshire ..wish i could have been your location scout I miss my old home🌈hope you enjoyed your stay and enjoyed the abundance of great locations and great food/coffe culture?
Thanks for watching. Both Cape Town and Namibia are lovely and I really enjoy spending time there
Another masterclass as usual @AndyMumford!
Thank you for saving me from getting a full frame as a first camera! 💪🏼💪🏼
Thanks for the comment, glad it was useful
Hi Andy, Another great video. The dune shots are incredible .I have always appreciated your approach of acceptable sharpness and shooting how a scene makes you feel. So I'm happy with the 10-24 and 55-200 and a couple of primes when I pretend to be a street or portrait shooter!!
Thank you for all of your videos over the years, they have been enjoyable and influential and I look for to many more in the future.
Thanks so much for watching Mike, really glad you enjoy the videos
Thank you for your thoughts on this lens and for pointing out some issues, especially the sharpness and speed.
I switched to Fuji when this lens was released, and it was one of the main reasons. Before, Fuji just could not replace my Sigma 150-600C paired with my Canon 90d. So I got the XH-2s, paired with this lens (and, of course, other lenses), and loved the saved weight I had to carry around.
While I’m quite happy with Fuji in general (helping me find my creative side in photography), I do find that the pictures with this lens in particular do not shine when comparing them with my DSLR 90d/Sigma 150-600 combination. The big plus is the weight, making it easier to carry, but from the image quality perspective… sorry, no dice!
Overall I’m „ok“ with it, but it bears compromises, especially when taking pictures of birds etc., the autofocus struggles quite a lot, making me miss shots that should be easy to get.
Just my thoughts and experience.
Of course I’m as always impressed by the landscapes you get out of this lens, just my favourite!!
Love your videos, thanks again for this review.
Thanks for the comment
I have the X-T5 and I'm wondering which way to go, Sigma or Fuji, primarily for birds. I don't care about weight. what would you choose? Thx
@@gregboyce360 I had the Sigma for Canon EF and on an Canon camera body (Canon 90d). Does Sigma make that lens for Fuji X? I do not think that the Sigma and an EF to Fuji X adapter would be a better choice than the native Fuji lens. I tried a Canon 100mm macro with the adapter on the XH2 and it was miles away from the Fuji 90mm in all cases, image quality and also autofocus. And that was a superb lens on the Canon. But I have not tried the Sigma with the adapter. Hope I could help…
@@sigurdrille9693 Thank you so much for your reply. Yes, very helpful!
Excellent video, thanks. I have ordered one.
Enjoy it
A wonderful review, as always. I think the applications for this make absolute sense for desert landscapes, and some seascapes as you have shown. I'll be doing a shoot in the Swiss Alps and having not been there am wondering if there will be any opportunities to use this there? I had been planning on the 70-300.
Thanks for the comment, gad you enjoyed the video
I’m a working professional who shoots architecture and lifestyle for my employer- and they’ve supplied me with Sony system which has been great for their needs. Lot of video, lifestyle interior and exterior projects. However I personally use Fuji system for my own work, and prefer the look the Fuji system makes over Sony. In fact I often have to supplement my projects with my company using my personal Fuji equipment to enable me to capture images I envision when out in the field.
Anyway I recently purchased the 150-600 for landscape and wildlife photography, and have found it to be quick and sharp. It does have limitations - and I’m not sure if it’s the XH2 sensor, the lens or both - but in low light dark areas of a subject can tend to look muddy and smudgy, like backlit areas etc. when trying to stretch your exposure. However in bright or when subjects are sufficiently lit- it’s incredibly sharp based on some recent wildlife shots I’ve made. In my experience, paired with the XH2 and using bird subject detection it has performed AMAZINGLY and does a stellar job locking into birds even obstructed by thick and moving foliage and branches on a windy day. So far I love the lens, yes an F4 would be nice but would also mean thousands of more dollars and weight as the trade off. Excellent images in this video- stunning dune shots. Love it.
Thanks for the comment, glad you enjoyed the video
Wow that looks like a beast of a lens 😅 absolutely stunning examples shown!
Thanks foe the comment
Thumbs up. Love your content and your images are amazing.
Thanks so much for watching
Fantastic photos! Looks like it does a great job with handling chromatic aberrations. In those high contrast scenes, I didn't see any fringing.
Thanks for watching
Would love to get your take on the Tamron 150-500 vis a vis this and the Fuji 100-400; seems like a compelling solution for those like me on a budget but needing that reach :)
I've not got access to the Tamron, but I'm currently trying out the Sigma 100-400mm, which I've been quite impressed with so far.
amazing as always andy 😊👍
Thanks so much
Thanks, great review, always
Thanks so much for watching
Thanks, useful review. I have Fuji UK loan version coming this weekend. I want to see if the cost of change over trading in my 100-400 is good value.
Thanks for the comment, hope the video was useful. Have fun with the lens
Great review as always, thx !
Thanks so much for watching
Another very useful review, Andy. I've been looking at this one for a while now. So far, I've been happy enough with the 70-300 with the 1.4 tc, which is fast, small & light enough to earn a regular place in my camera bag. Given the size and bulk of the 150-600, I suspect I would only take it along for dedicated wildlife shoots, which so far account for only a very small part of my practice. But if this changes...
It’s certainly a limited lens. I’m curious about the 70-300 with the 1.4tc and will give it a try next year
Want to lay my hands on one for a field test, then take it from there. The Fujinon 100-400 did worry me beyond 300mm, so I'd love to try out this one. We shoot wildlife over quite long distances. Don't go near lions; they don't brush. 😂
Thanks for watching. Enjoy the lens
Great photos and thanks for the review , did you use it on any moving objects such as birds ? The 100-400 struggles in low light and think maybe in the good old English weather it would struggle even more .. anyone else had experience over here in uk ? Thanks
It definitely struggles more in poor light, AF gets slower and less certain and you'll need to bump the ISO, especially for moving subjects. That said, it does pretty well (all things, e.g. f8, considered) outwith situations such as denser woodland (where the 70-300 is probably more useable and useful anyway) or heavy overcast skies or evening gloom where you definitely start to lose detail. But in good light, even with the 1.4 TC, it is very useable and I've had some very nice shots in those situations. It will all depend on your use case and expectations I guess! I'll also note, this is on an X-S20 (though it was fine on the X-S10 too, just the AF was more hit or miss there, as you'd expect).
Thanks for the comment. No, sadly I didn’t really get a chance to try it on birds
Hello Andy... exceptional video as always 🙂I'm thinking about replacement of my canon FF DSLR by fujifilm system. Could you please make a review of fujinon XF 16-80 F4 if it's possible? It will be very helpful for me to make a decision. Thanks in advance. At the end I want to say I learnt a lot from your channel in past few years 👍
Thanks for the comment. My 16-80 review is coming….I’ve been using it for over a year and so it’s on it’s way. Should be in the next month or so
Thanks, Andy. You mentioned it isn't fast, but what about shooting motorsports?
Unfortunately I never got the chance to use it with something like that so I can’t say
Thanks Andy for all your nice videos. I was very much interested in your opinion about the XF 150-600 because I have owned 2 of them the past year and I almost stopped phographing because of this lens and sold all my equipment. I had a very bad experience with this lens.
Here is my story about this lens (sorry for the length of my story).
Most of the time I shoot birds, insects, airshows, animals and people.
I had the XF 100-400 with and X-T3 and I had a love/hate relation with this one. It was always my plan to switch entirely from Canon to Fuji but because of my love/hate relation with this Fuji lens I kept my Canon 7DII with the EF 100-400II because for me it was more reliable.
So when the X-H2S and the XF 150-660 came out I saw it as a change to switch totaly to Fuji. Sold my Canon stuff and bought the X-H2S and the XF 150-600 and a few months later also the X-H2.
I took my first pictures with the XF 150-600 lens on aug 22th 2022 and the results were nice. No as good as with the Canon lens but I thought that I had to get used to the new lens. But the results did not get better but after 4 months the results got wurse and I did not know why. Now I have maybe an assumption what was wrong with it.
Especially taking pictures of flying birds was most of the time terrible. They images were very unsharp. The lens had an issue focussing correctly I was trying to figure out what was wrong. Send my H2S back for repairs but after I got I back the result stay about the same. A little bit better. In april 2023 the dealer took the lens back and gave me a new one. Had the same result. The lens, or maybe I, was not capable to take sharp pictuers of flying birds. My keeper rate was down to 20% and in the 7 months I used this lens I shot almost 6400 images with it.
Beginning of May I was so frustrated with this lens I wanted to sell everything and stop photographing. Then something happend. I could get the XF 70-300 with a discount so I bought that one. I could always send it back if the results were the same. I thought the results would be the same but 'supprice'. With this lens I could suddenly make sharp pictures of birds again.
It is still so much fun taking images with Fuji cameras. I know other people make beautifull pictures with this lens of flying bird but I’am done with this lens. I still have the H2S and H2 and today I made some pictures with the Viltrox 75mm and the results are very good. I still have a few lenses with my Fuji cameras and the longest lens I kept is the XF 70-300. I returned the XF 150-600 and got a refund and sold my XF 100-400 and the X-T3.
For shooting Birds I went back to the Canon R6II and as lens I bought the RF 100-500 and, for me, the results are so much better (sorry Fuji).
Why did I tell this, too long story? Because after I sold a few Fuji lenses and X-T3 and bought some Canon gear to replace it I read something that could explain why the XF 150-600 and also XF 100-400 lens was not functioning correctly.
I had, after a few months of using the XF 150-600 lens to overcome the sometimes not focussing in short distances issue, switched the AF + MF to ON and I read that this would negative influences the birds eye detect system. So if others experiences this same issues then before you sell everything put AF + MF to OFF and test if the focus system is working better.
Sorry about the long story and my bad english (not a google translation) but I’am dutch.
Do I have regrets of returning to Canon for bird photography? No. For me it is so much better. Do I sell the rest of my Fuji stuff? No absolutely not. It is to much fun to making pictures with the Fuji Cameras.
Regards Han
Thanks for the comment Han, there’s some useful information there. I’ve never shot birds so I really can’t comment, but your experience is interesting
AF+MF setting overrides "shutter" and "focus" priority settings. If AF-C is set to "focus priority" (it is "shutter priority" by default), AF+MF ignores that. I keep that setting off because one can setup Manual focus mode to include AF-C back button focusing (hence it is a somewhat redundant feature). I don't think AF+MF is enabled by default.
Subject detection (i.e. face+eye/bird whatever) ignores any settings you have selected for AF-C modes including the custom modes. Hence, if you have set AF-C to mode "2", to instruct the camera to "ignore obstacles" and track a fast-moving subject, the subject detection, if switched on and detecting a subject, will ignore all of that and do whatever it is programmed to do.
I'm guessing your main issue was with subject detection, but without knowing how you tried to get your shots (i.e. shutter settings, focus zone settings, OIS settings), it is impossible to know for sure what went wrong. It is usually advisable to set OIS to "shooting only" (or off, if shutter speeds are very high), and play with the AF-C settings to help the camera lock on better. I don't generally use subject detection because I'm used to taking manual control since cameras rarely do exactly what I want in all conditions.
Good luck with your Canon!
@@matt88169 thanks for your explanation. If I only did know that a few months ago I could have tested that and maybe I never bought the Canon. Don’t get me wrong. I love making pictures with the Canon but I also love my Fuji’s. So now I have 2 different brands.
I agree with you about this lens not performing well with birds. The edges of the birds are never sharp (not just soft edges, but diffracted or something) and I’ve tried so many settings. I went back to shooting birds with the 100-400mm. I keep hoping there will be a firmware update that will help. Love Andy’s landscape shots with it!
Would be cool to join you on a trip :)
Would love to have you along
In regards to the city test pictures. It looks like the hot air could be making some of the pictures less sharp.
Either way, it could be nice to have that reach sometimes.
It’s possible it’s heat haze, but your right about the reach, it really opens up possibilities
Thank you so much for your work and videos! I would love to know how this compares with the lens built in the Sony DSC HX10 Mark IV, it surprises me a lot that this Lens from the Sony has an aperture between 2.8 to 4 all the way zoomed in and it produces very clear images, and it is very, very fast, how comes Fujifilm makes that aperture so limited!? Many greetings from Germany
Ive never used the Sony so I can't compare it
@@AndyMumford Well, the lense of 2.8 to 4 just explains it by itself! and all together, lens and camera weights less that this lens of Fujifilm, then to notice the problems it has of focus, darkness, etc! And by the way, you are the guy reviewing lenses and camaras, so my tip to you is, you must check the Sony and review it, after that, you will feel very dissapointed about this Fujinon Lens! That is what I meant! Many greetings to you and thank you for your reviews and work.
Thanks a lot for a great and detailed review! A question, if you would like to give me a recommendation: I do landscape, the most (that is then, not wildlife, at least not yet ;)). I have the 55-200 and often feel that I am limited in making closer shots or creative scenes in landscapes. I see that I can choose between 70-300, 100-400 or this. I understand that this gives me a lot more opportunities, but how about quality (or other features) differences between the lenses? Thanks in advance :)
Thanks for the comment. I think this is a very specialized lens, so I wouldn’t recommend it above the other lenses you mentioned. Personally I love the 70-300 and think it pairs well with the 16-80. Otherwise the 55-200 is a great lens. The 100-400 is a little heavy and for me the 70-300 is a better, more flexible lens
IMO the 70-300 is better than the 55-200, and in some ways, better than the 100-400 (nicer magnification, for example, a bit wider / broader focal range). BUT it really doesn't share the build quality of either of those lenses, or the 150-600. It is not that it is "bad", but it is plastic/telescoping design which you may or may not care about (I don't mind). Originally I wanted one myself but it was never in stock, and eventually I gave up after over a year and got the 50-140, which is better overall for what I like to do anyway. That said, I'd still consider it for its overall outstanding performance and useful reach etc. IF you think you'll be getting into wildlife, I'd just get the 150-600, personally, and be done with it. What the 150-600 adds in size and weight, it gives back in terms of reach and better image quality overall.
Andy, wondering if you remember how far that lighthouse was from you?
Sorry, I can't remember
Thanks for the video, will you recommend upgrading from the 100-400 to this one? Will I notice a big difference?
I don't have the 100-400mm so I can't do a comparison, but they're different lenses and one doesn't necessarily replace the other
Gorgeous photos, truly. Given your interests, have you tried pixel shift with this lens? Seems, conditions permitting, it may provide better detail. Do you also shoot with the 50-140? How might that compare in terms of IQ overall on the 40mp sensor? I'm not 100% sold on the 40mp sensor, as I'd personally rather see Fuji produce a 20-30mp option that advances ISO performance and readout significantly - certainly some new sensors from Sony and Canon have shown this can be done (on FF at least).
I also wonder if you've had a chance to try the 150-600mm on a 26mp body - IMO the image quality on my XT3 seems as good as it gets, and this lens in particular produces usable images IMO even at f/22. I have shot some portraits with this lens and color/contrast/resolution were all very exceptional working within 10-30 feet or so (and the compression/bokeh - holy crap). That experience and a few others gave me confidence that the image quality is way up there - the rest of the issues relate to conditions, composition, and steady hands.
One thing I'd note is that I need to remember to shut off OIS if panning/tracking/using a tripod. Despite Fuji's literature (which claims OIS automatically detects and "locks" on tripods, for example), I think OIS has negatively impacted sharpness at times when I've gone above about 1/1000 on the shutter dial and forgotten to turn OIS off. I think it also spoiled a few tripod-mounted shots. Overall, however, I find the lens to be amazing and I look forward to taking it out more.
Thanks for the comment. I've tried pixel shift a few times with both the GFX and XT5 and to be honest it's not really useful for landscapes. If there is anything moving at all...leaves, grass, then it's blurred due to the time interval between the images. It's really designed for studio and archival work as there are very few completely stationary landscapes.
I don't have the 50-140mm as I prefer lighter option, and at f7,1 it doesn't really perform significantly better than the 55-200.
"I'm not 100% sold on the 40mp sensor, as I'd personally rather see Fuji produce a 20-30mp option that advances ISO performance and readout significantly - certainly some new sensors from Sony and Canon have shown this can be done (on FF at least)" Isn't that exactly what the X-H2S is for?
@@AndyMumford thanks for you reply. Pixel shift not necessarily a killer feature for landscape then-but that makes sense. As for the other comment, the XH2S has the readout speed but ISO performance took a hit and IQ overall not improved over my XT3, from what I’ve seen. Definitely would like to have seen far more from the $2,500 asking price. The 40mp sensor seems great but also took a hit in ISO performance-whether or not that matters to me I wouldn’t know for sure until I tried it in some challenging conditions. My comment was meant to imply that I would personally accept a penalty in max resolution if it meant another half/full stop of dynamic range/ISO performance could be had. I’ll keep dreaming.
I love this lens (slow f8 and all), a great lens crippled by Fuji’s notoriously mediocre AF (X-T5). Seriously Fuji, it has been 7 years switching from Canon to Fuji, why is this such a hurdle for you to overcome…?
Hi !
Thank you very much, Andy, for this great review ! What a mindblowing quality of shots ! (as always)
I've got the 70-300mm + 1.4x TC and I feel like the XT5 resolution is too much for this combo : sharpness isn't great @420mm F8.0, it gets a little bit better at F10, but is never "great".
This 150-600mm is very tempting, but this warbly-warmy effect is very marked at these very long focal lengths, what do you think about it ?
I feel like this lens is "just" great for its reach and not its performance (as the 70-300mm is great for its compactness/reach ratio).
Take good care !
Colin
Thanks for the comment. I was actually curious how it would compare with the 70-300 with the 1,4 tc
@@AndyMumford I can make some pictures and send them to you, if you want. If it may help...
Andy, I love your stuff. Which has better photo quality GFX using the 100-200 cropping in or the Fuji xt5 using the 150-600?
It really depends on the focal length. Cropping to get a 600mm equivalent image on the GFX with the 100-200mm would mean cropping in so deep that there wouldn't be many megapixels left.
Nice review Andy although your audio was destroying my left ear.
double the 70-300 on everything pretty much. I assume the 70-300 with the X2 is not as good?
The x2 really does degrade IQ in my opinion. The 1,4 not so much.
I have the 400, does this represent a meaningful upgrade'
Hard to say. Depends entirely on what you need it for. It's a while since I used the 100-400, so I can't compare IQ, but this certainly has faster focus and longer reach.
If you had to chose between 100-400 and 150-600, wich would you take?
The 100-400mm. It fits better with other focal lengths and is smaller and easier to carry
Hello
I would like to ask you what you think I using 100-400 mm plus 1.4x teleconverter
What you think it is worth do update???for 150-600
Thank you for your time
Good question, I think the TC does affect IQ a little, and so this will be slightly sharper and faster
@@AndyMumford
Thank you for your answer 😊
Take care
Is the lens scratch resistant?
You mean the glass or the case? No glass or plastic is completely scratch resistant, it just depends what you hit it with and how hard
Damn.
🙏
If I look closely, most of those lighthouse shots are focused beyond the lighthouse. The exception is the one at 600mm. IMHO
The focus points are on the lighthouse, so if the focus appears to be beyond the lighthouse that must be the lens back focusing, which is an altogether different problem. However, from the images I took in Lisbon (not the lighthouse) it's pretty clear that it's not focusing error.
@@AndyMumford Agreed. One other thing to consider. Sharpness should be judged with either “clear seeing” (little to no atmospheric turbulence) or with subjects that are closer (less atmosphere between subject and lens). This is especially true at wider aperture openings. 600mm/8 = 75mm diameter aperture. Light wavefronts entering that 75mm aperture at different locations within the aperture get distorted differently by the different turbulence they traveled through, even just an inch or two over. This is akin to shooting through thick aquarium glass with a wide aperture. A phone camera and your eyes give sharper images through aquarium glass (not optically perfect glass) because they have tiny openings vs your prime lens. Large telescopes, such as Keck, use adaptive optics to combat this. Even so, I agree that the lens may not be “spectacularly” sharp.
This lens would have been such a home run for sport / wildlife photographers if it were 200-600 f5-6.3… unfortunately it’s more of a landscape lens and Fuji af tracking still sucks 😒
Not sure it's really designed as a landscape lens...it has very limited use for that. I took this on the one trip I would ever need longer than 400mm for landscapes
@@AndyMumford very true, the 70-300 is really the better landscape option. My point was that this lens is not well suited for anyone even half serious about wildlife photography… which begs the question: who was this lens made for?
I’ve tried this lens on a couple of occasions and its focus is slow, slow, slow. The 100-400 is a better lens.
I've noticed the opposite. This lens is faster to focus than my 100-400.
@@brianw6645 it depends on what you’re shooting I guess. For fast-moving sports, it’s a dud. I get better results from the 100-400.
I had the same experience but for me it was not the speed of focussing but more accuracy of the focus system. I had a love/hate relation with my XF 100-400 but for me, it was way better then the XF 150-600.
@@MacEffie I completely agree with you. It has an accuracy problem.
@@sam7479 What targets does it struggle with ?? .
If people did ACTUALLY listen to what he said he NEVER said it was FAST !! .