The Fujifilm X-T5 is a superb camera. I don’t regret buying mine for a single moment. Without a doubt it's one of the best Fujifilm cameras today. Except for one thing – two of my most useful lenses had to go as a result, and I don’t yet know what I can replace them with.
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My Fujinon XF16-80mm f/4 was a fantastically useful standard zoom, but on the X-T5 its softness at 80mm just became unbearable, as did its corner softness at 16mm and especially 80mm. I tried, but I just couldn’t get along with a lens where I had to stay away from certain focal lengths.
And no, stopping down didn’t help a lot either. Besides, you quickly run into softening from diffraction too. Is this worse on the X-T5? I’m not sure, but it feels like it.
The other lens that had to go was my equally fantastically useful XF10-24mm f/4 (the new and updated version, not the original). I knew its corner softness was noticeable at 24mm, but on the X-T5 it’s just become unacceptable – to me, at least.
This issue has been rumbling along since Fujifilm first introduced its latest 40MP sensor in 2022 – which is, in my opinion, quite superb. The issue is that it really shows up all the weaknesses and limitations of some of Fujifilm’s existing lenses. We’ve already posted a list of the lenses Fujifilm recommends for the 40MP sensor, so that’s a tacit admission that it’s an issue.
The XF16-80mm and XF10-24mm were two absolutely key go-to lenses for me but, sure enough, they're not on the list.
Is this just pixel peeping?
It’s probably true that most of us spend far too much time looking at pixels at too high a magnification, but this time I think it’s a little more serious.
What we’ve become used to with digital cameras is the resolution of the sensor and the resolution of the lenses running out at more or less the same time.
What we’ve got here, though, is an imbalance between what the sensor can do and what a lot of the lenses can do. We didn’t mind so much on Fujifilm’s 26MP and 24MP cameras because whenever the lenses were running out of resolution, the sensor wasn’t far behind.
Now, though, it’s obvious, often painfully so, that lenses are the limiting factor. The sensor is fabulous, but which lenses can actually do it justice? We’re still finding that out.
What lenses should you buy for the X-T5/X-T50/X-H2?
For Fujifilm X-H2 owners, it’s perhaps not so difficult. This camera is aimed at high-end users who will probably be investing in Fujifilm’s best ‘red badge’ f/2.8 zooms and its latest f/1.4 primes. Most of the best Fujifilm lenses are probably good candidates. But those red badge zooms, especially, are big, heavy lenses and not for everyone.
For Fujifilm X-T5 owners like me, I think it’s much harder. For me, the ‘red badge’ lenses are not a good fit for the smaller body, and yet what other zoom choice is there in the Fujifilm range if the XF16-80mm and XF10-24mm aren’t up to the job? I’ve always found the old XF18-55mm somewhat poor at 55mm, and the new XF16-50mm is an unknown quantity – and looks a pretty expensive standalone purchase for a ‘kit’ lens.
Worse, if anyone has bought an X-T50 and asks me what lenses to get next, I would really be struggling.
I guess there’s the Sigma 10-18mm f/2.8 and Sigma 18-50mm f/2.8 zooms – but these don’t have aperture rings, which is one of the reasons I went for Fujifilm in the first place.
Right now, I’m finding my compact Fujinon primes look pretty decent on my X-T5, but until I can convince myself there are zooms out there that will also look good on this 40MP sensor and that aren’t huge and expensive, I honestly don’t know where to go from here.
I’m stuck.
See our choice of the best lenses for the Fujifilm X-T5
