Fuji 18-135 Review From a Real User
If there’s one thing I hate its lens reviews. You know, the type that tells you all about the sharpness and resolving capability. Yes, these things can be important. After all, we all hate poor lens quality. But the thing about sharpness and distortion charts is they don’t help you understand what a lens is like to use. That’s why I decided to share my real-life experiences with the Fuji 18-135 lens by writing this review now.
Don’t expect any charts or even evidence to back up my experience. This is about my thoughts as a long-time user of the Fuji 18-135. If you want lens charts here’s a good site. You click the Lab Test to check the sharpness at different focal lengths and aperture. But if you want real-life experience, please stay with me.
Background Story
Before I share the finer details of my review, I want to give you some background. You probably already know, or at least have heard, that Fuji can make exceptional lenses. In fact, most of the X Series lenses range from very good to amazing. But the 18-135 has always been something of an anomaly. It’s not a cheap lens – checking Amazon (September 2019) it’s priced at £679.
Given the price and that it’s one of the Fuji premium lenses, you would expect great results.
As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.
My first experience with a Fuji 18-135 lens was in 2016 when the Fuji X-Trans was completely new to me. I purchased a used Fuji X-T1 and used Fuji 18-135 together with Fuji 10-24 and Fuji 55-200 lenses. The Fuji 18-135 was the first lens I tried, and the results shocked me. Every shot had a problem. Most looked soft and they all appeared false, as though they were a drawing and lacking detail. The lens also suffered from being very soft on one side at some focal lengths.
As you can imagine, I jumped onto the internet and started researching Fuji X-Trans problems. That’s when I came across lots of articles saying how poor this lens was and discussing imaging problems with the Fuji X-Trans sensor. To cut a long story short, I stuck with the Fuji system, but the camera and lenses went back. The exception was the Fuji 10-24 which I still have.
After a year, I decided I should try another Fuji 18-135 lens, but this time I purchased a new one. The reason for my change of heart was the convenience of this focal range. In full-frame terms, it’s around 27mm to 200mm which makes it very useful when you need to limit your equipment.
Build Quality and Handling
This isn’t a large lens. It’s approximately 10cm long and feels only a little larger than the Fuji 10-24, although a different shape. Rather than the barrel of the lens tapering to the mount, the barrel is cylindrical.
The lens barrel is metal as is the lens mount. At 490g it feels a little lighter than expected when you pick one up and it’s certainly lighter than some of the other Fuji lenses. Despite this, it still retains a feeling of quality. It’s also worth mentioning that the Fuji 18-135 lens is weather resistant making it perfect for taking out into the landscape.
Filters and the Fuji 18-135
As you would expect, there is a thread on the front of the lens for a screw-in filter. This has a diameter of 67mm.
Although I use 100mm Kase filters, I do have a set of Lee Seven 5 filters for my Micro 43 cameras. You may be interested to know that I can use the Lee Seven 5 system on this lens without vignetting. If I use a UV filter on the lens together with the Lee Seven 5, there is only the slightest hint of vignetting in two corners. You can easily correct this in post-processing.
Notable Features of the Fuji 18-135
The minimum aperture is f/22 but I don’t recommend using this as diffraction does become noticeable at some focal lengths. The maximum aperture is variable, ranging from f/3.5 at the 18mm end of the focal range to f/5.6 at 200mm.
The barrel has a switch for image stabilisation allowing you to turn it off and on. In terms of the stabilisation, it’s effective but not sensational. It will certainly allow you to achieve slower shutter speeds than you might otherwise try.
There’s also a second switch which is common to many Fuji lenses. This switch the aperture adjustment to ring on the lens rather than controlling the aperture from the camera. If you have never used this feature, it’s a joy and makes the lens easy to handle.
Overall the Fuji 18-135 handles like a quality lens. It feels very well balanced and when you have it on the X-T1, X-T2 or X-T3 bodies it feels perfect.
Optical Performance
Now, this is where I’m going to become a little more subjective. You must understand that some RAW converters have a problem with the Fuji X-Trans RAW files (although some will argue this point). My personal preference for RAW converters was Adobe Lightroom but I recently switched to Capture One. I this switch because Lightroom made such a poor job of converting my Fuji images. Lightrooms great if you’re a Nikon or Canon user, but for Fuji it sucks.
The Fuji Lightroom Problem
When I compare images converted in Lightroom with the same file converted in Capture One, the two are very different. Lightroom creates a false, cartoon appearance where Capture One renders an image that looks like film. Lightroom produces thick, blocky edges lacking detail, especially in grass, bracken and trees. Capture One produces crisp edges and lots of detail. Lightroom produces soft corners and frame edges where Capture One is sharp. I’m sure you get the gist.
For reasons that I don’t understand, these problems seem exaggerated for some images shot with this lens. Unfortunately, many people use Lightroom and evaluate their lens quality based on RAW processing. If you shoot with a Fuji and use Lightroom I would urge you to try Capture One. There’s a free Fuji version you can download and whilst it has fewer features than the full version, it’s still a very good RAW converter.
Fuji 18-135 Performance
Rather than go on at length about the optical performance of this lens, I will summarise a few key points:
- It’s a sharp lens and a good performer across the entire focal range, but it’s best in the mid-range around 35-80mm. The wide end is probably the weakest area of its focal range.
- The lens resists diffraction well but you will see some when you stop down to f/22. If you are stopping down to f/22 I must ask why?
- You need to stop this lens down by a couple of stops before you see the best performance. That said, I’ve found it performs reasonably well even at maximum aperture.
- Distortion’s relatively well controlled across the focal range. Again, the wide end is probably the weakest area. I should also point out that Capture One does a great job of correcting the distortion for this lens.
- I haven’t seen much Chromatic Aberration when using this lens and light falloff isn’t very noticeable.
Overall, it’s a solid optical performer but it doesn’t have sparkling performance.
Where Does the Fuji 18-135 Excel?
I want to say that this lens is one of my favourites. If I lost or damaged it, I would be buying a replacement immediately.
The reason for this is its flexibility and usability. This is a great all-round lens, especially if you’re going to be travelling. Last year I took this lens to Singapore, Australia and New Zealand along with my Fuji X-T2. Because I could carry the camera and lens in a small shoulder bag, I used the combination almost exclusively for most of these trips.
Could I have achieved sharper images using the Fuji 16-55? Probably, but then it’s about twice the weight, doesn’t have the same reach and lacks image stabilisation. The convenience of having a lens that you can leave on the camera and which fits in a small shoulder bag is wonderful. Don’t underestimate the convenience factor. It makes photography a lot more enjoyable.
The Problems with the Fuji 18-135
To be honest, after two years of use, I don’t have any real negatives to share. This lens is good for most things but not great at any of them. It doesn’t quite have the maximum aperture for shallow depth of field. The focal range doesn’t go to any “extremes” at either end. The image quality is good but not fantastic. It’s just a usable, robust performer.
Get Landscape Photography: Shoot Like a Pro
Get the inside edge on what it takes to shoot consistently good landscapes.
30 day, no questions money back guarantee
Buy now or learn more...
Fuji 18-135 Review Summary
The Fuji 18-135 lens is well suited if you like to travel or hike with a camera. Being able to use a lens all day for most things whilst out walking is great. It means you can travel relatively light and compact. This is also what makes it a great travel lens. Having a lens and camera with you most of the time allows you to capture shots you would otherwise miss.
But what if you like to look at the pixels of your images to judge the quality. If you’re not happy unless you see exceptional sharpness. You shoot wide open and use a shallow depth of field for a lot of your work. If this is you, don’t buy this lens; it will frustrate you.
For me the acid test is “do I like the results” and the answer to that is yes. If you decide to buy this lens understanding what it’s good for and what its limitations are, then I think you will be happy.
View the Fuji 18-135 lens on Amazon.
Book Offer
Get your FREE copy of "6 Steps to Shooting Brilliant Landscape Photography" by subscribing for free to Lenscraft in Focus.
Follow the advice in this deceptively simple book to significantly improve your landscape photography. Organised into 6 simple lessons, this valuable and detailed guide provides information that’s often overlooked. In fact, lesson 3 is so obvious that most photographers ignore it completely.
If you want to improve your Landscape Photography fast, follow this book.
How to Get Your Book
- Enter your details using the form on the right. I will then send you an email to confirm you’ve entered your email correctly.
- Follow the instruction in my confirmation email.
- After that, I’ll send you a link to download your free book (PDF, ePub and Kindle formats. The email might also include discounts for my other courses and books so be sure to read it carefully.
My Promise to You: I will never share or SPAM your email.
[crp]
Great, real world review – thank you. I’ve had my pre-owned 18-135 on my pre-owned XT-2 for just over a year now and I’m a big fan. I love hill walking – I’m usually in a group and delaying everybody whilst faffing about changing a lens, especially in horizontal Scottish rain, is just not on. To me the IQ is “good enough”. I too use C1 Pro and some careful processing can produce some great results. I have recently treated myself to a Samyang 12mm (brilliant) and a used 35mm F2 (stunning) but my trusty 18-135mm is still my go to lens.
Thanks. Great to hear you liked the review and that your experiences also matches mine. I also have the Samyang 12mm will be doing a review on that as well in the near future.
I rediscovered this post today and, having earlier asked Robin about the lens prior to a trip to China (last November including Wuhan no less!), I thought it might be useful to add a few comments for anyone investigating this lens. It’s always a challenge deciding on the contents of your camera bag but I purchased a pre-owned copy from a major supplier and took just that plus the 10-24 and the XT2 body.
Firstly I would concur with all Robin’s comments and his review. I found that I used it for 99% of my shots, only using the wide in a couple of situations “because I’d brought it all this way” and realised, whilst it was good to go wider I could have coped with just the 18-135. Some shots along the Great Wall and on the Yangtze seemed a little flat but this I realised later was a combination of air pollution and difficult lighting, and Lightroom plus other software soon resolved these murky raws.
So, bottom line – I had no regrets in using this lens in this situation. If there are some image taking situations and image output usage where the quality is a bit less than from other Fuji’s then I think it’s a compromise that is more than acceptable for travelling light. On a vacation where grabbing the opportunity of the shot is important, where travelling light is beneficial, where changing lenses frequently is either risky or loses the shot, then having this lens that covers an excellent shooting range is worth having.
Hi Steve. Great to hear that the Fuji 18-135 lens worked so well for you. When I’m travelling I’ve often found it stays on my camera all the time. It’s a great all round lens. Sounds like you had a great trip as well.
Hi, I have just bought my first Fuji the XT-3, so i’m feeling my way with it. It came with the 16-55 kit lens so it’s great to get a first hand experience of another fuji lens. It’s a very handy focal length. Thanks for your review.
Thank you. The Fuji lenses are generally very good optically but watch out for the RAW converter. Some of the lens profiles can stretch and soften the images. The Fuji Primes are also very good but so are the Samyang lenses.
It is a real pleasure to read a “real-life” review Robin – thank you.
I moved from Nikon to Fuji. First with an XE2 & 16-50 plastic fantastic lens. Then an XT1 and I bought this lens. I was using Lightroom and at first thought there was something wrong with the lens. I did some research used Iridient Developer, what a difference. Then I moved on to ON1 RAW, Alien Skin Exposure and finally C1.
I have the 10-24, 14, 16-50 and 18-135 (plus loads of vintage primes). The 18-135 is my most used lens. I live in Costa Rica where a walk to the beach can present Howler Monkeys, Squirrels, Raccoons, Ospreys etc etc and also fabulous seascapes/sunsets.
I’m delighted with this lens. It is exactly as you describe and I get the shot! Sure my14mm is razor-sharp but I hardly use it especially now I have the 10-24. I would recommend this lens for all the reasons you state and from my own experience.
I agree with your recommendation of Capture 1 it is excellent, followed by ON1RAW and Exposure 5 (the films sims are great).
Thanks again. I had read so many negative comments about the 18-135 that I was beginning to doubt my own experience – you confirmed my thoughts!
Thanks Andy for adding your thoughts and experience. I’m sure most people who review lenses do so in the confines of an office, examining test charts and shots of a chart on a wall. I also suspect there’s a significant amount of “review/opinion copying” that goes on. Nothing replaces the experience of using a lens over an extended period of time. Having said that, you do need to use good software if you’re shooting RAW. It can make a big difference.
Perfect timing on this Robin as I’m wondering what kit to take on a holiday to China later this year. What I really appreciate is your real life comments rather than the hyper technicals of pixel peeping. This is a lens I have often mmmm’d and aaaah’d about. As someone who likes to have the flexibility of range, I usually cannot bring myself to carry less than my 10-24, 55-200 and my 18-55 at the ready on my Xt2. All superb lenses and they (just) fit into a Peak sling bag. But I do end up swapping lenses too many times. Never a good thing when I clatter them about feverishly in my bag and grab the shots I want and replacing lens caps later. And that all makes me think that for vacation travel shots it would be a good combination – a 10-24 and the 18-135. Bottom line, do you think I’d miss my 18-55 & 55-200? Sounds and looks like you have been well pleased with yours as a travel prime?
Sometimes the long end of the 18-135 isn’t quite enough so it’s possible you may miss the 55-200 if you shoot a lot with the long end. As a replacement for the 18-55, I find my 18-135 has a little more distortion at the wide end but that’s easily corrected. In all honesty, when I went to Australia it was the only lens I used and I’m pleased with the results. When I went to New Zealand, although I had other lenses with me it was a couple of weeks before I could be bothered to dig one of them out of the bag. I do miss the wide end being a little wider but I think that would be asking too much. As a travel lens, I think it’s excellent and I find it a joy to just walk around with.