My First Impressions of the UNREAL Fujifilm 50-140mm f/2.8 Lens [2024]

2024 kicks off with another new lens to my collection; the Fujifilm 50-140mm f/2.8. This is one of the most-wished for lenses for good reason and these are my first impressions of the Fujifilm 50-140mm f/2.8.

---

Let’s kick things off shall we with a lens review of the latest addition to my ever-growing Fujifilm lens collection. I’ve long swooned over this lens, the Fujifilm 50-140mm f/2.8, a fast telephoto zoom lens to elevate primarily my travel photography but also my wedding photography. I’m a lover of prime lenses but more recently see the benefit of bringing back zoom lenses into the fold.

Back in 2017/2018, I travelled for 10 months across Australia and around South East Asia with two zoom lenses and one prime. The Fujifilm 55-200mm f/3.5-4.8 was my telephoto of choice due to its size though the images never really blew me away. It was a dependable and relatively cheap lens so it made perfect sense at the time. I ultimately sold that lens during Covid-19 as it wasn’t seeing any action given the state of travelling generally and it wasn’t a lens that could perform in other aspects of my photography.

Fast forward to early 2024 and I decided that it was the perfect time to add a good telephoto lens to my camera bag and, on Fujifilm, you can’t look past the pro-grade Fujifilm 50-140mm f/2.8. The lens is an attempt to match up to the incredible (and possibly unrivalled) Canon EF 70-200mm f/2.8 lens. Obviously, that’s a full frame lens so we can’t quite compare it like for like but what we’ve got here for us Fujifilm shooters is a more than good enough equivalent to all our telephoto needs!

This is my first ‘red badge’ lens and the quality is absolutely exceptional. If you read no further just know that I thought I’d seen everything from Fujifilm lenses over the past 8 years but this has blown everything out of the water.

---

FIRST IMPRESSIONS OF THE FUJIFILM 50-140MM F/2.8

---

PROS

Sharp AF / Image Quality

Honestly, I think this is the sharpest Fujifilm lens I’ve ever used. It’s insane even wide open at f/2.8. Tack sharp. The image quality is incredible and I’ve never been more impressed at such an early stage of using a lens.

You know how it is when you save up, you get a lens that you’ve dreamed of for a long time only for it to be mediocre or perhaps not live up to the very high standards you set. Well, the Fujifilm 50-140mm f/2.8 is a lens that, for once, far exceeds my expectations. There’s not much else to say that can’t be seen when looking at the images so I’ll let my pictures do the talking.

Internal Zoom

This is actually one of the best features of this lens in my view – when you zoom all the way from 50mm to 140mm, the lens does not extend in any way at all. I love that everything is contained within the lens and nothing has to protrude out when you want that extra reach.

Fast Focus

From what I’ve experienced so far, I’ve noticed that the focus speed on the Fujifilm 50-140mm f/2.8 is pretty swift with no real issues to speak of. It had difficulty focusing when faced with clouds at sunset that you’ll see photos of in the article and wasn’t outstanding when I switched to continuous focus combined with face detection for street photography but I put this down to user error most likely!

Constant f/2.8 Aperture

The f/2.8 constant aperture is a huge positive for this lens considering we’re extending all the way to 140mm; this just isn’t achievable with any other lens that Fujifilm produces. The closest you can get is with the Fujifilm 90mm f/2 but there’s just something about shooting f/2.8 at 140mm that is very pleasing to the eye rendering beautiful out of focus backgrounds.

With f/2.8 across the range, this means that the lens lends itself to shooting in lower light situations no matter what focal length you need. I see this being really useful when shooting weddings for example where you need all the light-gathering capabilities possible but equally want to take a step back and zoom in.

OIS

The Fujifilm 50-140mm f/2.8 has Optical Image Stabilisation (OIS) built-in which essentially combats camera shake to ensure that, particularly when you’re zoomed in at 140mm or using slower shutter speeds, you’re less likely to have a blurry image. When combined with a camera with IBIS, like the Fujifilm X-T5, honestly you will probably never experience blurry images again (save for focusing issues). I need to really test out how slow I can get the shutter speed down to but I’ve seen through research others have managed 1/18th of a second!

One thing I have noticed is that I can physically ‘see’ the OIS working when the camera is in continuous focus mode but can’t necessarily see it when in single focus. Is that normal? Honestly, I have no idea. I would say though that I have no reason to suspect the OIS not to be working dependent on which focus mode I choose.

Premium Build Quality

This is the first ‘red badge’ lens that I’ve used from Fujifilm so I expected nothing less than exceptional and premium build quality and thankfully that’s exactly what you get with the Fujifilm 50-140mm f/2.8 (save for the lens hood that I’ve removed immediately…). It is just solid high quality metal, a very smooth zoom and a nice ‘clicky’ aperture ring. I love the tripod collar too, even though I don’t really use a tripod, as it’s great for helping carrying around and balances perfectly with the Fujifilm X-T5 when resting on a table for example.

Weather Resistance

With the premium build quality as above, you also get weather resistance which is just brilliant for a lens that will see its fair share of different weather conditions when travelling. I haven’t had chance to test the weather resistance on this lens yet but I’ve never had any issues with other Fujifilm’s lenses when out and about even during monsoon season in South East Asia.

CONS

Weight / Size

Ok, you kind of expected this to be straight to the top of the list of negatives for this lens. Yes, the Fujifilm 50-140mm f/2.8 is heavy (almost a kilo, 995g) and yes it’s huge but it doesn’t necessarily look or feel out of place on the Fujifilm X-T5.

In terms of the weight, I wanted to test this out in the real world wandering around the streets of a city on a neck strap to see how I coped. I think I clocked up about 5 miles in York on a cold February morning but at no point did I think carrying the lens/camera was unbearable. I mean it was absolutely lovely when I quickly switched over to the Fujifilm 35mm f/1.4 for a few shots but I just found myself supporting the lens with one hand as I walked around. I know that I will walk much further with future travels and city breaks but I almost always bring a backpack if I need a little break. On the Fujifilm X-T5, the grip helped with holding the camera combined with my other hand on the lens. If I had a smaller camera or one with no grip at all, I would probably struggle to hold it.

I would say that this lens isn’t going to form part of a minimalist photography setup given the size and weight but the image performance is much more of a game-changer for me so I will happily put up with those drawbacks on bigger trips.

Noise

The Fujifilm 50-140mm f/2.8 lens has OIS built in though I was a little surprised to hear a ‘more than gentle and constant’ hum when I first attached the lens to my camera. Granted I was at home on a surprisingly quiet day (ah, the peace and quiet when the little one is out…) but it was annoyingly loud. It must be the OIS working away though it didn’t change when I turned if off; the only time it went silent was when I’d half-pressed the shutter. However, when you’re outdoors, you won’t notice it at all. Even on a quiet dog walk, with a chorus of birdsong in the distance, the hum had effectively disappeared.

Price

Without doubt, this is the most expensive lens I own. Brand new you’re looking at around £1,449 which I know sounds insane. Thankfully, I’ve been keeping an eye on used sites such as MPB and Facebook groups so I jumped on a good deal from a trusted seller on Facebook for £690. There are a few marks here and there but nothing that impacts on image quality. If you can snap up a good deal on a used lens, it will be money very well spent. Would I buy the lens brand new? Well, if I didn’t have a budget in mind then yes of course but, for those of us that are a little more frugal, probably not. That is why I love the used lens market though!

OVERALL THOUGHTS

I haven’t had the lens long at all but have still managed to take it out with me on an extended dog walk as well as two days on the streets of York. This lens is one to stay for sure and I think will fit nicely in my camera bag for bigger trips away and perhaps weddings too. In terms of travel photography, I have a very exciting press trip coming up in a matter of weeks that the Fujifilm 50-140mm f/2.8 is almost perfect for. I probably wouldn’t be using it each and every time I head out for some street photography but my travel photography will certainly benefit from this lens!

I thought I would be put off from using the lens on the streets of a small but I actually quite enjoyed stepping back from the action and still capturing details without being too obvious. I love the compression from using longer focal lengths and, once you get past the fact that it’s heavier and much larger than prime lenses, this can be a great lens for travel and street photography. It definitely brings something different to the table and I love it.

If you’ve got the budget and are looking for the best quality possible, you can’t look past the Fujifilm 50-140mm f/2.8 lens. I know the Fujifilm 55-200mm f/3.8-4.5 is cheaper, smaller, lighter and has more reach but, for me at least, there’s not even an argument – the former wins hands down each and every time. But, and it’s a big but, if you are looking for a cheaper alternative then there’s nothing wrong with the 55-200mm at all and it will of course be more than good enough for many people out there.

Hopefully you’ve enjoyed reading through my first impressions of the Fujifilm 50-140mm f/2.8, I’d love to hear your thoughts so feel free to drop me a comment below and I’ll reply as soon as I can!

SAMPLE IMAGES FROM THE FUJIFILM 50-140MM F/2.8 LENS

---

---

READ MORE OF MY LATEST ARTICLES BELOW

IF YOU ENJOYED ‘MY FIRST IMPRESSIONS OF THE FUJIFILM 50-140MM F/2.8 LENS’ WHY NOT PIN THE IMAGES BELOW?

Some links on this site are affiliate links. If you make a purchase through them, I may earn a small commission at no extra cost to you.