Fuji 50-230mm

XC f/4.5-6.7 OIS II

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Fuji 50-230mm

Fujifilm XC 50-230mm f/4.5-6.7 OIS (comes in black and in silver as shown here, 58mm filters, 13.0 oz./369g, 3.6'/1.1m close focus, $399 new or about $175 used if you know How to Win at eBay). bigger or fill-screen. I'd get mine at Adorama, at Amazon or at B&H, or used at eBay.

This all-content, junk-free website's biggest source of support is when you use those or any of these links to approved sources when you get anything, regardless of the country in which you live. Thanks for helping me help you! Ken.

 

September 2019   Better Pictures   Fuji   Fuji Lenses   Sony   LEICA   Zeiss   Nikon   Canon   All Reviews

 

Sample Images

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These are all shot as NORMAL JPGs; no FINE JPGs or raw files were used or needed. I don't need raw files, but suit yourself.

Andalusian Fountain at Dusk

Andalusian Fountain at Dusk, 20 August 2019, 8:12 PM. Fujifilm X-E3, Fujifilm XC 50-230mm at 101mm at f/11 for 10 seconds at ISO 200 (LV 2½), 100% dynamic range, as shot except that I burnt-in (darkened) the fluff on the top left. bigger or camera-original © file.

 

Friday night concert at the park

Friday Night Concert at the Park, 09 August 2019, 7:32 PM. Fujifilm X-E3, Fujifilm XC 50-230mm at 135mm at f/6 hand-held at 1/640 at Auto ISO 400 (LV 12.5), as shot. bigger or camera-original © file.

 

Mark Wood and the Mark Wood Band at the Friday night concert at the park

Mark Wood and the Mark Wood Band at the Friday Night Concert at the Park, 09 August 2019, 8:35 PM. Fujifilm X-E3, Fujifilm XC 50-230mm at 107mm at f/5.6 at hand-held 1/240 at ISO 51,200 (LV 4), as shot. bigger or camera-original © file.

 

Trumpeter, Mark Wood Band, Friday night concert at the park

Trumpeter, Mark Wood Band at the Friday Night Concert at the Park, 09 August 2019, 8:55 PM. Fujifilm X-E3, Fujifilm XC 50-230mm at 153mm at f/6.2 hand-held at 1/280 at ISO 51,200 (LV 4.4), as shot. bigger or camera-original © file.

 

Mercedes S550

Mercedes S550, 17 August 2019, 6:39 PM. Fujifilm X-T30, Fujifilm XC 50-230mm at 90mm at f/9 hand-held at 1/60 at Auto ISO 320 (LV 10.6), Perfectly Clear. bigger or full-resolution file.

 

Fujifilm 50-230mm sample image file

Spanish Treasure, 20 August 2019, 8:16 AM. Fujifilm X-E3, Fujifilm XC 50-230mm at 114mm at f/11 hand-held at 1/400 at Auto ISO 400 (LV 13.8), dynamic range 200%, Perfectly Clear. bigger, full-resolution or camera-original rotated © file.

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Introduction

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Good   Bad   Missing

Adorama Pays Top Dollar for Used Gear

Amazon

B&H Photo - Video - Pro Audio

Crutchfield

I buy only from these approved sources. I can't vouch for ads below.

This small, light and inexpensive lens has excellent optics as sharp as as any of my "pro" XF lenses, focuses super-close and has image stabilization. It creates astoundingly sharp pictures at an ultra-low price. The glass is glass, while everything else is lightweight plastic.

How can it be so sharp? It gets this great performance by not being very fast. At only f/4.5~6.7 it doesn't let in as much light as an f/2.8 lens, but it also lets this lens be optimized for ultra-sharpness and low weight at a low price. With the excellent high-ISO performance of even Fuji's least expensive cameras, you get the best of all worlds without the high price.

I've had no problem licensing images made with plastic kit lenses like this to major clients for thousands of dollars each. If you can't produce great results with this great little lens, the problem isn't this lens. Lenses are artists tools, exactly like painter's brushes or musical instruments. You have to be an artist to make art; the tools alone don't create anything except more debt.

This is a perfect lens for small, light cameras that can take huge, sharp pictures. It's a fraction of the size, weight and price of any of the XF lenses.

I'd get my 50-230mm at Adorama, at Amazon or at B&H, or get it used if you know How to Win at eBay. It comes in black and comes in silver as shown here.

 

Good

green ball icon © KenRockwell.com Excellent sharpness

green ball icon © KenRockwell.com No visible distortion.

green ball icon © KenRockwell.com Super-close macro ability.

green ball icon © KenRockwell.com Optical Image Stabilization.

green ball icon © KenRockwell.com Includes hood.

green ball icon © KenRockwell.com Small, inexpensive and nearly weightless with a huge zoom range.

green ball icon © KenRockwell.com Takes great, sharp pictures.

 

Bad

red ball icon © KenRockwell.com Offshored to China; not made domestically in Japan.

 

Missing

gray ball icon © KenRockwell.com No aperture ring.

gray ball icon © KenRockwell.com No case included.

gray ball icon © KenRockwell.com No in-camera Lens Modulation Optimizer, but doesn't need it either.

gray ball icon © KenRockwell.com No OIS switch.

gray ball icon © KenRockwell.com No high price.

gray ball icon © KenRockwell.com No weight.

gray ball icon © KenRockwell.com No problems.

gray ball icon © KenRockwell.com Nothing but clear, sharp colorful pictures!

 

Fuji 50-230mm

 

Fujifilm XC 50-230mm f/4.5-6.7 OIS. bigger or fill-screen.

 

Specifications

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I'd get my 50-230mm at Adorama, at Amazon or at B&H, or get it used if you know How to Win at eBay. It comes in black and comes in silver as shown here.

 

Name

Fuji 50-230mm

Fujifilm XC 50-230mm f/4.5-6.7 OIS. bigger or fill-screen.

Fujifilm calls this the Fujinon Aspherical Super EBC XC 50-230mm f/4.5-6.7 OIS II:

Fujinon is Fujifilm's brand name for their lenses.

Aspherical means it uses aspherically-shaped lens elements for sharper pictures.

Super EBC is Fujinon's brand of multicoating, standing for Super Electron-Beam Coated.

XC is Fuji's line of optically excellent but inexpensive plastic-barreled lenses for their X-mount cameras.

OIS means Optical Image Stabilization.

II means the second version.

∅58 means it takes standard 58 mm filters.

Fujifilm also calls it model number XC50-230mmF4.5-6.7 OIS II.

 

Optics

Fuji 50-230mm internal optical construction

Fujinon 15-45mm internal optical construction. Aspherical element.

13 elements in 10 groups.

1 aspherical element.

Internal focussing.

Super Electron-Beam Coating (EBC).

 

Filters

Plastic 58 mm filter thread.

 

Coverage

APS-C.

 

Diaphragm

Fuji 50-230mm

Fujifilm XC 50-230mm f/4.5-6.7 OIS. bigger or fill-screen.

7 rounded blades.

Electronically actuated.

Stops down to f/22 in 1/3-stop clicks, regardless of focal length setting.

 

Focal Length

50-230mm.

On Fujifilm's APS-C cameras it sees the same angle of view as a 75 ~ 350mm lens sees when used on a 35mm or full-frame camera.

See also Crop Factor.

 

Angle of View on APS-C

31.7º ~ 7.1º diagonal.

 

Autofocus

Internal focussing.

No external movement as focussed, so no air or dust is sucked in.

 

Focus Scale

No.

 

Infinity Focus Stop

No.

 

Depth of Field Scale

No.

 

Infrared Focus Index

No.

 

Close Focus

3.6 feet (1.1m).

 

Maximum Reproduction Ratio

1:5 (0.2×).

 

Reproduction Ratio Scale

No.

 

Image Stabilizer

Rated 3½ stops improvement.

 

Caps

Regular 58mm front and basic translucent rear transit cap.

 

Hood

Fuji 50-230mm

Fujifilm XC 50-230mm f/4.5-6.7 OIS. bigger or fill-screen.

Plastic bayonet hood included.

 

Case

None included.

 

Size

Maximum diameter

2.74" (69.5mm) Ø.

 

Extension from flange

4.37" (111 mm) set to 50mm focal length.

6.97" (177 mm) set to 230mm focal length.

 

Weight

13.025 oz. (369.3 g) actual measured weight.

 

Quality

Made in China.

 

Included

Lens.

FLCP-58 II 58mm front lens cap (p/n 16552354).

Translucent plastic snap-on rear cap.

Hood.

 

Packaging

Corrugated cardboard. See Unboxing.

 

Fujifilm's Model Numbers

XC50-230mmF4.5-6.7 OIS II.

16460771 (black) and 16460795 (silver).

 

Price, USA

$399 new or about $175 used if you know How to Win at eBay, August 2019.

 

Unboxing

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I'd get my 50-230mm at Adorama, at Amazon or at B&H, or get it used if you know How to Win at eBay. It comes in black and comes in silver as shown here.

The box is completely unsealed. Just like kids who lick ice cream and put it back in the store freezer or gargle with mouthwash and put it back on the store shelf, there is no way to know if anyone else has been fiddling with your lens, swapping parts and accessories, or even if it's a dropped, returned, damaged or used lens.

This is why it's critical to buy only from an approved online source, since they ship from automated warehouses where no shifty salesmen or other customers ever getting to touch your new camera before it ships. While new $5 CDs, DVDs, Blu-Rays and bottles of milk and drinking water are sealed and quite obvious if anyone's opened them, paradoxically Fuji doesn't bother sealing anything, so your only insurance is to buy only from a trusted online dealer.

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Performance

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Specifications   Unboxing   Performance

Recommendations   More

 

Overall   Autofocus   Manual Focus   Breathing

Bokeh  Distortion   Ergonomics   Falloff   Filters

Flare & Ghosts   Lateral Color Fringes

Lens Corrections   Macro   Min & Max Apertures

Mechanics   Sharpness   Spherochromatism

Stabilization   Sunstars

 

I'd get my 50-230mm at Adorama, at Amazon or at B&H, or get it used if you know How to Win at eBay. It comes in black and comes in silver as shown here.

 

Overall

Performance          top

This Fuji 50-230 is a great-performing lens at any price, and at its low price and low weight make it a must-have for everyone who loves carrying less.

 

Autofocus

Performance          top

Autofocus is fast enough. It's not nearly instantaneous like Canon's 70-300mm IS USM II or Nikon's 70-300mm AF-P VR DX, but it's fast enough for its intended uses. Mirrorless cameras aren't exactly the brightest idea for sports shooting, and this lens keeps up with Fuji's cameras.

In terms of f/stop it's a slow lens (it doesn't let as much light in as an f/2.8 lens), so autofocus can get lost or stuck if it's so dark that restaurant menus are hard to read.

 

Manual Focus

performance          top

Manual focus is usually dynamic, meaning that depending on your camera it moves much faster if you turn the ring quickly, and very precisely if you turn it slowly.

Manual focus is entirely electronic; the manual focus ring isn't connected to anything other than a digital encoder.

 

Focus Breathing

Performance          top

Focus breathing is the image changing size as focused in and out. It's important to cinematographers that the image not breathe because it looks funny if the image changes size as focus gets pulled back and forth between actors. If the lens does this, the image "breathes" by growing and contracting slightly as the dialog goes back and forth.

This lens has little to no focus breathing. If it has any, it's the image getting slightly larger as focused more closely at the 50mm end of the zoom range.

 

Bokeh

Performance          top

Bokeh, the feel, character or quality of out-of-focus areas as opposed to how far out of focus they are, is neutral. This is a long lens, but a slow lens, so things don't tend to get that far out of focus for the quality of the defocus to be particularly important.

Here are photos from headshot distance wide-open:

Fuji 50-230mm Bokeh sample image file

Davis 6250 weather station, 09 August 2019. bigger or camera-original © file.

 

Fuji 50-230mm Bokeh sample image file

Davis 6250 weather station, 09 August 2019. bigger or camera-original © file.

As always, if you want to throw the background as far out of focus as possible, shoot at 230mm at f/6.7 and get as close as possible.

 

Distortion

Performance          top

The Fuji 50~230mm has no visible distortion. I suspect my X-E3 is correcting it automatically even though the LENS MODULATION OPTIMIZER option is OFF and grayed out, but in any case as we shoot this lens on Fuji cameras there isn't any distortion to worry about. Hallelujah!

Here are correction factors for scientific and photogrammetric use; forget them for regular photography.

These aren't facts or specifications, they are the results of my research that requires hours of photography and calculations on the resulting data.

At 10' (3m)

Correction factor as shot on X-E3

50mm
±0.00
70mm
±0.00
100mm
+0.50
135mm
±0.00
230mm
±0.00

© 2019 KenRockwell.com. All rights reserved.

 

Ergonomics

Performance          top

Fuji 50-230mm

Fuji 50-230mm

Ergonomics are simple.

The little ring on the front is an electronic manual focus ring which works whenever the camera is set to respond to it.

The big rubberized ring is the direct mechanical zoom.

The zoom ring works best with two fingers, or one very firm finger can move it as well.

The red mounting index is never as clear in person as you can see enlarged here, so like all Fuji lenses, you're pretty much on your own in the dark trying to find it. It's flush, so you can't find it by feel.

 

Falloff

Performance          top

Falloff is completely invisible.

I suspect my X-E3 is correcting it automatically even though the LENS MODULATION OPTIMIZER option is OFF and grayed out, but in any case as we shoot this lens on Fuji cameras there isn't any falloff to worry about. Hallelujah!

I've greatly exaggerated the falloff by shooting a gray field and placing these on a gray background; it will not look this bad in actual photos of real things:

 

Falloff on X-E3 with LENS MODULATION OPTIMIZER OFF

 
f/8
f/11
50mm
Fuji 50-230mm falloff
Fuji 50-230mm falloff
Fuji 50-230mm falloff
100mm
Fuji 50-230mm falloff
Fuji 50-230mm falloff
Fuji 50-230mm falloff
230mm
Fuji 50-230mm falloff
Fuji 50-230mm falloff
Fuji 50-230mm falloff

 

© 2019 KenRockwell.com. All rights reserved.

 

Filters, use with

performance          top

There's no need for thin filters. I can stack at least six regular 58mm filters without any vignetting, and probably more.

Go ahead and use all your standard rotating polarizer and grad filters.

 

Flare & Ghosts

Performance          top

There are nearly no ghosts or flare. See Sunstars for samples.

 

Lateral Color Fringes

Performance          top

There are no color fringes as shot on Fujifilm's cameras, even with the LENS MODULATION OPTIMIZER OFF.

This is outstanding performance.

 

Lens Corrections

Performance          top

Neither my X-T30 or X-E3 have the ability to turn on the LENS MODULATION OPTIMIZER; it only appears as a grayed-out menu option and remains OFF.

This is great; this lens performs this well without needing electronic correction, at least that we know about.

 

Macro Performance

Performance          top

Macro gets very close, and is super sharp, even wide-open as I show here:

Fuji 50-230mm macro performance

Mondaine A132.30348.11SBB at close-focus distance at 230mm wide-open at f/6.7, 09 August 2019. bigger or camera-original © file.

 

Fuji 50-230mm macro performance

1,200 × 900 pixel crop from above. bigger or camera-original © file.

If this 1,200 × 900 pixel crop is about 3" (7.5cm) wide on your screen, then the complete image printed at this same large magnification would be about 10 × 15" (25 × 38cm).

If this 1,200 × 900 pixel crop is about 6" (15cm) wide on your screen, then the complete image printed at this same extreme magnification would be about 20 × 30" (50 × 75cm).

If this 1,200 × 900 pixel crop is about 12" (30cm) wide on your screen, then the complete image printed at this same insanely high magnification would be about 40 × 60" (1 × 1.5 meters).

 

Minimum & Maximum Apertures

Performance          top

 
Maximum Aperture
Minimum Aperture
50mm
f/4.5
f/22
70mm
f/4.8
f/22
100mm
f/5.4
f/22
135mm
f/5.8
f/22
230mm
f/6.7
f/22

 

Mechanical Quality

Performance          top

Fuji 50-230mm

Fujifilm XC 50-230mm f/4.5-6.7 OIS. bigger or fill-screen.

The black version is all black plastic, and the silver version (as shown here) is silver paint over black plastic.

It's an all-plastic lens except for the screws, electrical contacts and glass. The plastic zoom ring is covered with rubber.

The plastic mount makes it feel much smoother as mounted and unmounted from a camera, but be careful with this lens. This inexpensive and lightweight lens is ultra sharp, but it's not intended to be beaten-up on a daily professional basis.

 

Sharpness

Performance          top

Lens sharpness has nothing to do with picture sharpness; every lens made in the past 100 years is more than sharp enough to make super-sharp pictures if you know what you're doing. The only limitation to picture sharpness is your skill as a photographer. It's the least talented who spend the most time worrying about lens sharpness and blame crummy pictures on their equipment rather than themselves. Skilled photographers make great images with whatever camera is in their hands; I've made some of my best images of all time with an irreparably broken camera! Most pixels are thrown away before you see them, but camera makers don't want you to know that.

If you're not getting ultra-sharp pictures with this, be sure not to shoot at f/11 or smaller where all lenses are softer due to diffraction, always shoot at ISO 200 or below because cameras become softer at ISO 400 and above, avoid shooting across long distances over land which can lead to atmospheric heat shimmer, be sure everything is in perfect focus, set your camera's sharpening as you want it and be sure nothing is moving, either camera or subject. If you want to ensure a soft image with any lens, shoot at f/16 at ISO 1,600 at default sharpening in daylight of subjects at differing distances in the same image.

With this said, I'm astonished at how sharp is this lens, even wide open, at every zoom setting. Most consumer lenses get softer at the long end and in the corners and wide-open, while this lens is always sharp. Be sure not to stop it down too far where diffraction dulls all lenses, avoid hand shake and motion blur and heat shimmer, and you're going to get sharp results.

Here's a worst-case shot of the side of a distant mountain wide-open hand-held at the longest focal length:

Fujifilm 50-230mm sample image file

Mountain Face, 20 August 2019, 8:11 AM. Fujifilm X-E3, Fujifilm XC 50-230mm at 230mm wide-open at f/6.7 hand-held at 1/900 at Auto ISO 200 (LV 14⅓), dynamic range 100%, Perfectly Clear. bigger, full-resolution or camera-original © file.

Fuji's MTF curves agree with what I see:

MTF
MTF
MTF at 50mm at 15 cyc/mm (=10 cyc/mm on full frame) MTF at 230mm at 15 cyc/mm (=10 cyc/mm on full frame)

 

MTF
MTF
MTF at 50mm at 45 cyc/mm (=30 cyc/mm on full frame) MTF at 230mm at 45 cyc/mm (=30 cyc/mm on full frame)

 

Spherochromatism

Performance          top

Spherochromatism, also called "color bokeh" by laymen, is an advanced form of chromatic aberration in a different dimension than lateral color. It can cause colored fringes on out-of-focus highlights, usually seen as green fringes on backgrounds and magenta fringes on foregrounds. Spherochromatism is common in fast lenses of moderate focal length when shooting contrasty items at full aperture. It goes away as stopped down.

I don't see any spherochromatism in this lens, which makes sense as it's not very fast so I didn't expect to see any.

 

Image Stabilization

Performance          top

Optical Image Stabilization (OIS, IS or VR (Vibration Reduction)) works, but not as miraculously as it does in other, larger lenses. I only get a stop or two of real-world improvement.

"Percent Perfectly Sharp Shots" are the percentage of frames with 100% perfect tripod-equivalent sharpness I get when I'm shooting hand-held while standing with no support. Hand tremor is a random occurrence, so at marginal speeds some frames will be perfectly sharp while others will be in various stages of blur — all at the same shutter speed. This rates what percentage of shots are perfectly sharp, not how sharp all the frames are:

At 50mm

% Perfectly Sharp Shots
1/2
1/4
1/8
1/15
1/30
1/60
1/125
1/250
1/500
OIS ON
0
17
17
33
83
83
100
100
100
OIS OFF
0
0
0
0
17
75
83
100
100

At 50mm I get only one stop of real-world improvement.

 

At 230mm

% Perfectly Sharp Shots
1/8
1/15
1/30
1/60
1/125
1/250
1/500
1/500
OIS ON
0
25
25
75
83
100
100
100
OIS OFF
0
0
0
17
33
83
83
100

At 230mm I get two stops of real-world improvement.

 

Sunstars

Performance          top

With a 7-bladed rounded diaphragm, I get soft 14-pointed sunstars on brilliant points of light, but only at the smallest apertures.

Click any to enlarge:

Fuji 50-230mm Sunstars

Fuji 50-230mm Sunstars

Fuji 50-230mm Sunstars

Fuji 50-230mm Sunstars

Fuji 50-230mm Sunstars

Fuji 50-230mm Sunstars

Click any to enlarge.

 

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Recommendations

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I'd get my 50-230mm at Adorama, at Amazon or at B&H, or get it used if you know How to Win at eBay. It comes in black and comes in silver as shown here.

I really like Fuji's inexpensive, all-plastic 15-45mm and 50-230mm lenses. They're super-sharp, focus fast and are super-light to match this camera. If you have thins lens, addd the all-plastic 15-45mm and you're set for anything. They both have superb optics and weigh next to nothing. Just pop the second lens in your pocket and you're good to go.

Feel free to buy and carry more-expensive Fuji lenses, but they won't take any better pictures.

I use a clear (UV) protective filter instead of a cap so I'm always ready to shoot instantly. I only use a cap when I throw this in a bag with other gear without padding — which is never. The UV filter never gets in the way, and never gets lost, either.

The very best protective filter is the Hoya multicoated HD3 58mm UV which uses hardened glass and repels dirt and fingerprints.

For less money, the B+W 58mm 010 is an excellent filter, as are the multicoated version and the basic multicoated Hoya filters, but the Hoya HD3 is the toughest and the best.

Filters last a lifetime, so you may as well get the best. The Hoya HD3 stays cleaner than the others since it repels oil and dirt.

All these filters are just as sharp and take the same pictures, the difference is how much abuse they'll take and stay clean and stay in one piece.

 

More Information

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I'd get my 50-230mm at Adorama, at Amazon or at B&H, or get it used if you know How to Win at eBay. It comes in black and comes in silver as shown here.

 

Fujifilm's 50-230mm page.

 

© Ken Rockwell. All rights reserved. Tous droits réservés. Alle Rechte vorbehalten.

 

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24, 28, 30 August 2019