Lens review

Fujifilm Fujinon XF 18 mm f/2 R

9. Ghosting, flares and transmission

As you see, maximum results reached by the Fujinon 2/18 are about 93-94%. Such a high transmission level, over 90%, is kept in a quite wide range of spectrum, from 470 to 700 nm. The slant of the curve is still a bit steeper than it was in the case of the Fujinon 1.4/35 and, at the same time, we observe a similar loss of blue and purple light which might make images slightly yellow.

The lens consists of 7 groups of elements so it has 14 air-to –glass surfaces to cover. It means that, to get a maximum transmission on the level of 93-94% one surface can lose only about 0.5%. It is a value very similar to that of the Fujinon 1.4/35, within the margin of error. It is a good result but certainly not outstanding. The Fujinon company showed that they can produce coatings which reduce the loss of light to a level of 0.2-0.3% on one surface; you can only regret the tested lens wasn’t equipped with them.

Taking into account the type of the construction we are dealing with here and a wide field of view the tested lens provides its work against the bright light should be assessed very positively. Near the maximum relative aperture it is very difficult to catch any artifacts. On significant stopping down the flares can be caught but only when the sun is situated almost precisely in the frame corner. Even in such a situation those artifacts are nothing more than pronounced overexposure and slight colouring of the area near the frame corner with the sun.