REVIEW: More Test Shots with the XF50-140mm f2.8

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On Friday I went out with the XF50-140mm f2.8 lens attached to the X-T1 to carry out some more test shots to report on this blog how this lens is performing for my landscape work.

 The 50-140mm performed extremely well at Le Mans a couple of weeks ago and this lens with its fast f2.8 aperture and balanced weight on the X-T1 (with the VG-XT1 battery grip fitted) is suited to working at a sporting event.  My other consideration for this lens is for my landscape work.  I was worried that it would be a 'big beast' to lug around but so far I haven't found this to be a problem.


On Friday morning I went for a short walk on the clifftop path here in Dunbar with the X-T1 and 50-140mm slung over my shoulder.  

 My first tip when carrying this lens is to change the anchoring points for the camera strap.  I have used the anchor point on the bottom of the battery grip instead of the top of the camera (see image above).  The reason for this is the camera and long lens points down along my body when carrying this combination.  Because I use a Peak Design strap system, it is very easy to switch anchor points when I switch lenses.


Anyway I set off along the path and headed to the point where I could take some shots of the Isle of May and the four ships that are anchored off Dunbar.  The Isle of May is at the mouth of the Firth of Forth and is home to many seabirds.  The island sits low on the horizon and the sea mist gave it an ethereal quality that made the subject perfect for a black and white image.

The ships also provided a focal point for some test shots.

Walking a bit further along the path, which forms part of the 134 mile / 215km John Muir Way, I came across a lone wild poppy which still had rain drops clinging to its leaves and petals.  This was a good test for the close focusing ability of the 50-140mm, which has a closest focus point of 1m. As you can see, even wide open at f2.8 the results are razor sharp.




The railings that run alongside the cliff top also provided a good test shot for the depth of field of this lens.  The rusty and flaking paintwork makes for a wonderful photographic subject.


The final shot from the morning walk was a picture of Dunbar Castle and harbour entrance.  The clouds had started to break up and it looked like there was going to a rain storm over Dunbar at any minute.  But the rain stayed off shore.

In the evening the weather changed for the better and a spectacular sunset was in the offing.  I headed out to the beach at Billsdean Creek to capture some wide angle, slow shutter speed shots of the rocks and surf.  This also gave me the opportunity to take some shots of the setting sun behind Torness Power Station and some images of the surf crashing over the rocks along the shoreline.



The final shot of the evening was of the rising moon, that had appeared above the beach. This shot is a 100% crop of the image because the 140mm end of the zoom doesn't have the pulling power, but it does demonstrate how sharp the final results from this lens can be.

CONCLUSION
The XF50-140mm f2.8R LM OIS WR continues to impress me.  It is a great all round performer, in the same vain that the Nikkor 80-200mm f2.8 AF-D was my go-to telephoto for 18 years I used Nikon cameras.  The 75-210mm equivalent focal length with a fast f2.8 constant aperture, along with a superb Optical Image Stabilisation (OIS) system and Weather Resistant (WR) build quality makes this a no brainer for this lens to be in my camera bag.

 CLICK HERE for more information on the Fujinon XF50-140mm f2.8R LM OIS WR




All Landscape images taken on a Fujifilm X-T1 + Fujinon XF50-140mm f2.8R LM OIS WR.  
Camera and lens images taken on a Fujifilm X-T1 + XF 18mm f2R

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