I read a lot about this lens and saw a few sample images and decided this would be a solid purchase. However, the thing that solidified the deal was being able to try it out at Bic Camera, Shinjuku store. I shot a few images, brought the camera home and loaded the fired up Lightroom. I was sold. In the end, I found a used copy in excellent condition at Map Camera and put down my Yen.

Being able to shoot wide angle AND have the ability to shoot with a shallow depth of field gives you a unique perspective. For my style of shooting one of the strongest points of this lens is its close focus ability. You can put your subject just a few centimeters in front of the front element, grab focus and shoot. We might be used to shooting fairly close like this with some lenses at longer focal lengths, but shooting this close with a 16mm lens give you potential for interesting compositions.

Build wise, it’s typical Fujifilm, solid. Sliding the focus ring back and having the viewfinder automatically jump into split screen/focus peaking mode, handy.