Fujifilm X-A2 Optics

Zoom Lens
A typical zoom ratio for a kit lens, with very good performance.

The Fuji X-A2's XC 16-50mm f/3.5-5.6 OIS II kit lens has an equivalent focal length of about 27-83mm lens on a full-frame body.

Optical performance at full wide angle (16mm) is quite good at f/8, with very good sharpness and contrast across most of the frame. There are hints of flare around bright objects as the camera overexposed the building at wide angle, blowing quite a few highlights in the white areas of the building. Chromatic aberration is very low, though the camera suppresses it. Far-field performance at 34mm (51mm eq.) is similar, with very good sharpness and contrast. At full telephoto (50mm), optical performance is still well above average for a 3.1x zoom kit lens.

See our lab test results below for macro mode, corner performance, distortion, etc.

Macro
A larger than average minimum area, with very good detail near the center. Flash is partially blocked by lens at wide angle.

As always for an interchangeable lens camera, the Fuji X-A2's macro performance will depend entirely on the lens in use. However with the 16-50mm kit lens at 16mm, the Fuji X-A2 captures a larger than average minimum area measuring 4.40 x 2.93 inches (112 x 75 millimeters). Detail is very good in and around the center, though corners are quite soft even at f/8. (Most lenses have some additional softening in the corners at macro distances.) The built-in flash throttled down well at this distance, but illumination is uneven and it's partially blocked by the lens at wide angle and closest focus. Note that the lens doesn't cast a shadow when using the built-in flash at full telephoto and closest focus, and there is less corner softening as well at 50mm, but the reproduction ratio is a little lower (0.15x vs 0.2x).

Geometric Distortion
Low geometric distortion with the 16-50mm kit lens in JPEGs, though strong distortion in uncorrected RAW files.

In JPEGs, the Fuji X-A2's 16-50mm kit lens produces about 0.4 percent barrel distortion at wide angle, which is much less than average and just slightly noticeable in its images. Pincushion distortion at full telephoto is only about 0.1 percent, also much lower-than-average and hardly noticeable. This is the tendency for the lens to bend straight lines outward (like a barrel -- usually at wide-angle). The Fuji X-A2 compensates for most of the distortion in JPEGs, though. See below for uncorrected distortion.

Chromatic Aberration and Corner Sharpness
Low levels of chromatic aberration from the kit lens in JPEGs. Uncorrected RAW files show higher amounts. Good corner performance at wide angle and telephoto.

Chromatic Aberration. Chromatic aberration in the corners of JPEGs taken with the Fuji X-A2's 16-50mm kit lens is low at wide angle and very low at full telephoto, but the camera does suppress it (see below for uncorrected RAW files).

Corner Softness. Corner sharpness is good at wide angle when wide open at f/3.5, just slightly soft, and all four corners are similar. Corners are a bit softer at full telephoto though performance is still pretty good, while the center is sharp.

Vignetting. Only minor corner shading ("vignetting") is noticeable at wide angle, as can be seen from the difference in brightness of the center versus corner crops above, however the camera does appear to be applying shading correction.

F8: Stopped down to f/8, corner performance only improved slightly over wide open at both wide angle and telephoto. Chromatic aberration is a bit lower at wide angle, and vignetting (corner shading) improved a bit but is still slightly visible.

Lens Corrections

The Fuji X-A2 applies a number of lens corrections to JPEGs. Distortion, chromatic aberration and shading correction are all performed "under the hood" and have no associated settings in the menus.

Geometric Distortion Correction. To see how much correction is taking place in the camera, we converted matching .RAF files from the above shots with RawDigger, which ignores distortion correction instructions in RAW files. Note that RawDigger does not perform sophisticated demosaicing like typical RAW converters (it actually uses a simple binning algorithm to interpolate full color which is better suited for sensor analysis), so the full-res images here are a little rough, but it's a very useful tool to examine uncorrected lens characteristics as well as sensor performance.

As can be seen above, actual barrel distortion at wide angle is quite high at about 2.8%, while pincushion at telephoto is fairly high, at about 1.0%. We expect this for smaller interchangeable lenses though, so it's nothing to be concerned about unless you are using a RAW converter which does not understand the embedded lens profile to perform distortion corrections automatically. Most RAW converters these days (including Adobe Camera Raw and SilkyPix) are capable of applying distortion correction automatically, as specified by the manufacturer. There is however going to be some loss of resolution in some areas of the frame as a result of such correction, because pixels are being "stretched" to correct for the distortion. Obviously, a lens that doesn't require such correction, and is also sharp in the corners to begin with would be preferable, but relaxing constraints on distortion brings other benefits in the lens design, such as a more compact design or better sharpness in the center.

Chromatic Aberration Suppression. As mentioned above, the Fuji X-A2 suppresses lateral chromatic aberration in its JPEGs. Uncorrected RAW files (right) show moderate but bright magenta and green coloration along high-contrast edges at wide angle, but only minor blue and yellow fringing at telephoto. As you can see, C.A. has been effectively suppressed in the matching camera JPEGs (left).

Shading Correction. The Fuji X-A2 also appears to be applying some shading correction as can be seen by mousing over the above two links comparing an in-camera JPEG to uncorrected RAW at 16mm and f/3.5. Notice how the corners are quite a bit dimmer than the center in the uncorrected RAW file.

Overall, very good optical performance for a kit zoom lens, though maximum reproduction ratio for macros isn't great.

Accuracy
Good coverage accuracy from the LCD monitor.

The Fuji X-A2's LCD monitor proved fairly accurate in record mode, showing just over 98% coverage. Good results here, though we're a little surprised it's not 100% given previews are derived from the sensor.