p.1 #1 · Thoughts on the XF150-600mm, or alternatives?
I've got an X-T5, it's been my main camera for a couple years now and I'm super passionate with macro and wildlife photography. I've got a great macro setup but currently I really need a good wildlife lens. My current wildlife lens is manual, soft, and 42 years old (Sigma 600mm f/8, lol..)
I'm really looking into trying to get an XF150-600mm. I've got a couple foveon Sigma cameras bundled I'm trying to trade for one (got a listing in the Buy & Sell section) but the lens itself seems to be hard to come by in the used market as it's still new. I may end up having to sell them instead.
There seems to be a few options for this range.
Sigma 150-600mm
Tamron 150-600mm
Fujifilm XF150-600mm.
The only problem is it seems Sigma and Tamron never released those lenses in the X-mount system. Has anyone had any success with using one of those electronic autofocus adapters for EF->X or Nikon F-X? Those seem to be options for those lenses specifically.
Is the XF150-600mm worth the high price, or are the alternatives better to adapt? How is the autofocus speed, and the sharpness at 600mm? I know telephotos like to get a bit soft at their maximum focal length, so I'm curious if it is still very good. Is it usable handheld, and do you generally use a monopod?
p.1 #2 · Thoughts on the XF150-600mm, or alternatives?
I bought an XF 150-600 secondhand, it's been great and great value.
Don't expect the very smooth out of focus backgrounds you can get from a 500 0r 600mm f4 prime unless conditions are optimal, but it does a very credible job in most situations.
p.1 #4 · Thoughts on the XF150-600mm, or alternatives?
I had the Canon mount for the Tamron G2 150-600 and it performed well with a Fringer on an XT4 and then XH2S. It's heavy though. I swapped it for the Fuji - the native lens is notably lighter, nicer to handle in general, less worry about the lens coming off an adapter (which happened a couple of times due to the weight of the Tamron on the adapter), the autofocus is much better and the image quality slightly better. For me, the Fringer is really good and allows access to lenses that Fuji don't make (e.g. a long tele before they released one), but it does have some drawbacks that Fuji lenses don't.
p.1 #5 · Thoughts on the XF150-600mm, or alternatives?
I played with the 150-600 at a conference last year. Inside the convention center, shooting at 600mm, I got sharp photos at 1/20 sec, so I know the stabilizer works lol. I have seen this lens used for $1300-1600 in various places, though there haven't been a ton of them on the used market.
I thought I would get one, but then I ended up buying the Fuji 500mm f/5.6 lens instead.
p.1 #6 · Thoughts on the XF150-600mm, or alternatives?
I have an XF 150-600 and used it Africa. No problem with reach and sometimes it was too long, I had to use the XF 50-140 instead. Just me mindful, the f/8 won't really give you any bokeh unless you want to carry heavier superteles that work well with the Fringer Pro II.
p.1 #7 · Thoughts on the XF150-600mm, or alternatives?
Don’t rule out the Fujifilm 100-400 for an APS-C camera. In angle-of-view terms it is equivalent to having a 600mm lens on full frame, and a 1.4x TC gets you the equivalent of 840mm.
Folks sometimes overlook the fact that having a not-wide-enough white end on the lens can also constrain you in some situations, and 150mm on 1.5x APS-C equivalent to only being able to back off to 210mm.
I’m not saying that the 100-400 is necessarily a better choice for you, but when I thought about these two lenses I ended up choosing it and it has worked well. (An aside: its telescoping design also packs smaller.)
p.1 #9 · Thoughts on the XF150-600mm, or alternatives?
gdanmitchell wrote:
Don’t rule out the Fujifilm 100-400 for an APS-C camera. In angle-of-view terms it is equivalent to having a 600mm lens on full frame, and a 1.4x TC gets you the equivalent of 840mm.
Folks sometimes overlook the fact that having a not-wide-enough white end on the lens can also constrain you in some situations, and 150mm on 1.5x APS-C equivalent to only being able to back off to 210mm.
I’m not saying that the 100-400 is necessarily a better choice for you, but when I thought about these two lenses I ended up choosing it and it has worked well. (An aside: its telescoping design also packs smaller.)...Show more →
Maybe I had a poor 100-400 but never clicked with it. I would choose the 70-300 + 1.4TC. Its smaller lighter and great IQ and as a -plus it focuses down to under 24”giving a .33 magnification
p.1 #10 · Thoughts on the XF150-600mm, or alternatives?
Wow. Sharp 1/20 without motion blur at 600mm is insane! Great to hear the stabilization is amazing. It sounds like the stabilization can help make up for the slower f/8 aperture to allow slower shutter speeds.
p.1 #11 · Thoughts on the XF150-600mm, or alternatives?
az-dave wrote:
Maybe I had a poor 100-400 but never clicked with it. I would choose the 70-300 + 1.4TC. Its smaller lighter and great IQ and as a -plus it focuses down to under 24”giving a .33 magnification
Dave
I have not used the 70-300, but I've heard a lot of good things about it, and that sounds like another great option.
p.1 #12 · Thoughts on the XF150-600mm, or alternatives?
I've used the following lenses on Fuji cameras for wildlife and mostly birds.
XF 100-400mm IQ and sharpness are decent. Build quality is low and mine developed problems zooming. I had it repaired and sold it. Focus is fast enough and tracking is decent. If you add a 1.4x TC it's fine for portraits yet not good for action as tracking in sub par. This was with an X-T3.
I replaced it with a Sigma 150-600 Contemporary for Canon using A Fringer Auto Focus adapter. This combination worked well. I was able to use this lens with the Fuji 1.4x TC. I could do some birds in flight with this setup yet misses were more common than I'd like. This was with an X-T3. The lens requires a lot of rotation to zoom and this became a problem for me.
I replaced the Sigma with a Nikon 500mm PF f5.6 and Fringer Adapter. This is a wonderful lens with great bokeh and worked wonderfully with the X-T3 and even better with the X-H2s. I could do flight even with the Nikon 1.7x TC. The problem with the Nikon 500mm PF is that parts are drying up and repairs take a very long time.
When my Nikon 500mm PF broke for the second time, I decided to get a XF 150-600mm. It's a fast focusing lens and tracking on the X-H2s is good. The slower aperture affects the ability to shoot around sunrise and sunset and is a pain when the background is close. When the background is distant bokeh is lovely yet when it's close the bokeh can be meh. The 1.4x TC works well with the lens and flight photography is possible yet tracking suffers a little. I never loved this lens yet I took some wonderful photos with it.
I received the XF 500mm the day before it was officially available in the US as I preordered it. Fast AF, great tracking even with the 1.4x TC and it even produces decent IQ with the 2X TC. It's small and light and a delight. Bokeh is usually lovely. I also own the XF 70-300mm which is a very average lens yet I'll use it when 500mm is too much. Sometimes I carry the XF 500mm on one body and the XF 70-300mm on another.
p.1 #13 · Thoughts on the XF150-600mm, or alternatives?
I’ve been using the XF150-600 for about 2 years. It is pretty much permanently mounted on my X -H2S for wildlife (mostly bird) photography. I use my X-T5 for nearly everything else, but almost never with the 150-600. Prior to acquiring the XF150-600, I used the Sigma 150-600 Contemporary, in EF mount with the Fringer adapter, on both an X-T4 and the X-H2S. I’ve also owned the XF100-400.
The XF150-600 has excellent IQ and AF across its entire range. It is relatively light and the internal zoom+focus makes it a pleasure to use both handheld and on a gimbal. I have used it on a monopod, but mostly use it handheld or on a tripod. The XF500 f5.6 is lighter and supposedly sharper, but a prime doesn’t work for me.
The Sigma performed well (my copy was very sharp), but the AF was not quite as confident as a native Fuji lens and it was too big and heavy for me to handhold for more than a few minutes. The XF150-600 is far superior to the XF100-400 in nearly every way. The XF100-400 could focus while zooming, but otherwise, I find the XF70-300 with the 1.4 TC to be just as good and much easier to handle.
p.1 #14 · Thoughts on the XF150-600mm, or alternatives?
I loved the 150-600 when I shot XF. I might pick it up again someday. It had plenty of blur even at f/8 and is light enough to be handholdable. One of the sharpest XF lens I've tried, IMO.
p.1 #15 · Thoughts on the XF150-600mm, or alternatives?
I had the Tamron G2 in Nikon mount and used it with the Fringer NF-FX Mark 1 adapter. It worked fairly well. Did tend to hunt a little, but when it finally locked, it was sharp.
On one hand, it's heavy, and balances differently as you zoom because of the external zooming. On the other hand, you can get the lens and adapter for half the price of a used XF 150-600 -- if you're willing to wait for the right price.
I sold the combo and got the XF mainly because it's just a nicer shooting experience overall. Lighter, better balance, fine quality.
p.1 #16 · Thoughts on the XF150-600mm, or alternatives?
I just added the Fuji 150-600 to my kit. IMHO it's quite excellent optically even wide open on my XH2 sensor. I will add that DoF at 600mm is incredibly shallow even at f8, but the image is crisp in the focus area. It seems to get a significantly higher percentage of crisp images at 600mm than my 100-400 got at 400, so I suspect the OS is somehow improved or maybe just better integrates with the bodies -- this is not fact, it's just my observation and theory. The combo is easily hand-holdable for any normal telephoto action as well.
Regardless, I can now easily recommend it and the 70-300 pair as notable improvements to the 100-400 and 55-200; and both the newer lenses are similar sizes to the earlier versions. Offered FWIW only...
p.1 #17 · Thoughts on the XF150-600mm, or alternatives?
I recently adapted a Canon EF100-400 to my Gfx and also decided to try it on my X-T5 with a Fringer. Its very good, better than the 70-300 and even AF's pretty well. Its a heavy beast but I'm keeping the 70-300 for packing light. The Canon feature I so wish Fuji has is the manual focus over-ride. Anytime you are having trouble grabbing the correct object, you can grab the focus ring and dial it in. No buttons or mode changing required. Awesome, I wish all Fuji lenses worked that way.
p.1 #18 · Thoughts on the XF150-600mm, or alternatives?
SGinNorcal wrote:
I recently adapted a Canon EF100-400 to my Gfx and also decided to try it on my X-T5 with a Fringer. Its very good, better than the 70-300 and even AF's pretty well. Its a heavy beast but I'm keeping the 70-300 for packing light. The Canon feature I so wish Fuji has is the manual focus over-ride. Anytime you are having trouble grabbing the correct object, you can grab the focus ring and dial it in. No buttons or mode changing required. Awesome, I wish all Fuji lenses worked that way.
The XT5 may not have Auto+Manual focus, but the XH2 definitely does. Pretty sure my GFX100s had it too, but cannot confirm. Anyway, on the XH2 there is literally a menu item under the second screen in the AF/MF menu labelled, "AF+MF" with On or Off options. When On it works while the AF is active either by the rear AF button press or in my case, half-press shutter button, as a manual over-ride.
p.1 #19 · Thoughts on the XF150-600mm, or alternatives?
Jack Flesher wrote:
The XT5 may not have Auto+Manual focus, but the XH2 definitely does. Pretty sure my GFX100s had it too, but cannot confirm. Anyway, on the XH2 there is literally a menu item under the second screen in the AF/MF menu labelled, "AF+MF" with On or Off options. When On it works while the AF is active either by the rear AF button press or in my case, half-press shutter button, as a manual over-ride.
I think I know what you mean but it works in the opposite. The Fuji method, when turned on, allows you to be in MF but then use the shutter button or back button to AF. With the Canon, I can be in AF and then by rotating the focus kick it into MF. It seems similar but I find the Canon way, tons more useful as when I'm in MF, I'm actively working the focus ring and don't want to switch to AF. Its when I'm in AF mode that I sometimes want to do a minor adjustment in the moment and don't want to change settings. Or am I missing another way to set up Fuji cameras?
p.1 #20 · Thoughts on the XF150-600mm, or alternatives?
SGinNorcal wrote:
I think I know what you mean but it works in the opposite. The Fuji method, when turned on, allows you to be in MF but then use the shutter button or back button to AF. With the Canon, I can be in AF and then by rotating the focus kick it into MF. It seems similar but I find the Canon way, tons more useful as when I'm in MF, I'm actively working the focus ring and don't want to switch to AF. Its when I'm in AF mode that I sometimes want to do a minor adjustment in the moment and don't want to change settings. Or am I missing another way to set up Fuji cameras?...Show more →
To clarify... On my XH2:
1) With AF+MF set to "On," my AF works normally in either AF-C or AF-S mode. Then additionally if while I am activating AF, I can over-ride whatever AF lock there was by turning the lens' focus ring.
2) In MF mode, I can focus manually using the lens focus ring AND/OR obtain a quick AF lock by pressing the rear AF button, then re-tweak manually if desired. The rear AF button in MF mode acts like AF-S. And I do NOT have to AF+MF On, it works this way regardless.
