Fujifilm 16 F/1.4 WR For Weddings – Is It Great in 2024?

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The Fujifilm 16mm F/1.4 WR is great for weddings because

  • Fast and accurate autofocus
  • Amazing low-light performance
  • Light to carry around
  • Produces sharp images, pleasing skin tones, and beautiful bokeh
  • Great for capturing stories, group shots, and landscapes
  • Weather sealing is effective against rain.
  • Also great for landscapes, tight spaces, establishing shots, and indoor events

If you’re a wedding photographer, you know that the best lenses for capturing the magic of the day are the ones that are fast, sharp, and unobtrusive.

That’s why we love the Fujifilm 16mm 1.4 WR for wedding photography because it combines all of these features plus, a weather-sealed construction into one lens. Its fast f/1.4 aperture lets you shoot at lower ISOs and capture great shots in dark settings.

It’s also made with an aspherical element to reduce distortion and has a rounded 9-blade diaphragm that produces a beautiful bokeh behind your subject.

Quick Specs:

  • X-Mount Lens/APS-C Format
  • 24mm (35mm Equivalent)
  • Aperture Range: f/1.4 to f/16
  • Floating Focus System
  • Two Aspherical Elements, Two ED Elements
  • Weather-Sealed
  • Rounded 9-Blade Diaphragm
  • Minimum Focus Distance of 5.91″ / 15 cm
  • Maximum Magnification of 0.21x
  • 13 Elements in 11 Groups
  • Autofocus
  • 67 mm filter size
  • 13.23 oz / 375 g of weight

Now let’s talk about its great features.

It got really good color and skin tones.

The Fujifilm 16 F/1.4 WR produces good color and skin tones. The colors are accurate and the skin tones look natural. This is a great prime lens for portraits and for candids. The sharpness is also outstanding.

This prime lens is sharp wide open at f/1.4. And it’s extremely sharp from f/2 to f/8 It has a fast aperture of 1.4 which allows for shallow depth of field and nice bokeh effects. More on this later.

Note: images are downsized for easier uploading.

The focusing is quick and accurate and because it is wider, you can capture candids really quick.

This matters because it means that the Fujifilm 16 1.4 WR produces great results in terms of color accuracy, skin tones, and overall sharpness – perfect for anyone interested in photography (particularly portraiture and weddings) who wants reliable performance out of their equipment.

Fast f/1.4 Aperture

It’s got a fast f/1.4 aperture which is perfect for low-light situations and for getting that shallow depth of field in your photos.

Now, because the Fujifilm 16 1.4 WR has an equivalent of 24mm (in 35mm format), you have to be pretty close to your subject in order to get that shallow depth of field.

This will result in distortion and make the subjects look like they have bigger noses.

So you should be aware of that. We don’t want an angry bride during their big day, right?

Yes, there’s a little bit of distortion from it being such a wide-angle lens, but at 16mm (24mm equivalent), that’s to be expected!

Not all distortion is bad though, if anything, it gives your photos more character than other lenses do.

The bokeh is creamy, especially if you shoot closer and the fall-off to out-of-focus areas is smooth.

As expected, this lens does have some distortion at the wide end which can require optically correcting in post, but it’s not too bad. I’m very satisfied with this lens.

Note: images are downsized for easier uploading.

For half-body portraits the Fuji 16mm 1.4 is fantastic. The bokeh is nice and can separate your subjects from their backgrounds.

At f/1.4 aperture, the lens creates a fantastic shallow depth of field. Creating a creamy bokeh quality that I love for portraits of bride and groom and for general portraiture.

For full-body shots, the separation is still there but not that much even at wide open.

If you intend to blur the background more, my tip is to make your subjects move far away from the background and you have to be close to your subject as much as possible.

Moreover, this fantastic prime lens works great in low-light situations.

Because we’re using an APS-C format and this lens is a wide-angle, getting multiple people sharp in the frame is quite easy to achieve even shooting at f1.4.

This lens really excels in storytelling.

It is the ideal lens for shooting wedding ceremonies, receptions, and other indoor events like parties. It is also great for a street shoot.

Again, since it is a wide-angle prime lens, it’s really easy to get multiple subjects sharp in the frame even at f1.4 and shooting handheld.

If you are not too far from your subject, then you can have a good background blur just like a longer lens would achieve.

Resolution

XF 16 mm F1.4 R WR resolution is excellent. Lab evaluates it at 50% contrast (MTF50). The center has 53 line pairs per millimeter (lp/mm) at wide aperture, peaking at F5.6 with 61.

Over 50 lp/mm resolution is achieved at F16 via diffraction reduction. Lens resolution decreases nearer the image’s edge. Edge drop is 4% for F5.6 and F8 apertures. Even the poorest aperture, F2.0, cuts margins 13%. Since none of this matters, the lens may be utilized throughout apertures.

Toughness

The build quality is excellent with all-metal construction and weather-sealing, making it a great choice for weddings and other outdoor events. I don’t have any worries about using it on a rainy day.

Although the Fujifilm 16 1.4 WR is made of metal, I still find it easy to carry around. It weighs around 375 g, which is reasonable, and the lens is quite long.

I’ve used this lens on my Fujifilm X-H1 and it’s a great combination.

You can fit it easily into a small shoulder bag and see that you have the option of shooting wide for most situations, including environmental portraits.

On top of that, the image quality produced by this combo is simply amazing.

Other Lenses to combo with Fujifilm 16mm 1.4 WR for weddings

Wedding photographers have a variety of lenses in their arsenal. It is really important that we have multiple lenses, cameras, and SD cards to capture different angles, subjects, and stories during weddings.

Because the Fujifilm 16 1.4 WR is a wide-angle lens, a lot of wedding photographers partners it with a telephoto lens like the great Fujifilm 50 1.0 and Fujifilm 56 1.2 or a zoom lens like Fujinon 50-140 2.8 R.

The Fujifilm 50 1.0 offers an incredibly shallow depth of field.

A combo of a wide-angle and a telephoto lens can be powerful. This combo can cover a lot of bases from portraits to establishing shots.

I personally use a Fujifilm 50 1.0 and the 16mm 1.4 with two XH-1 bodies during weddings and other events. This combo works well for me.

The Fujifilm 50 1.0 is a great lens for portraits because it is sharp and has a wide aperture that allows for a shallow depth of field. Thus, creating beautiful, timeless portraits of the brides and grooms.

The Fujifilm 16mm 1.4 is great for establishing shots and wide-angle shots. It is also good for candid moments and for creating context.

While the Fujifilm 50-140 2.8 R is a great zoom lens that covers a lot of ground, making it ideal for events where you need to be able to switch between different focal lengths quickly.

Disadvantages

Well, of course, there are no perfect lenses. The Fujifilm 16mm 1.4 WR is a fantastic lens but it has some drawbacks you should aware of.

First, let’s talk about its size! It is the largest and heaviest wide-angle X-Mount lens as of today. This can be a problem if you’re using smaller mirrorless cameras like the Fujifilm X-E4. The size and weight of the lens can make your camera feel unbalanced and front-heavy.

Because it is a prime lens. You can’t zoom. This can be a pain if you’re trying to take photos of something that’s far away and you can’t get close to it.

The distortion can also affect your photos especially when you’re really close to your subject. It can make your subject’s nose bigger than it looks in real life.

With that being said, the Fujifilm 16mm 1.4 WR is a great lens if you know what its capabilities are and how to use them to your advantage.

Alternative

If you are still undecided about which wide-angle lens to get. Here are some great alternative lenses.

Fujifilm 23 f/1.4 (35mm equivalent)

The Fujifilm 23 f/1.4 is a popular choice among wedding photographers. It is wide enough for most shots, the F1.4 aperture is really useful for indoor and low light as well.

It delivers a pleasant bokeh wide open and the sharpness is actually great. This lens is also bigger and heavier than the slower Fujinon 23 f/2. But the image quality that it produces is really fantastic, especially in portraiture.

If you’re looking for a great all-around lens that can perform well in a variety of situations, the Fujifilm 23 f/1.4 is a great choice.

Fujifilm 23 f/2 (35mm equivalent)

It is a versatile lens and the preferred focal length of many wedding and event photographers. Its 35mm equivalent is not much wider than the 24mm of the Fujifilm 16 f/1.4, so shooting closer will not cause massive distortion.

Fujifilm 16-55mm f/2.8 R

The 16-55mm f/2.8 is one of the most popular zooms for the X series. On the wide end, it covers all focal lengths from 24mm to 35mm (35mm format), so it’s a great choice for professionals who shoot events or weddings.

It’s a zoom lens and it allows you to change focal length quickly without having to change lenses.

This is a great advantage during weddings and events because their pace is fast and your job as a photographer is you should snap any interesting shots quickly.

Conclusion

The Fujinon XF 16mm F1.4 R WR is an excellent prime lens for all kinds of photographers, from weddings, landscape, and street photographers to portrait shooters.

Its fast f/1.4 aperture is great for low light situations, and its weather-resistant construction will keep it safe in any climate.

The Fujinon XF 16mm F1.4 R WR’s only real drawback is its size, which can be annoying to some photographers —but if you’re willing to make the investment, this lens is a fantastic choice!