I was having a lot of difficulty deciding on this lens or the 55-200, but one day found a 50-140 in great shape on Craigslist for $1100 and couldn't pass it up. If I didn't like it I could sell it and maybe even make a little bit extra cash. I hate variable aperture lenses so I knew I would really only be happy with this one in the end. One way I justified it was by reading about how common it was for landscape photographers to carry around full frame 70-200 f4 lenses, which this is similar in size. the added benefit of it being a f2.8 means it's that much better for portraits and low light situations. I do wish there was a 50-140 f4 for something even smaller, but that's probably many years to come. I got a lowepro lens case and strapped it to my day pack and honestly it is not that heavy. I'm even going to take it backpacking. It's only heavy and long relative to other Fuji lenses, but compact and light when compared to canon and Nikon f2.8 70-200. I love having the marked aperture ring and tripod foot. I'll only take this and the 16mm prime for landscapes/nature and trail portraits. Very happy