16-55mm 2.8 Distortion Correction and Sharpness

[bhamx2]

Evening,

I am considering buying the Fuji 16-55mm 2.8.

The only query I have which I can't seem to find the answer to is regarding distortion correction and it's impact on sharpness.

Apparently at 16mm the lens has bucket loads of barrel distortion and I understand this is corrected in software.

However reviews suggest that this lens is sharpest at 16mm.

Does anyone know whether these reviews (or any review you know of) test sharpness before or after distortion correction.

I don't want to invest in this lens if it is sharp prior to distortion but soft after correction (at least at 16mm)

Advice appreciated.

Cheers

Bhamx2

[milandro]

As I understand it, there is no way to test any Fuji lens without the in-camera correction because you can only test the lens on a fuji camera that corrects the lens ...automatically.

 

There is no way to disconnect it.

[bhamx2]

As I understand it, there is no way to test any Fuji lens without the in-camera correction because you can only test the lens on a fuji camera that corrects the lens ...automatically.

 

There is no way to disconnect it.

Thanks for the reply. Certain raw editors have the option to turn the distortion correction off. For example Capture One. There is no way to do this in Lightroom though. Also Lenstip talk about using Dcraw without distortion correction. 

[milandro]

I was not aware of this possibility on Fuji files but I suppose that lenstip has tested it this way since they write it here...

 

http://www.lenstip.com/433.6-Lens_review-Fujifilm_Fujinon_XF_16-55_mm_f_2.8_R_LM_WR_Distortion.html

 

"Much more problems you encounter when it comes to RAW files. The results are so high that it is obvious the constructors depended mainly on the software of the camera to correct the geometrical deformations of the lens. At 16 mm focal length the distortion reaches a huge level of −5.59%. Fortunately it decreases very quickly with the increase of the focal length and at 23 mm it is just −1.13%. Then it changes the sign immediately and already at 35 mm you deal with distinct pincushion deformations of +1.91%. Still it is only a prelude to the results you get at the maximum focal length where the “pincushion” increases to +3.07%..."

Edited October 3, 2016 by milandro

[BobJ]

If you think about it the use of software correction for distortion allows the lens designer to compute the lens for maximum sharpness, as correction for sharpness and distortion are usually mutually exclusive.

[Nero]

You can also turn off the automatic corrections in Iridient Developer. I rarely turn them off, but sometimes it is interesting to see the difference, particularly on the wide end of the 10-24mm.

 

I have had some issues with sharpness in the edges of the 10-24mm. Some of this is due to image stabilization, but at higher shutter speeds when I turn off the OIS I will still see a little bit of it in the corners at wider focal lengths. When there is heavy digital correction going on, you're almost certainly going to lose something. There's always a trade off. When I choose to use the 10-24mm, I haven't had any real issues with the quality in the corners and from everyone I have talked to the 16-55mm is optically one of Fuji's best zooms. In my opinion, since I find the corrections on the 10-24mm to be acceptable for the most part and the 16-55mm is supposed to be even better in image quality, I wouldn't let this affect my decision if I were looking at buying one.