Fuji 16-55mm Mark I vs Mark II

[MFrey]

Good day fellow Fuji people

 

I wanted to ask your opinion on the subject of the 16-55mm Mark I vs Mark II. I want to use it mainly for my concert photography where I currently use my 50-140mm and a second camera with a prime lense. I would like to use a second good quality zoom lens thats why I became interested in the 16-55mm.

My question is for anyone having experience with both wether the new one (which looks very promising but pricey) or the older one (much heavier but seems to deliver on optical quality and I could get that used for roughly half the price of the new one)? 

From what I could find online I guess in terms of pure image quality both are going to deliver. So then it would come down to usability, ease of use, maybe video ability, and longevity etc. 

I use my Fuji X-H2 and Fuji X-S20 currently.

If anyone has thoughts I would be highly appreciative. Thank you in advance,

 

Best regards from Switzerland, Mischa 

Edited September 25, 2025 by MFrey
forgot camera info

[abmet]

I really like the image quality, size, and weight of my mark II. I never owned the mark I so I can’t help with comparison though it is highly regarded as a great lens.  I don’t use mine for video but I will say it doesn’t have the smoothest zoom, which seems to be common complaint for the mark II.  For photos it doesn’t bother me but I would imagine would be an issue if zooming while recording video. 

[BobJ]

I have the mark 2. The zoom seems perfectly smooth to me, but I don't shoot much video. What I can say is that it is a lovely lens. Much better in every way than the 16-80, albeit a smaller zoom range, in every way.

[MFrey]

On 9/26/2025 at 2:24 PM, abmet said:

I really like the image quality, size, and weight of my mark II. I never owned the mark I so I can’t help with comparison though it is highly regarded as a great lens.  I don’t use mine for video but I will say it doesn’t have the smoothest zoom, which seems to be common complaint for the mark II.  For photos it doesn’t bother me but I would imagine would be an issue if zooming while recording video. 

thank you. I´ve never owned neither so I can not judge anyway. I´m just a bit unsure if I should go with a used MarkI for maybe half the price. Or invest in a new one and hope its going to last me a good good while as a workhorse.

On 9/27/2025 at 9:49 AM, BobJ said:

I have the mark 2. The zoom seems perfectly smooth to me, but I don't shoot much video. What I can say is that it is a lovely lens. Much better in every way than the 16-80, albeit a smaller zoom range, in every way.

hm ok thank you for that thought. I don´t consider the 16-80 at the moment. 

 

The only thing that has popped up now and doesn´t make the whole decision process easier is the new Sigma 17-40mm f1.8. The zoom range is definitely a bit shorter which is a bit a bummer but the 1.8f is pretty tempting because I want to do a decent amount of concert photography with it and generally really like wide open apertures. 

[abmet]

Yeah the 17-40 wasn’t announced when I purchased mine so didn’t have that decision.  I went with the mk II as I was impressed with what offered and the amount of size reduction they managed. 
 

I saw this that has pretty good comparison between the mk II and the 17-40

https://fujiframe.com/articles/sigma-17-40-vs-16-55-fuji

 

[SusanB]

I have both the mark 1 and mark 2 versions. The mark 2 version is sharper across all focal lengths and out to the corners (especially @ 55mm!) and much lighter. Although it’s lighter the build quality is just as good. I’ve compared the zoom on both marks, and the mark 2 is quite smooth and even. I’m extremely happy with the new version and will be selling the mark 1.

[MFrey]

Well thank you all for you reactions, I haven´t found a lot of options to buy a used Mark I and the Mark II seemed expensive even though I´m sure its a very good lense. So I ended up getting the Sigma 17-40 which I have found for a reasonable deal and so far I am very very happy with it. Weight is good, size is definitely ok for me and I love the internal zoom and weather resistance. The sharpness is very good for my taste and the autofocus works awesomely fast for me. Plus the 1.8 is great to have, I really like that option and shoot wide open in a lot of instances.

 

So in combination with my 50-140 I have no a combination of lenses for concert photography that makes me very very happy currently. 

 

So thats my update, not sure if its of any interest to anyone but I thought since I opened that thread I wanted to give it its due diligence.

[abmet]

Cool, hope you get some great images with it.