Best Fujifilm Lens for Landscape Photography

If you’re a Fujifilm X-series camera owner who’s keen to get some amazing outdoor shots, it’s wise to invest in one of the best Fuji lenses for landscape photography.

Whether you’re keen to shoot panoramic vistas with wide-angle lenses, or prefer to hone in on horizon details with a zoom lens, one’s thing’s for certain – you need lenses with stellar image quality.

Fortunately, here on Shotkit we’ve got a selection of world-class landscape photographers using all kinds of Fujinon lenses for landscape photography.

To save you some time, we’ve hand-picked the top 5 options in 2023. Let’s take a closer look.

(Interested in other lenses? Check out our guide to the best Fuji lenses and other great landscape photography lenses.)

Best Fuji Lens for Landscape Photography in 2023

Image	Product	Features
	Fujifilm 16mm f/1.4OUR #1 CHOICE	Great in Low Light Little Distortion Super Compact Beautiful Bokeh	Check AMAZON Price → Check MOMENT Price →
	Fujifilm 16-55mm f/2.8TOP RATED	Silent Operation Incredibly Sharp Weather Resistant Excellent Build	Check AMAZON Price → Check MOMENT Price →
	Fujifilm 10-24mm f/4GREAT VALUE	Lightweight Robus Build Ultra Sharp Fast Auto Focusing	Check AMAZON Price → Check MOMENT Price →
	Fujifilm 18-135mm f/3.5-5.6	Solid Build Superb Versatile Zoom Sharp Weather Resistant	Check AMAZON Price → Check MOMENT Price →
	Fujifilm 55-200mm f/3.5-4.8	Close Focusing Razor Sharp Impressive Image Stabilisation Robust Build	Check AMAZON Price → Check MOMENT Price →

 

1. Fujifilm XF 16mm f/1.4

Despite it being one of the first Fujifilm lenses to be released for X-Series cameras, the Fuji XF 16mm f/1.4 prime is still one of the best pieces of glass on offer.

And it’s certainly one of the best Fuji lenses for landscape photography. In fact, of all the prime lenses they offer, this is one of the best.

Once you get to know the features of this stellar lens you will soon agree that it appears to be ahead of its time.

Beginning with its build quality, the XF 16mm f/1.4 weighs just 13.2oz (375gm) and features a full metal body construction. Everything from the camera mount to the focus ring is the result of considered design and exceptional engineering.

It’s one of only three Fujinon lenses to feature the unique manual focus clutch system. This function enables you to be in full autofocus and the manual focus ring will not move at all. Yet once you pull back on the focus ring, the lens switches immediately to manual focus and the ring moves freely.

Under the focus ring, there are distance meter markings for you to equate focus distance, which is a throwback to much older lenses.

The focus ring glides with just the right amount of resistance and the clutch system has an assuring click once engaged.

Another unique feature is that this 16mm f/1.4 prime lens is weather-resistant, which also includes dust resistance.

This is a feature that was not consistently applied to Fuji lenses for some years. Now it seems that they’re trying to give all their new lenses this feature given their flagship bodies are weather sealed.

The wide-angle nature of the Fuji 16mm f/1.4 is perfect for landscape photography. With that kind of wide field of view, you’re sure to capture some stunning vistas in either landscape or portrait orientation.

That same level of dynamic angle comes into play for getting in close to objects yet capturing wide backgrounds. With its f/1.4 aperture and minimum focus distance of only 15cm, it certainly creates opportunities for some creative photography.

Low light performance is assured with that wide aperture as well.

This lens is known to produce exceptional image quality with very little overall distortion even given its wide angle.

Images produced are crisp and beautifully rendered with an edge to edge sharpness in all but the widest of aperture settings. Even in low light, it will produce exceptional images with great contrast and light control.

As for autofocus, in some situations, the lens hunts for autofocus momentarily. This is not excessive nor would it impact your landscape photography experience, but it does occur.

Overall, the Fujifilm XF 16mm f/1.4 is one of the best Fuji lenses for landscape photography given its weather resistance and ruggedness. Add to this that it has a great wide-angle of view and ability to produce amazing images and you have a winning lens.

2. Fujifilm XF 16-55mm f/2.8

It’s often hard to pick a bad Fuji lens due to the high level of engineering and construction they invest in every lens. Certainly one of the best Fujifilm lenses, and certainly one of the best lenses for landscape, is the Fujifilm XF 16-55mm f/2.8.

This award-winning lens is one of the few Fuji lenses to wear the red badge that states XF ZOOM.

This little badge of honour is to indicate that this is a premium zoom lens – and it has earned this title convincingly. The 16-55mm f/2.8 is an exceptional piece of glass that performs well in any given situation.

The first thing you notice about this lens is that, compared to other Fuji zooms in this range, it’s a big and hefty piece of gear. The lens is constructed with a full metal body and the standard Fuji aperture ring and focus ring. The focus ring is broad but has a nice buttery smooth glide to it.

The zoom ring is also broad and doesn’t take much to turn across the zoom range. However, the zoom ring function is a little stiff and sticky so requires a firm hand.

The aperture ring has a nice level of firmness to stop aperture being bumped by accident, plus reassuring clicks for each stop.

The front of the lens has a 77mm diameter filter thread suitable for many filter kits currently on the market, as well as other Fujifilm accessories. To top it off, the body is fully weather and dust sealed to withstand even the most brutal conditions

Having a constant f/2.8 aperture provides a great deal of flexibility for a zoom lens like the Fujifilm XF 16-55mm, especially in a landscape setting.

And when you look at all the lenses for landscape photography from Fuji, it is without a doubt that this is best of the best both in terms of focal range and image quality.

A downside to this camera is the lack of Optical Image Stabilization which appears on the Fuji kit lens of a similar focal range to the 16-55mm. This is an area where Fuji need to increase their output in both their lenses and their flagship camera bodies.

As far as autofocus, it’s an incredibly responsive lens with no sign of focus hunting or missed focus even in poor light. Thanks to the wide aperture across the range, night photography is a joy with this camera.

The images produced by the XF 16-55mm f/2.8 are among the best produced by Fuji glass. Image sharpness is evident throughout the zoom range and across the aperture range. The output from this lens easily competes with the best of the prime lenses available.

The Fujifilm XF 16-55mm f/2.8 is by far one of the best Fujifilm lenses for landscape photography. In fact, this lens is one of the best Fujifilm lenses for any application and makes a great all-purpose lens. It’s not too wide and has just the right amount of zoom.

In the landscape world, the lens has a great wide-angle range as well as a little bit of reach with the zoom.

It has an excellent aperture range and the ability to produce exceptional landscape images. This is the kind of lens to have if you could only choose to take one.

3. Fujifilm XF10-24mm f/4

The Fujifilm XF 10-24mm f/4 is a favoured lens amongst Fuji landscape photographers and for good reason.

Until only recently, it boasted the widest field of view of any Fuji lens. This, along with its overall performance, has made this lens an easy choice for anyone wanting to shoot wide and dynamic landscape images.

The lens is of average size compared to most Fuji lenses and it has a durable metal and toughened plastic body. In your hand, it feels solid and strong.

Further to this, the aperture, focus and zoom ring all have a suitable amount of glide and resistance to accidental movement.

Being one of the first Fuji zoom lenses to be released, over time it has earned a reputation as an exceptional lens for any landscape photographer.

While it does not feature weather resistance or any kind of dust sealing other than standard, it does feature optical image stabilization. A feature that makes this a great lens for handheld night landscape photography.

With the Fujifilm 10-24mm f/4, image quality is sharp across the frame with no signs of vignetting even wide at 10mm.

As one of the best landscape photography lenses, it also sports a very close focal working distance allowing for some very creating shots.

Subject separation with foreground and background elements in a landscape scene is easily achievable despite the widest aperture being f/4. Being able to pick out a natural foreground subject as a point of interest and having your background soften into the distance can be really appealing.

In terms of value for money, the Fujifilm 10-24mm f/4 is exceptionally well priced for the build quality, focal range and the image quality it produces.

Fujifilm has recently released a new red badge 8-16mm lens with a constant f/2.8 – however, this lens is almost three times the price as the 10-24mm. Comparing these two wide-angle lenses would be unfair, but I do feel that the Fuji 10-24mm is far better value for money.

Despite being released at around the same time as a Fuji prime lens that had weather sealing, this lens does not.

For a landscape lens that has the ability to get down low to surface level for dramatic shots, weather sealing should be included. Unfortunately, it was not, so you just need to be a little more protective of this lens.

If you like being able to shoot vast and epic landscapes that include foreground that feels real enough to touch, then this is an ideal lens.

Having such a wide-angle allows for some incredibly creative and dynamic images to be captured. Being able to fit in foreground elements, midground, background and the sky creates some truly magical images.

4. Fujifilm XF18-135mm f/3.5-5.6

When it comes to versatility, the Fujifilm XF 18-135mm f/3.5-5.6 is by far one of the best lenses for landscape photography.

Its focal range begins with a very wide 18mm that is perfect for capturing wide-open vistas and scenes. The full extent of the zoom range gives a great amount of reach for capturing close-up sections of a scene.

As a landscape photographer, you could quite easily get away with having only one lens in your kit bag – this one.

The 18-135mm weighs in at only 17.3oz (490gm) and has a relatively compact body that pairs exceptionally well with one of the Fuji flagship camera bodies.

That pairing will have a total weight of just 35.3oz (1kg) making it an incredible portable kit that you can carry for long durations. You could carry this setup and shoot all day with no fatigue.

The Fujifilm XF 18-135mm has optical image stabilization to reduce camera shake at slower shutter speeds, and also boasts a trusted dust and weather resistance system thanks to comprehensive sealing.

Finally, it just feels like a solid and well-made lens in your hand and on your camera.

The barrel is made from metal and toughened plastics to ensure consistency with other lenses from this brand.

The aperture ring has a good glide to it with noticeable clicks as you pass each stop. Also, the focus ring has a nice smooth glide to it with just the right amount of resistance to prevent accidental slippage.

The zoom ring on the Fuji 18-135mm f/3.5-5.6 is broad and allows for a full and comfortable grip when zooming in or out.

The zoom motion has a good amount of glide with appropriate levels of resistance to prevent the lens from sliding in and out on its own.

In terms of overall image quality, the results can be a little bit mixed. While it will produce great quality images at the wide end of the zoom, in some circumstances images are not as good and sharp as you could expect.

At the wide end of the range, you will get sharp images edge to edge especially with a smaller aperture. At the higher end, between 100mm and 135mm, the image quality does start to suffer. Images become softer on the edges and just lose the strong contrast details you would otherwise hope for.

Remember that landscape photography isn’t just about wide-angle lenses – using zooms such as this one allow you to compress your scenery, allowing you to create more alluring s curves in your photography, for example.

Given that the lens starts with an f/3.5 aperture, its low light performance is not as good as the other lenses on this list. In fact, in low light, the autofocus does not perform nearly as well as it does during better lighting conditions.

However, for most landscape photography situations, both of these factors can be worked through to capture great images.

If you’re looking for a single lens to invest in for landscape photography then the Fujifilm XF 18-135mm f/3.5-5.6 is your best bet. The value for money is fantastic and you will own a lens that takes great landscape images and provides you with the flexibility of use.

5. Fujifilm XF 55-200mm f/3.5-4.8

When it comes to the best Fuji lenses for landscape photography, the list would be incomplete without the fantastic Fujifilm XF 55-200mm f/3.5-4.8.

While it does not have the widest angle of view at the wide end, it certainly makes up for it in the amount of reach this has. Being able to zoom out to 200mm provides you with a huge amount of photographic potential especially in landscape photography.

Being able to zoom in on natural elements, points of interest or even how wildlife is interacting in your composition leads to fantastic images.

This is an incredibly solid and well-built lens with an all-metal body throughout.

As you would expect for a lens with a range like this, the body is quite long and incorporates the aperture ring, broad focus ring and of course the zoom ring. Each has a smooth glide and the right kind of resistance to prevent settings being bumped accidentally.

The aperture ring does not feature the usual markings found on most Fuji lenses and I found this a little frustrating when wanting to adjust the aperture.

It also features optical image stabilisation which is especially helpful when shooting by hand at the maximum range.

The 55-200mm weighs in at 20.2ox (580gm), making it one of the heavier lenses in this field. However, when paired with any of the X Series camera bodies it’s still a comfortable and manageable weight which, for landscape photography, is absolutely necessary.

Despite having a maximum aperture of only f/3.5-4.8, this camera still performs well in low light and has an excellent autofocus system.

The lens shows no sign of hunting for focus no matter the light quality. The focusing system is fast and accurate and is certainly a selling point for this particular lens.

As for image quality and sharpness, this lens produces exceptional images that are well-rendered and have great contrast and sharpness. Even wide open at 200mm with the aperture increased a few stops, the image sharpness is perfect.

It’s clear why the Fujifilm XF 55-200mm was chosen as one of the best Fuji lenses for landscape photography. The lens provides you with image stabilisation and a great range to really zoom in for detail or out for greater scenes.

Being able to do so all handheld is another brilliant attribute of a lens of this quality.

This lens is often compared to the XF 50-140mm f/2.8 as they have a relatively similar range. While the 50-140mm is a red badge lens and produces exceptional image quality, it does cost a considerable amount more than the 55-200mm. It’s also a much bigger and heavier lens and has a shorter zoom range than this one.

This brilliant lens is incredibly affordable, which can be surprising when you consider all that it has to offer.

Before you consider investing in a red badge XF zoom lens, I would highly recommend taking the Fuji 55-200mm out in the field.

Performance, functionality and image quality will reward you for your choice.

Final Words

There are so many landscapes out there worthy of being captured on camera… starry night skies spread above sand dunes, mountains reflected in quiet lakes, even just the quotidian scene at the end of your street.

Whatever you choose to shoot, if you’re a user of the Fujifilm X-series system there’s bound to be an incredible and versatile lens out there for you.

The top five picks listed above should narrow it down – all you need to do is choose one based on your own budget and preferences. From there, your landscape photography will only get better.