Fujifilm XF23mm f/2 R WR review: Resolution, shading and curvilinear distortion
Resolution
MTF chart at f/2
The lens gets gradually sharper at the centre and the edge of the frame as it’s closed down from its maximum aperture of f/2. The graph clearly illustrates the centre sharpness peaks between f/4 and f/5.6, with the edge sharpness reaching its optimum around f/5.6-f/8. To shoot in what’s best known as the ‘sweet spot’ of the aperture range where you’ll resolve the finest level of sharpness from the centre to the edge, it’s recommended to use it at f/5.6.
Shading
Corner shading – f/2
Corner shading – f/2.8
Vignetting is apparent in images taken at f/2, with corners appearing approximately 0.5EV darker than the centre of the frame. Corner shading does improve by stopping the lens down to f/2.8 and by the time you reach f/4 the edges are barely any darker than the centre. The vignetting correction that’s build into the raw file metadata did a admirable job of correcting corner shading on our raw files when processing through Adobe Lightroom CC.
Curvilinear Distortion
0.2% TV SMIA
Thanks to Fujifilm’s integration of software distortion correction (SDC), users can expect well corrected JPEG and raw format files with virtually no curvilinear distortion. If you’d like to take full control over how much digital metadata distortion is applied, you’ll need to use software that allow you to do this – Iridient Developer and Capture One being two examples.
