Getting Close

Macro and Close-Up Photos in the Fujifilm X System

By Andy Johnson III

May 21^st, 2024

Over the past few years I've been experimenting with close-up photography, often short of a true macro image, to shoot products, food, smaller details, etc. As part of this process, I've compiled a list of the minimum focus distances and magnification of most of the XF lenses to help determine which ones best serve the purpose of close up shots. A macro lens by technical definition is one that can capture a subject equal to or greater than it's real-life size captured on the camera's digital sensor. The impact on the photo is that small things appear larger than normal due to the lenses ability to focus at such a close range. A true macro lens has a 1:1 magnification ratio while other lenses that can focus at close distances are usually closer to something like 0.2x or above.

Fujifilm XF 80mm f/2.8 R LM WR Macro and XF 30mm f/2.8 R LM WR Macro

Macro Lens Options

There are two macro lenses in the Fujifilm lineup of XF lenses, pictured above as the XF 80mm f/2.8 R LM OIS WR Macro on the left and the XF 30mm f/2.8 LM WR Macro on the right. Both of these lenses are able to focus at 1:1 magnification. There is one more lens described as a macro with a 0.5x magnification (so half of the magnification of a true macro lens) and it's one of Fujifilm's oldest lenses in the XF 60mm f/2.4. I haven't used this lens in years but when I did I found the autofocus too slow to be enjoyable. There are some who still love the lens though and if you're patient, I'm sure it will still yield great results.

One major difference between the two macro lenses is that at 80mm, the larger lens can shoot from further away from the subject, capturing a more natural shape with better looking compression than the 30mm lens which needs to be positioned closer to the subject. You can see below how in the second picture the leaf is more distorted by the 30mm field of view to get a similar level of magnification on the leaf. On the other hand, the 80mm lens is much larger and heaver than its 30mm counterpart. This means that if you're serious about macro photography, you probably want the more premium 80mm option but if you just see yourself occasionally shooting macros or at close-up shots, the 30mm option will save you size and weight in your bag.

The Macro Experience

It takes some work to get used to shooting with a proper macro lens at close range and especially if you are holding the camera and lens by hand. A tripod would produce better results but sometimes you just have to shoot with what you have available. In the photos below, I handheld the X-H2 and XF 80mm f/2.8 macro lens to try to capture some closer images of flowers. I appreciate that the lens gives you the ability to narrow your field of manual focus down to a smaller range so that you don't have to work so hard to get the subject into focus. It's a bit tricky to nail focus though and it seems that manual focus may give better results when shooting small subjects, especially when paired with focus peaking to assist with confirming that the primary subject is in focus.

Lenses With Strong Magnification

If what you are concerned about is primarily getting close to your subject without shooting true macro work, this can be accomplished with several of the XF lenses that have stronger magnification than most. The first option in this regard is the newly announced XF 16-50mm f/2.8-4.8 kit lens with a stunning 0.3x magnification. Although I have not yet shot with this newly announced lens, the magnification offered is going to be a big benefit for that lens.

The next best magnification in the lineup is at 0.25x with the X100 series and the X70. One advantage of the new X100VI is that you can utilize the digital zoom to get a closer shot of your subject while still maintaining the high magnification. When zoomed in one step you are at a 50mm field of view with 20 megapixels and zoomed in one step further you get a 70mm field of view with 10 megapixels. For what I do with products or hobbies of mine, the 10/20 megapixel options are fine and still look great. Here's an example below of a shot at 35mm, 50mm and 70mm equivalents, using the digital zoom on the X100VI. All three of these photos show about how close you can get to the subject with the X100VI at 0.25x magnification

Other lenses that offer over 0.2 mangification in the Fujifilm X series are the XF 16-80mm f/4 at 0.25x, the XF 16mm f/1.4 at 0.21x, the XF 90mm f/2 at 0.2x and the XF 23mm f/1.4 LM WR also at 0.2x. Of these lenses, I consider the XF 90mm f/2 to be the most useful for closeups since it can get close to the subject without distorting it as much as the wider angle lenses. The XF 16-80mm f/4 is also strong in this regard but with a slower lens at a maximum aperture of f/4. The 16 and 23mm focal lengths both will benefit from the closer focus distances they offer but with more distortion to the close up subject matter. Here's the summary of the best shooting XF lenses.

XF 16-50mm f/2.8-4.8 - 0.3x magnification
XF 23mm f/2 (On the X100 series) - 0.25x magnification
XF 16-80mm f/4 - 0.25x magnification
XF 16mm f/1.4 - 0.21x magnification
XF 90mm f/2 - 0.2x magnification
XF 23mm f/1.4 R LM WR - 0.2x magnification

Here's an comparison below of a product photo taken with the XF 30mm f/2.8 macro lens on the left where you can move in as close as you want to the subject versus an uncropped photo from the XF 90mm f/2 where you can focus closer than normal, but not as close as a macro lens. To achieve the desired close up result from the non-macro lens, you would have to do more cropping. One major difference, of course, is that the macro lens could focus in on one small detail while the close up lens won't get any closer than what's pictured in the second photo below, without major cropping.

Product Shots

Macro lenses are also great for shooting products, especially when they are small. This is especially true when you want to highlight special details of a product. I just received a Voigtlander 27mm f/2 Ultron manual focus lens for the Fujifilm X series and the XF 80mm f/2.8 macro lens helped me to focus in on some of the markings on the lens that I find so interesting. The 80mm field of view also makes for great proportions when taking a picture of a product where you want a close up image but without the macro functionality needed.

Summary

In summary, here are my recommendations for the best macro and close up lenses in the Fujifilm XF series of lenses.

Best Macro Lens - Clearly this is the XF 80mm f/2.8 since it's built to be the professional macro lens in the lineup and gives you the best field of view for macro and closeup shots. It is large though and would benefit from a tripod in many cases to get the maximum sharpness.
Most Versatile Macro Lens - The XF 30mm f/2.8 is portable, light, works great as a regular lens and gets that 1:1 magnification that allows you to shoot items right in front of the lens.
Best Non-Macro Product Lens - The XF 90mm f/2 with it's sharpness and pleasing field of view can fill the slot of a closeup lens in a kit if you don't need actual macro shots. I've used this to get quite close to subject matter and love the shapes and minimal distortion that you get from this field of view.
Most Portable Close-Up Lens - The XF 23mm f/2 on the X100 series and especially with the digital crop methods on the X100V and VI give you some serious close-up capabilities in the most portable package possible in Fujifilm's lineup.
Best Close-Focus Zoom Lens - The XF 16-80mm f/4 with it's 0.25x magnification has been the zoom champion for close range shooting but with the 0.3x XF 16-50mm f/2.8-4.8 coming, this is likely to change. On the other hand, the 80mm reach of the 16-80 does give you a better focal length and compression for close up photos.

For my usage, I've decided that the XF 30mm f/2.8 when I really want to set up a macro shot and the X100 series when I want to get a closeup shot on the go, is my best set. The XF 90mm f/2 when I have it in the kit will be great for product shoots or other closeup options when I don't actually need full 1:1 magnification. As much as I like the XF 80mm f/2.8, I just don't shoot enough serious macro work at this time to need to carry a lens that large around for the occasional shot.