Fujinon XC 50-230mm f/4.5‑6.7 OIS II

£330/$400

Coloured to match your camera

Fujifilm’s 50-230mm offering is available in black or silver, to match the company’s range of

X-series bodies. To our minds, the silver version looks a bit cheap and, like the Canon 55-250mm, it’s a very plastic affair in terms of both barrel and mounting plate. Both lenses are almost identical in size and weight, and have the same 58mm filter attachment thread.

Further similarities include a stepping motor-based autofocus system, with near-silent operation. Autofocus proved rather faster in the Fujifilm lens, at least when coupled to an X-T20 body in our tests, as well as being unerringly accurate. The lens has optical stabilisation, with the same 3.5-stop effectiveness as the Canon. However, its maximum ‘effective’ telephoto reach isn’t quite as generous, at 345mm against the Canon’s 400mm.

Performance

We’ve seen some razor-sharp Fujinon X-mount lenses, but this one’s more of a blunt instrument. It lags behind most lenses here for sharpness in the longer half of the zoom range, but performance is great for fringing and distortion.