ML: Fujinon XF 70-300mm vs XF 100-400mm Comparison

• 2 years ago

Mirrorless lessons posted its Fujinon XF70-300mm vs XF100-400mm comparison, which is an interesting comparison because the Fujinon XF100-400 has been around for quite a while on X-Mount, but the XF70-300mm is a relatively new lens. You can watch the above video or you can read the excerpt bullet points below that I created for the video and save time.

• Both lenses extent when zooming in
• Fujinon 70-300mm is weather-sealed but made of high-grade plastics with a metal mount
  • The zoom and focus ring are covered with rubber and the zoom ring has some resistance, but not too much and the rotation arch is short for quick zooming
  • Has a locking mechanism that disengages when you operate the zoom manually
  • The aperture ring is metal but not very precise
  • Focus limiter and automatic/manual aperture switch
  • Stabilization is turned on and off in the camera and you might want to assign a custom button for it
  • It comes with a plastic lens hood
• Fujinon 70-300mm is weather-sealed and feels like higher quality even though it is plastic also
  • The front element has a coating to resist water and make it easier to clean
  • Smoother zoom ring than the 70-300 lens
  • Small rotation arch to go from 100-400mm
  • Stronger lock switch
  • Aperture ring gives better feedback with more precision
  • Focus limiter and automatic/manual aperture switch plus an OIS switch
  • Comes with a plastic lens hood that has a cutout for rotating your filters
  • The 100-400mm comes with a tripod mount that can be rotated 360 degrees and even removed
• In recent cameras, there is a setting called AF range limited that lets you set a custom limiter for any lens and it can be put on a custom button
• The XF70-300mm is equivalent to 105-450mm and the XF100-400mm is equivalent to 150-600mm
• Both lenses are variable aperture with the XF100-400mm having 8 points that is stepping up and the XF70-300mm having 4 points that it steps up
• The XF70-300mm peaks at f/5.6 but results are excellent from wide open to f/8 and diffraction sets in at f/16 and the image are soft by f/22 and this is pretty consistent throughout the zoom range
• The XF100-400mm peaks when you stop down one stop but results are excellent from wide open to f/8 and diffraction sets in at f/16 and the image are soft by f/22 and this is pretty consistent throughout the zoom range
• The XF100-400mm at 400mm is best at f/8
• Both lenses perform similarly when it comes to sharpness
• Lenses of this kind rarely deliver good bokeh but both lenses are fine and the xf70-300mm is a little more round
• No sign of chromatic aberration or distortion since it is corrected in the camera
• Both lenses have mild vignetting but it goes away when stopping down one-stop
• Both lenses take a strong light to get flare
• XF70-300mm has one linear focus motor and the XF100-400mm has two linear focus motors, but there isn’t a substantial difference between the two lenses for tracking
• No problem with small birds or distance animals on modern Fujifilm cameras
• X-S10 and X-T4 had a similar keeper rate during a birds in flight test
• XF70-300mm has a minim focus distance of 83cm and the XF100-400mm has a minim focus distance of 1.75m
• XF100-400mm has smoother manual focus than the XF70-300mm
• Both lenses have similar stabilization on modern IBIS bodies
• You can leave OIS on all the time, but IBIS might be better when not moving consistently especially on the XF70-300mm
• Both lenses accept the 1.4x teleconverter and 2.0x teleconverter
  • TC1.4x makes the XF70-300mm 147-630mm and the aperture becomes f5.8-6.8
  • TC2x makes the XF70-300mm 200-900mm and the aperture becomes f8-11
  • TC1.4x makes the XF100-400mm 210-840mm and the aperture becomes f6.3-8
  • TC2x makes the XF100-400mm 300-1200mm and the aperture becomes f9-11
  • TC1.4x on XF70-300mm has good results from f/8 to f/16
  • TC2x on XF70-300mm has good results from f/11 to f/16
  • TC1.4x on XF100-400mm has good results from f/11 to f/16
  • TC2x on XF100-400mm has good results from f/16 to f/22
  • AF slows down a bit with the TC especially with the 2x, but by the time he used the converters the light was worse
• XF70-300mm has an attractive price and the XF100-400mm is more expensive
• X-T4 and X-S10 perform the same with these lenses
• There are other telephoto lenses for X-mount plus an XF150-600mm they are working on
• The XF70-300mm is the clear winner due to price, performance, size, etc…
• The XF100-400mm is great, but it is bigger and more expensive
• The decision is if double the size, weight, price is justified for the extra reach

Fujinon XF70-300mm f/4-5.6:

B&H Photo / Amazon / Moment / Adorama

Fujinon XF 100-400mm f/4.5-5.6 R LM OIS WR:

B&H Photo / Amazon / Moment / Adorama

Fujinon XF1.4X TC WR: B&H Photo / Amazon / Adorama

Fujinon XF2X TC WR: B&H Photo / Amazon / Adorama

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