When I held up this lens for the first time, I was fascinated by the compact size that fits into my palm, and the unexpectedly light weight for its fast F2.8 maximum aperture. Thinking that a small zoom lens with excellent portability would be ideal for taking snaps while traveling, and when I departed on a trip, I’d already had great hopes for the lens even before shooting.

I often photograph small objects indoors at close range, and it can be tough to adjust my stance while looking for the right angle. However, since the 17-70mm F2.8 has a short MOD (Minimum Object Distance), you can take close-up shots without difficulty. At the wide-open F2.8 aperture, the large bokeh effects produced even at wide-angles help in the creation of the work. Additionally, when shooting from an extremely low-angle right at the surface of the water, my stance tends to get unstable, but this time I found the combination of the FUJIFILM X-T4 camera and the 17-70mm F2.8 to have a good balance, and I was able to take pictures well. Travel snaps taken while continually walking around can tire you out from the fatigue of carrying around a heavy conventional fast-aperture lens. This lens doesn’t give that impression at all, and I was able to shoot in comfort.

On top of that, the image quality is superb. The superior optical performance using special lens elements combined with the coating produces excellent rendering performance, and I was able to concentrate on landscape photography with peace of mind thanks to the minimal flare and ghosting. Even during night photography that involves a particularly large number of point light sources and high contrast scenes, the lens demonstrated those capabilities to the fullest. There were times when it rained during my trip, but thanks to the Moisture-Resistant Construction, I could focus on shooting without any concerns. When it comes to travel snaps, sometimes it is bad weather that produces the best shooting opportunities, and for photos of famous places often photographed as sightseeing shots, the 17-70mm F2.8 is unfazed by weather conditions, allowing you to capture a scene as you like regardless of conditions at the time, perhaps giving birth to a masterpiece.

I felt that the 17-70mm F2.8 lens I tried out this time is the ultimate standard zoom lens, and with its compact and lightweight design despite the fast-aperture, it can be used as a daily lens that produces high image quality.