Looking for a compact travel lens for my Fujifilm X-T5.

Been shooting Fuji for a decade and honestly, the 27mm is just a bit too narrow for those tight Tokyo alleys. Id grab the Fujifilm Fujinon XF 18mm f/2 R instead. Its basically a pancake too but gives you that extra breathing room you'll definitely want. Its light, fits your budget used, and looks great on the X-T5... trust me, you'll want the wider view for Shinjuku.

I would suggest being cautious with weight. Consider:

• Fujifilm XF 16mm f/2.8 R WR: light and wide.
• Sigma 18-50mm f/2.8 DC DN Contemporary: fast but versatile. Make sure you dont overspend.

Id be a bit cautious about going too narrow in Tokyo, those alleys are tighter than you think. Since youre using an X-T5, you might want to consider these technical trade-offs for reliability:

• Fujifilm XC 15-45mm f/3.5-5.6 OIS PZ: Honestly, ignore the plastic build for a sec. It weighs literally 135g, which is basically nothing. The 15mm wide end gives you a much better field of view for Shinjuku than the 27mm pancake. Just make sure to carry an extra battery because the electronic power zoom drains power a bit faster than a manual lens.
• Samyang AF 12mm f/2.0 X: I would suggest this if you want something faster for night shots. Its 213g and has a solid f/2 aperture. Be careful tho, it doesnt have a physical aperture ring, so youll have to use the front command dial on your camera body. Just keep in mind that the XC lens isnt weather-sealed... if it starts pouring in Ginza, you gotta tuck that gear away fast or it might get glitchy. The Samyang is a bit more robust for the price imo.

If youre worried about the 27mm being too tight, the Fujifilm XF 23mm f/2 R WR is a solid middle ground. Its wider for those Tokyo streets but stays pretty compact on an X-T5. Plus, the weather sealing makes it more reliable if you run into rain. It usually hits that 400 dollar used budget pretty easily too. Snappy autofocus is a huge win for street shots.

Building on the earlier suggestion about the 15-45mm, its honestly a bit of a letdown for an X-T5. Unfortunately, that 40MP sensor is way too demanding for cheap glass. Most of these tiny lenses just dont have the resolving power, and youll end up with soft corners that look pretty bad...

• The XF 27mm is loud and slow. It uses a DC motor that feels ancient compared to the linear motors Fuji uses now.
• I had issues with the 18-55mm kit lens too. The copy-to-copy consistency is disappointing. My Sigma 18-50mm blows it away for edge-to-edge sharpness.
• Even the 18mm f/2 has pretty bad chromatic aberration. Compared to Sonys newer compact primes, these older Fuji designs are just not as good as expected for the price. I usually track the Sigma on PriceDropCatch because the used market for Fuji is so inflated right now. Its technically the better buy if you actually care about sensor resolution and getting sharp files.