Photo: thephoblographer.com [ad_1]
Photo: thephoblographer.comIt is believed that an expensive fast lens is necessarily better than a cheaper and less fast one. Strict rule? Not at all necessary! At least with Fujifilm fixes, everything is much more interesting: we will figure it out together.
How lenses differ
In addition to aperture, “glasses” can be compared in terms of objective image quality (sharpness, presence / absence of aberrations, that is, distortions), and subjective (special nature of the picture, bokeh, etc.). Important criteria are size (especially considering that many use primes as everyday lenses) and protection from adverse weather conditions. The speed and volume of the autofocus also varies greatly among models with the same focal length.
We will talk about 18‑, 23- and 35mm Fujifilm primes, because for each “glass” the company has two versions — f / 1.4 and f / 2.
Fujifilm lenses: 18mm
The 18mm f/2 wide-angle pancake is a great option for travel photographers. Photo: 5050travelog.comFujifilm XF 18mm f/2 R (costs about 45 thousand rubles*) is one of the oldest (out of the first three) lenses of the system. This is a very compact wide-angle “pancake”, which is ideally combined with compact APS‑C cameras from a Japanese company.
But age takes its toll: the lens has a slow autofocus motor (slow autofocus) and it works noisily.
Although there are no complaints about the build quality, the case is not protected from adverse weather.
The best image quality on the Fujifilm XF 18mm f/2 R is obtained by stopping down the aperture.
- Compactness: +++
- Image quality: +
- Autofocus motor: +
- Bad weather protection: no
Super optics is the main feature of this wide-angle fix. Photo: 5050travelog.comFujifilm XF 18mm f/1.4 R LM WR (costs about 80 thousand rubles *), on the contrary, is one of the company’s newest lenses. It has a beautifully weather-sealed, sturdy body, very quiet and fast autofocus, and optically it’s near flawless. Sharpness is excellent wide open, and you don’t even have to stop it to get the best quality.
The Fujifilm XF 18mm f/1.4 is still quite a compact lens: 69 x 76mm, 370 grams.
- Compactness: ++
- Image quality: +++
- Autofocus motor: +++
- Bad weather protection: yes
When it comes to choosing between two 18mm lenses, the more expensive one and the larger one are without a doubt better. On the other hand, the petite pancake design of the old f/2 makes it a very handy option for ultra-compact cameras like the X‑E4 when it’s important to keep the pocket size of your kit. But, if an extra $40,000 and a larger size aren’t a problem, then go for the XF 18mm f/1.4 with its much greater capabilities.
Fujifilm lenses: 23mm
Street photography is the XF 23mm f/2’s native element. Photo: creativityinnovationsuccess.wordpress.comFujifilm has a series of cool compact primes: f/2 maximum aperture, solidly built and weatherproof. Fujifilm XF 23mm f/2 R WR (costs about 32 thousand rubles*) is one of them. These fixes focus very quickly, while the drive works almost silently. The only thing they can be criticized a little for: although they are very good wide open, the lenses achieve the best results if they stop it a little (from about f / 4).
Due to its compactness and nice picture, the XF 23mm f/2 is almost ideal for street photography.
- Compactness: +++
- Image quality: ++
- Autofocus motor: +++
- Bad weather protection: yes
The manual focus switch and depth of field scale are super stylish! Photo: 5050travelog.comThe Fujifilm XF 23mm f/1.4 R (Rs 60k*) is an older lens, but it has some interesting pros. For example, a convenient design for switching to manual focus mode has been added: you need to pull the focus ring towards the front element, this will reveal a hidden depth of field scale. It’s also easy to switch the lens back to autofocus by flipping the ring back.
The quality of the optics is also at a high level: a very “sharp” picture is already at f / 1.4, and at f / 2 it is even better than at 23mm f / 2. On the other hand, this is an old lens — the focus motor is a little slower and much noisier.
The XF 23mm f/1.4 has no weather protection — a bit annoying for a more expensive and larger lens (and it really is much larger and heavier than its “brother”).
- Compactness: +
- Image quality: +++
- Autofocus motor: +
- Bad weather protection: no
Although the Fujifilm XF 23mm f/1.4 R is better in terms of optics and has a very convenient switch to manual focus mode (for video, for example), other things being equal (especially for street and everyday photography), the Fujifilm XF 23mm f/2 R WR will be more the preferred option. It’s dust and water resistant, compact and quiet (if you’re using autofocus for video, that’s a plus too). And in terms of optics, this lens is still quite good — maybe not as good as f / 1.4, but quite up to par for everyday shooting.
Fujifilm lenses: 35mm
The XF 35mm f/2 WR is one of Fujifilm’s best and most versatile lenses, but… Photo: lens-rumors.comEverything that was said about compact WR primes above applies to the Fujifilm XF 35mm f / 2 WR lens (it costs about 32 thousand rubles *). It’s weatherproof, compact, sturdy, has a fast focus motor and nice bokeh.
Optically, the XF 35mm f/2 WR is good even when shooting wide open.
- Compactness: +++
- Image quality: +++
- Autofocus motor: +++
- Bad weather protection: yes
…if you want a more vintage look, the XF 35mm f/1.4 R is for you. Photo credit: fujilove.comLike the 23mm f/1.4, the Fujifilm XF 35mm f/1.4 R (costs about 45,000 rubles*) is an old model compared to many. Therefore, it has a less advanced focus drive: slow and rather noisy. The lens also lacks weather protection, although overall build quality is excellent.
In terms of sharpness, the f/2 version also wins. At wide open, f/1.4 is fine, but not perfect. And even if you cover it up a little, the corners of the objects in the frame will still be a little “soft”.
The XF 35mm f/1.4 R definitely has its own character, with nice bokeh and an interesting picture.
- Compactness: ++
- Image quality: ++(+)
- Autofocus motor: +
- Bad weather protection: no
On paper, the XF 35mm f/2 WR certainly wins: the model has all the modern features. But the bokeh character of the older 35mm f/1.4 looks better, which may be one of the reasons why you want to buy this particular lens. It has the same vintage character of the picture, and in general, despite its advanced age, this “glass” looks quite decent.
What are the best Fujifilm lenses?
A more expensive lens is not necessarily a better one. But even cheaper does not automatically become a better option.
- The XF 18mm f/1.4 R LM WR has a more modern design and really great optical performance — this is the more expensive option (unless you want the flat pancake design of the 18mm f/2, of course).
- The choice among 23mm models is difficult: a faster lens has better optics, but it loses to its younger “brother” in other characteristics.
- Of Fujifilm’s 35mm lenses, you may prefer f/1.4 (because of the interesting nature of the picture), but for most users, the XF 35mm f/2 WR will still be a better fit.
* The price is current at the time of publication of the article
** In preparing the article, materials from the resource dpreview.com were used
[ad_2]