XF 23mm F1.4 Review
/My review of Fuji’s XF 23mm F1.4 has been posted. Just in time for a recent uptick in reader interest in how Fuji’s premium 35mm prime compares to the X100F.
XF 10-24mm F4 OIS vs. Primes Redux
/Almost two years ago, I published my XF 10-24mm F4 OIS vs. Primes article, which compared the zoom to the XF 14mm F2.8, XF 18mm F2, XF 23mm F1.4, and even the Zeiss Touit 12mm F/2.8. It was a beast of an article, and I had pushed my CMS to its breaking point, literally. Making edits to this page was excruciating, and I imagine loading the page took longer than it should as well.
It took much longer than expected, but I have given this page a serious once over, updating copy, redoing comparison images to be more clear, and removing dozens of page elements and re-optimizing images to improve page responsiveness.
In addition, reviewing comparison images from so many lenses at once was a real chore on a 15 inch display. Having this new 5K iMac has made an incredible difference in how quickly I can review comparison images, and export assets for the site.
I hope this edit makes the page more useful. Check out or revisit this monster comparison.
Another Metal Hood
/In addition to the 2x Teleconverter, Fuji also quietly added another metal hood add-on accessory, this time for the XF 23mm f/1.4, the Lens Hood LH-XF23. I don’t know about you, but I’m perpetually in “persuit of premium quality to multiply the pleasure of ownership.”
Truthfully, I do really like the metal hood for the XF 16mm f/1.4 WR. It’s noticeably heavier than the plastic hood that comes with the lens, but significantly more compact when ready for use. A worthwhile trade off in my opinion. The hood that ships with the XF 23mm f/1.4 is also much too large for me to ever want to attach it to my lens.
I think we can expect this trend to continue from now on. It’s shame because these hoods aren’t cheap, but they’re so much nicer.
One Wide Angle Remaining
The XF 14mm f/2.8 comes to mind as being the next lens due for a new metal hood. As I’ve mentioned, the plastic hood for the XF 14mm f/2.8 is a clone of the hood for the XF 18-55mm f/2.8-4, which leads me to believe it hasn’t been terribly well optimized for the former, since it was released after the kit zoom.
XF 90mm f/2 Review by Jonas Rask
/Reviews of the forthcoming XF 90mm f/2 → are few and far between right now. Fuji clearly hasn’t made as many pre-production units of this pro-focused lens as they did the consumer-focused X-T10. Jonas Rask has the best write-up I’ve seen to date.
... and it has a 62mm filter size just like the XF56mm f/1.2 (and the XF23mm f/1.4). By placing the 56mm and 90mm side by side it’s quite apparent that they are the same width, and and what differs is only the length of the lens.
This is a really smart move by Fujifilm. Three extraordinary, fast lenses covering a wide range of focal lengths, one set of filters. If only they were able to keep the XF 16mm f/1.4 at the same filter thread.
Compare it to an equally spec’ed full frame or even APS-C lens, the XF 90mm will still be one of the smaller options to carry around.
Jonas is right, it is one of the smaller options, but as Jonas alluded, it will depend a great deal on how you arrive at 135mm, and which of the other big guys you compare against. Here’s how things stack up against full frame Canon and Nikon lenses.
Fuji 90mm vs. DSLR 135mm, lens only
Canon actually has a really small and lightweight option at this focal length. I can’t speak to its quality, however. When it comes to Nikon, the DC-Nikkor 135mm is conspicuously absent from the US site, but is still available on nikon.ca. At f/2 on full frame, it will deliver a stop’s worth of shallower depth of field, but it will cost you in weight. Those figures do not account for body weight.
Things change when APS-C is included for either Canon or Nikon, depending on how exact we’re being with our focal lengths. 90mm is really closer to a 137mm equivalent, whereas a full frame 85mm will get to pretty close at around 129mm on Nikon’s version of APS-C (1.52x multiplier) and real close with Canon’s (1.6x mulitplier). That means you can get a lens that’s close to 135mm with an f/1.8 lens from either company for less weight than Fuji’s 90mm f/2, but what it doesn’t account for is body weight.
Fuji @ 137mm vs. APS-C DSLR kit
So going mirrorless gets you a reduction in weight, albeit a smaller one.
Finally, in an effort to be a completionist, let’s compare a Fuji X-T1 kit, with the closest we can get from Olympus, the OM-D E-M1 and M.Zuiko 75mm f/1.8 lens.
Fuji @ 137mm vs. Olympus @ 150mm
Sadly there doesn’t seem to be a 135mm equivalent in the M/43 world, Still, if you want the lightest way to 135mm and beyond, Olympus is the way to go, if you ignore the whole f/1.8 on a Micro Four Thirds thing.
I had intended this to be a quick piece pointing you to a great review, so I’ll leave you with a final word from Jonas before you checkout the rest of his review:
OH MY DEAR LORD! THE IMAGE QUALITY OF THIS LENS!
I get the feeling he likes it.
FUJIFILM XT-1, Back to Basics
/An excellent review of the Fuji X-T1 was posted back on April by Kjetil Kvien Madsen.
While the whole review is worth a read, it was the images that go along with this line that really struck me:
Nikon D800 (With 24 f1,4) and Fujifilm XT-1 (With 23 f1,4) There is a huge difference carrying these cameras around. The bulk and weight of the D800 is quite different.
A friendly reminder from Kjetil Kvien Madsen how much smaller our X-T1’s are compared to DSLRs.
The 23mm f/1.4 pictured here is even larger than the 14mm f/2.8, which is closer in focal length to Nikon’s 24mm f/1.4. I had that lens on my D700 and I remember thinking that was a small camera package. It is not. Size and weight soon became a major sticking point for me when it came to photography, and while I can drone on and post weight charts about it, sometimes nothing can tell the story like a photo.
FUJINON XF 10-24mm f/4 vs. Primes
/
After much too long, my comparison of Fuji’s excellent 10-24mm f/4, and the prime lenses its focal range covers is finally online. If you’ve been wondering which way to go, zoom or prime, this should really help you out.
Pitting one lens against many has resulted in one monster of a comparison, but I kept things as clear and concise as possible. I think you could easily bypass the pixel-level scrutiny entirely and still come away with a great understanding of how these lenses perform. For those of you you like poring over the 100% crops, you’ll definitely have your fill. Enjoy.
