Fujinon XF 23mm
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1) “The balance, the size, the weight, the focusing, the build… Everything about this lens feels exactly right to me. Soul mates, baby. […] how does this 35mm compare to the X100s 35mm? Is this worth purchasing if you already own that camera? Is this worth switching to? Truth is there are and always will be compromises to be made. On the one hand you gain on speed (f1.4 vs f2) and you also gain on sharpness: the 23mm is seriously sharp wide open while the X100s is always a tad softer at f2 (although like everything else, this can be used as an advantage) BUT… You lose what the X100s is all about: size, stealth, total silence, sync speed. […] Unless I’m crazy, I think you’ll immediately understand what I mean. There’s something about this combo that quite simply gels. As I said in the first paragraph: damn. Another winner.” Read more about the Fujinon XF 23mm f/1.4 at laroquephoto here.
2) Riley Joseph shared via FR-twitter his review of the XF 23mm. Read it here: “The quality of Fuji optics are amazing. Especially for the price. Sometimes when I zoom in Lightroom to check focus it is unreal the detail the lens captures even wide open. That is the one big difference with the lens compared to the 23mm on the X100(s).. that it is sharper wide open.”
49 Responses
XE2 + 23mm kit?
The Fuji marketing machine is relentless..
Of people actually going out and shoot ? Oh the horror !
No the constant *gushing* of the latest lens or body being super duper blah blah, I’ll believe it when I see real user feedbacks from people who have paid for the lens or body from their own hard-earned money.
Curious why you would be skeptical here. The sample images that are already out there from a variety of photographers show this lens to be simply stunning. The other Fuji lenses (aside from the 18mm, which is only ‘very good’) are also simply stunning. Fuji’s been making professional quality lenses for many, many, many years (They make a lot of the lenses for Hasselblad cameras). They’re a top quality optical company and it definitely shows on the X-Series. You give up a little in size compared to something like m4/3, but the optics are truly excellent. I’m a former Canon full frame shooter who has owned many top flight L lenses (17-40, 35/1.4, 50/1.2, 85/1.2, 135/2, 200/2.8, 70-200/4L IS, 70-200/2.8L IS II)….the Fuji lenses are in the same league for sure.
The 18mm is bit of a dog IMO. And when that was released everything was glazed with marketing gloss. But thankfully I waited till all the user reviews were on, but I could tell from seeing the first several series of images it was not a great performer. Too much distortion for a wide.
The 35/1.4 on the hand is stellar. And I have the 14mm on order as from all reports and the majority of images, its a stunning UW.
I’m not saying Fuji is not capable of producing stand out glass, just have to be careful which ones to pick from amongst all the marketing hype and tripe.
I have a couple of canon L lenses, and I would say the most of the XF lenses are better. I have some Leica M lenses and IMO some of the XF lenses are 90%+ up there for a fraction of the red dot cost.
I can appreciate your skepticism since we are identified as “Official Fujifilm X-Photographers” and they promote our work on their global website. But I can tell you that I have never received a free lens or camera body or anything in exchange for me writing a good review for their products.
I have bought and paid for all of my Fuji gear with my own hard-earned money and I have preordered the 23mm lens using my very own credit card like anyone who is excited for this lens.
Fuji has told us that all they want from us is honesty because that is what will make them continue to create products that photographers want.
The big advantage for being a X-Photographer is being able to try items, like the XF 23mm, early. In return they get my opinion on the products. I am not required to write blog posts but I enjoy doing it because I am one of those guys that reads everything I can when some gear is announced that I am interested in. So I want to try and add some signal to the mix.
I’m totally fine if someone disagrees with my opinion or thinks my photos are crap. That is normal when someone puts their work out there for consumption and I can deal with it. But I have to say something to quell misguided comments on being a marketing shill for Fuji.
Cheers! Riley
Read my post above under Jordan S’ post
Fuji has been producing very high-quality lenses. So, I don’t know what you’re talking a out.
Read my post above under Jordan S’ post
” It’s a digital camera that flaunts its digital nature at every turn and takes all the immediacy, stealth, thoughtfullness and pleasure out of the equation. It completely disconnects you from the scene. I know I’m being harsh but there’s a reason I’m so enthusiastic about the X series; this ain’t it.” Patrick La Roque about the X-M1.
I believe he honestly says what he really thinks and doesn’t care about Fuji’s marketing. (btw, check out my “Fuji lost its soul article here)
My local dealer just informed me that – according to Fuji Germany – the lens is delayed until the end of November 🙁
Then where are these bloggers getting their lens from?
Think about pre-production lenses… Every “blogger” writes about “…being able to use it for one week”…
Ahh, the normal marketing effort then. So, I need that well worn grain of salt 😉
Damn! My dealer also changed expected delivery date. My last hope is this only affects lenses ordered now, while early preorders will still be delivered in October. :-\
Still no review from Zack Arias.
Wondering if he got the X-E2 pre-production model to review.
I’ve looked up everywhere for a picture of the viewfinder of the XP1 with the XF23 mounted. Has anything? I’m curious to know what it’ll look like in the OVF. Thanks in advance.
Sorry, (Has anyone seen anything?)*
Hey.. I have received a few requests for this so I have updated my review with a photo. Use the link above.
Cheers,
{RJ}
tnx a lot, Riley.
wow, the framelines with the wideangle magnification are not that great for composition. I wonder if turning manually the 0.6 magnification wouldn’t give a better result.
Actually when your eye is up to it there is a lot less dead space around the frame lines. I think sticking another camera into the viewfinder exaggerated its appearance.
What’s going on with that box at the lower left of the frameline? I turn most of the displays off in the OVF and have honestly never seen it.
It is the histogram. It is pretty much empty because the lens cap was on when I took this photo.
I wish Fuji will market two different versions of the X-E2, one with X-Trans and one with Bayer.
They could charge twice as much for the X-E2 X-Trans, and name it X-E2 4sukrs.
If you don’t like X-Series cameras, why come here.
Or they could put a red dot on it 🙂
The primes they are releasing seem to be going up in price each release.
I better start saving for the 56 f1.2 🙂
10-24 will be less than the 23/1.4 😛
Can’t wait to use this on an XE2 (X-Trans of course).
Yes the Fuji Marketing team is horrible!
What you REALLY need is an expensive Sony Full Frame camera, with plastic body lenses, and no firmware updates.
+1
This site is slowly slipping away from being “Fuji Rumors” to “Fuji Winers”!
It is amazing how many people show up on this site who just complain about Fuji.
And, some people are so disrespectful. Riley goes out of his way to review the lens, and some question his credibility. Just shut up and be thankful that someone is putting an effort in to provide a review for new products.
Thanks, Riley! I am sure most appreciate it…
And, for those that don’t like the X-Trans sensor, buy something else and stop complaining. Nobody is forcing you to buy any camera ~ buy what you like and enjoy it. While it may not be the best sensor out, it is pretty damn good. Perhaps a bayer sensor without an AA filter would be better in some ways, but who knows. I am personally waiting for the organic sensor, which I am hoping will be a success, as Fuji designs very nice cameras and lenses, despite some of the weaknesses.
Thanks DTB. I definitely appreciate FR promoting my blog on here and I appreciate all the people who read it.
And I think most do appreciate it. A huge amount of people read my review today and I only had a bit of hate mail.. haha.
Riley,
I too appreciate your great job.
I read the posts, I hope you’re joking about the hate mails,
some people here might take it too literally.
Anyway, raising questions about what’s real and what is marketing is legit and it helps all of us, spot fakes from time to time.
Other responses convinces us about stuff that is real, and there is not much stuff that is real these days…
I’m convinced that you are the real deal and so are many others which deserve standing ovations for their efforts.
Thanks for the review on this lens, and thank you Fuji for listening to your customers.
Please, disregard the “trolls”. I wish we at least had decent trolls, but no, we get crummy ones (annoying nonetheless).
Riley, I am with DTB. Thank you for all the time and hard work you put into your review. Too many people get caught up in comparing specs, sensors sizes etc, etc and forget what photography is about. I look forward to using the 23mm in the near future.
Riley…thanks for your efforts, many of us appreciate it. ECH…you’re right of course. Too many Sony fanboys/trolls here but we’re just gonna have to separate the wheat from the chaff. They pretty much know more than the pros and even Fuji themselves. They dont like the X trans sensor, they dont like the lenses ( hey sell the 35 for 3 cents, man haha) yet they still show up on a FUJI forum. The price of freedom i guess. The wider you open the window the more muck flies in. Just dont ask what cameras they use or expect to see their pics. And ALL camera makers hype their products ok? Just listen to guys like Zack, Riley, Laroque, Damien Lovegrove, Kevin Mullins, the Kage Collective etc. Then you will get signal, not noise 😉
Best thing to do about trolls is completely ignore them. If you try to argue with them you give them exactly what they want and it will get worse. They are unhappy for whatever reason and need an outlet. Let them shout and maybe delete entries when they get offensive. But don’t show any reaction whatsoever. That takes away all the fun and satisfaction they can get.
+1, Completely agree.
+1 agreed
I pre-order by 24 1.4 copy
I sold x100s.
Dirk…I guess the things that bug me most is that 1: they’re just gear junkies 2: they’re in the wrong forum ( e.g. I don’t particularly care for the Nex series but i don’t go on Sony forums ) 3: If they don’t like, say, the X trans sensor, then don’t buy it, idiot. 4: All camera manufacturers hype their products. Duh. All manufacturers of anything hype their products . Why would just Fuji bother you? Especially after they’ve demonstrated their willingness to listen to their CLIENTS, not anonymous forum fools. And 5: If you’re not listening to the opinions of respected pros exactly WHO do you listen to? Other forum trolls with axes to grind? Good luck with that. And I’d hate to see the pros disappear from forums and discussions due to these bozos. It’s happened before…British wildlife pro Andy Rouse copped such a roast from enraged Canonites after he switched to Nikon ( yep, “marketing hype” they called it) that he quit online interaction altogether. But, Dirk…I have to admit that at the end of the day you’re totally correct. Thanks for the advice! 😉
Hi Mark and Dirik,
Why all these swearwords? Why such a violent response? (yes, calling to boycott someone is violence)
Being what you call “a troll”, I don’t remember using such a language.
The worse I’ve ever written was to this guy who explained that pdaf and cdaf are not related to a sensor, to this remark I answered him that he understands very little.
I’ve never insulted a person directly and I have great admiration for other people’s work especially for independent people who invest time in benchmarking and sharing the info with us all,
I salute them.
Raising controversial and provocative discussion attracts users to forums and not the other way around, agreed that offensive posts should be monitored and deleted.
Knowing the industry, a company does not put much effort in improving a product according to their loyal fan base, die-hard fans buy the product, ignoring its shortcoming.
I do not know if X-trans is better or worse than Bayer, I’m not a pixel peeper, but the controversy made by some posts regarding it, will keep Fuji up awake at night and will improve the product you get, or at least this is what I believe. A lot of other good points regarding products shortcoming are initially seeded by trolls become a consensus.
I for one enjoy hearing potential bad points in products I intend to buy in ideas that I think that are good, etc’. I helps me double check myself and improve, when I have an idea I go first to the people that will have the worst things to say about it.
I’m sorry if my style and humor has offended you, the 3 cents post and some other posts are not meant to be taken literally.
Please do not take it literally and do not force yourself to be offended by my posts.
I appreciate Fuji, I own a Nikon D5100 I bought after I decided to wait 4.6 years to buy the Fuji X-E3, second hand when prices go down.
I take great pictures with it, I know it because my mom tells me so (don’t take it literally).
This is the first time I read that someone is offended by the things I write.
I will apply self censorship and be more careful with what I write, not to offend anyone,
so people will not drag themselves into violent actions such as boycotts,
for this I ask that you tell other readers (and your children) that talking with people is the way to solve problems not being violent.
So, how does one become an X Photographer? 🙂 I can’t forsake my D3s, but I do carry my X Pro 1 with me almost every day… =D
Andy, you have to forsake your D3s. Sorry but there’s just no other option.
– Kidding of course 😉
What a lovely piece of glass!
I’m happy with my m4/3 gear, and i don’t mind to jump into Fuji, but they really deserves congratulations for their beautiful work!
There was not a single swearword in my posts. Not one. There was no “violence” either, just annoyance. There is a difference and trolling is akin to littering. You’d expect it in a gaming forum perhaps from a sugared up teen but not here I would have thought. I was wrong.