Pre-order
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Kevin Mullins spent one day with the XF 23mm. He finds that “this is a FANTASTIC lens […] The lowlight performance of this lens is smashing. Absolutely smashing. The bokeh, especially in low light is just beautiful and the feel of the lens is great.” Read more and see the samples here at kevinmullinsphotography.
Another question: is it sharp wide open? David Hobby says here at google+: “Oh yes, yes is it is. Screamingly tack sharp.”
34 Responses
Well , glad to hear that for a 900€ lens !
kevinmullinsphotography web site is having problems. 15 minutes of fame of Internet can crush your average web provider server 🙂
even more with so many images to load
indeed
And he does use the X-M1 as a second X-camera body. It may not have EVF, it may not have the same controls but it does have the same X-Trans sensor and quality. It’s a cheaper, lighter and more compact way of having a X-camera, it just shows how X-series purists keep missing the point.
Sure, it’s cheap because they changed the main dial’s function. Who’s missing the point. Far as i know, nobody said that makes it useless.
As far as I know I didn’t write anything about anybody saying that the dial makes the X-M1 useless. So, Mr. Defensive-X-Series-Purist, calm yourself down.
I do have an “old” X100. It has it’s faults, but I achieve very good results with it. I wonder how much better is X-Trans + XF 23mm combo.
Well, it should be very similar to the X100s but with 1-stop of advantage and it may even be a little better optically.
Yep, X100s has X-Trans, but X100 is Bayer Sensor. Mi thoughts are directed towards X100 IQ against X-Trans + XF23mm
For me, I’ve preordered the XF 23 for the extra stop of speed, which I intend on putting to good use, rather than the sensor differences between my X100 and X-Pro1—both print well for 17×22″prints, which is as large as I ever go, and both are way more than you need for web posting. The bigger X100 or X100s advantage as I see it is in the near silent shutter, which certainly is a large advantage is some situations.
Along the same lines, I wonder how it will compare with the X100s, which I still am waiting for ;P. maybe I should cancel that and preorder this instead…
Also, any new info on an X30?
Seems the new 23/1.4 takes much better close-ups/macro with a wide aperture than the x100, but other than that, it’s “just” the extra stop of light, the MF feature, and slightly different bokeh. The X100 is still awesome, and flat as a pancake that prevents an ugly bulge under your coat for example. Plus it is an awful amount cheaper, especially if you’d want a Hybrid VF either way. 🙂
Over at Foto Koch I noticed some new E1 combos listed (but not yet in stock), with a 18mm or 35mm lens. Saving is 250 €. Looks like same for XPro1.
So expect a promotion to be announced any day I guess.
XPro1 + 35mm selling for 1399. IIRC I paid 2400 for my combo … thanks Fuji, for the memories … and for not offering discounts to existing customers who supported you in the beginning.
Only a bit cheesed off 😉
next time wait one or two years and buy a camera.
But I would have missed out on so much! Those special moments that were rendered as a blur, the endless searching for focus, the bizarre minimum shutter speed selections, the constant firmware updates. I could not imagine such a poor experience, its a very special thing and like good wine must be experienced to be fully appreciated – which comes at a cost.
Thankfully for me, its only a hobby 😉 And with a good Lens … its magic!
I will take your advice, there are a few neat cameras on the market … I will wait.
^_^ yeah and the nex ff coming is smashing more and more ^_^
Lens looks like a good performer, only thing ive noticed is a bit of bokeh fringing around some highlights (green outlines) but its far from bad and not a show stopper, for me its a non issue as I predominately shoot b&w anyway. Cheers jon
Hi Tim
I really appreciate the updates. They make good things better. It is one of the reasons I will not buy a Sony Nex. They seem not to care about customers who already bought a sony product.
What I feel scary about Fuji is their pricing policy. A 35 mm perspective I find really boring. Nothing special.
1.4 asaperture sounds good but it is just one stop from 2.8. And in the age of high iso ratings I do not think it really matters.
But if a fuji lens becomes as expensive as a Zeiss lens I doubt they have the same quality.
Sony will offer a Dslr look a like with awfull display and awfull Evf for just 400 Usd. But it has APSC 20 meg sensor and is able to carry the Zeiss lenses. Might be it is more attractive.
f/2.8 is two stops away from f/1.4, not one i.e. f/2.8, f/2, f/1.4.
How come? Fuji has excellent quality and in some occasions it simply beats Zeiss. The E-mount Zeiss are made by Sony with Zeiss standards, I doubt Fuji’s japanese lenses are different. The 24mm Zeiss for E-mount is not able to keep up with Fuji, tests show that even being a Zeiss, it’s not that great, which makes me question if anyone will ever be able to make a very high-quality optics for the E-ount.
wrong reply button
Well actually it’s 2 stops, but who’s counting eh? And what is the next cheapest 35mm equiv f1.4 pro quality lens?
Apologies for being pedantic, but f1.4 is two stops faster than f2.8. And while excellent high ISO performance does negate the advantage in that in terms of higher shutter speeds to stop motion or prevent camera shake, there’s a very large difference in depth of field between 1.4 and 2.8.
Pre-ordered.
As some have pointed out, compared to the cost of the Nikon or Canon varieties, this looks to be fair pricing. For $850, you have the image and build quality of a 1500$ 35/1.4 Canon or Nikon in a package closer to the size of a $330 Nikon 35/2. The only drawbacks I see are that the Fuji can only pull off a shortness of depth of field of a full frame 35/2, and it’s not weather sealed like the Canon or Nikon 1.4 lenses. Sounds like a sensible compromise given it’s features among the competitors.
For me, it’s a fine compromise – the unwieldy size of the Canon/Nikon 35mm 1.4s are not worth the benefits of an extra stop of depth of field, which is a compromise that Fuji most certainly banked on when committing to APS-C.
FF nex 🙂 a ff 35 mm even 2.8 will have better dof than a apsc 23 1.4
Is there not a NEX forum somewhere? Trust me I have a Nikon D800E FF along with my Fuji X Pro. If I wanted a NEX I would buy one. What a loser.
I can’t wait to get this lens. Looks like a great one.
Wrong , an APS-C 23mm f1.4 is a FF equivalent of a 35mm F2 in term of focal lenght and dof . But you still have 2 stops more light on the F1.4 versus the f2.
No, it wouldn’t.
Sounds great terens… You should buy the mythical FF nex and talk about how you spent $3000 for a camera and how you get 0.3% more bokeh!… Meanwhile we will be out taking photos!… Have a great weekend!
ff 35mm f/2.8 has the same dof as 23mm f/2 aps-c. f/1.4 is one stop faster.
Vesrus the f2.8
As good as this lens can be, the price is a bit tough to shallow. I may have to wait until one of those body/lens combo discount comes around. I can’t even speculate how pricey that 56mm f1.2 will be…
Okay – Let’s everybody take a long, deep breath.
1. The 23mm may very well be a wonderful lens, equivalent maybe to classics such as the Leica 35mm Summilux or the Zeiss 38mm Biogon, or even a modern classic like the Nikon 35mm 1.8 G. I expect it will be and I’ve put my money down and ordered one.
2. So far as I know, no one on this thread has actually obtained one and shot with it.
3. The photographers that were invited to Japan for the announcement and loaned or given a lens were presented with SELECTED lenses.
There’s always sample variations among a production run and any smart optical manufacturer (and Fuji is very smart) will pull 50 or 100 lenses off the production run, test them, and give the initial group of reviewers the pick of the crop. They’d be crazy not to do that.
4. So, while it’s great to hear from David Hobby and Kevin Mullins, each of whom I respect very much, their results not necessarily determinative.
5. What will be determinative will be in late October when the full production run has hit the streets and we all can actually makeup our own minds.