XF 56mm f/1.2 ($999): USA AmazonUS / BHphoto / Adorama – EUROPE: wexUK / PCHstore / DigitalRev
X100S black ($1299): USA AmazonUS / BHphoto / Adorama – EUROPE: wexUK / PCHstore /
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FR-reader Giuliano sent me the following links:
– additional XF56mm sample shots at laroquephoto here.
– there are some unboxing images from the Fujinon 56mm at michaelrcruz here.
Also, Rico started a sample set on Flickr here. He is updating the set continously, so be sure to check it out often. FR-reader David saw Rico’s shots and said that they “really show off bokeh capabilities of the new lens“.
62 Responses
Beautiful bokeh!
Yep, I guess it could be worse.
Your comment seems to be damning it with faint praise. Do you like the 56mm?
Yep, might be the best X-Mount lens so far.
Hi Rico,
Can I ask you for a favor ? I had a question on the hood that comes with this 56mm lens. Can you confirm if it can be used on the 23mm f/1.4 since both of them have a 62mm filter and I believe both are Bayonet mount hoods ? Will there be vignetting when this hood is used on the 23mm ?
Many thanks.
Nope, that doesn’t work.
Bokehlicious!
OK, thanks for the clarification.
OK, thanks for the clarification, Rico.
bokeh is really nice. and those are much sharper than the official fuji stuff. looks alrighty 🙂
I agreed. Still, these are preproduction copies so it could be that Rico got the best copy of all. We have to wait … but I am confident that Fuji has no issue nailing the sharpness.
Agree, the fuji sites sample images are not super sharp. Not that it really matters, in print the images will look great, but zoomed in 100% it’s so-so.
Nothing zoomed in 100% looks great and it’s irrelevant anyway.
Great shots that highlights the bokeh feature, Rico. Thank you!!! It’s definitely sharp at f/1.2 but I still don’t like its bokeh: busy, contrasty and distracted. I guess my expectation for it is too high by comparing to the best of the best Canon FF 85mm f/1.2 lens. It should be more like Canon 85mm f/1.8.
indeed, same here
The Canon 85 f1.2 is 2x more expensive (I know it covers a bigger sensor but it does’t produces 2x quality compared to the Fuji). It also has weather sealing but the build quality and materials of the Canon L prime lenses is on a lower level than the Fuji prime lenses.
Is Fuji 56mm 3x sharper than Canon 85mm f/1.8? it’s not Apple-to-apple comparison. Pricing wise, Fuji did a great job to keep the lens at affordable.
The build quality of the Canon 1.8 is cheap and it appeared in 1992. The Fuji is a 1.2 so it’s a more extreme design than a 1.8. Yes, the 3x price for a 2014 Fuji 1.2 with great metal build compared to a 1992 1,8 cheapo lens from Canon is a competitive one.
The fuji is also about 10x sharper wide open. IMO it is even sharper than the Canon 85mm 1.2 wide open.
I agree that the bokeh does looks bit busy.And looking at the full body picture the Subject doesn’t seem to pop as much as i thought it would be, like they do in FF 85mm F1.8. This might have to do with actual background but not sure.Bit disappointed. But nonetheless good set of pictures.Keep them Coming 🙂
i dont find it busy or distracting. it indeed looks much like the 85 1.8…which in terms of DOF it just is. if you want the full banane, fullframe is still there for a reason 🙂
Well the table is turning and it is difficult for some to accept the fact that Fuji can make outstanding lens at a fraction of the size, weight and cost of CanNikon. The bokeh is damn pleasant; the sharpness is plenty with distortion and aberrations kept at the very minimum optically possible…..Ever since Fuji launched X-Series I see more and more of these negative and unrealistic views that nothing is good enough unless its CanNikon.
Canikon has 2 great advantages: good marketing/pr and a lot of years of DSLRs compared to the mirrorless systems. This means great experience and a lot of time for refinement/improving.
In 5 to 10 years 90% of the market (including high end cameras) will be mirrorless. It’s the next logical step if camera producers really want to innovate.
oh my these are beatiful!
Now give us a 85mm 1.2 😀
A 90 1.4 or even 1.8 would be more useful considering the aps-c sensor.
And a 70 f2.4 macro. Real 1:1 macro not like the 60 1:2 macro!
I agree, but would rather the macro lens be 100mm. I was hoping they would have a 1:1 macro lens on the lens road map, so I could replace my Canon EF100mm f/2.8L IS.
The classic 35mm equiv regarding macro 1:1 lenses are: 60mm, 100/105mm, 180mm and 200mm so considering the crop factor of the APS-C (1.5x) the Fuji equiv would be: 40mm, 67/70mm, 120mm and 133mm. Fuji has the 60mm 1:2 macro but not being a 1:1 the best thing is to be replaced with a 70mm 1:1 and adding a 120 mm 1:1 for shooting subjects that are not appropriate for close shootings.
“Bahkgrund, you are boh-keyn-ay-ted.”
(spoke in Austrian accent)
I guess you mean australian accent… 😉
I do like that lens, it’s on the lens wish list for my X-E2. 😀
What a poor bokeh for such lens( Cheap “cine” look.
I think the look of the bokeh is indeed really nice. Yeah it has some outlining effect but I find it quite pleasing. Looks a bit classic to me (compare LaRoque’s black and white shots for example).
Look at Rico’s photo with Fuji stand DSCF1086. Wtf?
Well I guess you mean the upper left corner. Looks terrible! But! (and thats a huge but!) It looks like it was shot through glass which reflects and deflects all sorts of light in all 4 dimensions. I don’t know but I certainly believe that this causes this weird kind of background blur.
Shot through a window.
You can actually see the glass texture there.
Its the same as any other Fuji lens, generally OK but a bit of glare at times detracts from the subject. Is it good for the price? No idea … I get smoother results from a 90mm f2.8 Leica lens, cost a little bit less too.
But then I like smooth …
Fuji does nothing right for you Tim…so why do you hang out here?
I’d like to see full res pic to judge this lens….
….fujifilm.com
Which seem a bit soft sometimes. I don’t know why but the seem less sharp than for example DSCF1275 from Rico’s Flickr where you can see some single Hair floating around her head. Even if it is resized to just half the original size this is really impressive sharpness at F1.2.
…half size photo to judge sharpness….???…not for me, need to see full res pics and Fuji pics are orribile soft lens or too much nr applied…..
ok byeeee
Indeed it’s much sharper than that. Seems to be the photographer, the ones from the Belgian photographer all look a little shaken and overexposed to me. Bad choice for samples. At least this way people can only be pleasantly surprised with the true performance in the end. 😉 Like throwing it out a €1800 body only price rumor for the X-T1, and then make the real price (€1300?) seem like a bargain. 😉
It will cost less than 1300 EUR.
I’ve shared a rumor with the price of 1,200 EURO… or 1,199 🙂
(which it is ;))
Of course it would be €1299. 😉
A little soft at f/1.2. But I’d only ever use f/1.2 for full body shots outdoors to get background separation. At f/1.8 the lens is sharper and would offer plenty of bokeh for a headshot.
I LOVE how LaRoQue post-processed the photos in the link provided (laroquephoto.com). Both the black and white and color photos are nicely done. Anyone have any idea on the technique that was used, or can offer any presets for Lightroom that would replicate a similar effect? I also left a comment on their blog for some feedback.
Hey Patrick, If you had to predict a price range on the 16-55 2.8, what would it be?
Well if you get the 18-55 separately it’s €599, the 18-135 would be €799 (according to X-T1 kit price), then the 16-55/2.8 would probably be €999 i guess (and probably weather-sealed as well).
It looks really good, my sigma 85/1.4 looks better IMHO.
Still looking forward to seeing the 2.8 zooms and the AF of the new cam. Not quite ready to dump the DSLR yet.
the reason why many people are not liking the bokeh and look is because this is a 56mm lens. and we all know that a 56mm lens made to have the same FOV on crop behaves differently from a true 85mm lens on a 35mm body. this is just an “equivalent alternative” to it and not something similar that is why you will not get the compression and bokeh of a TRUE 85mm lens shot with a 35mm body.
http://i0.kym-cdn.com/photos/images/original/000/131/351/eb6.jpg
Very nice link. 😉
Or maybe just another incarnation of the very hard to kill rumor that compression is directly related to the focal length length, independent of the sensor size. I hate it when false knowledge like this spreads but I am slowly getting tired to repeat myself. Maybe somebody else wants to jump in this time? 😉
For some, sensor size (especially “full-frame”) is religion. You can’t counter such beliefs with facts, common sense, science or laws of nature. To the contrary, doing so only infuriates the true believers.
is it soft at 1.2? do i need to use from 1.8 or above?
very good lens..but..mmmh ..I still prefer 85 1.8 canon (very cheap 1/3 price and equal size)
Hi, I am currently raising funds to buy a 40d with a canon 100mm f2. I can get this for £400. I really enjoy using the xpro, however the lack of longer focal length primes is disappointing. I have the 60mm and love this lens, as I dont require a 1.2 aperture the 56mm is irrelevant to my needs. I believe that the only way forward for me is to have a 2 camera system. If fuji ever release a 135mm equiv or thereabouts it will undoubtedly be significantly more expensive than the canon varients. Cheers jon
The Canon is a near 24 year old design, mostly plastic and you have to pay extra for the, essential, lens hood so about ⅓ of the price is about right. There is a rumour that Canon are replacing it with a new version this year, going on what the price increases have been like for other updated lenses, wait until then and report back.
Hi, indeed it is a plastic lens which is quite old in the canon line up. I had one and used it for years, selling it when I got the xpro has been my biggest single photo gear regret. I found the lens to be sharp and produced beautiful bokeh, it is a gem of a lens and the plastic construction hides what is in essence an l series image quality. The new one will no doubt be interesting, it could possibly be also twice the price, for me at the minute its about cost effectiveness, getting the right gear for a good price, if this means going with canon gear again I’ll just have to do it. The current slew of lenses like the 14mm, 23mm and 56mm are fantastic lenses, however they are very much out of my price range, the 18, 35 and 60 were priced right for me, especially as I got the free lens deal from fuji. Cheers jon
Without doubts, this is perhaps world-best 85mm equivalent lens!!!! Superb !!!