an Overview
Which lenses would you choose if you really could only have two?
When we talk about Fujifilm lenses, a wide angle should not be missing. Often it can not be angular enough for me. Especially with landscapes. Well, then I should have actually bought the XF 8-16 – that’s right. But the 10-24 is much lighter and cheaper. Yes, one aperture less light – but that is not important to me in the wide-angle range. Especially not because the Fuji’s hardly have any noise anyway. It is important to me that my equipment remains light. And with the price difference, I’d rather buy a plane ticket :)
Most of all, I need this wide-angle lens for Vlogging. Filming yourself is not that easy, because the arm could always be a little longer. With the 10-24 I just don’t always have to stretch so extreme and still get a very reasonable picture. The 10-24 could actually be an “always on” lens for me – if it weren’t for the 23 / 1.4 …
I bought the Fujinon XF16 / 1.4 even before I bought the XF10-24, because that didn’t exist back then. The XF16 is a great lens. Enormously sharp, not too heavy or large and, above all, a real eye-catcher when you buy the rectangular lens hood from Fuji. Using it with the standard tulip-shaped lens hood would be almost a shame.
The big advantages are, of course, the light intensity. Because aperture 1.4 is already a word. That is 3 stops more than the 10-24 has. As I said, that’s actually not so important to me in the wide-angle range. But the second big advantage of this Fujifilm lens is the very short focusing distance. No, it is not a macro lens in the real sense, but it still makes very interesting close-ups. Because typically a macro lens has a much longer focal length.
23mm focal length, which corresponds to a 35mm lens in full format. That is a mega versatile focal length.
It is neither very angular nor particularly “tele”, but it has a really very good aperture that allows you to take pictures in really low light without problems. With your feet a few steps forward or back are enough to find the perfect image section. If I only had one lens, that would be my absolute recommendation. It could even be replaced by the 16mm / F1.4, but on the other hand, the 16er will be too wide angled for many situations.
For all those newcomers goes my clear recommendation: get a 23. Whether 23 / 1.4 or 23/2 is a very difficult question. I should write my own article about that, what do you think?
The XF35 / 1.4 Fuji lens. A classic. Mainly because it was the first lens that Fuji released. At that time I bought it together with the Fuji X-Pro1. So I photographed it intensively for some time. Unfortunately, I now use it less and less. I think that’s because for my type of photography, the 23 is just a lot more suitable for everyday use. I prefer to be 23 or then 56. Rarely in between.
But that’s just because of the focal length and not the lens. Because since the firmware update, it has got a much faster auto focus. Yes, the current F2 lenses are even faster, but I don’t think you can complain here. By the way, many photographers don’t want Fujifilm to put this lens on again. Sharpness, bokeh, contrast are the reasons for this. A great lens.
The next lens I want to talk about is of course a longer focal length and in my case it is the 56 / F1.2. Again, a very bright lens. Great for portraits. Also good for landscapes or for anything a little further away. Simply a light telephoto. I don’t mind if 56mm is the longest focal length for me. It’s okay. I wouldn’t zoom in either way and these two lenses actually give me everything I need. I don’t want to spend as much time changing lenses, so I like to limit myself if possible. I also like to wear two camera housings so that I don’t have to change lenses all day. Then I can concentrate on what happens.
More Fujifilm lenses will definitely find their way into my photo bag. But I mainly use the 23 and the XF10-24mm. But also, for example, at the last wedding that I photographed. I had all my lenses with me and found at the end of the day that I hadn’t changed my lenses all day. So I photographed everything with the 23 and the 56 and I lacked nothing. It is also very liberating and believe it or not, it takes creativity. Of course, it depends a lot on how you personally take pictures. Maybe your favorite lens or the only lens you need is the 18-55, which is also a really nice lens. Or maybe the 18-135mm.
I hope these thoughts helped you a bit in deciding which lenses to buy.
