Nosegunner

Ha! Great post Marc G...plenty of 'oomph' for a change and a good polemic yourself. Now despite listing 3 sites that weren't effusive about the 23 I have several times conceded the IQ is better than I had interpreted from reading websites so you can back off on that point. However I stand by the point that it could be smaller and lighter. Clearly I'm on a quest to get Fuji to produce an outstanding little 23mmF2 that I think will fill a gap for me that currently frustrates. I'm 100% sure I wouldn't be the only one to buy it! As for polemic posts, I've actually been very complimentary about the Fuji system. But I'll certainly go fishing for strong opinions again...why? Because I think it's important we're honest (brutally so if reqd) with regards to the products from a company that has reinvigorated so many back into photography. Now I want to see Fuji completely clean up here with the mirrorless market because I love their ethos. Fuji are well known for reading all these forums to gauge for new products and improvements. If everyone just contributed bland posts then that's useless to them. They want us to be critical and honest. If there are products that aren't up to speed,..say it. If there's a gap in the range,..say it! If you think everything in the range is perfect and there are no gaps then Fuji might as well pack up and go home as they've already succeeded. But I don't believe that's true. Now seeing that you've come from being a Leica user to a fully anointed 'Knight of the Fuji realm'...I am interested to know (seeing that you don't agree with me on the 23F2) what products you think are below standard, products you think should be improved, hardware gaps in their range...etc. Now someone's off the fence I'm genuinely interested in what you think is rubbish and what should be improved. Be brutally honest if you can

- johant back to English school for you!...at what point did I criticise the 18mm focal length?! .. I criticised the quality of the XF18..which is pants. - frod I took your points and will try the 23 1.4, but it is still bigger than it needs to be. Seeing as they've just added another 35mm at F2 that is nice and small/light, is it too much to ask for a 23 F2 as well? Seems there are others that want it too.. I dare one of you...anyone...to say anything critical of any product in the Fuji line-up. Go on. Nope? It's a 'Fuji can do no wrong' love-in here..... Come on, someone say something critical about a product and help improve the line-up so no-one need ever speak of Leica and Sony ever again....

p.p.s. Thank God I'm not alone!!.... Just read the 'What lenses should Fuji release next?' thread on this site and there's at least 5 others wanting a 23mmF2 'Summicron' sized effort to bolt on (stop suggesting the X100 people.!). Come on Fuji,...after all you've just done it for the 35mm...

Christ.... head above the parapet and it's been raining bullets so I'm ducking back down! In the meantime I'll get a 23mm F1.4 and wait it out until Fuji/Leica/Zeiss come up with a nice little 35 equiv AF beauty that'll truly be the one-lens-travel-the-world-stick-it-in-a-big-pocket solution bolted to what is a fantastic camera (ok I've got large pockets..). p.s. can you all at least agree that Fuji should throw the 18mm into the toilet if nothing else..?!...

Steady on,...not vilifying at all. Saying the 23mm is 'good but not amazing' is not vilifying in any way. Commenting that the 23mm doesn't seem to have the quote.."incredible" and "amazing" reviews of the other XF primes (awards etc..) just highlights a gap in the range for me. Seems like it's only me though. Love the Fuji ethos, handling, sensor and IQ on the lenses I have, but want to invest in an incredible 35mm equiv prime to leave on it 85% of the time. Was a little frustrated to see Fuji bring out the new 35mm F2 and not a similar 23mm F2 (no one is saying that was a needless release..). Sony is tempting for IQ and Zeiss lenses (either RX1Rii or A7R) but handling and functionality nowhere near the enjoyment of Fuji. Leica just ridiculous for price - the Q would've been nice if not for the 28mm lens vs a 35mm. I'll retreat back into my hole and live with my own frustrations from now on, safe in the knowledge everyone else thinks the Fuji range is perfect... I am interested to hear of any other new hardware people think Fuji should be producing if not the lens solution I've suggested...

Maybe mis-informed rather than ill-informed perhaps. Clearly my quest to get Fuji to produce a lighter weight (and possibly slightly improved IQ) prime at 23mm (35mm equivalent) is one that I'm alone on. I'll concede to the users here that the current 23mm is of higher IQ than I've read on internet review sites, [ frod - the first link you put on your reply only gives it 3.5-4 stars for optical quality..! The ones I listed say it's also good but none say it's amazing ] Size and weight certainly should be an issue to all. Simply hold the 23mmF1.4 next to the X100 lens and even if some of it is in the body, the F-stop and metal barrelling should not account for the gross difference in size and weight, it's ridiculous and nobody should be getting defensive on Fuji's account. My point was that there is a gap at the the 23mm (35equivalent) prime for Fuji to introduce another/new option - maybe a small 23mm F2 or F1.8 (akin to some other manufacturers who've created outstanding examples). Don't tell me I'd be the only one to buy and appreciate something like that? After all the current lens is still the only prime option at this focal length - if you had an X-T10 it would feel ridiculously unbalanced, just to shoot at 35mm equivalent focal length! Look at Fuji's own site and see all the 5 star awards for all the primes except the ones I've mentioned. If I've read around the internet that the 23mm1.4 is 'good but not amazing', what other info am I to go on? I want portability and balance but I don't want to shoot at 40mm (the 27mm lens) either. To be able to invest in a very high quality portable lens to leave on the camera 85% of the time is not too much to ask from the Fuji system, (the other 15% for switching lenses to more particular tasks). I really didn't want a DSLR. Is everyone completely content with everything Fuji has in its line-up? Is there any hardware any of you want to see in the Fuji range? Is it not worth discussing hardware options we'd all prefer to see alongside the much-appreciated firmware updates?...

Fair point, I'll try and lay my hands on one to try it out. No doubt I'll like the IQ but my point about its bulk still remains,...it weighs 301g whilst the 35mm weighs just 187g,.. and the latest 35mmF2WR just released is just 177g! I think Fuji are more than capable of making it a little smaller and lighter without losing quality, even at F1.4. Actually stuff that, just make an F1.8 at half the size/wight and I'm sold for life!..

- Sluw I don't have much beef with the 27mm other than its only 'pretty good' rather than exceptional - I don't think it's up to the standard of other lenses in the XF range - Phoblographer, ePHOTOzine and PhotographyBlog aren't exactly blowing smoke up it's proverbial.! The 23mm seems to be good quality but why on earth is it so cumbersome? And the 18mm is just a long way off the quality of the XF range and needs to be dropped or replaced. Fuji has created an outstanding system underpinned by a wonderful ethos. Functionality is great, fantastic sensors and IQ, but the 27,23 and 18mm primes are comprehensively out-performed by other XF lenses and more importantly, by other manufacturers' 35mm (equivalent) lenses. There should be a 23mm (i.e. 35mm equivalent) XF prime than is able to compete with the Zeiss 35mm primes on offer with Sony. It would make the Fuji system unbeatable and do the camera body/sensor justice at this focal length.

umad? - fair point but some will still want a system with interchangeable lenses and others will enjoy the challenge of the fixed prime. Hasn't seem to hurt Sony having both the RX1R and the interchangeable Zeiss for the A7 range. davidmold - thanks for the link - some great shots there albeit not sure what if any post-processing has gone on. Most online reviews say it's reasonable but not exactly mind-blowing (unlike some of the XF range). There are a number of sites which compare the XF23mm 1.4 with the X100's 23mm in a direct shootout, and the results are that they're almost identical, if not the X100 lens fractionally better on occasion. In which case: if they're pretty much identical why is the XF23mm so bulky in comparison?? I would love a lens of the Zeiss quality, size and weight to put on the X-T1 and use that configuration 90% of the time - awesome quality glass with the fantastic Fuji ethos and handling - it just doesn't exist in the lineup yet which frustrates massively. All the XF primes are outstanding except for the 18,23 and 27mm.....I think this is a huge quality gap amongst the Fuji primes that needs addressing - the 14,16 and 35,56mm are so good, why the mediocrity inbetween?!

Having read all the independent reviews, I've steered away from the 27mm as I don't see the results being of high enough quality to match the X-T1's performance and those of my other XF lenses (14mm & 35mm). I'm struggling to get a small, portable and fast lens at the 35mm equivalent focal length that's up to the same standard as some of the other lenses in the XF range. I think Fuji need to plug this gap quickly in their range of primes - the current 23mm lens is bulky and slow with only very average performance. I too wanted some portability with quality at least as good as the lens found on the X100T..

I have the 14mm and although it's excellent I wish I'd gone for the 16mm. The 14mm is just that action too wide and creates ever-so-slightly too much distortion at the edges if you're using it for anything other that landscapes. However the quality of image is outstanding.

Hi everyone, am a newb to this site but need to air my frustrations.... I used to have an X100 which I loved and have now moved to the excellent X-T1,..however I'm really struggling with what I think is a huge gaping hole in the XF lens range for quality vs focal length. I really wanted a 35mm (equivalent) lens that would at least match that of the X100's for quality and portability. The current 23mm is cumbersome and slow in comparison,..and only pretty average results (not nearly as good as other XF lenses). The 27mm Pancake (albeit a great size) is just plain poor and nowhere near the excellent quality of the rest of the XF range (I don't think it's good enough to be in the range). Please tell me somebody else is finding the same issues and that Fuji will rectify it (..can't see anything on the lens roadmap!). I look at the Zeiss 35mm sitting on the RX1R and the A7 range and I'm pretty jealous..!!! What's the solution to get a high quality 35mm equivalent AF lens on my X-T1?..