Sold off Canon gear, need to get some Fuji lenses 56mm and 10-24 not sure about.

[Stealthy Ninja]

Wanted to pick up a 16-55, but saw a 10-24 used, locally, so that was my first lens purchase for a newly acquired X-T1. I'm pretty happy with it so far! 

I shoot a lot of street and some landscape. I've had it for less than a week and haven't used it for street yet, but I did shoot some landscapes:

 

 

I also picked up a 18-55 for a steal, but don't have it yet. The 50-140 and 56mm are next on my list. I'd be a happy camper with those.

 

As an aside, I have also tried a Leica Summilux 50mm, Summarits (35/75mm) and they all work pretty well. The 50 Summilux is holding me back from the 56mm purchase as the IQ is very nice, but I'm not convinced I want to manually focus anything on the X-T1...

 

I actually own a Voigtländer 35 1.2 (m-mount) and while I really like the images it produces, I'm using it less and less because of the quality I get from the fuji glass.  So I guess if you got the fuji 56 you might end up selling off your Leica lenses.

 

Your lanscape shots remind me of why I should one day get the 10-24.  In Hong Kong I can mainly stitch to get wide angle shots, because buildings are mainly static and I'm not going for long exposure shots.  However, I hope to move back to Australia this year if possible and I know when I'm back there I'll be taking more landscapes.  UWA landscapes on a tripod often require longer shutter speeds and stitching isn't an option.

 

I'm quite sure I'll be picking up a 10-24 before the end of the year, but I want to keep some money aside for the X-T2 right now.

 

I am considering a 12mm Samyang to use in the meantime though.  They're super cheap here and I do like my 8mm fisheye.

Edited April 5, 2016 by Stealthy Ninja

[gotahave]

I have a ton of canon gear 1Dx, 6D, 70D ad about 15 pieces of good glass 12 of which are L glass.

I now have the Fuji X-T1 and the 10-24, 16,23,35 1.4, 56, 50-140, 18-135, 100-400  and both kit lenses. If I had to pick just a few. 100-400, 10-24, 16, 23, 35 1.4.

I will get the X-T2 though.

[Stealthy Ninja]

Wow gotahave you sure like glass

 

Just wondering what made you leave Canon? For me fuji just hit the right balanced for me and I started to hardly touch my Canon stuff. The switch made sense for me. How about you?

[immo_p]

Sharpness is not the most valuable property of a lens. When it comes to portraits, the whole look is more important. That's where the 56 1.2, the 56 1.2 APD even more so, and the 90, also even more so, shine. I used the 50-140 extensively for a year but I simply didn't like it for people work. It's fine for sports and events but with portraits, primes reign supreme.

 

That being said, the 90 is even sharper, than the zoom.

 

I know, but I still find it astonishing that a zoom can stand its ground in that respect vs the excellent primes. Have never used the 90mm since it's too specific for me, but since it has been a favorite for many portrait shooters, there must be a reason.

[aceflibble]

I see this is a couple of months old, but for what it's worth (and since it's been bumped anyway), I'll say that for me, shooting similar things—events and studio/structured portraiture—I have found the 56mm to be incredibly underwhelming. I had one, didn't like it, sold it; thought I maybe didn't give it enough of a chance so I bought another one, but I've now sold that, too. Meanwhile I've had three 50-140s break on me, but I've bought a fourth because it so absolutely integral to my work. Hell, I've even bought one of the cheap 70-200 f/4s for my remaining Canon system just so I have a rock solid backup.

The key is work. If this is your work, definitely get the zoom, and only pick up the prime later down the road if you really feel the need to complete the collection. The prime's nice; the zoom is world-class.

In terms of low light, the 56 f/1.2 isn't too far ahead of the 50-140. For starters, ts transmission is more like 1.6 or 1.7, while the 50-140 seems to hit about 2.9, so with the zoom you're getting closer to what you think you have and there's not a full 2 1/3rd stops of light gathering with the prime as the f-stops would have you believe. While the prime is still faster, the zoom also has OIS. Obviously OIS doesn't help if you're trying to freeze 'action', but in my experience, very wide apertures miss focus on fast-moving subjects anyway, so they kind of both lose. For me, getting good shots of moving people at events, like performers on a stage, generally calls for f/2.8-f/4 and 1/160th-1/250th, so neither lens has a particular advantage for me, other than the zoom having more flexible range, of course.

 

For waist-up or 3/4 portraits, the 56mm focal length is fine, but obviously the zoom does cover that. In terms of depth of field, you're not actually missing much by only going to f/2.8. Both times I had the 56mm, I didn't like using it any wider than f/2 anyway; f/1.2 is noticably less sharp than other Fuji lenses wide open, and the depth of field becomes so small that you can miss focus even when you're standing far back enough for a 3/4s shot. I actually pretty much only used the 56mm for full-length portraits at f/2.8 because any closer and any faster and it totally failed to impress and/or be technically good enough for my clients. For closer, tighter portraits, the longer focal length of the zoom (or the 90 you already have) will 'out-blur' the 56mm because of the compression. Of course your needs/style may vary.
 

For me, it's basically been a repeat of the Canon world; their 135mm f/2, 50mm f/1.2, and 70-200mm f/2.8 all vastly out-sell their 85mm f/1.2, and I expect for the same reasons. Not tight enough for a headshot, too tight for comfortable full-length shooting, and not as practical for heavy work as the zoom. The 85mm focal length has its place, but when you have a good 70-200 zoom (or 50-140 in this case), having an 85mm prime starts to feel really pointless, at least for heavy work use.

[Stealthy Ninja]

Yeh you're right Ace. I don't disagree apart from on your opinion of the 56 1.2. I love that lens. Especially when used in conjunction with the 23mm 1.4. The old 35/85mm (FF) combo was my fave and I still love fuji's version. I also find it sharp at 1.2, shallow DOF can be challenging though.

 

The 50-140 (70-200 equiv) truely is a workhorse lens. I agree for heavy work it can't be beat.

 

I do wonder what happened to your 50-140 lenses? How'd they fail? Heavy use or something breaking that shouldn't?

[aceflibble]

One had something go wrong with the OIS a couple of weeks after purchase, it wouldn't turn off. Second one developed a really clunky and slow AF with a grinding noise, and the third stopped being recognised by either camera. I think some part of the mount wasn't aligned correctly, so it fit on securely but it wasn't making the right connection and the bodies thought there was no lens. Fourth one's been working fine so far, fingers crossed this one survives the year.

The 56, eh. 35/85 has never felt right to me. 50/100 is the pair for me. But I acknowledge I get to work in a lot of space and the people I photograph tend to not like anyone getting too close.

[EddieX]

Since you say you'll be doing more video work, have you considered the 18-55mm since that also has OIS? That's why I got mine since I'll be doing some video when I get the X-T2.

[Stealthy Ninja]

One had something go wrong with the OIS a couple of weeks after purchase, it wouldn't turn off. Second one developed a really clunky and slow AF with a grinding noise, and the third stopped being recognised by either camera. I think some part of the mount wasn't aligned correctly, so it fit on securely but it wasn't making the right connection and the bodies thought there was no lens. Fourth one's been working fine so far, fingers crossed this one survives the year.

The 56, eh. 35/85 has never felt right to me. 50/100 is the pair for me. But I acknowledge I get to work in a lot of space and the people I photograph tend to not like anyone getting too close.

Sounds like bad luck more than anything. I hope mine is ok. I'd don't use it as heavily as you so maybe I won't know for a while.

[Stealthy Ninja]

Since you say you'll be doing more video work, have you considered the 18-55mm since that also has OIS? That's why I got mine since I'll be doing some video when I get the X-T2.

Nice thought. I'll think about that. It really depends what happens in the future. I'm at a bit of a crossroads in life right now, but definately an intriguing idea.

[kim]

Variable aperture and video, no so handy if you are zooming, not a problem if you are not. Or set it to f/4 I guess, man think before I type. Like you I've just sold all my EF gear, well just the 50Art and the 2/135L to go [sniff sniff ].

[Stealthy Ninja]

Variable aperture and video, no so handy if you are zooming, not a problem if you are not. Or set it to f/4 I guess, man think before I type. Like you I've just sold all my EF gear, well just the 50Art and the 2/135L to go [sniff sniff ].

Ha well I still own my 35 art and a 1DsIII for times I want to scratch that itch.

 

Yeh I'd set it to f4 I guess, maybe a tighter aperture. Usually I set it to 25P and 50SS for video. Then adjust aperture to suit the exposure. If I wanted to have a particular aperture I'd adjust the lighting to suit the camera.

[aceflibble]

Glad to see I'm not the only one hanging on to a bit of Canon gear. Those Sigma Art lenses, man. I was told way back that they were thinking about bringing them to Fuji, guess it never worked out. Shame.

[EddieX]

The other nice thing about the 18-55mm is that you can get it cheap, mine was only $250.

[TonyB]

LOL I never take all my lenses out at once, you just take what you need.

 

Unfortunately I'm not a world famous top tier photographer so I'll buy what I feel I need for what I shoot.

 

Ken Mullins takes 3 bodies and 5 lenses to shoot weddings. That's not a small amount.

 Why I have Fuji as my travel kit. I can take 2 bodies & 4 lenses & still be way(or weigh) under the 7kg weight allowance. Love the 10 -24 &  my other lenses.

I now use my Canon gear for video & backyard birds as I have no reason to sell it. Rather keep it than take a big hit $$wise.