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Autofocus with 35mm f/1.4


Mehdi

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I'm curious if anyone have tried the XT2 with 35mm f/1.4. If you have both, can you please post videos (taken by a separate camera) on the autofocus performance in both good and low light, with still and moving subjects? I know I'm asking for a lot, but this will help guys like us who'll have to order it online to decide whether to go for this combo.

 

Thanks in advance!

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If it's any help or use to you:  I've owned my 35 1.4 since February 2013 and used it on my X-E1 and now on my X-T1.  It is an amazing lens, though still slow at acquiring focus.  I use it for many things including photographing three boys all under five, and you know how fast they can be.  So it is somewhat frustrating when I miss a shot, but at the same time when I nail it, I NAIL IT and the photos are just gorgeous.  

 

I don't have an X-T2 yet, that won't come until next Spring but the 35 1.4 will def. be on it at some point.

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Not going to load up videos etc...but I will tell you this...the 35 1.4 is loud and slow ...loud meaning too loud to shoot video, not so loud you would hear it in a church (maybe)....the AF performance, in any light, will not match the newest Fuji lenses.


 


In a quiet room taking portraits my partner has commented on hearing the lens.


 


That's NEVER good.


 


It's more like first generation AF vs. third.


 


Two generations better IMHO.


 


I shoot in very poor lighting conditions doing editorial photography frequently at night...the 35 1.4 is up to the task most of the time, and certainly not all of the time, especially in AF-C.


 


I keep it and haven't ordered the 35 f2 because I literally need that extra stop of light.


 


I'm often shooting at 1/125 @ f 1.4, ISO 6400,....slower than 1/125 and I have to much people blur (all of my work involves people).


 


It comes down to this:


 


Unless you frequently need every ounce of light you can squeeze out of your lens/camera combo, do NOT get the 35 1.4.


 


And by "need" I mean getting that shot is the difference between a wasted evening and not.


 


The 35 1.4, although a stellar lens, it is significantly slower and bigger in all regards, with arguably equal image quality.


 


A lot bigger....and a ton slower.


 


No comparison.


 


BTW:  it is noticeably faster on an X-T2 than X-T1 / X-T10


 


Peter


 


www.kma438.com


www.tmaxphoto.com

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CRAP!

 

...my apologies...in my morning fog I had done the lens conversion in my head and made the 23 f.14 the 35 1.4...!

 

I stand by everything as to what I said EXCEPT the 35 1.4 is very small and compact.

 

The 23 f 14. is not small or compact.

 

I own the 35 1.4 and it's the same deal...older AF and louder noise....

 

Do you need the extra stop of light?... if you do not get the f2.

 

Peter

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I'll mainly use it for taking candid photos of my 3 year old son, and in indoor. So the lighting will be poor most of the time and as the background will really not be that far way from the subject, I need a large aperture lens for background separation. 35mm f/1.4 on APS-C is the only sweet spot for me, not too wide, 50mm equivalent, good bokeh, fantastic IQ. The only problem is AF speed. It hunts and misses a lot. I'm already using this lens with my XE1 I bought 3 years ago (didn't have a kid back then, had no idea how fast they move). I agree with jlmphotos, it is frustrating to miss their shots, the keeper ones are decreasing as the kid is growing and moving even faster.

 

f/2 will be a deal breaker for me, I need that extra stop, both for indoor light and bokeh :(

 

I'll mainly shoot stills and for video I can use the 18-55mm kit. It has silent linear motor.

 

I was thinking if getting XT2 will help me to keep up with my kid. Otherwise I'll have to get an entry level full frame dslr with a 50mm lens. Costs almost same of XT2, but I'd really hate to do that. 

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I had the 35 f1.4 at some point. Though the image quality was great, I couldn't quite get used to the noisy auto-focus motor.

 

When I heard there was a f2 version I did some bokeh tests to see what the difference in wide-open depth of field was. Just a simple test, nothing solid or scientific. Under the circumstances i didn't actually see very much difference between f1.4 and f2. I also tried f2.8 and that was a difference; i liked f2 better.

 

Also I find the 35 f2 actually has a very pleasant kind of bokeh. It's very smooth. And it's fast and silent with WR as a bonus. The faster AF speed is very helpful for photographing small children. My daughter has a tendency to run up straight to the camera so it won't focus because the distance is too small.

 

The X-T2 supposedly has better low light performance. So for photographing kids, personally I'd pick the f2 over the f1.4.

 

For the 23mm I love the f1.4 version. I haven't tried the f2 version, because I don't feel the need for it. The 23 f1.4 performs fantastic on the X-T2! It's a lot more responsive then it was on the X-T1 and somehow it seems to focus with much more precision as well. The noise of the 23 doesn't nearly bother me as much as the noise of the 35 f1.4 did.

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  • 1 month later...

Sorry don't believe the hype, the 35mm F2 is not as well optically corrected as the F1.4 and relies on more in camera or in processor correction which means Jpegs workflow is great, RAW is down to your converter. Good luck with capture one. 

 

F1.4 renders better in my opinion

 

F1.4 now focus's very fast on X-T2, is it as fast as the F2 no, but its fast enough that the difference no longer matters ie you won't be missing any shots.

 

Its not that noisy apart from when you turn it on and the lens racks out to its starting position.

 

Give it a couple of years and the newness has worn off on the F2 and people will be coming back to the F1.4. Still my favourite lens in the line up, and has produced most of my favorite shots in the system. Now I grant you I love that focal length but still in terms of IQ the only other lens that has the same vibe is the 90mm, Those two lens are just stellar and while the 56mm is a great lens and useful focal length every time I shoot I am always thinking why can't you be more like the 35 and the 90 :) Its going to need councilling soon

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