Owning both 18-55 and 35 f/2

[Hermelin]

Anyone owning or previousy have owned both these lenses. How much do you use each, % wise?
 

[milandro]

I have owned the 35 f1.4 and the 18-55mm and decided to sell the 35mm because I wasn’t using the 35 all that much.

 

I had used the 35 a lot, before acquiring the 18-55 but once I had that lens I saw no reason to keep the 35.

 

these are the three lenses all at their maximum aperture

 

[Hermelin]

Yeah I kinda get the feeling that if you have both, one of them will be redundant sooner or later. I already have the 35 and am contemplating whether I should get the 18-55 with the X-T2 or skip it.  

if I do get it and

Edited October 24, 2016 by Hermelin

[milandro]

the 18-55 is a great piece of kit, the best all purpose affordable lens for the Fuji system.

[mdm]

Have both and use both (on weekends). If I go for relatively short photo-walk nearby (<2 hours) I just take either 35f2 or 23f2 and keep myself moving. If my shooting may last longer in some outlying places I can take a bag with 14 / 18-55 / 55-200 / ... / set. Monday to Fraiday it is 27f2.8 "in my poket".

[Hermelin]

The following combos are about the same price. Which combo would you go for?

 

X-T2

18-55 

35 f/2

90 f/2

 

or

 

X-T2

16 f/1.4

35 f/2

50-230 

Edited October 24, 2016 by Hermelin

[mdm]

I like the second set more.

[Jürgen Heger]

My start combo would be

18-55

50-230

23/1.4

I am not sure if they are within the same budget. But I use my zooms at day light most of the time. The 23/1.4 is for low light. This is more or less how I started with my first X camera, an E-1. In fact I have the 56-200. But from what I have read about the 50-230 has a very good image quality. A couple of months after the zooms I bought the 23/1.4 and the 18/2 at the same day but the 18/2 did not get much use. Not because it is bad but because it is only one stop faster than the zoom and for low light it is always the 23/1.4.

Edited October 24, 2016 by Jürgen Heger

[Gareth_E]

The following combos are about the same price. Which combo would you go for?

 

X-T2

18-55 

35 f/2

90 f/2

 

 

 

This is what I have (apart from my 35mm is the 1.4), and I love it. the 90mm is so sublime that once I had used it, I had to get one and worked my other lenses around it (sold my 56mm 1.2). The reason I have the 1.4 35mm though, is so I have at least one fast lens for low light shooting. The 90mm is pretty fast of course being an f2, but because of the focal length you have to have the shutter speed higher accordingly.

[Tikcus]

Anyone owning or previousy have owned both these lenses. How much do you use each, % wise?

 

 

I have the 35 F/1.4 and 18-55

 

between the two the 35mm gets used 99% of the time.

 

I zoom with my feet, and find having an extra 2.5 stops(ish) of light really helps in low light (OIS on the zoom doesn't prevent motion blur)

[George_P]

Hermelin,

 

I have all the lens in the first combo (18-55, 35f2, 90) and that is what I would get. The 18-55 is great when you don't have time to change lenses and to zoom with your legs, like in a city with your kids. You can do some architecture shots and some portraits, for instance. The 35f2 is fast to focus, small and light, great for indoors, I like it very much, it turns my X-T10 into a small and very portable camera. The 90 is a killer portrait lens. For me tele is not important, for that I bought the 50-230 for 179 € (!) new and for me it is good enough for tele. To come back to your question, about 50-50.

 

Depends what you like to do. Cheers and congrats to your new-to-be X-T2.

[gordonrussell76]

Another +1 for using the 35mm 90% of the time compared to 18-55mm however its a great choice as your wide angle, don't compare it based on it being your normal.

 

I had the 18-55mm and 35mm F1.4 in my kit for a long time and loved the 18-55mm it was my 'wide angle' as at 18mm is almost as bright as the 18mm prime and in my opinion is sharper edge to edge and better quality. If you are going to change that lens for another wide angle the only route to go is 10-24  or 14mm if you want wider or 16mm if you want wider and brighter.

 

I would seriously consider getting the 18-55 with your X-T2 you won't get it cheaper any other way, and you can always shift it s/h with no loss then rock

 

18-55

35

90 or 55-230 

 

Personally I would go mainly prime goodness with the 90 for telephoto. The 18-55 all round single lens when you want to travel light and then in a full kit treat it as a 18mm prime to complement your rather lovely 35mm (either of them although I prefer the F1.4, particularly in this setup as its your lowlight beast) and 90mm

 

EDIT - Just seen George P post which basically makes the same point as me, sorry we must have been posting at the same time, Synchronicity my friend

Edited October 24, 2016 by gordonrussell76

[George_P]

 

EDIT - Just seen George P post which basically makes the same point as me, sorry we must have been posting at the same time, Synchronicity my friend

 

I beat you, Gordon, but your post was longer so I suppose it does not count.

Edited October 24, 2016 by George_P

[sacherjj]

18-55mm is F3.4 at 35mm vs F2 of the fixed.

 

Personally, I find that I need to shoot with primes at times to challenge me in composition and to not get lazy.   I shoot to long and want to shoot wider.  So not having that 55mm option is just something to force myself to 35mm.  

[gordonrussell76]

By the way the usefulness of a zoom is often overrated.

 

 

I took the following to Canada for a 3 weeks trip

 

10-24

35

56

50-140

 

Rough percentage those lenses were used.

 

10-24mm - 15%

35mm - 50%

56mm - 20%

50-140mm - 3%

50-140 plus 2xTC - 12%

 

 

As you can see the majority of my shots were taken with the two primes. The zooms are good at the extreme ends of the focal range spectrum as they are used less it makes more sense to prioritize flexibility, in the center of the range bring the quality. Both the 35mm and 56mm are incredibly flexible lenses, Wide open they are bokeh and rendering machines especially the 35mm F1.4 which just sings. Stopped down they get very sharp and work great for travel and street.

 

But the 35mm is slow to focus I hear you say. Not as much as it used to be, the Canada trip I was shooting an X-T1 and FW 4.0 speeds that lens up a lot, plus for landscape and travel you will be at around F5.6-10 and I found that the DOF at those apertures insured that focusing was very quick and forgiving. Since upgrading to the X-T2 the 35mm F1.4 is now FAST, probably on paper its slower than the newer lenses, but really its now fast enough that you need a machine to notice it, it has not held me back at all. I just went into a very dimly lit room in my house (energy saving bulb just turned on not fully warmed up) and tried focusing single point, SAF and it hit focus instantaneously each time I half pressed shutter at a variety of ranges on some very small objects. Basically its no longer a limiting factor. I love this lens can anyone tell?

 

 

G

[gordonrussell76]

George P

You got there first no questions. Length is no substitute for brevity, sadly a lesson I never seem to learn

[Hermelin]

Thanks for everyones responsenses. Still difficult to make up my mind but I'm leaning towards option 1 (18-55, 35, 90).

[bhu]

I gave my 18-55 away a month ago betting on a new version being in the works.

[jlmphotos]

I own both the 18-55 and the 35 1.4.  I purchased both of these with my X-E1 back in February 2013.  The 18-55 is my "don't leave home without it lens" and the 35 1.4, though not used as often, pretty much goes with me anywhere and everywhere.  

The 18-55 is ultra-sharp, it is light, it is small, and it is fairly fast at F2.8-F4 variable aperture.  With OIS, it's pretty darn near perfect for me.  You can check out my blog in the signature block below to see how I've used it in pretty much any weather, anywhere.  

Just with the 18-55 alone, I've "kept" not taken mind you, over 30,000 images (per my LR collection);  many, many are for stock sales. 

 

The 35 1.4 is just a gorgeous lens.  Yes, you'll read it's not ultra-sharp in the corners, blah blah blah, but I will never, ever do away with that lens as long as I have an X-camera.  It just gives images a certain look, and the fast aperture helps tremendously in low light, and the bokeh is amazing. 

It's a b*tch to lock focus at times, but when it does, it's cutting edge.  

There was a post here somewhere a while back asking what are your two favorite lenses -- I chose as my #1 the 18-55, and the 16 1.4 as the number 2, but the 35 1.4 i an amazing piece of glass --- and it's a looker as well.

[Gareth_E]

I own both the 18-55 and the 35 1.4.  I purchased both of these with my X-E1 back in February 2013.  The 18-55 is my "don't leave home without it lens" and the 35 1.4, though not used as often, pretty much goes with me anywhere and everywhere.  

The 18-55 is ultra-sharp, it is light, it is small, and it is fairly fast at F2.8-F4 variable aperture.  With OIS, it's pretty darn near perfect for me.  You can check out my blog in the signature block below to see how I've used it in pretty much any weather, anywhere.  

Just with the 18-55 alone, I've "kept" not taken mind you, over 30,000 images (per my LR collection);  many, many are for stock sales. 

 

The 35 1.4 is just a gorgeous lens.  Yes, you'll read it's not ultra-sharp in the corners, blah blah blah, but I will never, ever do away with that lens as long as I have an X-camera.  It just gives images a certain look, and the fast aperture helps tremendously in low light, and the bokeh is amazing. 

It's a b*tch to lock focus at times, but when it does, it's cutting edge.  

There was a post here somewhere a while back asking what are your two favorite lenses -- I chose as my #1 the 18-55, and the 16 1.4 as the number 2, but the 35 1.4 i an amazing piece of glass --- and it's a looker as well.

 

 

I agree - both are fantastic lenses. My 35mm is nice and sharp at 1.4, with the only exception being objects near the close focus distance... for some reason it gets a bit hazy in that scenario and is not as sharp. but anything further away is fantastic.

[retro76]

I have both. I rarely use the 18-55 anymore. The 35 has more "character" with a beautiful 3D look wide open and richest color and contrast over the 18-55. Sharpness seems about a draw. To me the Fuji system seems better suited for primes, but that's subjective.

[Jeffpoker]

I have both. The 18-55 gets used when traveling and during the day.

The 35 gets used in low light or when I want to get a bit better image quality.

I don't have the 23 1.4 but I would love to have it. Then maybe my 35 would get less action, but then again maybe not.

[jefftexas]

It's interesting (and fun) that there are so many varying opinions on the best lens kit options.  I have the 18-55 and 35/2 and use them both.  The 18-55 is my tourist lens and, sometimes, my video lens because of the IOS.  But the 35 f/2, in my opinion, has a more beautiful subjective quality about it.  Better bokeh when shooting up close for example.  The other lens I added recently which is my new favorite is the 60mm f2.4.  It has this dreamy bokeh and is incredibly sharp.  Granted I have to start early in the morning if I want it focused by noon but still the resulting images are worthy.  I also got it on eBay for $310 so it was a great value.  It's great for us that virtually all of Fuji's lens are excellent!

[wmiller549]

I owned both.  I sold the 35 in favor of the 23 f/2 and I'll probably sell the 18-55 pretty soon. I just don't use it much. I take better pictures with primes. I just do. It's the old  "limiting oneself makes you think more" thing. I've determined that a standard zoom makes me lazy.

 

I have distilled my lens set to four: 14, 23, 56 & 55-200. I always carry the 14 and 23 and add the 56 or the 55-200 to the bag depending on what I anticipate shooting. I plan on replacing the 56 with the new 50 f/2 when it becomes available. 

 

The three lens combo works brilliantly for me. 

[Hermelin]

I got the 90 yesterday because there was a good deal on it and I'm getting the X-T2 with the kitlens 18-55 this week. Price is for the lens when you buy it as a kit with the 18-55 so it's good deal.

And even though zooms are kinda lazy I will need it when travelling with my family and I don't have as much time to run around with my camera.