Fujinon XF 35mm F1.4 R

[Gfl]

It will have WR, that alone will add some to the price. Plus the usual "early adopter" penalty… I don't think it will be cheaper, at least not at first.

Hey thanks, forgot about the WR part. Better start saving up now then !

[dv.]

35mm 1.4 is one of the best Fuji lenses you should keep. it's so compact, great bokeh. With 1.4 aperture, you can't go wrong.

 

 

[citral]

I would love to buy the 35mm too, but I think I'll wait for the f/2 coming later this year. At least to be sure I'm making the right choice. Any idea how it will be priced ? Iirc it will have less elements than the 35 1.4, might it be cheaper ?

I went through the same considerations, but ordered the 35 f/1.4 last week. First, we don't know when the f/2 will be released, then it will be retail price the first months, so it might not be a good deal before late 2015. Then you have to consider that usually those lenses are quite weak wide open so f/1.4 is likely to perform better at f/2 than the new one. I might end up buying the other one later, f/1.4 for interiors or generally low light/good weather, and formal shots. F/2 for street, bad weather, less important stuff. But I really like the 50mm fov, I can make less shots than with a 35 but they turn out better generally, YMMV.

[Phil]

In picking between these two lenses, pick the one that suits your photography more. Both are excellent in terms of image quality. The 23 definitely feels better built, but it's also heavier and larger. I use the 23 mainly because the 35 is, for me, a 'meh' focal length, not wide enough, not long enough.

 

For general photography I feel the same way (just got the 23mm not long ago and it's perfect), but I found out I love 50mm for headshots. It can be a little too wide for some faces, and I would be a little more nervous using it for paid headshots, but for personal work I love the extra bit of drama the perspective adds.

 

IIRC these were all taken at f/2. I definitely find the lens useably sharp wide open, and mainly used f/2 to get a little extra working DoF while still having some nice focus falloff.

 

Jeff BW by philbabbey, on Flickr

 

DSCF0086bw by philbabbey, on Flickr

 

Dave b&w by philbabbey, on Flickr

 

Josh by philbabbey, on Flickr

[Gfl]

I went through the same considerations, but ordered the 35 f/1.4 last week. First, we don't know when the f/2 will be released, then it will be retail price the first months, so it might not be a good deal before late 2015. Then you have to consider that usually those lenses are quite weak wide open so f/1.4 is likely to perform better at f/2 than the new one. I might end up buying the other one later, f/1.4 for interiors or generally low light/good weather, and formal shots. F/2 for street, bad weather, less important stuff. But I really like the 50mm fov, I can make less shots than with a 35 but they turn out better generally, YMMV.

You're tempting me so badly ! The 35mm 1.4 indeed looks stunning. I don't know what to do anymore. I think I'll wait and cross my fingers for a price drop on the f/1.4 when the f/2 gets released. Thanks for your advice !

[citral]

Well I received it and I'm really pleased with the pictures it produces, the out of focus falloff, colours, details everything is gorgeous as expected.

 

But damn is it sloooooowwwwww to focus, making a lot of noise, used to the 18-55 I struggle and there is something I don't like about external focusing.

 

OTOH when it has acquired focus, it's more accurate than the 18-55 and while even slower in low light it does lock eventually.

 

I can see how it's going to be really, really good for formal portraits, buildings interiors and such but really it's for slow work. If the f/2 is quick to focus and reasonably sharp at f/2 it will be more versatile.

 

Of course, prefocusing works for fast moving things but a quick AF is useful in a hurry.

 

Anyway not a bad deal for the 370€ I paid, the glass itself is worth it, but if you can wait so long I'd say wait for the f/2 and compare.

 

Hope that helps.

[andrewlee]

I use the 35mm 1.4 quite exclusively on my XT1.

 

LOVE IT.

 

The character, sharpness, color, bokeh, all amazing. 

A must have lens IMO.

 

Alot of my shots on my blog are with XT1+35

 

http://photo.andrewlee.co.nz/

[citral]

After extensive testing these last days, I'm glad I ordered it. Once used to it, the lens chatter doesn't bother me one bit anymore, knowing I'll get a tack sharp image with beautiful creamy out-of-focus areas and pleasing contrast way makes up for it.

 

I've taken it in church interiors as it's the project I'm working on at the moment, keeping my street shots aside to let them sit and review later on, and it does better than the 18-55mm with its OIS, if the dof is not needed. It's every bit as usable at F/1.8 as the 18-55mm at F/3.6 with OIS on. No blurred picture ever at 1/60s. Pictures have less of a digital feel to them, surely because the bokeh is not "nervous" like the 18-55 often does.

 

Regarding AF it seems slow because of the chatter and external focusing but it's not that different in the end, and more than adequate for shooting people walking. Once it has locked it's more accurate than the 18-55mm. Now there are a lot of tips to work around it like setting a fixed speed and aperture and letting the camera on auto-iso, which diminishes the response time, and prefocusing on manual mode or smashing the shutter works really well too.

 

Seing that in the new road map the f/2 is due for november, I'd advise not to wait if you think a prime of that focale length can improve your photography and/or image quality (in short : it will).

[milandro]

enjoy it! I hope the lens will please you as it has done and keeps on doing with me.

 

One word of advise.

 

Despite the fact that the original hood is very beautiful I have replaced it with a different type of lens hood, a Chinese made metal 52mm similar the one for the X100 series, the reason is the rubber cap of the original hood, forever falling on the floor .

I have tried attaching it with an elastic cord but that bothered me too. So, in the end got myself a different hood.

 

Some people complain about the autofocus noise.

 

I actually don’t mind that. As for the AF quickness, I expect a even better performance when the firmware upgrade will come.

[macabee]

I have the 35 on one of my x-pro's, which I use for 'street' photography a great setup, has not disappointed me yet.

[Guest kbures]

I've been thinking about buying this lens too. Two things that has made me hesitant are that some reviews have reported that: (1) focusing is acoustically noisy, and (2) focusing is slow. But I have also read that the focusing is faster than it originally was because of firmware updates, and still other reviewers have stated that it is not really slow to focus. I have not seen any comments about the acoustic noise level other than a Photozone review (http://www.photozone.de/fuji_x/746-fuji35f14).

 

Does anybody have experience with a recently-shipped model (as compared to the early 2012-13 vintage) to comment about the acoustic noise level and/or speed of focusing?

[milandro]

mine is only one year old and is not particularly noisy or slow ( but I have never had another one so I cannot say whether my copy is better or even different from older copies)

[citral]

All I can say is that it's noiser and slower than the 18-55mm. Which when it came out was the quietest and fastest of all Fuji lenses.

 

Now in say a church, it's barely noticeable while you hear the DSLRS making that loud ZWI ZWI CLAC.

[milandro]

I don’t have much experience with the 18-55mm but I have a friend who has the same camera and I was helping him setting it up from new. At first, before changing all sorts of parameters, his 18-55 was very noisy too.

[citral]

Badly formulated, I should have said "quietest and fastest before the new gen came out like 23mm" probably, when I purchased the 18-55 it had the pre-latest firmware and iirc it had already a great deal of optimisations compared to the first fw version.

 

So it's faster and quieter than the original 3 primes to be clear.

[olli]

I suppose it depends on how you define 'noisy' - mine makes a little more noise that the 18-55 but it's still very quiet relative to the shutter noise or DSLR style flapping mirrors, just a slight buzzing noise. Outside of a silent room no-one is likely to hear it except you.

[milandro]

one major source of lens “ noise” is the actual aperture opening-closing when you depress the shutter button to focus. 

[Wabisabiphotography]

Just bought it today! Used one and it's a little bit noisy! The Xf14mm is not so noisy! And another thing that I don't like is the lens shield is moving  little bit... is it normal?

[milandro]

what is the lens shield?

 

Do you mean the lens hood?

 

If so there might be a little play but it is difficult to say, at a distance, how much play would be acceptable and how much wouldn’t.

I would tend to say that a good bayonet shouldn’t have any play to speak of

 

My complaint about the lens hood is in fact the lens cap.

 

In this lens you have a choice of two depending on whether you use the lens hood ( which I suppose is what you call “ shield” ) or not.

 

The rubber cap which fits over the lens hood tends to be come off the lens when you take the lens or the camera with te lens on it out the bag.

 

Very awkward.

 

So despite my liking of the lens hood looks and function I have replaced it with one of these. With this I can use the other pinch-lens cap  provided with the lens.

 

[Ektachrome]

I love the 35mm f/1.4, it's one of those lenses that just had a little 'magic'. The 23mm f/1.4 is also a stunning lens, so you really are deciding between which focal length you prefer more to start with.

 

I personally prefer a fast 50mm equivalent (i.e. the 35mm) as the lens which stays attached most of the time, only coming off when I have a specific need for other angles, or effects, but that's a very personal thing. It also changed over time for me. In my film days I used to use a 35mm as my standard lens, then found I cropped a lot to roughly a 50mm FOV anyway, so tried a 50mm and preferred the depth compression to 35mm anyway. I always end up owning both as they both have their place, but nowadays I buy the 50mm equivalent first.

[citral]

The rubber cap which fits over the lens hood tends to be come off the lens when you take the lens or the camera with te lens on it out the bag.

 

Very awkward.

 

I don't find it a problem, as when I'm taking my camera out of the bag it's to make pictures so the cap might as well go off from itself heh.

 

If the camera is hanging around my neck I don't put a cap on it. The hood greatly protects the lens.

[milandro]

yes, but more often than not the cap falls on the floor and not necessarily in your bag.

[Wabisabiphotography]

Yes, lens hood... sorry...  

It's moving a little bit. The 14mm lens hood is not moving at all.

[milandro]

well, perhaps a visit to the shop or an email to Fuji might return you with a new “ shield”  

[Wabisabiphotography]

But is used one... just want to know if it's normal or not...