Fuji Advice on the XF 23mm

macvisual

Veteran
Location
Central Scotland
Name
peter
Any advice on my query would be appreciated, thanks.

I've been having a Fuji lens cull and a re-jig of my Fuji lens line-up, I'm now left with these XF lenses;
14mm - 35mm - 60mm

Question is;
I'm very keen on adding the Fuji XF 23mm lens, but is this lens length too close/similar to the XF 35mm ?

Has anyone else got both the 23mm and 35mm lenses in their camera bag ? Any thoughts/experience/views appreciated.


Regards;
Peter
Scotland
 
Peter, it's a fair question. Yes, I do have both. In the same way that 35-50-90 was (and is) the "holy trinity" for Leica M, the 23-35-56 (or 60) is a great three-lens line-up for Fuji. The difference in the angle of view (63.4 vs. 44.2 degrees) makes them very different propositions in real-world use. Personally I see the world in 50mm (Fuji 35mm) terms but the 23 still has a special place for environmental portraits, and anywhere I want to show more of the world around my subject. They are of course both f1.4, and in performance terms - and believe me, I know - they are knocking at Leica's door - "Fujilux" is not far from the truth. The only frustration for me is that they are very different in handling - almost as if they sprang from different design teams. It would not surprise me if we saw a "mark II" 35mm soon - maybe launched with the X-Pro2 - that shares the push-pull AF/MF switching of the 23mm.

So my counsel is "go for it" - you will not be disappointed.
 
Thanks for your in-depth reply Bill, really appreciated.

I've just pulled the plug there a short time ago and bought a mint/boxed/two month old XF 23mm f/1.4 lens, should have it early next week.

Can't wait to add it to my Fuji XF lens arsenal. I'm looking forward to posting images asap. Thank you.


Best wishes;
Peter
Scotland
 
I also just ordered the 23 to go with the recently acquired 35. My holy trinity will be 16-23-35, so I have to start saving now for the, no doubt expensive 16 lens coming next year.
 
Looking forward to seeing your results, chiming in late for any others on film i was always a 28mm wide guy (18mm apsc) I have the 18 and 23 and aside form all the obvious extra quality in the 23, I find I've really grown to like the FOV as well . I have 2 go kits together now XE2 18/27/60 and XT1 23/35/56. preformance wise the XT kit is stunning. I really like the smal XE2 kit as well but that is likely to become my wife's go bag (maybe not she may prefer the zooms i bought them for her) I can happily shoot either kit but my prefernce is the 23/35/56 trio except when i want unobtrusive. the XE2 with the 27 excels at that (I've blacked out the front logo on mine - no distraction camera)
 
I don't know whether taping over your logo has any beneficial effect.
If you're being photographed, you'll notice someone pointing a camera at you.
If it's a Fuji, whether there's a logo on it or not, you'll register the fact that it's a smallish, slightly retro camera rather than a big paparazzi one, which may make you feel less intimidated.
If you don't know anything about cameras, you probably won't notice whether there a visible logo or not. You expect that most cameras have some sort of logo on; you've probably heard of Nikon and maybe one or two other brands, but beyond that what the logo says means nothing to you.
If you do know a bit about cameras you'll see what looks like an X-E1or X-E2, but with the logo missing. So that will make you notice the camera more, because you'll be peering at it, wondering what happened to the logo.
 
You make people notice you, not the camera and especially not the logo. If you are overly self-conscious others will become conscious of you. Want to be invisible? Don't shave for a day or two. Don an air of world-weary "I'm-doing-my-job" -ness mixed "I-don't-want-to-be-here-But-I-have-to", add a sprinkle of assumed authority and for full effectiveness a hi-vis vest. Don't move quickly. People will look straight through you because they do not want to see you - you are irrelevant to their busy lives. The only thing more effective is to rattle a collecting tin. Become part of the background of life and you can - literally - get away with murder.

For further reading, Google "SEP field"... It works.
 
I have the Fuji X-T1 with the 18-135 lens. Although I'm considering selling the lens (as great as it is) I just have the exact same length on my canon which I still use often. I'm considering buying the 23mm to use and stay glued to my T1. Is anyone else using it as a primary lens? I got the idea after I toyed around with the X100T for a few days
 
I'm not really a zoom guy anymore, I've been shooting mostly primes for a long while (the zooms in my Signature were bought so my wife could be happy with using the camera). If I had to choose from the current prime lineup only one lens it would be between the 23 and the 35. Look at the focal lenghts most of your shots are with the 18-135, that will give you a strong indication of wheteer or not 23 is the right length for you or if you should look at the 35 or even 56. as a walk around lens 23 is wide enouigh that you won't miss many shots needing the wide end and you can always crop a bit if you cant zoom with your feet o(or pull out the canon)
 
The 23 and the 35 are the only primes (excluding the pancakes) that 99% of people would really be happy with as an "only" lens. And the 23 would probably suit 75% of people to the 35's 25% of people, in my estimation. The 35 is too long for shooting 6 people at close range, for example. You can't get much of a small room into it. It misses a lot of the scenery at sunset. It isolates people much better, and does portraits incredibly well, but it's just a little limiting in tight quarters.
 
The 23 and the 35 are the only primes (excluding the pancakes) that 99% of people would really be happy with as an "only" lens. And the 23 would probably suit 75% of people to the 35's 25% of people, in my estimation. The 35 is too long for shooting 6 people at close range, for example. You can't get much of a small room into it. It misses a lot of the scenery at sunset. It isolates people much better, and does portraits incredibly well, but it's just a little limiting in tight quarters.

Agreed in general - though the 35 is the fov we've been supplied with as a normal lens pretty much forever. HCB shot almost all his photos with a 50 which is effectively what the 35 is.
but you aren't going to shoot a group in a small room with a 35 but you can crop a 23 to narrow the fov (within reason and output need demands - since the majority of photos now never see anything much beyond internet use you could easily crop to a 35mm fov
)
 
I did Peru and Machu Picchu with just the X100 (and thus a 23mm), and was honestly perfectly happy with it. I think I could do it now with the XT and the 35 lens, but a lot of shots would suffer a little for the lack of width. All in all, having spent a good bit of time with both, the 23 length is just more versatile. I just wish I had the 23 for the XT1. Mmmm....
 
The 23 and the 35 are the only primes (excluding the pancakes) that 99% of people would really be happy with as an "only" lens. And the 23 would probably suit 75% of people to the 35's 25% of people, in my estimation. The 35 is too long for shooting 6 people at close range, for example. You can't get much of a small room into it. It misses a lot of the scenery at sunset. It isolates people much better, and does portraits incredibly well, but it's just a little limiting in tight quarters.
I agree. I have the 23mm on my X-T1 most all of time although I do use an 18 - 55 for video of our son performing. (He's a college junior majoring in music/theater.) I've put my 35 on the X-T1 briefly. Both great lenses. 'Just depends on whatcha' doing.
. . . David
 
Shot on Christmas morning. We have a "Legos are ageless" mindset in our home. X-T1 and the 23/1.4. I'm really enjoying this lens a lot. The bokeh capabilities are very cool. In Macro, ISO1600, f1.4, processed in LR. I think I posted a similar shot last year, most likely shot with the X-E1 and 35/1.4.
. . . David
 

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