Fuji X Series

Spleen Sauce · 26 Apr 2021 at 11:54

Funky-Melon said:
You can borrow directly from Fuji as well. It's free for a day or 2 IIRC and you just pay a refundable deposit.

Never tried it myself though.

Yep I've done this a few times now. Can be done here. If you already have a few Fujifilm bodies and are registered with FPS it's even easier.

Barks · 26 Apr 2021 at 20:12

Thanks all - I don't suppose anyone here has used the 56mm 1.2R? I meant 1.2 not 1.4 in my other post.

CGrieves · 26 Apr 2021 at 21:21

I borrowed one for a couple of weeks when I was considering buying. Amazing lens, but fat, heavy and not particularly fast focusing. I find the 35mm f1.4 smaller, lighter, faster, more versatile, and dare I say more fun?

Spleen Sauce · 26 Apr 2021 at 21:51

Barks said:
Thanks all - I don't suppose anyone here has used the 56mm 1.2R? I meant 1.2 not 1.4 in my other post.

Yes, I had heavily used one that was full of dust, bumps and scrapes that I picked up for cheap. It's slow and chonky but it's magical for portraits if you can learn to live with it's pace limitations.

Barks · 27 Apr 2021 at 06:39

I guess that is slightly concerning as i'm used to my 23mm F2 which is lightning fast and has never let me down.

Perhaps the 50mm F2 would be a better choice. I'll read up on some reviews.

Edit: Seeing a few comments to confirm my suspicions e.g.

"The XF 50mm f/2 R WR is the winner in regards to autofocus performance. It is silent, fast, and accurate. I found the XF 56mm 1.2 R hunting for AF at times."

GMac11 · 27 Apr 2021 at 07:53

The 50mm f2 is an excellent lens and well worth its RRP which unfortunately can’t be said for a few of Fuji’s other lenses.
The AF system can make the difference as to whether you get the shot or not so the nice dreamy background of the f1.2 will count for naught if you missed the shot completely.
I’ve never used the 1.2 but I imagine I would only use it in a studio environment where the subject is relatively still. I bought f2 primary for shots of my little one and it’s been a joy to use. F2 is full frame equivalent f2.8 and you don’t hear people moaning about their f2.8 lenses at 80mm.

Barks · 27 Apr 2021 at 08:05

GMac11 said:
The 50mm f2 is an excellent lens and well worth its RRP which unfortunately can’t be said for a few of Fuji’s other lenses.
The AF system can make the difference as to whether you get the shot or not so the nice dreamy background of the f1.2 will count for naught if you missed the shot completely.
I’ve never used the 1.2 but I imagine I would only use it in a studio environment where the subject is relatively still. I bought f2 primary for shots of my little one and it’s been a joy to use. F2 is full frame equivalent f2.8 and you don’t hear people moaning about their f2.8 lenses at 80mm.

Thanks. I guess the 50mm F2 makes sense then especially for someone used to the performance of the 23mm F2. Having owned that for 5+ years I think I’d be more comfortable working with a lens that shares the same DNA rather than risk acclimatising to a new lens at a wedding shoot - even if objectively the glass isn’t as good.

Spleen Sauce · 27 Apr 2021 at 08:16

GMac11 said:
The 50mm f2 is an excellent lens and well worth its RRP which unfortunately can’t be said for a few of Fuji’s other lenses.
The AF system can make the difference as to whether you get the shot or not so the nice dreamy background of the f1.2 will count for naught if you missed the shot completely.
I’ve never used the 1.2 but I imagine I would only use it in a studio environment where the subject is relatively still. I bought f2 primary for shots of my little one and it’s been a joy to use. F2 is full frame equivalent f2.8 and you don’t hear people moaning about their f2.8 lenses at 80mm.

50mm F2 is probably one of Fuji's sharpest lenses and I do highly recommend it, can't really go wrong with that if AF speed is an absolute must. In regards to the 56mm 1.2, yes it's slower to focus but honestly on a modern Fujifilm body (X-T3 and up) its not as bad as some make out, especially when you stop it down a bit. Plenty of wedding photographers using it with superb results to give you some example of a highly-demanding environment where it works fine. I'd recommend checking out some YouTube videos on it.

GMac11 · 27 Apr 2021 at 08:36

Spleen Sauce said:
In regards to the 56mm 1.2, yes it's slower to focus but honestly on a modern Fujifilm body (X-T3 and up) its not as bad as some make out, especially when you stop it down a bit.

I’ve seen this written in a few places about stopping down but surely by the time you’ve stopped down to 1.8 or 2 or whatever you may as well use the 50 f2? I’m not knocking the 1.2 (I can’t as I’ve never used it) but at the same aperture it can’t be optically much better than the 50 f2?

Spleen Sauce · 27 Apr 2021 at 08:51

GMac11 said:
I’ve seen this written in a few places about stopping down but surely by the time you’ve stopped down to 1.8 or 2 or whatever you may as well use the 50 f2? I’m not knocking the 1.2 (I can’t as I’ve never used it) but at the same aperture it can’t be optically much better than the 50 f2?

Depends what you're shooting really, when I used it as a 2nd shooter at a wedding I very rarely ever shot at 1.2 - usually too shallow. Most of the images were shot at between F1.4 and F5.6, depending on distance and subject. Always nice to have the option of shooting at 1.2 though in those instances where separation is king.

All being said, if it was my money right now I'd get the 50mm F2 - which is superb - and wait for the 56mm 1.2 MKII to come out and then trade it in.

Barks · 27 Apr 2021 at 19:15

All very helpful comments, thanks everyone

LiE · 28 Apr 2021 at 21:45

The answer is 50mm 1.0

https://www.fujifilm-loan.com/en-gb/products/HAC00-06925-fujifilm-xf-50mm-f10-r-wr/

philstanbridge · 29 Apr 2021 at 16:54

Bah! Hopefully this can be rectified easily. Just received my brand new XF 55-200 and there is a mark on the lens somewhere. It reproduces in all pictures. I can't see the mark on the glass however. So not sure what's going on.

GMac11 · 29 Apr 2021 at 20:46

Oh that’s unfortunate. Does it appear the same at different apertures?

Raymond Lin · 29 Apr 2021 at 21:02

That looks like dust on sensor, or a massive dust on the rear element.

Barks · 1 May 2021 at 05:25

Raymond Lin said:
That looks like dust on sensor, or a massive dust on the rear element.

Likely this. I had a similar problem and it turned out to be the sensor even though the mark was only really visible with one of my lenses when stopping down.

Try different apertures - does that make any difference?

Andythe Random · 3 May 2021 at 17:01

Spleen Sauce said:
Yep I've done this a few times now. Can be done here. If you already have a few Fujifilm bodies and are registered with FPS it's even easier.

I also did this, I had the 100-400 for the weekend. I could never justify buying it, but wow.

Andythe Random · 3 May 2021 at 17:02

LiE said:
The answer is 50mm 1.0

https://www.fujifilm-loan.com/en-gb/products/HAC00-06925-fujifilm-xf-50mm-f10-r-wr/

That thing is a beast.

philstanbridge · 9 May 2021 at 10:10

Barks said:
Likely this. I had a similar problem and it turned out to be the sensor even though the mark was only really visible with one of my lenses when stopping down.

Try different apertures - does that make any difference?

Well I'm keeping an eye on it, but with a little air dusting it seems to have resolved itself. I'm concerned that there may be some dust inside and perhaps on the sensor? but I can't see anything now.

Barks · 10 May 2021 at 08:09

Following the chat above about the 50mm F2 vs 56mm F1.2 after a fair bit of research and deliberation I decided to take the plunge and bought the latter.

It is absolutely phenomenal. Getting sharp results wide open and don't seem to have any focussing issues even if it feels a tad slower than my 23 f2. I'm starting to think those two lenses are all I'd ever need now for my style of photography although the 55-200 has been fantastic for hiking. Anyway, thanks very much again for the help and comments.