Fuji X Series

Soldato
Joined
20 Oct 2002
Posts
17,922
Location
London
Help me with your sage advice.
I started my Fuji (XT10) life also with just a 35/f2 so my thoughts are probably quite applicable. Even more so because I wanted to get a new lens before heading to Cuba last year, so I was in almost exactly the same position.

I plumped for the 14/f2.8 prime and took that and the 35/f2 combo to Cuba. It worked great, but that was last Feb and having been on a few more holidays I was getting annoyed (read: girlfriend was also getting annoyed!) with constantly having to try and judge where I was, whether I'd be shooting something landscape-y, or doing some street/portraiture. Then having to stop and swap all the time.

After doing the same in Greece in May, I decided to ditch the 14mm prime and buy the 18-55. My feeling was that a lot of my shooting is done on holiday, and having the ability to tack on a single lens for all/most scenarios just makes for a better experience. Sure, if you're going out to shoot landscapes at 4am specifically -- there's a lens for that.

Especially given you're a (relative) beginner I would heartily suggest the 18-55 for the freedom to shoot whatever you want without worrying too much about swapping lenses etc, you can concentrate on other stuff and more importantly enjoy your holiday a bit more. The 35mm is great to get out for the odd portrait etc when you've got time, the odd bit of street photography for example. But you'll do very well with the 18-55.

I certainly wouldn't get the 23 to go with the 35, they're too similar. Same with the 50. Primes are very nice but I feel they're held in overly-high regard online, just bear that in mind. People would have you think you need a prime for all occasions, whereas in reality that's totally excessive for lugging around on your holidays.

The 18-55 is very well reviewed too.
 

LiE

LiE

Caporegime
Joined
2 Aug 2005
Posts
25,644
Location
Milton Keynes
Thanks @Scam very useful. Swapping lens I think is probably going to be the main issue, so like you say having a single lens that can cover a wide variety of situations is very appealing. Most photos will be done walking about on holiday, I don't have time to go out and do a specific photo assignment.

The 35 is really good for what it is, but in a few situations it's limiting. Going to the zoo for example or any where you cannot basically walk off to get a good composition. This is where a zoom lens can really help with framing a shot when you can't leave your wife/son by themselves :D

Do you have any bag recommendations for an XE2S + 2 lens?
 
Last edited:
Associate
Joined
13 Dec 2003
Posts
1,450
I started my Fuji (XT10) life also with just a 35/f2 so my thoughts are probably quite applicable. Even more so because I wanted to get a new lens before heading to Cuba last year, so I was in almost exactly the same position.

I plumped for the 14/f2.8 prime and took that and the 35/f2 combo to Cuba. It worked great, but that was last Feb and having been on a few more holidays I was getting annoyed (read: girlfriend was also getting annoyed!) with constantly having to try and judge where I was, whether I'd be shooting something landscape-y, or doing some street/portraiture. Then having to stop and swap all the time.

After doing the same in Greece in May, I decided to ditch the 14mm prime and buy the 18-55. My feeling was that a lot of my shooting is done on holiday, and having the ability to tack on a single lens for all/most scenarios just makes for a better experience. Sure, if you're going out to shoot landscapes at 4am specifically -- there's a lens for that.

Especially given you're a (relative) beginner I would heartily suggest the 18-55 for the freedom to shoot whatever you want without worrying too much about swapping lenses etc, you can concentrate on other stuff and more importantly enjoy your holiday a bit more. The 35mm is great to get out for the odd portrait etc when you've got time, the odd bit of street photography for example. But you'll do very well with the 18-55.

I certainly wouldn't get the 23 to go with the 35, they're too similar. Same with the 50. Primes are very nice but I feel they're held in overly-high regard online, just bear that in mind. People would have you think you need a prime for all occasions, whereas in reality that's totally excessive for lugging around on your holidays.

The 18-55 is very well reviewed too.

good post. this is why im very interested in the 16-80 F4. not sure how much its going to be though (guessing about 700-800£)
 
Associate
Joined
25 Oct 2002
Posts
2,302
Location
Sarf Lahndahn
Thought this might be of interest here- couldn't resist trying a Viltrox adapter as they're fairly cheap and I have decent Canon lenses sitting around.

Works fairly well on the 70-200II although there is hunting, which isn't the case with native Fuji lenses. Occasionally overshoots focus, but overall definitely usable.

Sadly doesn't work (yet) with my EF-S 17-55/2.8, or the odd Tamrons I've not got around to selling (18-50/2.8 and 18-270 PZD). The 17-55 autofocuses at 55mm but always back focuses at 18mm for some reason. The Tamrons don't even try.

Still, it's firmware updatable and I notice they're removed the lens compatibility list from most websites and listings, so hopefully they're working on it. Not disappointed as I only really wanted to use the 70-200 anyway :)

ax4qICQ.jpg
 
Associate
Joined
23 Jun 2009
Posts
993
Location
Aberdeenshire
Bought myself used 27mm and 14mm lenses for my X-T20 I bought in the Black Friday sales, really enjoying this camera.

Picked up a Rollei Carbon Taveller after someone posted it here and it's the perfect partner for this camera and some long exposure shots.
 
Associate
Joined
23 Jun 2009
Posts
993
Location
Aberdeenshire
Grabbed one from the usual auction site for £85, its exactly what I have been wanting will sell on my Manfrotto MK290XTC3-3W 290 XTRA Carbon which was excellent but bigger than I needed.
 

olv

olv

Soldato
Joined
12 Jan 2005
Posts
5,295
Location
london
I fancy a new lens, specifically the 23mm f/2 but not sure if it's going to really add much to my existing lens lineup, which consists of:

Samyang 12mm f/2
Fuji 16-50mm kit
Fuji 27mm f/2.8
Fuji 35mm f/1.4
Fuji 55-200mm
Rokkor 58mm 1.4

I use the 35mm the most, really love that lens, I would like the 23mm 1.4 but it's far too expensive. The 23mm f/2 seems like an obvious choice but at £400 it's still quite expensive and I fear not that different to my 27mm in real world terms.

Any gems in the lineup that I am missing out on? I'm not really interested in the 18mm f/2 as optically it does not look as good as the 27mm or get close to the 35mm. The 10-24 looks good, but again is expensive and I use my 12mm 90% of the time if I want to go wide and the 16-50mm performs really well at sensible apertures to fill the gap.

I'm happy with my X-T10 for now and will look at the X-T30 in a year or so when the prices have come down a bit. I just have an itch for a new toy!
 

olv

olv

Soldato
Joined
12 Jan 2005
Posts
5,295
Location
london
Do you have one? Is it good? More than I'd like to spend but I'll take a look at it as it's not one that's been on my radar.
 
Back
Top Bottom