Fujifilm Fujinon XF23mm F1.4 R Lens

Product Information

I am generally quite pleased with the images from the Viltrox AF 23mm f/1.4 at this wedding but did notice two areas for improvement. Fuji claims the lens is this good and it's not being corrected in the Fuji X-T1 on which I shot it. The Sigma 23mm f1.4 DC DN is a mild wide angle lens designed for mirrorless cameras with cropped APSC sensors. Launched in April 2023 and initially available in Sony-e, Leica-L and Fujifilm-X mounts, it delivers coverage equivalent to 35mm, ideal for general-purpose use. Before you ask, there’s no plans for Micro Four Thirds, Canon or Nikon versions, at least not yet. Metal parts are used for the focus and aperture rings, which are designed to give just the right amount of torque and feel in use. Alternatively: If you want to shoot portraits, need more bokeh, and want the extra IQ, choose the f/f1.4.

And finally let’s switch it for the compact XF 23 f2 and as I turn the focusing ring from infinity to the closest distance you’ll see virtually no change in the magnification. So in terms of focus breathing, none of the 23s are bad, but the cheapest 23 f2 is actually the best-behaved of all with essentially no change in magnification. As is the case with most Fuji lenses, the build quality and materials are far superior to what you’d find in its competitors (which tend to make even expensive lenses out of plastic, who knows why). Weather resistance It would have been great to have seen this feature included on the new Fuji 23mm F1.4 - it's a real shame that it's missing. In many cases, the f2 varieties are approximately half the price of their “faster friends”, and the 23mm lens is no exception. If you choose to buy the Fujifilm 23mm f1.4, you can expect to spend approximately twice as much. All lens elements are treated with Fujifilm’s multilayer HT-EBC (High Transmittance Electron Beam Coating) which delivers enhanced durability and ensures an even spread of light across the sensor.

Fujifilm Fujinon XF 23mm F1.4 R LM WR Verdict

The Fujifilm XF 23mm F1.4 R LM WR is capable of producing quite nice sunstars when stopped-down to f/16, as shown below, and flare is well controlled even when shooting straight into the sun, as you can see in the following photos. Macro The provisos mentioned in the introduction are compounded for me by the fact I don’t really get on all that well with 35mm. This is 100% a preference while shooting, as opposed to the output. I love 35mm photography as captured by other photographers, and I appreciate the focal length for environmental portraits, intimacy when used up close, etc. It’s just something I personally struggle with. It’s a focal length I do a lot of cropping in, or wishing was a little wider. The only visible defects if shot at the test range at infinity are some slight coma (rotational edge blurring) at f/1.4, but you'll never see this in actual photography. It's the same as seen in the Canon 35/1.4 L.

Even though the lens is made out of metal and has an f/1.4 aperture, it’s surprisingly lightweight and easy to manage. Coming in at 10.58 ounces (exactly 300 grams), I would consider the 23mm a featherweight when compared to it’s full frame 35mm f/1.4 competition. My aim is to reveal who the subjects are, where they come from, their current circumstances or simply where they live or work. This applies equally throughout my work whether it’s as a Unit Still Photographer where my subjects are actors playing a role to the more observational world of the Documentary where I work with everyday people, and through to my personal work. The Fuji 23mm F1.4 has a smooth manual focusing ring that is focus-by-wire, rather than using a mechanical clutch-based focus ring, but that's also true of every other Fuji X-series lens. The focus ring is smooth in action without being loose, although it has no “hard stops” at either end of the focus range, making it more difficult to focus on infinity. Like most of the lenses in the Fuji line, the 23mm also has an aperture ring. Even the lens hood and lens cap are built to a very high standard.One thing to note, the XF 23mm F1.4 seems to have one of the fastest diffraction drop-offs of any Fuji prime. Between f/8 and f/11 the lens loses more sharpness than I find acceptable. Typically I’m comfortable shooting through the f/11 on Fuji lenses, but I would need a really good reason to go beyond f/8 when shooting RAFs. With JPEGs, Fuji sharpens images up in camera uncannily well. So well in fact you might think about adjusting the sharpening setting down, lest you end up with halos around high contrast areas. Distortion To better reveal any differences in rendering, here’s my close-up bokeh ball test shot from the same distance with all three lenses. Let’s start with the latest 23 1.4 LM WR wide-open at f1.4, then switch to the original 23 1.4 where the bokeh blobs are similar in size but a little less elongated, and finally for the compact 23 f2 which not only has smaller blobs, but also the least symmetrical or circular shapes towards the edges. With the lens set to its maximum aperture of f/1.4, there is some light fall-off in the corners, requiring you to stop down by at least 3 f-stops to completely prevent it. Distortion I personally loved using this lens for the past few years, primarily because it is so light and compact, with a very flexible focal length and an aperture just wide enough that I can still use it in a lot of low-light situations. The Fuji 23mm provides a focal length which exactly matches that of a 35mm optic in a 35mm full-frame system, making it a classic wide-angle prime lens.

The rounded seven-blade diaphragm ensures smooth bokeh even when shooting portraits or product shots at a medium aperture to maintain reasonable depth-of-field.

The Sigma 23mm F1.4 DC DN | C goes fourth, filling a gap in Sigma’s previous trilogy of f/1.4 primes for mirrorless cameras

The fact that the autofocus is so good, as well as silent, makes this an excellent lens for shooting video. Overall, I can’t fault the build quality here. It’s a solid lens, though compared to the original, I like the shorter and fatter feel that lens embodied. Ease of Use