Best XF Lens combinations ?

[srtiwari]

Have just acquired an XE-1 body used, but have no lenses so far. The Metabones Fuji X to M adapter should arrive soon, and allow use of the legacy lenses. 😀
Meanwhile, since there are now around 15 Fuji/Zeiss lenses on the "Roadmap",(and some people at RFF have some of them), I'm interested in their experience and recommendations re: a 2 or 3 lens combination with best possible IQ. 😎
The combo may be 14/35/60, 14/27/35, 27/60 etc., whatever that may provide the best set. Please keep in mind, that I would like to cover as much of the 28 to 90 mm range, as possible.
I'm in no hurry to acquire the set, which means "yet-to-be-released" lens could also be a consideration. "This time around" I'd like to plan my purchases (somewhat) rationally 😱

 

[jsrockit]

The only Fuji lens I'm not a fan of is the 18mm f/2. I know people will get upset that I say this, but it really is a notch below the others and the 18-55mm has better quality at the 18mm setting. The 14mm/35mm/60mm (or 56mm) combo would be good IMO.

I'm currently using the 27mm and 35mm with the new 16-50mm zoom on order. I figure I'll just use the zoom only at 16mm f/3.5 for a cheap 24mm lens.

 

[willie_901]

I have the 14/18/35 combination. I will add the 23 and 56. With these lenses in hand, I will have one more lens than when I used M/LTM lenses.

If I have to choose one lens it would be the 18/2 for its field of view. If I could only add one more I'd add the 35/1.4

I am not interested in adapted lenses.

 

[back alley]

i'm pretty much staying with the fuji af lenses...i have a bunch of minolta mf lenses but rarely use them anymore.
i am very happy with the 18/27/60 set up i use now. i have the 35 as well but it has become a specialty lens for me at the moment.
when out shooting something with lots of possibilities i use the 27/60 with 2 bodies.

 

[GaryLH]

I have all the Fuji fixed focal length lenses plus the xe1 kit zoom. The zit zoom is the fastest and quietest af lens from Fuji. Not interested in the Zeiss lenses. The Fuji's af lenses are good enough for me.

One lens kit - the 27 or 35 or 18-55 zoom
Two lens kit - 14/27 or 18/35

The Fuji lens lineup is really good.. I would choose what lenses u want based on what combinations u have used in the past.

Given u have a 16mp sensor and sensor technology will only get better.. Here on some thoughts about attacking it slightly differently.
- 14 for when u need to shoot in really tight places and for Pano crop. A 14 can be cropped to 28 w/o problems unless u print really big.
- 27 that pancake makes the xe1 so small plus with a 40 pretty easy to take a step forward and u have 50 pov or a step back for 35.
- 23 or 35 for the f1.4 if nothing else
If 18 is really the widest u ever need then maybe the 35 for speed and the kit zoom for everything else. This zoom is not a consumer grade zoom.. They made a really good one.

Have fun w/ it
Gary

 

[Jamie Pillers]

There are good ideas in everything said above. I'd suggest even another line of thinking. You indicated that you have some 'legacy' lenses in M-mount. You might want to think of these as your prime lens kit. For everything else, the 18-55 lens would do nicely. The 18-55 lens is spoken of very highly all over the web. And for a zoom its FAST... f2 to f4.

And ANOTHER idea... the Metabones Speed Booster adapters are very interesting approach to using legacy glass. I've got the Nikkor to Fuji Speed Booster coming in the next few days and am looking forward to turning my Nikkor 24/2.8 into a 26/2 (which right now acts as a 36mm lens on the XPo1), and my Nikkor 50/1.8 pancake into a 54/1.2! 🙂

 

[helen.HH]

Even though the Fuji lenses look stellar
I recently saw a photo here on RFf
From Kirk i think
And it was shot with the Elmar 3.5

It rendered such a Lovely 'retro' classic look
It really turned my Head
And made me think how i might Love this combo

 

[Dunn]

I can pretty much cover my shooting needs with an 18 and 35.

 

[den_sh]

Have just acquired an XE-1 body used, but have no lenses so far. The Metabones Fuji X to M adapter should arrive soon, and allow use of the legacy lenses. 😀
Meanwhile, since there are now around 15 Fuji/Zeiss lenses on the "Roadmap",(and some people at RFF have some of them), I'm interested in their experience and recommendations re: a 2 or 3 lens combination with best possible IQ. 😎
The combo may be 14/35/60, 14/27/35, 27/60 etc., whatever that may provide the best set. Please keep in mind, that I would like to cover as much of the 28 to 90 mm range, as possible.
I'm in no hurry to acquire the set, which means "yet-to-be-released" lens could also be a consideration. "This time around" I'd like to plan my purchases (somewhat) rationally 😱

My roadmap for native lens is 23mm, 56mm, 14mm, 35mm markII (updated with push/pull manual focus and dof scale). Depending on the quality of the 23mm I'll choose on how much am I going to invest into Fuji X system.

The kit will give a nice 21mm, 35mm, 50mm, 85mm equiv combination that should cover 100% of my photo needs. After that we'll finally have a X-Pro3 that will be noticeably better than current gen bodies to warrant an upgrade.

Currently I have X-E1 and some legacy glass in m42 mount. I've tried 18mm but was really disappointed with corner sharpness and didn't really like the focal length itself (not wide enough for wide, too wide for normal.)

 

[srtiwari]

My roadmap for native lens is 23mm, 56mm, 14mm, 35mm markII (updated with push/pull manual focus and dof scale). Depending on the quality of the 23mm I'll choose on how much am I going to invest into Fuji X system.

The kit will give a nice 21mm, 35mm, 50mm, 85mm equiv combination that should cover 100% of my photo needs. After that we'll finally have a X-Pro3 that will be noticeably better than current gen bodies to warrant an upgrade.

Currently I have X-E1 and some legacy glass in m42 mount. I've tried 18mm but was really disappointed with corner sharpness and didn't really like the focal length itself (not wide enough for wide, too wide for normal.)

You're the second person in this short thread to not care for the 18/2. I think thats out of the running for me.

 

[srtiwari]

There are good ideas in everything said above. I'd suggest even another line of thinking. You indicated that you have some 'legacy' lenses in M-mount. You might want to think of these as your prime lens kit. For everything else, the 18-55 lens would do nicely. The 18-55 lens is spoken of very highly all over the web. And for a zoom its FAST... f2 to f4.

And ANOTHER idea... the Metabones Speed Booster adapters are very interesting approach to using legacy glass. I've got the Nikkor to Fuji Speed Booster coming in the next few days and am looking forward to turning my Nikkor 24/2.8 into a 26/2 (which right now acts as a 36mm lens on the XPo1), and my Nikkor 50/1.8 pancake into a 54/1.2! 🙂

Having just received the XE-1, I am comparing the IQ to my summicron 50 on an M9, and am undecided. If that doesn't seem satisfying, I can aways get a 35/1.4 and use it. I would then either go back to an M9 or wait (forever ?) for the M240, in order to use the legacy lenses.:bang:

 

[GaryLH]

The 18 is a f2.. Not many out there doing a f2 in a 28fov. To make a lens for the price they are selling it and it is a f2, they had to compromise. So corner sharpness appears to e the main one for the lens. Not everyone considers sharpness to the edges to be as important. If they had made it a f2.8, most likely would have done a lot better at the corners. Look,at the sigma 19f2.8 on the Nex or the dp1m, it is not as good in the corners as the 30 on either camera..but people still have bought it. In my case I bought a dp1m and 2m.

Gary

 

[back alley]

i like the 18/2

 

[back alley]

 

[back alley]

 

[helen.HH]

Wow Joe, those are ALL the 18
Great show of its perspective
Me lijes the 18 ...which is What Equivalent ??

 

[back alley]

18=28

it's a much better lens then many peg it.

 

[jsrockit]

The 18 is a f2.. Not many out there doing a f2 in a 28fov. To make a lens for the price they are selling it and it is a f2, they had to compromise. So corner sharpness appears to e the main one for the lens. Not everyone considers sharpness to the edges to be as important. If they had made it a f2.8, most likely would have done a lot better at the corners. Look,at the sigma 19f2.8 on the Nex or the dp1m, it is not as good in the corners as the 30 on either camera..but people still have bought it. In my case I bought a dp1m and 2m.

Gary

I get what you are saying, but it's a notch below all of the other 28mm lenses I've used. That said, none of them were f/2... so there is something to be said for that. Additionally, it isn't horrible. It just isn't on par with the other Fuji lenses (which are very, very good).

 

[willie_901]

The problem with the 18/2 is the software barrel distortion correction is so strong the IQ at the frame edges suffers. This is different than simple loss of resolution you see in typical Air Force Test Patten resolution comparisons. But it doesn't matter because the extreme edges don't look nice. I was pleased to see the 27 pan cake design is better, even if it is a stop slower.

The 18/2 is a reportage lens. I like the field of view and I find f 2 useful. But these are priorities for my projects. I do not recommend it for very large, un-cropped landscape prints. The edge artifacts do not affect my work because the frame edges are not important for my subjects when I use this lens. I use the 14 or 35 when edge sharpness is important.

Actually absolute frame edge sharpness does not seem to be a priority in Fuji XF lens design. This doesn't bother me, but it may be an issue for others. I have not spent time studying lens tests for other lenses with simiar maximum aoertures in the XF price ranges to see if they perform any better.

 

[semilog]

The upside of the 18/2 is that its performance is far stronger than many lenses when used wide open. It is already near maximum performance there. So as a low light lens, or a lens to maintain fast shutter speeds, it really excels.