Do I need a 27mm x-mount lens . . .

[daveleo]

for my X-E1, if I also have and love an X100?

Rumors say that, any minute, the 27mm/f2.8 will drop to $300 for about one month.

I have the 18-55 zoom . . . love it.

Do I need the 27mm bad enough to drop $300 on it?

Why woudn't I just carry the X100 also, instead of a 2nd lens for the XE1?

 

[back alley]

it's a great all purpose lens...

 

[burancap]

My favorite XF lens. As I have posted elsewhere, I love that the OVF and the EVF have the same FOV with the 27 on the XP. I can freely flip between the two and never lose my bearings.

Compact, sharp, and affordable. Great lens.

 

[aizan]

depends on how you like to carry your gear around. one camera off the shoulder with a lens in a pocket, or a camera bag that can carry both bodies?

 

[willie_901]

"Why woudn't I just carry the X100 also, instead of a 2nd lens for the XE1?"

Carrying the 27/2.8 and swapping it when you need that angle-of-view means less space and less weight than carrying two cameras.

The 27/2.8 is one of the faster focusing XF lenses as well so it is well suited for the XE-1.

The lens' optical performance is also excellent. The 27/2.8 will not create the odd ghosting patterns on bright, point-source lights in night shots often seen with the X100 lens.

Finally the XE-1 is about one stop better than the X100 in terms of the sensor's analog signal-to-noise ratio (and dynamic range). And my X100 raw files would show banding in dark shadow regions. The XE-1 works well for color up to ISO ~2000. So the 27/2.8 is well suited for low-light photography.

I have no motivation to badmouth the X100. I owned a X100 and very much enjoyed using it as well as the images it produced. I sold mine because I just didn't use it much after the X-Pro 1 arrived. Under different circumstances I would still own it and use it regularly.

 

[rhl-oregon]

Speaking as a sometimes miser--at the moment, in fact--I support using your beloved x100 and your feet for that 28-40mm range, and get a more distinctive prime for the XE, e.g. the 35 1.4 for its drawing at 1.4

But if you love 35/40 more than anything, redundify!

 

[angelopartemi]

I bought my girlfriends X-E1, and the 27mm is the only lens I even thought about buying. I used my 21mm voigtlander for a bit, and really loved it. But, 40mm is my favorite focal length, and I could resist. The only downside for me is the autofocus. I don't think I really like auto anything anymore.

You will not regret the buying the 27mm, if you use it.

 

[macjim]

for my X-E1, if I also have and love an X100? Rumors say that, any minute, the 27mm/f2.8 will drop to $300 for about one month. I have the 18-55 zoom . . . love it. Do I need the 27mm bad enough to drop $300 on it? Why woudn't I just carry the X100 also, instead of a 2nd lens for the XE1?

It really depends on how often you use the X100. If you use the X100 lots then I'd say no to purchasing the 27mm but, if you want to save weight and carry less then yes, buy the 27mm. A contradiction or what I hear you say but it's true. If you use the X100 all the time then you really don't need the lens as you are near enough to make little difference and, where space and safety is available then you only need to walk a few paces the get to the '27 (40mm) mm' point. But, and this is my preference, if you think 35mm is too wide for general use and to me it is, even though I too have an X100s, then,the 27mm is worth the money. It's smaller than the X100/s to carry around along with your X-E1 and, I would think, it'll be sharper and better focusing than the X100 on the X-E1. I too would like to own the 27mm to add to my X-Pro1, 18, 35 & 60 prime lenses but owning the X100s suffices for now - can't afford or justify the money just now. But I'm also in the camp of wanting the TCL-X100 to use with my X100s to give me a 50mm equiv lens: say no more! So in the end it really boils down to what you want to use a 27 mm for and whether you would get the use out of it. I think it's the best compromise lens for street photography as it's not too wide to force you to get too close but also not to narrow that you need to stand too far away to compose your shot. I've always had a 28, 50 & reasonably long zoom with me with all my cameras when I could afford it but now, I stick to the X100s and the X-Pro 1 with the 35mm (50mm) and use either one depending on my mood. I suppose what I'm saying is this: what would you use the 27 mm for? Would you get the use out of it? Would it sit in you bag most of the time? You do have the zoom so look at what you have it set at most of the time and that might answer those questions for you.

 

[daveleo]

Thanks for the comments, always appreciated.
At the moment I'm inclining to buy it, but see if the fever burns out after a day or so.
BHphoto sells the silver version for $400 today. If this rumored deal rebates $150 off that, then $250 is very tempting indeed.

In that case, I would definitely . . . um . . . "redundify" (not a word that I hear every day, Robert).

 

[daveleo]

@macjim . . . your train of thought is specifically what is rattling about in my head, and I don't have all the answers.
On the technical side, I liked hearing willie_901's remarks.
Truth is that if the price drops to $250, I'd be willing to buy one and see what happens (how I use what I have). In 6 months, sell away what I am not using.
I have the quiet fear that my loved and highly accesorized X100 will fall into the shadows. Maybe that's what's really bugging me?

 

[elshaneo]

I bought it earlier this year in April when there was the great Fujifilm sale, it was being sold at 200 USD, at that price, I have to say it was steal, and together with my Fuji X-T1, I now have a compact setup, which is just a little bit bigger than the Fuji X100 that I used to own. As for the output image quality, it is as good as the Fuji XF 35mm f/1.4 at f/2.8, f/4 etc... But also its Autofocus is actually faster. Buy it when you get a good deal, I'm certain you'll be very happy with it especially if you're looking for a compact setup!

 

[MiniMoke]

Oh boy, you're lucky in the US, an XF 27mm for 300$ or less..... we can dream over here in olde Europe. Amazon sells it for 391.30, and that's EUROS!

Anyway, I just ordered one as the 40 to 42mm equivalent focal lengths were always a favorite of mine, on the Oly Trip 35 and the 35SP.

I use my OM Zuiko 28mm f:2.8 with an adapter on the X-E1, but that makes for helluva BIG lens!

Now I have a 15mm Heliar, the 27mm XF and a 50mm Jupiter 8 for a nice set of lenses (22, 40 and 75mm)

We'll see, if the autofocus thingy helps me with my old man's eyes, I might just go X completety...... well no, I'll always use the Heliar, love it

 

[daveleo]

Well, I actually have seen no announcement of this deal from Fujifilm.
It's only a thread that caught fire on another forum. Still waiting to see if it is reality.

 

[MaxElmar]

Yeah, I wouldn't hold your breath waiting for a new one at $199 (from a legit dealer).
Only you know whether you "need" it or not, but I will venture to say that whatever you pay for it, the performance will not disappoint you.

 

[semilog]

the 27 is not hard to find for $200 used; it's a terrific little lens.



lonely by Semilog, on Flickr

 

[daveleo]

Well . . . this morning I dropped $299 on the black version at B&H. Also got a B+W UV filter and an Ebay vented lens hood.

It was marked at $449 with a $150 discount.

 

[alienmeatsack]

I got the 27mm here in the US during the last $200 sale as well. For that price it was a no-brainer I think.

It takes great photos and it's small and out of the way. A perfect day to day lens for the X series bodies.

I do wish it were faster but that's my only complaint. And for $200, that's not even worth complaining about. 😀

 

[burancap]

Looking forward to your results! Love that lens!

 

[willie_901]

Well . . . this morning I dropped $299 on the black version at B&H. Also got a B+W UV filter and an Ebay vented lens hood.

It was marked at $449 with a $150 discount.

Good price!. You will enjoy this excellent, efficient lens.

I use a hood on mine too. The hood provides physical protection, but I think it's optically redundant. I would not use the filter under normal circumstances (no water spray, or dust/sand). Filters just increase the possibility for unwanted reflections as the distance between the XF lenses' rear elements and the sensor is very small.

 

[daveleo]

I am excited to get this. I like "small" for just kicking around and the field of view in nicely between 35 and 50.

Yeh, the filter is for windy, dusty places. My X100 gets occasional ghost images with a filter on it, so I learned that.

Hoping to post to the "Summer in the City" thread when I get this setup down to Boston.

Thanks for the all the nice commentary.