Fujifilm Fujinon XF 23mm F1.4 R Review - Review 2022

The Fujifilm Fujinon XF 23mm F1.iv R ($889) is a lens for photographers who crave images with a shallow depth of field, also equally those who desire to gather the most light possible for sharper photos in dim conditions. It captures sharp images, even when paired with a modern 24MP image sensor, and has a focus clutch for photographers who prefer manual focus. It's not weather sealed, like Fujifilm's less expensive, smaller Fujinon XF 23mm F2 R WR, but an f/2 doesn't quite mistiness out backgrounds similar an f/1.iv. Both editions of the XF 23mm earn our Editors' Selection—the 23mm F2 for budget-minded, outdoor photographers who value a low-cal design and conditions sealing, and the 23mm F1.iv for those who require the most background blur.

Design: Real, Physical Controls

The XF 23mm F1.4 R ($799.00 at Amazon) is ane of the larger prime lenses for the X mirrorless system. It measures ii.8 by 2.5 inches (HW), weighs 10.6 ounces, and supports 62mm front filters. It'south certainly bigger than the XF 23mm F2 (2.four by ii.0 inches, vi.4 ounces, 43mm filter thread), but it also captures twice the light when shot at maximum discontinuity.

The barrel is blackness and feels quite sturdy thanks to a metal exterior. At that place'due south no weather sealing like you become with the XF 23mm F2, merely you do become an aperture command ring and a clutch-style manual focus band. The old is common among Fuji Ten lenses. It supports third-stop adjustment from f/1.4 through f/16, and also has an A setting to move discontinuity control to the photographic camera trunk.

The focus clutch isn't something you get on every lens. The transmission focus band turns freely when the lens is set to autofocus, but doesn't do annihilation. But pull the ring in toward the base of the lens and you'll hear a satisfying click. Now it turns with a bit of resistance, with hard stops at the close and afar ends of its focus range. It's even so a focus-by-wire design—turning the band activates a motor to change focus, rather than adjusting it via mechanical means.

In applied terms, though, the XF 23mm's transmission focus behaves much similar a mechanical lens. The manual focus ring is linear, so no matter how fast yous turn information technology, focus will land where the barrel is set up. Printed distance markings are revealed when the lens is gear up to transmission, and there's a corresponding depth of field calibration. You too get a distance scale in the viewfinder, so you know where the lens is set without taking your eye off the action.

The autofocus motor is quick. With the Ten-Pro2 I was able to lock focus in as little as 0.05-second if the focus was fairly spot-on to brainstorm with. Driving the elements from infinity to the minimum focus altitude takes near 0.2-second.

The lens doesn't have image stabilization, which isn't surprising given that it's a wide-angle prime number, covering the same angle of view equally a 35mm on a full-frame system. If you want stabilized results, yous'll demand to pair information technology with a camera body with sensor-based stabilization. Currently only the X-H1 includes the characteristic.

Close focus is available to 11 inches. It certainly doesn't put the lens in macro territory—at best it projects objects onto the sensor at ane:10 life-size. The XF 23mm F2 focuses a chip closer for 1:7.vii capture, but neither is the right tool to selection up the tiniest details of the world. If you lot want a macro lens, wait to the Zeiss Touit 2.eight/50M, the XF 60mm F2.4 R Macro, or the XF 80mm F2.8 R LM OIS WR Macro instead.

Epitome Quality: Sharp and Bright

This is our second fourth dimension testing the XF 23mm F1.4—we looked at it a few years back when 16MP sensors were standard. Merely Fujifilm has moved all of its cameras to 24MP, so nosotros wanted to run into if its optics agree up to the more enervating, higher resolution image sensor.

The reply is a simple yes. At f/i.four information technology puts up to two,322 lines when paired with the X-Pro2 and evaluated using Imatest, meliorate than the ane,800 lines we want to see at a minimum. Edges aren't quite as crisp equally the average, but are nevertheless very stiff for an f/1.4 lens at two,172 lines.

Narrowing the f-terminate improves the overall score to two,589 lines. That's not as strong as the 2,822 lines put up by the XF 23mm F2 at f/2, but lenses with narrower apertures tend to be sharper than those that open to f/one.4.

Run into How We Test Digital Cameras

At f/2.8 the XF 23mm F1.iv improves to 2,711 lines, and resolution continues to tick up equally you narrow the f-stop—2,871 lines at f/4, three,289 lines at f/5.6, 3,244 lines at f/8, and 3,244 lines at f/xi. We encounter the expected drib in clarity at f/16, but at ii,875 lines the lens is still usable at its narrowest f-end.

There'due south a little bit of butt distortion, about 0.8 percent, which is mostly inconsequential in real-world use. If you do have an architectural image where you can see the very slight bowing of straight lines, it'southward an piece of cake fix in photo editing software. Adobe Lightroom includes a 1-click correction for the lens.

There's a modest vignette visible at f/1.4 and f/2. Corners are dimmer than the center of the frame by -1EV, which is visible, but typically doesn't detract from images. Lightroom can correct it as well. At f/ii.viii the deficit drops to -0.5EV, a modest darkening that you aren't likely to notice in images.

A Wide-Angle f/one.4 Lens That Doesn't Disappoint

Fujifilm has long been lauded for its dedication to quality prime lenses for its APS-C 10 mirrorless organisation. The XF 23mm F1.4 R isn't the newest, but its optics manage to measure up to the demands of a 24MP epitome sensor, and it offers the benefits of low-light and shallow depth of field capture that you expect from an f/1.4 lens.

Information technology's not the just 23mm lens available from Fujifilm. The XF 23mm F2 is smaller, weather sealed, and sells for about half the cost. Only it likewise gathers only half the light, and doesn't offer equally pleasant a manual focus experience. They're both excellent lenses and Editors' Choice winners—it's up to you whether shooting at f/i.4 is worth the premium cost.

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Source: https://sea.pcmag.com/lenses/28879/fujifilm-fujinon-xf-23mm-f14-r-review

Posted by: hubbardtheigners.blogspot.com

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