Fujifilm XF23 mm F2 R Weather Resistant Lens, Black

Product Information

With a 35mm equivalent focal length, this lens is perfect for street photography, documentary work, landscapes, and travel photos. Low-light shooters will appreciate the maximum F2 aperture! Matthew Richards is a photographer and journalist who has spent years using and reviewing all manner of photo gear. He is Digital Camera World's principal lens reviewer – and has tested more primes and zooms than most people have had hot dinners!

The only plastic element of the Fujifilm XF 23mm F/2 is the lens cap. The lens cap uses a pinch-release system, but given its size can feel a little clumsy to attach it securely -especially if you have big fingers like mine. I chose the 23mm F2 lens because I wanted to limit myself on the streets. This lens was also very affordable. 23mm was the perfect choice for me. It has a great angle to shoot street photography, the image quality is amazing and the aperture of F2 is enough for me on the streets. The XF 23mm 1.4 R weighs 10.58 oz / 300 g, so the weight saving is not huge when compared to the 6.35 oz / 180 g for the XF 23mm f/2 R WR. No lens is perfect, but some of them are a must-have, and the 23mm f/2.0 WR Fuji falls into this category.

Even though I carried a bag with three lenses, my three weeks trip around Portugal was dominated using one lens. Glued to my Fujifilm X-T20: the Fujifilm 23mm F2.0 WR. This lens has fantastic centre sharpness, but it starts to fade a little in the corners. This isn’t often a major issue for street photographers, though, and sometimes could be more noticeable. Most of the time, if you play around with f-stops, you’ll find the ideal sharpness for your subject. Fujifilm 23 f2 Review Glare and Flare My name is Philipp Meiners. I am 35 years old and I live in a small town (Pop: 30,000) in Northern Germany. Street photography has been my passion for almost one and a half years now, and the Fuji X-T3 with the 23mm F2 lens helped me a lot on this journey. But let us start from the beginning. Some asked why I chose the X-T2 over the X-Pro2 to use with the XF 23mm and the XF 35mm lens while in Hong Kong and Osaka. First, I don’t think that one lens works better with a specific body, but there are some advantages with one over the other. The X-Pro2 has a lower, thinner and smoother profile (the X-T2’s eyecup snags on everything) and works well with these compact primes. However, the larger EVF, articulating LCD, more external dials and larger grip of the X-T2 makes it the performance choice over the X-Pro2. The only reason I chose to bring the X-T2 on both trips is because I needed the superior video capabilities, including the vertical power grip that gives me 2 extra batteries and external headphone monitoring. Moreover for work I choose the X-T2, but for personal work I prefer the X-Pro2.

As mentioned above, one of the biggest pros of the Fujinon xf 23mm f2 is its convenient size. It’s small and compact, which makes it an ideal travel lens. It attaches easily to your camera without adding any unnecessary extra bulk. One of the greatest things about the Fujifilm XF 23mm F/2 is its amazing value for money. By introducing this lens to the line-up, Fujifilm has given consumers more choice and flexibility without compromising on quality.We use Imatest SFR (spatial frequency response) charts and analysis software to plot lens resolution at the center of the image frame, corners and mid-point distances, across the range of aperture settings and, with zoom lenses, at four different focal lengths. The tests also measure distortion and color fringing (chromatic aberration). For that reason, I would always take a smaller, lighter F2 lens over a heavier, bigger F1.4 lens in terms of depth of field. In the past, Fuji cameras have had notoriously inaccurate depth of field scales when shooting in manual focus mode. They’ve finally fixed this problem with the X-Pro2 (latest firmware) and the 23mm f2 lens! Generally speaking most autofocus systems are good enough at this point. But put the Fuji 23mm f2 lens on a Fuji X-Pro2 or X-T2 and you’ve got a speed champion. I tested the lens on an X-Pro2 using the latest firmware and focus was snappy and reliable in all lighting conditions. No hunting, no weirdness. Just instant focus in whatever direction I pointed the camera.

In terms of optical construction, the Fujifilm XF 23mm f2 employs ten elements in six groups, including two aspherical elements. The maximum focal ratio is f2, the aperture employs nine rounded blades and the closest focusing distance is 22cm for a reproduction of 0.13x. Like all of Fujifilm’s prime lenses to date, the XF 23mm f2 does not offer optical stabilisation, so since none of the bodies at the time of writing offered built-in stabilisation either, you’ll need to be aware of minimum shutter speeds to avoid camera-shake; videographers wanting to iron-out any wobbles will need to use third party stabilising rigs. If not, keep reading, and you’ll get a much more in-depth explanation of the lens. Fuji XF 23mm f2 Features I started to watch YouTube Videos, bought my first street photography books and challenged myself on the streets with different topics: lines, reflections, light and shadow or a specific color. What I learned: small towns do also have plenty of possibilities for street photography, you just have to find and see them. The Fujinon xf 23mm f2 lens build quality is slimmer and lighter than other Fujinon lenses, making it a more comfortable option to use on smaller cameras. And without any unnecessary parts and pieces, the lens is slim and fuss-free. At its widest point around the aperture ring, the XF 23mm f2 has a maximum diameter of 57mm, but again this tapers beyond the aperture ring to 45mm by the time you reach the 43mm filter thread at the end. Meanwhile the lens barrel measures 52mm in length, making it a fairly compact walk-around lens, albeit not quite in the pancake territory of models like the XF 27mm f2.8.The closest lens in Fuji’s catalogue, at least in terms of focal length, is the older XF 23mm f1.4. This employs 11 elements in eight groups including one aspherical element, sports a maximum focal ratio of f1.4, uses seven aperture blades, and has a closest focusing distance of 28cm for a maximum reproduction of 0.1x. Again there’s no optical stabilisation. One of the big reasons to shoot with a 35mm FoV is to include more of the environment in the shot with your subject. This helps you paint a better picture of the person in their surroundings – a hallmark trait of environmental portraiture and lifestyle portraiture. So if you are more used to shooting with say a 50mm or 85mm field of view then you will need to keep a much closer eye on what is in the room around your subject than you normally would. Overall, the differences in performance between the f2 and the f1.4 are tiny. The price difference is larger, however. As is the weight. The inner-focus AF system *3uses a stepping motor to drive lightweight focusing elements for silent and fast autofocus. When combined with the phase detection AF system of FUJIFILM X-Pro2 and X-T2, the lens can focus in an astonishing 0.05 seconds *4