Fully agree. I recently bought the 23mm 1.4 and man, it hasn’t been off my XH1 yet. Superfun to use, indeed. Crazy sharp, great contrast, beautiful “rendering” (whatever that is), fast & silent focus, and simply very versatile.
Omar, yours are my favorite pick-me-up videos to get me through these times .. thank you so much for your always good-humoured, entertaining as well as informative videos. Much appreciated. Thanks.
The funnest lens is the one that the lender said that you can keep it, ‘it’s yours’! 😂🤣😂 In all of seriousness, I myself decided to go for the f2 (including the 16f2.8) versions as I need to keep the kit light and small. Yes the 23f2 is less sharp at close distance at f2, but it was not intended to be used that way. In the end, the lens(es) that I should keep and most fun to use for me are the ones that have probability of being used (or in my bag) all the time; the ones small & light 😁
Same here. It was the focus speed and 35 seemed a bit like an in-between focal length. But it's fine on my Xtrans 3 body with the firmware updated. Without the firmware it seems to be much worse in the shop, especially noisier.
Probably the 35 f/2. Fastest af of the bunch, Only WR lens of the three, most compact, good sharpness, and most of all, with all the money saved I could afford to travel and experience more places!
I have the 35 f1.4 and love it but it does focus slow. I've been debating about getting a 23mm. Is the f1.4 version that much better than the f2 version? The small size of the f2 is appealing.
I love using the 35mm F2, so no real reason to think about the F1.4. I have the 23mm F2 but never really seemed to use it much -- and now that I got the X100V a couple months ago, that's my 23mm fix. I'm currently thinking about trading in the 23mm F2 and maybe one of my 3rd-party lenses for the 16mmF1.4, though, when I want to go wide-angle prime.
I got the 23/1.4. A huge portion of my photography is taking candid shots of the kids, and many of those shots are indoors. Having a fast, close-focusing lens with great build quality checked all my boxes.
...YES..keep it! I have the 23 1.4... I brought it to an evening out door family wedding.. paired with the XT-2..worked out awesome!!! Thanks for the video !!
The 18-55 is sharp already, but the 23 F1.4 is SUPERSHARP indeed (from F/2.0). Lens hood to large (bought the square one). Together with my XT20 it's very 'fun' to shoot with. No distortion what so ever en the colors... It's an amazing lens!
I own the 23mm f1.4. Bought it used and immediately changed out the lens hood for a square hood. I love it. Too bad I had to cancel two big trips due to the pandemic which is why I bought it in the first place, for travel...
Prasannajeet Pani I bought this one: JJC Bayonet Dedicated Metal Lens Hood for Fuji Fujifilm Fujinon Lens XF 23mm F1.4 R,XF 56mm F1.2 R,Replaces Fuji LH-XF23 Lens Hood (Standard Version with a Hood Cap) www.amazon.com/dp/B071G7Q32T/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_i_bMD0Eb7XPYR11
I've had the 23 f2, the 35 f2 and I have the 23 1.4. The former two are great and awesome! But the quality and versatility of the 23 1.4 is unbeatable. The only thing I miss is having a smaller lens, but it's not a problem really. Love mine to bits, and I may reinvest in the f2 version later on, for that small and nice size. Perfect for more private and personal use with absolutely excellent quality.
If you like that 23mm 1.4 check out and review the Viltrox 23mm 1.4. It's supposed to be sharper and faster focusing than the Fuji - also a lot cheaper at $330.
Yeah it's a more affordable option. But that clickless aperture ring though...I'd honestly rather not have one at all and use the command dial instead. Would have lowered the cost another bit no doubt.
@@sean_mc , I haven't tried it, but the lens locks in A. Can't the aperture be adjusted by a command dial while in A? Not near my gear for a few day so can't check it out...
I just acquired a used 23mm f1.4 a few weeks ago. It's was one I wanted for a long time. I swapped out that large lens hood for a third-party square one that's much smaller in profile. As for the sharpest it's great. It's perfect for my XT-3 and works fine on my X-Pro 2. Side note: The manual clutch I do like it and it does going into manual focus. However, if you want to use focus peaking, you have to set the camera to manual to enable focus peaking.
The 23mm f/1.4 was the first lens I purchased for my Fuji X body. The 23mm f/2 came with the 4th Fuji X body I purchased. Love them both. The faster f/1.4 lens works best when shooting in dim light. The weather resistant f/2 lens works best when shooting in wet weather.
27mm F/2.8 is GLUED to my Fuji's. I toss my 35, 50 and 60 in my bag, but generally, the 40mm equivalent field of view is so perfect for causal and street shooting.
Another reason, some old school point and shoot film camera are either 35mm or 38mm, so the 40 is close enough to the 38mm. Again, 40mm equiv. perfect for street and causal, and if I want a portrait I whip out the 50 or 60mm.
I got the 23 f2 and I love how compact it is, its very fast! Accurate!, creates nice rendering and bokeh. All these lenses are good, question is what kind of photographer you are and what do you shoot! For casual shots 23 f2 is great!. I owned the 35 1.4 and yes, it did indeed had "something", can't describe it, but a "feel" it wasnt the sharpest of fastest or had a great accuracy, but I don't know. My lest setup was 10-24 35.14 and 56 1.2. , now I'm on the samyang 12 f2, 23 f2, 35 f2, and 90 f2, considering the 50 f2 also. If I would keep only ONE, it would be 23 f2, honestly, its great for everything, im sure 1.4 version is great too
I own the 23mm 1.4, 16mm 1.4 and the 56mm 1.2 and I always find the 23mm is a favourite. Everything about the lens is amazing. There's something about it that just feels right and it pretty much stays on my camera 90% of the time
I keep telling you Omar, if you want to try a really fun lens for the Fuji system, try the Mitakon 35mm f0.95. It certainly has some issues like soft corners and heavy vignetting but it is just so much fun to shoot. The 23 1.4 is a great lens though which I also own.
JD Moros I broke down and got the 8- 16!! Its not fun to carry around or use but I love the wide rectilinear profile. Expensive and great foe landscaping and architecture. Got to be careful when using it to include close objects in the frame can sometimes looks a little warped. Keep the horizontal and vertical straight its renders as a beauty. Love it.
Yeah: When I switched over from Canon, the 23mm f1.4 was the first lens I bought. And I really love using it. In places where you can zoom with your feet, you can shoot almost anything with it. But wandering: which 35mm did you enjoy the most?
Omar Gonzalez Photography On the X-Pro 3, the lens is apparent too big at the base and it will scratch the lens release button. The pressure of the lens pushing on the button probably also isn’t good for the mount on the camera or the lens. I wasn’t aware that this was also an issue on the XT4, so I don’t know if this is it or something else.
Omar Gonzalez Photography all I’ve seen is what has been said about the lens catching the lens release button in the xpro3. Didn’t say anything about the other xpro cameras (assuming they’ve moved it a tiny amount and viltrox didn’t account for it) or the xt4
Great video as always Omar. I have an XT3 and almost all of fuji prime lenses and a Zeiss 12mm lens. If you enjoyed the 23mmF1.4, i think you'll really like the 90mm (sharper than 23mm) and also the Zeiss 12mmtouit for fuji x mount! I recommended other lenses, but in all honesty, the 23mmF1.4 is the lens that sits on my camera the most haha. it's such a great lens!
Nice review... I have 16mm f1.4, 23mm f1.4, 35mm f1.4 and 56mm f.1.2 for my xt3, and also 16-35mm f2.8, 24-70mm f2.8, 70-200mm f2.8 and metabones mkV for my sony A73, but at the end of the day i conclude no matter camera and lens you have, your imagination and creativity are the most important thing. Just go out, grab your gear and take lots of pictures...
Actually it does, but the man who sells it sent me a chart saying it does not. But i double checked with viltrox and their website and fb page. It is compatible with xt4. There is this TH-cam video on it but it is in cantonese. Basically it says viltrox 23 is rated 70-80% as good optically as the xf 23mm f1.4, with viltrox sharper than xf 23 wide open and both lenses give similar centre performance across other apertures. However corner performance is not as good as the xf 23mm f1.4.
I had the 23mm f2 and sold it for the 35 f1.4. You are definitely right about the auto-focus on the 35mm f1.4. It hunts around and I'm not very pleased. I do like both the 23mm and 35mm focal length on the APS-C format so maybe a 23mm f1.4 is the next addition!
Hey Omar. Big fan of your channel. Been watching for 2 years+ and have watched everything including your podcasts. Am interested in how you typically set shadows and highlights in camera on the Fujifilm, since you frequently use SOOC JPEGs. Would love to see your reasoning and preferences. Also interested in how you might change them based on the film simulation you're using. (Background: I'm using the X-T3 and don't post process, as I don't have a lot of time. In the X-T3 and X-H1 they introduced a new setting called Dynamic Range Priority a.k.a. DRP, which combines Dynamic Range, Shadows, and Highlights. Have been experimenting to find out the optimal way to go; i.e. set them individually or just use DRP)
I think once Viltrox sorts out a few little quirks with the 23, 33mm 1.4 lenses they'll be next on my agenda. In the mean time I'm using my inexpensive 7Artisans 25mm f1.8 lens (£50) which is an amazing bang for the buck lens.
I used to switch from the fujilux to fujicron series for 23, 35 and 50 because of the size, focusing speed and the weather resistance but finally I had to comeback to the old friends 23/1.4, 35/1.4 and 56/1.2 that I feel more confident with even they are bigger and heavier.
I just got my 23/1.4 a few days ago for super cheap (relatively) from LensAuthority. What a fantastic lens this is wow. I replaced my 23/2 with it. I haven't shot much with it yet, so I'll have to test it out more, but it's looking to be very promising. Edit: if you do decide to keep the 23/1.4, get the square hood for it. It's not nearly as big and unwieldy as the stock hood.
I’m probably going to get the 23 mm my theory is that if you do need to shoot a portrait you can always move forward and get a little bit closer to your subject and crop it if you need to. While the 23 is not a portrait lens if you do need to move forward you can still get a portrait with decent Bokeh …Where is with the 35mm you are a bit of a slave to the focal length you can’t make it wider where is with the 23 mm it is easier to move forward to a subject or a composition and then crop it if you need to be it to look a certain way. And with the high megapixel cameras these days cropping is not a bad thing so for me I will be looking at the 23 mm 1.4
I've been hacking around with the 18-55 since I gleefully moved over to Fuji a couple of years ago. Partly cos it's versatile, partly cos I'm lazy and partly cos I'm poor I've always stuck with the general zooms since I 'sold out and went digital' 15 years ago. It's handy to have it all and, if you're going to sell a kidney to get a lens... you want to be sure you're covered. But... since my passion has been so wonderfully reinvigorated by my X-T20, (the feel, the size... sometimes I'm tempted to 'wind' the thing) I've noticed I've been pining for the days when I'd walk around with my K1000, a 50, a 2x and that was IT. All of it. For years and years. Even though I retrain every digital I've had to be as manual as it would let me, I've discovered that I miss the manual-ness (?) of moving my entire person to make a frame. SO... today I went out and rented the 35 1.4 to take it for a test drive and the FIRST thing I noticed was that the autofocus (ok there mr 'manual') sounds like a beginner pulling first semester record scratching in 1982. chick-a-chick-a-chick-a-chick-a-chwoop (I'm doing the robot over here. it's fly) The FIRST thing I did when I got in was come over here the hear that I should have come here in the first place. (see what I did there?) Now I'm sure I'm going for the 2.0. Are those stops that important to me? For the extra dough? Heck no. ...but now you got me wondering about that pricey 23mm... grr... How many kidneys do you need to live, again? Thanks for your channel. Your presence is refreshingly layman and not camera-snobby/gear-headed at all. If there's anything the photography world needs is to just take it down a couple dozen notches and you do that very well.
totally agree, love the 23, yes, super sharp and like you said I just want it on my camera all the time, in fact, so much so I usually just carry an extra body permanently mounted to it.
i had the 23/1.4 & the 23/2 and sell all my primes and the x-t30 and bought a x100v - because this is fun for me. an a"lways-on camera" has to be so small that it fits in every jacket pocket or even in my cargo pants, then i really have it with me. besides, the leaf-shutter is simply fun - flash with 1/2000 - yeah!
My favorite fuji primes are the 23 f2 and the 18mm f2. You should review the 18mm f2 I was surprised how cool it is, I have read soooo many bad things about it that I bought it :) it is amazing! my hated lens is the 18-55, maybe is my copy but it is very bad at 18mm...
Sending love from Canada, Omar...love your reviews and tutorials! I'm still shooting my Fuji XT-1 and been thinking about 23mm F1.4...And thanks for visitin' the Asian community, it hasn't been the best of days for us...hahaha...lol...:) Love and peace, Brother!
I have the 23 f1.4 and it is probably my most used lens. Thinking about adding a 35 mm option and have been playing around with an adapted Nikon 35 f1.8 DX lens. I am liking the results but it’s not a very pleasant lens to manual focus with. I am leaning towards the 1.4 but both the 1.4 and 2.0 seem to give great results.
Hi Omar. For out and about on the street With Fuji i find myself going 23 f1.4 on the XH1 as it sits beautifully on the larger body. I also bought the square lens hood which looks ultra cool. The 50mm f2 on the Xpro2 which has superb micr contrast or the X100f if I am traveling and being really minimalist. Regards from the Desert Steve.
From the three : for me definitely the 23 f1.4. Love this lens. AF is better in the 35 f2, but I just love the 23mm focal length. And the image quality ist also great.
In terms of sharpness, I'd caveat that it super depends on what you're shooting. For street/landscapes I'm sure what you found is true. For getting sharp eyes on people and subject separation, the 35 f2 is actually a lot sharper than both Fuji 23's. Both of them are pretty soft wide open at any distance where you'd take portraits (like of kids). Just my two cents. I've been wanting a 35mm FoV Fuji lens that can shoot portraits like the Sony 35mm 1.8, which is insanely sharp at distances at which you'd shoot small humans, and it doesn't exist.
Primes? I have Zeiss 12mm, Fuji 16mm f/1.4, Fuji 35mm f/1.4, Fuji 56mm f/1.2 and Fuji 90mm f/2.0. If I can't make it happen with those, no 23mm is going to make it happen. Every one of them is a wonderful lens, but none has the magic of the 35mm f/1.4.
Completely agree! The 35mmf2 was my first prime and still has a special place, but that 23mmf1.4 is the one glued to my X-T2 the most. Super versatile, sharp as sharp can be, and that beautiful rendering it has... The 35mmf1.4's zuuup zuup drove me crazy too, and the 23mmf2 just doesn't let you get close enough... Super videos Omar! I was surprised your 56mmf1.2 didn't feature in this one though :) Perhaps the 14mm would be fun too? Anyway, I'll dig up some 23mmf1.4 shots later and send my Instagram! Love the shot with your cheeky masked up self in the reflection!
The 1.4s have S.C style contrast, and less saturation, so if you're shooting soft portraits, or black and whites, and you want that shadow detail, they're great for that. I prefer the punch and colour of the f2 lenses personally. I just keep my 35f1.4 for low light.
@@truejungli8507 single coating. Basically a low contrast look with a pastel look. Multi coating generally is harder contrast more saturated colour pop.
I think this video contradicts another video that you made.. on the other video, you recommended the 35mm f2 as the prime to have if you can only have one prime. Which one is it Omar? I am looking to buy my first fuji prime and currently looking at ytube videos for ideas and suggestions. Don't worry, I'm still a fan of yours and has subscribed and seen most, if not all, of your videos. Keep 'em coming.
I use Nikon and I constantly get a much better bokeh on Nikon f/1.8 lenses as compared to Fuji f/1.4 (which cost also 2x of Nikon). There are lots of camera comparisons, but I would like to see a shootout between Nikon lenses and fuji.
@@marcinpietrzak1824 I bought the 23mm f2 lens because I didn't really like shooting at 1.4.. And it's not weather sealed. Also, taking photos of a small child running around, f4 gets more in focus. I've got the 35mm f2, but to be honest the 23mm f2 hardly comes off my camera..it's perfect for portraits of the kid
Hi @Omar, congratulations for your videos, I really like them. I saw the one where you speak about the 23mm f1.4 and the one where you speak about the 16mm f1.4 and i would like to ask you which one, in your opinion, performs better in terms of image quality, colours and distortion, not minding about the other aspects. Thankyou very much
I may have had a bad copy, but of the 16, 23, 35 and 50 'fujicrons' the 35 was my least favourite. The auto-focus just felt sluggish on it compared to the others... I am currently waiting to hear about the xf33mm f1.4 to see whether i should get that, or this xf35mm f1.4
I own the 16mm 1.4. Awesome lens but I don't think I'm ready for it. I might sell it and buy the 23mm 1.4 instead. Seems like an awesome allround lens.
Fin vídeo!!!! I would also like to have one of this , for the manual mechanism and the parameters on the lens. But I will go first for the 35 f2 for its price...
To be honest.. is it because you use pancake lens most of the time for your day to day shooting, and then the 23mm is the most similar with the pancake, which is 27mm, so it's like your comfort zone?
can you also talk about manual focus or try to talk about zone focusing with the 23mm please? is it faster manual focusing on that lens compared to the other lens?
Hi! I'm from Lisbon, I've been in NY in 2017 and 2019 and I expect to return there in 2021... So it is a joy to my eyes to see you videos and I listen very carefully what you comment in them. I now have a XS10 and started to buy some lenses... I have the 16mm f1.4, and I'm looking for a companion for this one for low light/night photography and also street. Which do you recommend? Thanks and stay safe.
Yes please give us more samples and review of 23mm 1.4... looking forward to purchase this one, still need more reviews to convince me.. specially the viltrox 23mm is already out for fujifilm x mount...
I want to know what you think of the focus clutch. Fuji lenses that I bought have such a bad manual focus experience. Does the clutch improve the manual experience?
I recently bought an xpro2 and found that it balances so well with the 23/1.4. I haven't had the time to go out and shoot street with it yet but when I do, I'll be using it with the clutch disengaged so I can use it for zone focusing
That clutch is a major plus. If only the lens weighed less I would consider it for my XP2. I would probably rather get the Color Skopar 21mm f4 for zone focusing, with an adapter.
@@AlbertVillaroman I am too used to using and loving an XE2. The X Pro with 35 1.4 is as big and heavy as I want to go. But it would be different if I was shooting more seriously like landscapes, instead of just quick street snapshots.
Somehow I always go back to the 35mm f 1.4. Something truly special about that lens
Fully agree. I recently bought the 23mm 1.4 and man, it hasn’t been off my XH1 yet. Superfun to use, indeed. Crazy sharp, great contrast, beautiful “rendering” (whatever that is), fast & silent focus, and simply very versatile.
Omar, yours are my favorite pick-me-up videos to get me through these times .. thank you so much for your always good-humoured, entertaining as well as informative videos. Much appreciated. Thanks.
I misread that as”funniest” fuji lens. This is a fine video, but now I really want to know which one is funniest.
Harold Bernard probably the 35mm f2 looks stumpy
Same
Heh heh. So did I!
me too, lol
Strange, so did i
The funnest lens is the one that the lender said that you can keep it, ‘it’s yours’! 😂🤣😂
In all of seriousness, I myself decided to go for the f2 (including the 16f2.8) versions as I need to keep the kit light and small. Yes the 23f2 is less sharp at close distance at f2, but it was not intended to be used that way. In the end, the lens(es) that I should keep and most fun to use for me are the ones that have probability of being used (or in my bag) all the time; the ones small & light 😁
I just got the 35mm f1.4 and love the images it produces. I can't believe it took me so long to get one.
Same here. It was the focus speed and 35 seemed a bit like an in-between focal length. But it's fine on my Xtrans 3 body with the firmware updated. Without the firmware it seems to be much worse in the shop, especially noisier.
Comment below. If you could pick one...which would it be?
Probably the 35 f/2. Fastest af of the bunch, Only WR lens of the three, most compact, good sharpness, and most of all, with all the money saved I could afford to travel and experience more places!
I have the 35 f1.4 and love it but it does focus slow. I've been debating about getting a 23mm. Is the f1.4 version that much better than the f2 version? The small size of the f2 is appealing.
23mm f1.4 soon to be replaced by the Viltrox maybe...
I love using the 35mm F2, so no real reason to think about the F1.4. I have the 23mm F2 but never really seemed to use it much -- and now that I got the X100V a couple months ago, that's my 23mm fix. I'm currently thinking about trading in the 23mm F2 and maybe one of my 3rd-party lenses for the 16mmF1.4, though, when I want to go wide-angle prime.
I got the 23/1.4. A huge portion of my photography is taking candid shots of the kids, and many of those shots are indoors. Having a fast, close-focusing lens with great build quality checked all my boxes.
...YES..keep it! I have the 23 1.4... I brought it to an evening out door family wedding.. paired with the XT-2..worked out awesome!!! Thanks for the video !!
Love that 23. It's weirdly sharp, has lovely character, and is just a pleasure to use. I use it at events and it's great.
hey, i just bought an XT-3 with the 35mm 1.4, im in love!
Good choice! :)
I got the X-T30 with the 18-55 kit lens... I left my wife.
The Fuji 16mm F1.4 has to be the FUNNEST for me. The things you can do with that lens and the close "macro" focusing is just so fun
The 18-55 is sharp already, but the 23 F1.4 is SUPERSHARP indeed (from F/2.0). Lens hood to large (bought the square one). Together with my XT20 it's very 'fun' to shoot with. No distortion what so ever en the colors... It's an amazing lens!
My #1 Fujifilm lens.
I own the 23mm f1.4. Bought it used and immediately changed out the lens hood for a square hood. I love it. Too bad I had to cancel two big trips due to the pandemic which is why I bought it in the first place, for travel...
Roger Would you please share the link for the hood you purchased? I am looking for a reliable square hood for my 23mm f1.4 too
Prasannajeet Pani I bought this one: JJC Bayonet Dedicated Metal Lens Hood for Fuji Fujifilm Fujinon Lens XF 23mm F1.4 R,XF 56mm F1.2 R,Replaces Fuji LH-XF23 Lens Hood (Standard Version with a Hood Cap) www.amazon.com/dp/B071G7Q32T/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_i_bMD0Eb7XPYR11
I've had the 23 f2, the 35 f2 and I have the 23 1.4. The former two are great and awesome! But the quality and versatility of the 23 1.4 is unbeatable. The only thing I miss is having a smaller lens, but it's not a problem really. Love mine to bits, and I may reinvest in the f2 version later on, for that small and nice size. Perfect for more private and personal use with absolutely excellent quality.
35 f2 is a superb lens... And weather-resistant too... It was my main lens when I had my X-T1 before I sold my to buy my X100V
If you like that 23mm 1.4 check out and review the Viltrox 23mm 1.4. It's supposed to be sharper and faster focusing than the Fuji - also a lot cheaper at $330.
Yeah it's a more affordable option. But that clickless aperture ring though...I'd honestly rather not have one at all and use the command dial instead. Would have lowered the cost another bit no doubt.
Just picked it up. 👍🏼
@@sean_mc , I haven't tried it, but the lens locks in A. Can't the aperture be adjusted by a command dial while in A? Not near my gear for a few day so can't check it out...
Corners are pretty bad on that viltrox. Both in sharpness and vingetting.
@@adomolis who cares about corners
I got the 35f2 a week ago and I LOVE it! I got the 50f2 on Wednesday and love it even more!
I have the same kit (including 16f2.8) but for some reason I like the 35f2 better than the 50f2.
I just acquired a used 23mm f1.4 a few weeks ago. It's was one I wanted for a long time. I swapped out that large lens hood for a third-party square one that's much smaller in profile. As for the sharpest it's great. It's perfect for my XT-3 and works fine on my X-Pro 2.
Side note: The manual clutch I do like it and it does going into manual focus. However, if you want to use focus peaking, you have to set the camera to manual to enable focus peaking.
35f2. Fits perfect with my X-E3 walking around town, hiking, etc. I prefer the angle of view of the 35mm. 23mm seems a bit awkward to me.
The 23mm f/1.4 was the first lens I purchased for my Fuji X body. The 23mm f/2 came with the 4th Fuji X body I purchased. Love them both.
The faster f/1.4 lens works best when shooting in dim light.
The weather resistant f/2 lens works best when shooting in wet weather.
I keep the 23 f2 on my T2 don't miss the 1.4 as it's a lot smaller on the T2
27mm F/2.8 is GLUED to my Fuji's. I toss my 35, 50 and 60 in my bag, but generally, the 40mm equivalent field of view is so perfect for causal and street shooting.
Another reason, some old school point and shoot film camera are either 35mm or 38mm, so the 40 is close enough to the 38mm. Again, 40mm equiv. perfect for street and causal, and if I want a portrait I whip out the 50 or 60mm.
I was ready to pull the trigger on the 23 f1.4 , but then I saw that TOKINA is coming out with it's version, so I'm waiting to see how it compares.
I like the 23 mm f2, small and pretty good.
I got the 23 f2 and I love how compact it is, its very fast! Accurate!, creates nice rendering and bokeh. All these lenses are good, question is what kind of photographer you are and what do you shoot!
For casual shots 23 f2 is great!. I owned the 35 1.4 and yes, it did indeed had "something", can't describe it, but a "feel" it wasnt the sharpest of fastest or had a great accuracy, but I don't know.
My lest setup was 10-24 35.14 and 56 1.2. , now I'm on the samyang 12 f2, 23 f2, 35 f2, and 90 f2, considering the 50 f2 also.
If I would keep only ONE, it would be 23 f2, honestly, its great for everything, im sure 1.4 version is great too
I own the 23mm 1.4, 16mm 1.4 and the 56mm 1.2 and I always find the 23mm is a favourite. Everything about the lens is amazing. There's something about it that just feels right and it pretty much stays on my camera 90% of the time
Agreed! The 23mm 1.4 is glued on my XH1, using it 90% of the time shooting photos and videos.
I keep telling you Omar, if you want to try a really fun lens for the Fuji system, try the Mitakon 35mm f0.95. It certainly has some issues like soft corners and heavy vignetting but it is just so much fun to shoot. The 23 1.4 is a great lens though which I also own.
I get my fill of 23mm FL from my X100s and pretty much glue the 35mm F2 on my XT2. When I go out to shoot street, these 2 are always in my bag.
Lovely.. I do desire a wide Angle lens from Fuji, say 8-16mm and Weather sealed for rainy days ☺️
JD Moros I broke down and got the 8- 16!! Its not fun to carry around or use but I love the wide rectilinear profile. Expensive and great foe landscaping and architecture. Got to be careful when using it to include close objects in the frame can sometimes looks a little warped. Keep the horizontal and vertical straight its renders as a beauty. Love it.
Haha I thought it said funniest too! If I could only have one Fuji lens it would be the 35 1.4. I find the 23m 1.4 has even slower autofocus.
Yeah: When I switched over from Canon, the 23mm f1.4 was the first lens I bought. And I really love using it. In places where you can zoom with your feet, you can shoot almost anything with it.
But wandering: which 35mm did you enjoy the most?
I would like to echo some other comments and say that I would also be interested to hear your thoughts on the 1.4 Viltrox lenses.
TheSH1N1GAM1 just bought it to try. Stay tuned.
Do note the viltrox doesn't work on xpro series and xt4. I was also looking at it.
@@Melodyelizabethgoh Doesn't work? Why? No "AF" with those cameras?
Omar Gonzalez Photography On the X-Pro 3, the lens is apparent too big at the base and it will scratch the lens release button. The pressure of the lens pushing on the button probably also isn’t good for the mount on the camera or the lens. I wasn’t aware that this was also an issue on the XT4, so I don’t know if this is it or something else.
Omar Gonzalez Photography all I’ve seen is what has been said about the lens catching the lens release button in the xpro3. Didn’t say anything about the other xpro cameras (assuming they’ve moved it a tiny amount and viltrox didn’t account for it) or the xt4
Great video as always Omar. I have an XT3 and almost all of fuji prime lenses and a Zeiss 12mm lens. If you enjoyed the 23mmF1.4, i think you'll really like the 90mm (sharper than 23mm) and also the Zeiss 12mmtouit for fuji x mount! I recommended other lenses, but in all honesty, the 23mmF1.4 is the lens that sits on my camera the most haha. it's such a great lens!
👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻 keep it! buy the square lens hood. Great lens.
I love my 23mm f1.4 on my xt3. Awesome lens.
23mm is pretty great and that's why I like my x100t. I am jelly of the 1.4 aperture though.
It is fun! The 23 1.4!!!
Nice review... I have 16mm f1.4, 23mm f1.4, 35mm f1.4 and 56mm f.1.2 for my xt3, and also 16-35mm f2.8, 24-70mm f2.8, 70-200mm f2.8 and metabones mkV for my sony A73, but at the end of the day i conclude no matter camera and lens you have, your imagination and creativity are the most important thing. Just go out, grab your gear and take lots of pictures...
I freaking love it when you turn a blooper into the content. Brilliant as hell!
Actually it does, but the man who sells it sent me a chart saying it does not. But i double checked with viltrox and their website and fb page. It is compatible with xt4. There is this TH-cam video on it but it is in cantonese. Basically it says viltrox 23 is rated 70-80% as good optically as the xf 23mm f1.4, with viltrox sharper than xf 23 wide open and both lenses give similar centre performance across other apertures. However corner performance is not as good as the xf 23mm f1.4.
I had the 23mm f2 and sold it for the 35 f1.4. You are definitely right about the auto-focus on the 35mm f1.4. It hunts around and I'm not very pleased. I do like both the 23mm and 35mm focal length on the APS-C format so maybe a 23mm f1.4 is the next addition!
I wish you could find some side by side examples of the 23 f1.4 and f2
Hey Omar. Big fan of your channel. Been watching for 2 years+ and have watched everything including your podcasts. Am interested in how you typically set shadows and highlights in camera on the Fujifilm, since you frequently use SOOC JPEGs. Would love to see your reasoning and preferences. Also interested in how you might change them based on the film simulation you're using. (Background: I'm using the X-T3 and don't post process, as I don't have a lot of time. In the X-T3 and X-H1 they introduced a new setting called Dynamic Range Priority a.k.a. DRP, which combines Dynamic Range, Shadows, and Highlights. Have been experimenting to find out the optimal way to go; i.e. set them individually or just use DRP)
I think once Viltrox sorts out a few little quirks with the 23, 33mm 1.4 lenses they'll be next on my agenda. In the mean time I'm using my inexpensive 7Artisans 25mm f1.8 lens (£50) which is an amazing bang for the buck lens.
I used to switch from the fujilux to fujicron series for 23, 35 and 50 because of the size, focusing speed and the weather resistance but finally I had to comeback to the old friends 23/1.4, 35/1.4 and 56/1.2 that I feel more confident with even they are bigger and heavier.
Love the hood on the 35mm f/1.4, wish the f/2 comes with a hood like that
Get the JJC hood for the 35mm - looks awesome.
man I've been debating forever to which one I should get.. 23mm 1.4 it is.
I just got my 23/1.4 a few days ago for super cheap (relatively) from LensAuthority. What a fantastic lens this is wow. I replaced my 23/2 with it. I haven't shot much with it yet, so I'll have to test it out more, but it's looking to be very promising.
Edit: if you do decide to keep the 23/1.4, get the square hood for it. It's not nearly as big and unwieldy as the stock hood.
Why did you sell the 23 f2.its good for video autofocus
I’m probably going to get the 23 mm my theory is that if you do need to shoot a portrait you can always move forward and get a little bit closer to your subject and crop it if you need to. While the 23 is not a portrait lens if you do need to move forward you can still get a portrait with decent Bokeh …Where is with the 35mm you are a bit of a slave to the focal length you can’t make it wider where is with the 23 mm it is easier to move forward to a subject or a composition and then crop it if you need to be it to look a certain way. And with the high megapixel cameras these days cropping is not a bad thing so for me I will be looking at the 23 mm 1.4
I got the tiny but mighty 23 f2 R WR, because it was cheap and also very sharp.
What about the 90mm f2? Besides feeling like Rambo wielding an m60 machine gun, It's honestly the most underrated prime in my opinion..
Thanks for that review! I am currently on the hunt for a prime lens and was leaning toward 23 f/1.4. I think my mind is made up now!
I've been hacking around with the 18-55 since I gleefully moved over to Fuji a couple of years ago. Partly cos it's versatile, partly cos I'm lazy and partly cos I'm poor I've always stuck with the general zooms since I 'sold out and went digital' 15 years ago. It's handy to have it all and, if you're going to sell a kidney to get a lens... you want to be sure you're covered.
But... since my passion has been so wonderfully reinvigorated by my X-T20, (the feel, the size... sometimes I'm tempted to 'wind' the thing) I've noticed I've been pining for the days when I'd walk around with my K1000, a 50, a 2x and that was IT. All of it. For years and years. Even though I retrain every digital I've had to be as manual as it would let me, I've discovered that I miss the manual-ness (?) of moving my entire person to make a frame.
SO... today I went out and rented the 35 1.4 to take it for a test drive and the FIRST thing I noticed was that the autofocus (ok there mr 'manual') sounds like a beginner pulling first semester record scratching in 1982. chick-a-chick-a-chick-a-chick-a-chwoop (I'm doing the robot over here. it's fly)
The FIRST thing I did when I got in was come over here the hear that I should have come here in the first place. (see what I did there?)
Now I'm sure I'm going for the 2.0. Are those stops that important to me? For the extra dough? Heck no.
...but now you got me wondering about that pricey 23mm... grr... How many kidneys do you need to live, again?
Thanks for your channel. Your presence is refreshingly layman and not camera-snobby/gear-headed at all. If there's anything the photography world needs is to just take it down a couple dozen notches and you do that very well.
totally agree, love the 23, yes, super sharp and like you said I just want it on my camera all the time, in fact, so much so I usually just carry an extra body permanently mounted to it.
i had the 23/1.4 & the 23/2 and sell all my primes and the x-t30 and bought a x100v - because this is fun for me. an a"lways-on camera" has to be so small that it fits in every jacket pocket or even in my cargo pants, then i really have it with me. besides, the leaf-shutter is simply fun - flash with 1/2000 - yeah!
My favorite fuji primes are the 23 f2 and the 18mm f2. You should review the 18mm f2 I was surprised how cool it is, I have read soooo many bad things about it that I bought it :) it is amazing! my hated lens is the 18-55, maybe is my copy but it is very bad at 18mm...
Sending love from Canada, Omar...love your reviews and tutorials! I'm still shooting my Fuji XT-1 and been thinking about 23mm F1.4...And thanks for visitin' the Asian community, it hasn't been the best of days for us...hahaha...lol...:) Love and peace, Brother!
Kevin Lee 😁🙏🏽
I have the 23 f1.4 and it is probably my most used lens. Thinking about adding a 35 mm option and have been playing around with an adapted Nikon 35 f1.8 DX lens. I am liking the results but it’s not a very pleasant lens to manual focus with. I am leaning towards the 1.4 but both the 1.4 and 2.0 seem to give great results.
Thanks for the info! Just ordered the f2 for my X-T3.
la mas divertida comparaciòn de lentes que he visto en mucho tiempo¡¡¡ muchas gracias Omar¡¡¡
The 23 1.4 is my most used lens...excellent pick 🎉
For me it's a no-brainer it's the 27mm F2.8 I really just enjoy that lens.
Agree with your findings Omar, I sold my 23 f2 and got the 1.4 version and just love it!!
Hi Omar. For out and about on the street With Fuji i find myself going 23 f1.4 on the XH1 as it sits beautifully on the larger body. I also bought the square lens hood which looks ultra cool. The 50mm f2 on the Xpro2 which has superb micr contrast or the X100f if I am traveling and being really minimalist. Regards from the Desert Steve.
about to pick up the 23mm f1.4 today - stoked!
16mm f1.4, that's my choice...and I know it's yours too :P
I love my fujinon 35 1.4..
From the three : for me definitely the 23 f1.4. Love this lens. AF is better in the 35 f2, but I just love the 23mm focal length. And the image quality ist also great.
Love the Steinhart!
Jon damn. Me too! Thanks
If you convert both focal length and aperture, 23 mm f1.4 APS-C is equivalent to 35 mm f2.0 in full frame. That for me is a perfect combo.
Not quite. It is 35mm on FOV, 23mm on compression, f1.4 on light gathering, and f2.1 on DOF. It will never be equal to a 35mm on a full frame.
In terms of sharpness, I'd caveat that it super depends on what you're shooting. For street/landscapes I'm sure what you found is true. For getting sharp eyes on people and subject separation, the 35 f2 is actually a lot sharper than both Fuji 23's. Both of them are pretty soft wide open at any distance where you'd take portraits (like of kids). Just my two cents. I've been wanting a 35mm FoV Fuji lens that can shoot portraits like the Sony 35mm 1.8, which is insanely sharp at distances at which you'd shoot small humans, and it doesn't exist.
Primes? I have Zeiss 12mm, Fuji 16mm f/1.4, Fuji 35mm f/1.4, Fuji 56mm f/1.2 and Fuji 90mm f/2.0. If I can't make it happen with those, no 23mm is going to make it happen. Every one of them is a wonderful lens, but none has the magic of the 35mm f/1.4.
Completely agree! The 35mmf2 was my first prime and still has a special place, but that 23mmf1.4 is the one glued to my X-T2 the most. Super versatile, sharp as sharp can be, and that beautiful rendering it has...
The 35mmf1.4's zuuup zuup drove me crazy too, and the 23mmf2 just doesn't let you get close enough...
Super videos Omar! I was surprised your 56mmf1.2 didn't feature in this one though :) Perhaps the 14mm would be fun too? Anyway, I'll dig up some 23mmf1.4 shots later and send my Instagram! Love the shot with your cheeky masked up self in the reflection!
I have the 35mm f2. I got it for $99. I love the bokeh to size ratio. I now need to try the 23mm f1.4. Great vid Mr. Omar. Thanks
Johnny... I'll buy that lens off of you right now for $109!!! You can make a clean profit... very important in these uncertain times. ;)
2:53 The unedited shot was better. It was indeed perfect and didn’t need any changes. Good video.
Little bit of Omar in the morning. I like it! P.S. How you're not at 100K yet is beyond me!
What about 27mm f2.8???
My favorite for a walk-around lens in the city and such on my X-T20
It was on the screen all the time - mounted on the X-T20 :)
The 1.4s have S.C style contrast, and less saturation, so if you're shooting soft portraits, or black and whites, and you want that shadow detail, they're great for that. I prefer the punch and colour of the f2 lenses personally. I just keep my 35f1.4 for low light.
Can you expand on what you mean by S C Contrast pls?
@@truejungli8507 single coating. Basically a low contrast look with a pastel look. Multi coating generally is harder contrast more saturated colour pop.
@@-grey Thank you !
I think this video contradicts another video that you made.. on the other video, you recommended the 35mm f2 as the prime to have if you can only have one prime. Which one is it Omar? I am looking to buy my first fuji prime and currently looking at ytube videos for ideas and suggestions.
Don't worry, I'm still a fan of yours and has subscribed and seen most, if not all, of your videos.
Keep 'em coming.
I use Nikon and I constantly get a much better bokeh on Nikon f/1.8 lenses as compared to Fuji f/1.4 (which cost also 2x of Nikon). There are lots of camera comparisons, but I would like to see a shootout between Nikon lenses and fuji.
I went the other way, sold the 23mm f/1.4 and bought the f/2 lens!
can u tell me why? I have some kind issue which I should choose 23 f2 or 35 f2 mostly to taking shots of my wee one at home.. and i have dilema :( ;)
@@marcinpietrzak1824 I bought the 23mm f2 lens because I didn't really like shooting at 1.4.. And it's not weather sealed.
Also, taking photos of a small child running around, f4 gets more in focus.
I've got the 35mm f2, but to be honest the 23mm f2 hardly comes off my camera..it's perfect for portraits of the kid
I have the 35 1.4R and love the square lens hood; however, it's very loose and come out easily. I wish it has a better lock in design.
one of the only reasons i personally wish i had a 35mm 1.4 is cos of that gorgeous square hoooooooddddddd *drools*
BROMPTON! I have the same raw lacquer finish. I need to see B-Fold specialist David Lam for a tune-up
Hi @Omar, congratulations for your videos, I really like them. I saw the one where you speak about the 23mm f1.4 and the one where you speak about the 16mm f1.4 and i would like to ask you which one, in your opinion, performs better in terms of image quality, colours and distortion, not minding about the other aspects. Thankyou very much
I may have had a bad copy, but of the 16, 23, 35 and 50 'fujicrons' the 35 was my least favourite. The auto-focus just felt sluggish on it compared to the others... I am currently waiting to hear about the xf33mm f1.4 to see whether i should get that, or this xf35mm f1.4
I own the 16mm 1.4. Awesome lens but I don't think I'm ready for it. I might sell it and buy the 23mm 1.4 instead. Seems like an awesome allround lens.
Fin vídeo!!!! I would also like to have one of this , for the manual mechanism and the parameters on the lens. But I will go first for the 35 f2 for its price...
To be honest.. is it because you use pancake lens most of the time for your day to day shooting, and then the 23mm is the most similar with the pancake, which is 27mm, so it's like your comfort zone?
can you also talk about manual focus or try to talk about zone focusing with the 23mm please? is it faster manual focusing on that lens compared to the other lens?
Hi! I'm from Lisbon, I've been in NY in 2017 and 2019 and I expect to return there in 2021... So it is a joy to my eyes to see you videos and I listen very carefully what you comment in them. I now have a XS10 and started to buy some lenses... I have the 16mm f1.4, and I'm looking for a companion for this one for low light/night photography and also street. Which do you recommend? Thanks and stay safe.
35f2, 23 f1.4, 56 1.2,...so many choices.
@@ogonzilla Thank you for your answer! I’m inclined for the 35mm... The f2 will be good enough...
Yes please give us more samples and review of 23mm 1.4... looking forward to purchase this one, still need more reviews to convince me.. specially the viltrox 23mm is already out for fujifilm x mount...
I want to know what you think of the focus clutch.
Fuji lenses that I bought have such a bad manual focus experience. Does the clutch improve the manual experience?
Sonho Lee review coming
Very very helpful and best reference ,which is the good lens
I recently bought an xpro2 and found that it balances so well with the 23/1.4. I haven't had the time to go out and shoot street with it yet but when I do, I'll be using it with the clutch disengaged so I can use it for zone focusing
That clutch is a major plus. If only the lens weighed less I would consider it for my XP2. I would probably rather get the Color Skopar 21mm f4 for zone focusing, with an adapter.
@@blood_n_guts_murphy It helped when I had a metal hand grip attached.
@@AlbertVillaroman I am too used to using and loving an XE2. The X Pro with 35 1.4 is as big and heavy as I want to go. But it would be different if I was shooting more seriously like landscapes, instead of just quick street snapshots.
Which one is good for videography.?
35mm F2 is one of the best lenses out there, I compare all my other Fuji lenses against it and there is no better lens in my opinion..
My kit is largely determined by my meager budget soooo....yeah, I'm shooting on the f2 stuff. But hey, I'm still having fun!
best reviewer on the internet, hands down