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10 Comments

  1. fabienb
    March 29, 2017 @ 8:42 pm

    funny enough, I’m only a few steps away from you in the Parliament square shot… if only I knew… 😉

    Reply

  2. OMartin
    March 29, 2017 @ 9:48 pm

    I certainly love mine too… I was amazed at how nice it renders, and how well it separates the background. I have just moved back to APS-C from fullframe, to the X-T20. A little gem with this lens on! Sample shot at f2.0
    https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/8c47cd221b5a6948c5a912da3b9050c4637e74079fd5c4c42ac7e9828be89f3b.jpg

    Reply

  3. Ranjan RB
    March 30, 2017 @ 2:09 am

    As a newbie to Fuji and APS format and an amateur in photography, I have really been wondering if there is such a huge difference in perspective-viewpoint-etc between 23 and 27 (~35 and ~40 in full format-speak). Perhaps moving to 50 (~75 FF) might be a significant move for me (amateur, generalist). Maybe I should stop talking to myself or reading articles and reviews and take pictures more…? 😉

    Reply

    • flopifo
      March 30, 2017 @ 9:19 am

      The lower the focal length the bigger FOV difference a milimeter makes. I mean, between 23mm and 27mm the FOV difference is more noticeable than, for exemple, between 50mm and 56mm. I come from Nikon FF and I’m used to shot in 35mm, so, when I bought my first Fuji, I used to have the 27mm F2.8, this lens is amazing, compact and light, but I didn’t feel comfortable enough, so I switched to this little gem (the 23mm F2 WR) and everything returned to normal. This is extremely subjective, but it’s what I felt. Regarding the 50mm, IMHO I think 50mm are too long on APS-C for everything but portraiture, but, again, this is my opinion and everybody have one 😉 After all this, you have the key: get out there and take more photos!

      Reply

  4. John Canavan
    March 30, 2017 @ 11:02 am

    I bought this lens and have just sold it as the close up is absolutely rubbish , i was using my trusty 35 1.4 the other day and it knocks the pants off it , not in AF but its still great on my xpro 2 and its far sharper in my opinion .
    i don’t mean its a bad lens but i would put it low in my Fuji lens rating as its not usable up close and i can’t understand why its so bad, to say its a little soft isn’t strictly true its terrible up close .
    Thanks for the article though it was well written .

    Reply

    • Harry Lime
      April 3, 2017 @ 5:59 am

      Indeed. Agree 100%. This f2 craze harkens to the sum micron era..

      Reply

  5. John Krill
    March 30, 2017 @ 5:45 pm

    I use the 27mm f2.8 and THAT is a small lens. Now if Fujifilm would give me a 27mm f2.0 similar in build as the 23mm f2.0 I would be in hog heaven.

    Reply

  6. Hendrik Hazeu
    March 31, 2017 @ 12:32 pm

    Hey David!

    Enjoyed reading your story on the XF 23 mm / f2 – it is a wonderful lens. I could relate to it coz I also sold my XF 23 mm / f1.4 some time ago – too big, too heavy, too obvious on my X-Pro2 … an elephant could hide behind it in the OVF 😉

    Also checked the XF 23 / f2 at closer focussing distances: soft at max. aperture but stopping down to f2.8 sorts it out!

    Saw that you may wanna get the XF 35 mm / f2. Hold your horses 😉 I sold mine to buy (again) the f1.4 version, wasn’t happy at all with the f2: Yes it´s small, light, fast and WR but IQ is not acceptable for me (same on 3 copies). Reason for this it´s got a heavy barrel distortion which is digitally corrected by software (LMO): This “stretches” the corners outwards and interpolates the missing pixels, which deteriorates the image quality (the additional pixels bridge neighbouring grey values, resulting in a loss of definition & sharpness). unfortunately stopping down don’t fix it (still soft at f5.6). Advise to stick to your f1.4, it´s optically corrected (no interpolation) and has a wonderful rendering

    Hope this helps, many thanks & good luck!

    Hendrik

    PS: attached an image taken with the 23 mm f2, you´re welcome to also visit by blog @ http://www.hendriximages.com ! https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/309fd7a8b3bad86249db32df1d56ddb3d010f93eca110dd35c5c0fedcb8c4ae2.jpg

    Reply

  7. rsramkis
    April 2, 2017 @ 12:52 pm

    I just switched to fuji in December and have been shooting with the 16mm f1.4. Really enjoy the flexibility.

    If your at f2 on the 23mm how close can you get before it gets blurry? Do you get the same symptoms with the 35mm f2? Thanks.

    Reply

  8. Jane’s
    March 4, 2024 @ 4:11 am

    I’m super surprised by your feelings. I think the 23mm f2 is one of the least desirable Fuji lenses.
    It’s lighter than the f1.4 but almost as long and therefore just as un-pocketable. And i find the IQ rather bland in contrast and detail, compared to the f1.4.
    And in my opinion f2 is not enough light for a crop sensor in dim lighting. The comment about shooting at ISO 800 rather than 400 is rather irrelevant as neither of these ISO are of high value, and obviously both have acceptable IQ. It’s much more relevant when talking about shooting at the higher limits of ISO. When having to double your ISO IS a big deal!

    Reply

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