Fujifilm Fujinon XF 23mm f/1.4 R reviews roundup: Should you buy it?
Released in 2013, the Fujinon XF 23mm f/1.4 R is a lens designed for Fujifilm mirrorless cameras, with a constant aperture of f/1.4 and a focal range equivalent to a 35 mm on a full frame camera. It’s perfectly suitable for all types of photography, including street photography, landscapes and portraits. Its large aperture allows you to create images with a nice bokeh.
Specs:
- Mount: Fujifilm X-mount
- Full frame eq.: 35mm
- Optical stabilization: No
- Weather sealed: No
- Weight: 300 g (0.66 lb)
- Min. aperture: f/1.4
- Max. aperture: f/16
- Minimum focus distance: 0.28 m (11.02″)
- Filter size: 62mm
- 35mm equivalent F1.4 lens, Fully compatible with FUJIFILM X-Mount
- Focus range : Normal- 0.6m - ∞, Macro : 28cm - ∞, Focal length: f=23mm ,Max. magnification: 0.1x
- Seven round-edged aperture blades, which offer 22 stops in 1/3 EV steps
What do the critics think of the Fujinon XF 23mm F1.4 R?
Overall, most reviews on the web say that the Fujinon XF 23mm F1.4 R is a great lens, with a very versatile focal length. Its metal construction is very good, it’s compact, lightweight, and has an amazing optical quality.
Most of the reviews recommend it if you own a Fuji mirrorless camera and are looking for a discreet all-round lens for reportage, street photography, portraits and landscape.
The only real downside that come up most often is the absence of optical stabilization, plus the fact that it’s not weather sealed.
Most reviews like…
- Optical quality
- Excellent sharpness
- Lightweight
- Useful focal range
- Excellent design and build quality
- Fast autofocus (but depends on which camera you put behind the lens – it works better with newer cameras like the X-T3)
- Bright aperture
Most reviews don’t like…
- Some small vignetting
- No optical stabilization
- Not weather sealed
- Pricey
For more infos about the positive and negatives sides of the Fujinon XF 23mm F1.4 R, check out the selection of reviews below:
Websites Reviews
Pcmag.com – 4.5/5 Editor’s Choice (‘Fujifilm has long been lauded for its dedication to quality prime lenses for its APS-C X mirrorless system. The XF 23mm F1.4 R isn’t the newest, but its optics manage to measure up to the demands of a 24MP image sensor, and it offers the benefits of low-light and shallow depth of field capture that you expect from an f/1.4 lens.’)
Photographyblog.com – ★★★★½ Highly recommended (‘The Fujifilm XF 23mm F1.4 R offers a classic focal length and an ultra-fast aperture, making it well-suited to street and reportage photography. Optically it’s also a great lens in its own right, with virtually nothing to complain about apart from the price.’)
Thephoblographer.com – Editor’s Choice Award – (‘Overall, it is the most versatile lens that you can use for the Fujifilm X series system and we considering to be the single best lens for Street Photography using mirrorless cameras out there. This is due to the autofocus offering and the clearly readable depth of field scale on the lens when shooting with the zone focusing method.For what it’s worth, the lens will help you to create beautiful images that you’ll be incredibly proud of. […] When combined with the still very good performance of the lens, the 23mm f1.4 is still the most versatile lens that the company has ever created. And for that reason alone, you should be ecstatic about what Fujifilm is doing for the system.’)
Ephotozine.com – ✪✪✪✪½ Highly Recommended – (‘Sporting the same field of view as a 35mm lens does on a 35mm camera, this lens should be a popular choice for the wish list of many Fuji X-series camera owners, especially with that fast f/1.4 maximum aperture. The quality delivered by this lens is excellent, in terms of build and optical performance, which makes the £780 asking price seem fair, although not inexpensive.’)
Photoreview.com.au – 8.8/10 Editor’s Choice (‘ The combination of the X-E2 and this lens proved to be surprisingly inconspicuous when we used it for street photography in a crowded shopping strip. This makes it an excellent choice for documentary photography, particularly in poorly-lit situations where the fast maximum aperture combined with the X-E2’s excellent high-ISO performance make a winning partnership.’)
Amazon users reviews
- 35mm equivalent F1.4 lens, Fully compatible with FUJIFILM X-Mount
- Focus range : Normal- 0.6m - ∞, Macro : 28cm - ∞, Focal length: f=23mm ,Max. magnification: 0.1x
- Seven round-edged aperture blades, which offer 22 stops in 1/3 EV steps