FUJIFILM XF23mmF1.4 R

[Zoom] Wide-zoom | Standard-zoom | Tele-zoom | High-zoom  
[Fixed-focal] Wide angle | Standard | Telephoto | Macro

The long-awaited 35mm full frame equivalent FUJINON XF23mmF1.4 R has finally been released. And, Fujifilm users should welcome the F1.4 speed for the common focal length. Color reproduction is great and dynamic range is wide. At wide open, high resolution and softness coexist, while the sharpness increases by stopping down. Of course, I took many shots wide open for this report.

( Photography : M.Ito / Text : 4 Beats )

At F1.8 (sorry for not starting from wide open). The glasses look clear and the contents look wet. These well-used tools look just as they were. By the way, the rendition of the defocused part is due to the reflection of the glass itself.

Another shot at F1.8 through the side window. It clearly defined the embossed lining, the speaker, and the doorknob. And, the reflection has tonal detail between the highlight and the shadow, making us imagine the temperature, humidity, and other things surrounding the car.

Thanks for waiting. Wide open. The basics and fun part of shooting a fixed-focal length is that you move around to adjust the distance and to the subject. With the 35mm equivalent angle of view, you can shoot like a wide angle lens if you step back, while you can shoot like a standard lens if you get close. In addition, if you get even closer, you can shoot like a macro lens. Because of the gap between the sharp focal peak and the soft bokeh of the foreground and the background, it's a fun lens to shoot.

At wide open, rendition can be a bit soft in some conditions. This image looks gentle as if it were covered by a thin layer, even though the fine patterns on the cups look sharp. And, you can increase resolution by stopping down just by 1 step.

At F3.5. The glass in the background is defocused significantly because of the short distance, but it still looks smooth and gentle. The gradation realized by the light on the glass is so beautiful. Yet, it minutely resolved the fine engraving of the folk. This balance between sharpness and bokeh is simply impressive.

Rendition quality is still high even in this long distance shot defining every window frame, while perfectly capturing the reflected sky tones.

In the situation with clipping both in highlight and shadow, the output would often look snow-white and jet-black. But, when I overexposed with software, I could see the shadowed stairs have tonal detail. This is of course due to the dynamic range of the body, but it cannot be realized without the high performance of the lens.

Another situation with a tough lighting. Because of the intense light around the center, color shifting is noticeable in the right half of the image. Yet, it realized the scene realistically by reproducing the sky tone and by separating the leaves from the background. I expected the ghost to be harsher, but it looks wonderful. And, this image and last image were shot wide open. The tonal reproduction is just amazing.

The rendition wide open matches the cute and colorful wood blocks.

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It's certainly hefty for an ordinary APS-C fixed-focal lens. But considering the F1.4 max aperture and high optical performance, it's small and light. The focus ring turns smoothly and you can switch between AF and MF just by pulling the focus ring back and forth. The rotation angle of the aperture rings may feel a bit wide, but it's perfect to have the 1/3-stop clicks. The weight of 300g realizes a great balance with the body, making it a perfect default lens.

Rendition is wonderful wide open and dynamic range is very wide. It can be a bit soft wide open in some conditions, but it's never a negative element. Instead, it's a character to be used effectively. And, you can always remove the veil by stopping down by just one step. With this one lens, you can enjoy the beautiful bokeh and the high resolution. In other words, you definitely get more than what you pay for.

( 19.06.2017 )