September, 2015

I’ve always loved the 28mm focal length. Never a fan the “regular” 50mm, which I always thought was too long for general everyday use, I always gravitated to wider focal lengths because I like to get close but still take in a lot of the scene. I can shoot with an equivalent 28mm or 35mm for the rest of my life and be happy.

When I got a chance to get my hands on Fuji’s 18mm f/2 lens for the X-system at a good price, I had to try it. It has a bit of a reputation for being one of the weakest of Fuji’s lineup of primes. From what I read, the biggest complaints are color fringing and some poor edge sharpness.

I’ve had it for a couple of days now and while I haven’t done any professional shoots with it, I’ve shot it on walks around the studio so I can judge the quality of the lens myself.

This lens is very light. It’s even lighter than the Fuji 27mm f/2.8, which really surprised me. I also really like the square shaped lens hood. Some people think it looks strange but I think it’s quite handsome, not to mention compact–nothing like the more common petal-shaped hoods like the one found on the Fuji 18-55mm, which adds a lot of size to that particular lens.

I also think the image quality if great. I’ve never cared about edge sharpness. I’m not a landscape shooter and I have never scrutinized the edges of a photo for sharpness. My eyes just don’t go there. As for color fringing, I really put this thing to the test and shot it in some of the most difficult situations I could find that would normally give lenses problems with fringing. While I saw some fringing, I only saw it because I was looking for it. In practical use, there wasn’t enough to bother me at all.

I’m really growing fond of this lens. It’s small, light, has an aperture ring unlike the 27mm, and it clicks in 1/3 stops which I love. The image quality is wonderful and I could shoot at 28mm all day, every day. The fact that it is a bright f/2 lens is a huge plus, too. It’s a keeper for me and will probably live on my Fuji XE-2 when I’m not shooting portraits on location or in the studio, and I’m sure it will start sneaking into my studio sessions soon, too.