REVIEW: Fujinon Wide Angle Primes

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The Three Widest Fujinon Prime Lenses
14mm f2.8 - 16mm f1.4 - 18mm f2
You often see on Fujifilm forums and groups questions about which wide angle lenses are the best for landscapes and travel and I see a lot of different answers from people of varying expertise.  It is really down to the individual photographer to identify what they want to shoot and the best lens for them.  

 For me I love to have an ultra wide lens, so my favourite wide angle lens in my camera bag is the Fujinon XF10-24mm f4, which goes with me everywhere because of its flexibility and relative compact size.  I also have the XF18mm f2 prime, which was one of the four primes I bought with my X-Pro1 back in 2013, which is one of my favourite primes for having on the camera when I am travelling due to its small size and fast f2 aperture.

The Three Widest Fujinon Prime Lenses
14mm f2.8 - 16mm f1.4 - 18mm f2
The widest field of view prime lens that Fujifilm produce for the X Series is the 14mm f2.8, which gives an equivalent focal length of 21mm in full frame terms.  I did own a 14mm as it was one of the four original prime lenses I bought in 2013 but I found myself not using it once I bought the 10-24mm so I sold it.  

 Next up is the 16mm f1.4 (24mm equivalent in FF terms) and I have tested this lens on a couple of occasions but mainly in the pitlane or at sporting events, not for landscapes and travel.  My first ever prime lens for my film SLR was a 24mm f2.8 and this focal length is one of my favourites.  I still don't have the 16mm prime because I have the 16-55mm f2.8 zoom in my bag and have never felt the need to have a prime at that focal in my lens arsenal as well.

 The final pair of wide angle primes are the two 23mm (35mm equivalent) lenses, the superb f1.4 and the newly launched f2.  I didn't include these primes in my review because I don't tend to use that focal length for landscapes and I if I did I have the 23mm f2 that is permanently fixed to my X100 and X100T cameras.

 A couple of weeks ago I received the 14mm f2.8 and 16mm f1.4 lenses for a short test during my two days up in the Highlands of Scotland with a view of testing these primes back to back and seeing which lens I would prefer to have in my camera bag.

 To give an idea of the field of view for each lens here are four shots taken on the X-Pro2 with the 18mm f2, the 16mm f1.4, the 14mm f2.8 and the 10-24mm f4 with the zoom at 10mm.  In each case the exposure was kept the same with the aperture set at f11.
Russel Burn near Bealach na Ba
Fujifilm X-Pro2 + XF18mm f2 - 1/100 @ f11 ISO200
Russel Burn near Bealach na Ba
Fujifilm X-Pro2 + XF16mm f1.4 - 1/100 @ f11 ISO200
Russel Burn near Bealach na Ba
Fujifilm X-Pro2 + XF14mm f2.8 - 1/100 @ f11 ISO200
Russel Burn near Bealach na Ba
Fujifilm X-Pro2 + XF10-24mm f4 - 1/100 @ f11 ISO200 (zoom 10mm)
I also took the 14mm and 16mm lenses down to Dunbar Castle for the purpose of also demonstrating the difference in the field of view between the two primes.

Dunbar Castle
Fujifilm X-T2 + XF16mm f1.4 - 1/125 @ f5.6 ISO200
Dunbar Castle
Fujifilm X-T2 + XF14mm f2.8 - 1/125 @ f5 .6 ISO200

As you can see the differences between the two primes are quite subtle.   However there was one area that the 16mm excelled and that was when shooting at f1.4.  

 The two stop difference in the maximum aperture between the 16mm and 14mm was very noticeable, especially when shooting close to subjects like tree branches, water drops and moss, as demonstrated in the following three images - 
Fujifilm X-T2 + XF16mm f1.4 - 1/125 @ f1.4 ISO400
Fujifilm X-T2 + XF16mm f1.4 - 1/160 @ f1.4 ISO400
Fujifilm X-T2 + XF16mm f1.4 - 1/160 @ f1.4 ISO400

Compared to the 14mm f2.8
Fujifilm X-Pro2 + XF14mm f2.8 - 1/1600 @ f2.8 ISO200
Conclusion
So what did I think of the two lenses and which did I prefer?  

 Well both are worthy of their XF badges and both produce great images on any X Series camera.  This is my personal opinion as a professional photographer but the 14mm just doesn't do it for me for some reason; I think it is the f2.8 maximum aperture.  Now some people will point out that for landscapes you tend to use f11 or f16 to give a greater depth of field and this is quite true. However I also love shooting wide open and the f2.8 maximum aperture is only 1 stop faster than the more flexible ultra wide zoom.

 It was the 16mm f1.4 I was reaching for the most during my two days in the Highlands and at home in Dunbar.  I love the 24mm focal length and that f1.4 maximum aperture was sublime.  Another advantage of the 16mm is its weather resistance build quality where as the 14mm, the 18mm and the 10-24mm don't carry the WR logo.  With the fickle Scottish weather, this is a consideration.

 Again, I have the 16-55mm f2.8 zoom, which is just as sharp as the prime and produces stunning images, but unlike the reasoning I used above for the 10-24mm v the 14mm, the two stop difference between the zoom and the 16mm prime is quite marked.  In short I loved this lens and when funds allow I will be adding the 16mm prime to my camera bag.

XF10-24mm f4 R OIS XF14mm f2.8 R  XF16mm f1.4 R WR XF18mm f2 R
Focal Length 35mm Equivalent 15-36mm 21mm 24mm 27mm
Max / Min Aperture f4 / f22 f2.8 / f22 f1.4 / f16 f2 / f16
Filter Size 72mm 58mm 67mm 52mm
Angle of View 110° - 61.2° 89° 83.2° 76.5°
Weather Resistant no no Yes no
Optical Image Stabilisation (OIS) yes no no no
External Dimensions 78.0mm x 87mm(Wide)/87mm(Tele) 65mm x 58.4mm 73.4mm x 73mm 64.5mm x 40.6mm
Weight 410g 235g 375g 116g
Min Focus Distance 240mm 180mm 150mm 180mm
Fujifilm RRP (UK) £829.00 £789.00 £829.00 £499.00
Street Price (Fujifilm UK Dealer) £769.00 £689.00 £769.00 £479.00
Website Information  CLICK HERE CLICK HERE CLICK HERE CLICK HERE

Here are some more sample images from these lenses
Fujifilm X-T2 + XF14mm f2.8 - 1/60 @ f8 ISO200
Fujifilm X-T2 + XF16mm f1.4 - 1/640 @ f1.4 ISO200
Fujifilm X-T2 + XF16mm f1.4 - 1/640 @ f1.4 ISO200
Fujifilm X-T2 + XF16mm f1.4 - 1/250 @ f5 ISO200
Fujifilm X-Pro2 + XF14mm f2.8 - 1/800 @ f2.8 ISO400
Fujifilm X-Pro2 + XF16mm f1.4 - 1/1600 @ f2 ISO200
Fujifilm X-T2 + XF110-24mm f4 - 1/250 @ f5.6 ISO200
Fujifilm X-T2 + XF16mm f1.4 - 1/250 @ f5.6 ISO200
NOTE: There are other wide angle prime lenses for the X-series from third party manufacturers.  Zeiss make the Touit 12mm f2.8 and Samyang make a 12mm f2, 10mm f2.8 and an 8mm f2.8 fisheye ( I have the fisheye in my camera bag).

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ALL IMAGES (UNLESS INDICATED) ARE THE PROPERTY OF MACLEAN PHOTOGRAPHIC AND CANNOT BE USED FOR ANY PURPOSE WITHOUT PRIOR PERMISSION

MacLean Photographic run Tours and Workshops in East Lothian and the Borders of Scotland.  CLICK HERE for more details and availability

Jeff Carter is an Official Fujifilm X Photographer and was named as a Fujifilm brand ambassador in June 2015. In 2016 he worked with the company on the launches of the Fujifilm X-Pro2 in Tokyo and the Fujifilm X-T2 in Paris in July 2016.  You can view his profile and gallery on the Fujifilm website HERE

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