Home Donate New Search Gallery Reviews How-To Books Links Workshops About Contact Fuji XF 35mm f/1.4 ASPH Intro Specs Performance Recommendations More Fuji X-mount Fujinon XF 35mm f/1.4 for X-Pro1 and X-E1 (52mm filters, 6.6 oz./186g, 0.9'/0.28m close focus, about $600). enlarge. This free website's biggest source of support is when you use these links, especially these directly to it at Adorama, at Amazon, or at eBay (see How to Win at eBay) when you get anything, regardless of the country in which you live. Thanks for helping me help you! Ken.
September 2012 Fuji Reviews Fuji Lenses LEICA Reviews All Reviews Why fixed lenses take better pictures Fuji X-Pro1 35mm f/1.4 Sample Images 20 April 2012
Introduction top Intro Specs Performance Recommendations More This Fuji XF 35mm f/1.4 is an aspherical 50mm-equivalent lens with performance better than LEICA's equivalent LEICA SUMMILUX-M 50mm f/1.4 ASPH. This all-metal lens has no visible distortion, focuses super-close, is super-sharp right out to the edges at f/1.4, has no lateral color fringes, has no visible light falloff even at f/1.4 and has superb bokeh. This Fuji lens has the superior sharpness and lack of distortion of the LEICA SUMMICRON-M 50mm f/2, with the speed and superior bokeh of the LEICA SUMMILUX-M 50mm f/1.4 ASPH, and focuses faster, focuses closer and has less light falloff than any of them. Bravo, Fujinon! This Fujinon 35/1.4 has all engraved markings and electronic auto and manual focus controlled by the camera. The manual-focus ring works poorly, but who cares: the camera provides immediate manual focus, complete with magnification, with one tap of a button. It also has an electronic diaphragm, set with the 1/3-stop clicks of the real aperture ring.
This is a Fuji X-mount lens, and as of April 2012, only works on the Fuji X-Pro1.
Fuji X-mount 35mm f/1.4 for X-Pro1. enlarge.
Specifications top Intro Specs Performance Recommendations More
Name Fuji calls this the XF35mmF1.4 R.
Optics Fuji 35/1.4 internal diagram. 8 elements in 6 groups. 1 glass-molded aspheric element (5th element.)
Focal length 35mm When used on the X-Pro1 with its 1.52x sensor, it sees the same angle of view as a 50mm lens sees when used on a 35mm camera.
Angle of view 44.2°
Diaphragm Fuji 35mm f/1.4 at f/1.4. enlarge. 7 blades. Somewhat rounded. Stops down to f/16 in 1/3-stop clicks.
Close Focus 0.9 feet (0.28 meters).
Maximum Reproduction Ratio 1:5.9 (0.17x).
Hood Metal hood with plastic bayonet, included.
Size 2.56" diameter x 2.16" long. 65.0 mm diameter x 54.9 mm long.
Weight 6.565 oz. (186.15g), measured. Fuji rates it as 6.6 oz. (187g).
Announced January 2012.
Shipping As of April 2012.
Included Lens. Front and rear caps. "Lens wrapping cloth." Hood. Cap for front of hood. Paperwork.
Packaging Box, Fuji XF 35mm f/1.4. Inside the box are two boxes: one large black one with the lens, and a black cardboard sleeve with the "lens wrapping cloth" and the paperwork. The lens box is marvelous: it's got a magnetic closure. Inside are custom-cut foam holding your lens, hood and all three caps. Box insert, Fuji XF 35mm f/1.4.
Insides of box insert.
Price $600, Jan-April 2012.
MTF Curves (rated)
Performance top Intro Specs Performance Recommendations More Overall Auto and Manual Focus Bokeh Coma Distortion Ergonomics Falloff Filters Ghosts Color Fringes Macro Mechanics Sharpness Spherochromatism Sunstars
Overall performance top The Fuji XF 35mm f/1.4 ASPH is among the best lenses I've ever tested, excelling at both the technical aspects of sharpness, falloff and distortion, as well as the artistic aspects of ergonomics and bokeh.
Auto and Manual Focus performance top Auto and manual focus is closed-loop, read directly from the image sensor. Therefore there are none of the mechanical errors present in rangefinder (LEICA) or SLR cameras. Auto and manual focus is fast and exact. Here's a casual example shot at f/1.4 in very dim light: Nautical Bar. Autofocus on top of taps, f/1.4 at 1/52, X-Pro1 at AUTO ISO 1,250. original © file.
Crop from above image at 50 x 33" (1.5 x 1 meter or 100% pixel-to-pixel). Autofocus on top of taps, f/1.4 at 1/52, X-Pro1 at AUTO ISO 1,250. original © file. AF is fast and exact, and covers a broad range right up to macro. I can't focus my LEICA this fast, much less this precisely, repeatably and accurately in low light.
Bokeh performance top Bokeh is the character of out of focus areas, not simply how far out of focus they are, is wonderful. Here it is focused a few feet away at f/5.6: A few feet away at f/5.6 on X-Pro1. original file, hand-held. The only thing in focus and not blowing in the wind is the dingus on the left. Look and you'll probably see bees buzzing around. At f/1.4, backgrounds are far softer.
Coma performance top Coma, also called sagittal coma flare, is weird smeared blobs that appear around bright points of light in the corners. They happen with fast and wide lenses at large apertures. Coma goes away as stopped down, and tends not to be seen in slower and tele lenses. Coma is an artifact of spherical aberration. I see very little coma, even at f/1.4. This is excellent performance, especially in light of the lack of mechanical vignetting, which other lenses use to hide their coma.
Distortion performance top Distortion is completely invisible at normal distances, whoo hoo! Garage Door in Shade. This XF35/1.4 is less distorted than cheap lumber or my ability to hold it square. Nikon's 50mm f/1.4 G looks awful doing this for comparison. The comparable LEICA 50mm f/1.4 ASPH has very slightly more distortion, too. There's a little barrel distortion only in the macro range: At closest focus distance at f/2.2 on X-Pro1. original file, hand-held. This can be corrected for critical use by plugging these figures into Photoshop's lens distortion filter. These aren't facts or specifications, they are the results of my research that requires hours of photography and calculations on the resulting data.
© 2012 KenRockwell.com. All rights reserved. * The comparable LEICA 50mm f/1.4 ASPH measures +0.50 here.
Ergonomics performance top Fuji X-mount 35mm f/1.4 for X-Pro1. enlarge. It feels like any other real metal bayonet lens. The ribbing of the metal focus ring doesn't grip very well, but since it doesn't really do anything, who cares. The aperture ring flips with a fingertip, even as you're shooting with one hand, bravo!
Falloff (darkened corners) performance top Light falloff is completely invisible, even at f/1.4. I've greatly exaggerated it here by shooting a gray field and presenting it against another gray field.
Compare this to the falloff of the LEICA SUMMICRON-M 50mm f/2 and LEICA SUMMILUX-M 50mm f/1.4 ASPH; this Fuji's much better.
Filters, Use with performance top There's no problem with vignetting, even with combinations of thick filters. The filter ring doesn't rotate, but does move in and out with focus.
Ghosts performance top I never saw any ghosts when used without a filter. There can be slight dots of light opposite the center of the image caused by reflections from the X-Pro1's image sensor if you use a filter. No problem, take off the filter if you need to, and use a multicoated one.
Lateral Color Fringes performance top There are no lateral color fringes on the X-Pro1 (sample). Spherochromatism is a different aberration.
Macro performance top As you'll see in the image and original file above, there is a tiny bit of distortion and it's a little softer at the sides at f/1.4, but LEICA lenses don't focus anywhere near this close. Root Beer. f/4 at 1/160 on X-Pro1 at AUTO ISO 800. Great bokeh, and look how sharp it is at 100%: Crop from above image in 50 x 33" (1.5 x 1m) print (100% pixel-to-pixel). The XF 35/1.4 is so sharp, and depth-of-field is so thin at macro distances, that the ice just a few millimeters closer is obviously out of focus.
Mechanics performance top Rear, Fuji X-mount 35mm f/1.4 for X-Pro1. enlarge. The Fuji 35 1.4 is built much better than anything from Nikon or Canon. It's built as well as LEICA lenses, with much newer technology to boot.
Hood Anodized aluminum with plastic bayonet.
Filter Threads Anodized aluminum.
Hood Bayonet Anodized aluminum.
Fore Barrel Anodized aluminum.
Barrel Exterior Anodized aluminum.
Focus Ring Anodized aluminum.
Depth-of-Field Scale Yes, in camera.
Internals Metal.
Aperture Ring Anodized aluminum. Markings engraved and filled with paint. Third-stop clicks.
Mount Dull-chromed metal.
Markings All engraved. All engraved and filled with paint, except for laser-engraved certifications on bottom of lens.
Identity Ring Ring between front element and filter ring. Engraved and filled with paint.
Serial Number Laser engraved onto bottom rear of lens.
Rain seal at mount No.
Noises When Shaken Mild clunking.
Made in Japan.
Sharpness performance top Warning 1: Image sharpness depends more on you than your lens. Warning 2: Lens sharpness doesn't mean much to good photographers. With those caveats, the Fuji XF 35/1.4 is super-sharp. Here's how sharp it is a few feet away at f/6.4: Guadalupe. f/6.4 at 1/400, X-Pro1 at AUTO ISO 200. original hand-held © file.
A few feet away at f/6.4, ISO 200 on X-Pro1. original file, hand-held.
San Luis Obispo vineyard (focus at about 10 feet; not everything is in focus). f/16 at 1/110, X-Pro1 at AUTO ISO 400. original © file.
Pea Soup Kitchen, 11 April 2012. X-Pro1, f/1.4 at 1/90 at AUTO ISO 200. original hand-held © file. Pretty sharp all over for f/1.4, eh?
Pub, 12 April 2012. X-Pro1, f/1.4 at 1/105 at AUTO ISO 800. original hand-held © file. Pretty sharp all over for f/1.4, eh? It's amazing that anything's even in focus.
Chorro of Hail, 12 April 2012. X-Pro1, f/1.4 at 1/52 at AUTO ISO 1,250. original hand-held © file.
Big Sky. XF 35mm f/1.4 at f/1.4 at 1/52 at AUTO ISO 2,500. original hand-held © file.
Solvang. X-Pro1, f/5.6 at 1/150 at AUTO ISO 400. original hand-held © file. Sharp enough? I've never shot a sharper normal lens, much less one this sharp at f/1.4.
Spherochromatism performance top As expected for a superfast lens, there is a tiny bit of spherochromatism, called color bokeh by hobbyists. This means that out-of-focus highlights can taker on slight color fringes, green in the background and magenta in the foreground. This helps bokeh with foliage backgrounds, and if it bothers you, keep your subject in focus. Here's a worst-case sample image: Full image, f/1.4 at 1/52, X-Pro1 at ISO 2,000.
Crop from above image at 100%: note green and magenta color fringes. Note how the X-Pro1's autofocus so perfectly nailed the center of my Mazda 6's emblem.
Sunstars performance top The rounded 7-blade diaphragm rarely makes sunstars. They usually only appear at f/11 and smaller, and are relatively muted: Avila Beach Pier, 13 April 2012. Full image, f/11 at 1/1,300, Fuji X-Pro1 at ISO 800.
Recommendations top Intro Specs Performance Recommendations More The Fuji XF 35mm f/1.4 ASPH is an extraordinary lens. If you have an X-Pro1, you need one. It's much better than any of the LEICA 35mm and 50mm SUMMILUX-M ASPH lenses for use on the Fuji.
Deployment I'd pitch the Fuji cap and get a new Nikon "pinch" type cap. I'm not kidding: these fatter Nikon caps are much easier to use. Honestly, I don't use lens caps. I use a filter, forget about a cap, and never miss a shot. I'd leave either a 52mm Nikon Clear (NC - UV) filter, or a 52mm Hoya Super HMC UV on the lens at all times. I would leave the hood at home. If I was working in nasty, dirty areas, I'd forget the cap, and use an uncoated 52mm Tiffen UV filter instead. Uncoated filters are much easier to clean, but more prone to ghosting.
More Information top Intro Specs Performance Recommendations More Fuji X-Pro1 XF 18mm f/2 XF 35mm f/1.4 XF 60mm f/2.4 Macro
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