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Fuji XF 14mm f/2.8 ASPH
XF14mmF2.8 R (21mm equivalent)
© 2014 KenRockwell.com. This page best with Corporate S regular and bold activated.
Fuji Fujinon XF 14mm f/2.8 for X-Pro1, X-E1 and X-mount cameras (metal 58mm filter thread, 8.245 oz./233.8g, 0.6'/7"/0.18m close focus, about $899). This free website's biggest source of support is when you use these links, especially these directly to it at Adorama or at Amazon, when you get anything, regardless of the country in which you live. Thanks! Ken.
April 2014 Fuji Reviews Fuji Lenses LEICA Reviews All Reviews
Why fixed lenses take better pictures
Sample Image Files
Tom's Welding, 19 February 2013. (Fuji X-E1, Fuji 14mm f/2.8, AUTO ISO 400, f/3.2 at 1/150, Perfectly Clear, boring colors further amplified in Photoshop CS6.) Original © file.
Salt, 18 February 2013. (Fuji X-E1, Fuji 14mm f/2.8, AUTO ISO 200, f/8 at 1/180, Perfectly Clear.) Original © file.
Salt Boom, 18 February 2013. (Fuji X-E1, Fuji 14mm f/2.8, AUTO ISO 200, f/7.1 at 1/350, Perfectly Clear.) Original © file.
Sample Images
Motel 66, 17 February 2013. (Fuji X-E1, Fuji 14mm f/2.8, ISO 200, f/8 at 10 seconds, casual use of tripod, Perfectly Clear.) bigger.
Bagdad Cafe, 18 February 2013. (Fuji X-E1, Fuji 14mm f/2.8, AUTO ISO 500, f/8 at 1/15 (I set f/8 and 1/15 and the X-E1 automatically selected the correct ISO), Perfectly Clear, split-toned print.) bigger.
Sample Image Gallery: Route 66, February 2013.
Introduction top
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Intro Specs Performance Recommendations More
This Fuji XF 14mm f/2.8 is an aspherical 21mm-equivalent ultrawide lens that only works on X-mount cameras. As of March 2013, only two exist: the Fuji X-Pro1 and Fuji X-E1. As shot on these cameras, this lens has superior optical performance.
This all-metal lens has no visible distortion, focuses super-close, is super-sharp right out to the edges at f/2.8, has no lateral color fringes and has no visible light falloff even at f/2.8.
Just as important, it's all-metal, not a plastic dog plop like all the other autofocus ultrawide lenses sold for the past quarter century. For manual focus only, it has engraved distance and depth of field scales on its barrel! Finally, quality has returned!
Unlike the XF 18mm f/2 and XF 35mm f/1.4 that have 52mm filter threads, this 14mm has 58mm filter threads, matching only the Fuji 18-55mm XF.
This is a Fuji X-mount XF lens that works only on Fuji X-mount cameras.
As of March 2013, there are only two of these: the Fuji X-Pro1 and Fuji X-E1.
Fuji X-mount XF 14mm f/2.8. enlarge.
Barstow Rail Station, 19 February 2013. (Fuji X-E1, Fuji 14mm f/2.8, AUTO ISO 400, f/13 at 1/420, Perfectly Clear, split-toned print.) I flipped the negative to make the image read from left to right. bigger.
Specifications top
Intro Specs Performance Recommendations More
Name
Fuji XF 14mm f/2.8. enlarge.
Fuji calls this the Super EBC XF14mmF2.8 R.
EBC is Electron Beam Coating, also known as multicoating.
Optics
10 elements in 7 groups.
2 aspheric and 3 extra low dispersion elements.
Focal length
14mm.
When used on the X-mount cameras with their 1.52x sensors, it sees the same angle of view as a 21mm lens sees when used on a 35mm camera.
When used on the X-mount cameras in their 1:1 square crop mode, it sees the same angle of view as a 50mm wide-angle lens sees when used on a 6x6cm (2¼"square) medium-format camera. This is about the same as a 28mm lens sees when used on a 35mm camera.
See also Crop Factor.
Angle of view
89.º
Diaphragm
7 rounded blades.
Stops down to f/22 in 1/3-stop clicks.
Close Focus
0.6 feet (7 inches, or 0.18 meters).
Maximum Reproduction Ratio
1:8.3 (0.12x).
Filters
Metal 58mm filter thread.
Hood
Plastic bayonet hood included.
Size
2.56" diameter x 2.3" long.
65 mm diameter x 58.4 mm long.
Weight
8.245 oz. (233.8g), measured.
Announced
06 September 2012.
Promised for
November 2012.
Shipping since
February 2013
Included
Lens.
Front and rear caps.
"Lens wrapping cloth."
Hood.
Paperwork.
Packaging
Box, Fuji XF 14mm f/2.8.
Inside the box are a black pulp-formed cardboard holder for the lens, and a small folded tray on top made of microcorrugated cardboard to hold the manual and lens wrapping cloth.
Price
$899, Fall 2012 - April 2014. (It was $699 for a while after a rebate in March 2014.)
Casa del Desierto, 19 February 2013. (Fuji X-E1, Fuji 14mm f/2.8, AUTO ISO 400, f/11 at 1/400, Perfectly Clear, split-toned print.) bigger.
Performance top
Intro Specs Performance Recommendations More
Overall Auto and Manual Focus Bokeh Distortion
Ergonomics Falloff Filters Flare & Ghosts Color Fringes Macro
Mechanics Sharpness Spherochromatism Sunstars
Overall performance top
The Fuji XF 14mm f/2.8 ASPH is optically just about perfect, excelling at sharpness, falloff and distortion, as well as mechanical quality.
Auto and Manual Focus performance top
Auto and manual focus is closed-loop, read directly from the image sensor. There are none of the mechanical errors present in rangefinder (LEICA) or SLR cameras.
Autofocus is super-fast, as ultrawides usually are.
The Fuji 14mm has an innovative manual focus ring that attempts to work as well as a real 21mm f/2.8 ASPH lens on a real 35mm camera, however you have to piddle with camera firmware updates to get it to work.
My new X-E1 seemed to work OK as I tested it before leaving, so I hit the field for a few days of shooting, and only then did I get a bold UPDATE CAMERA FIRMWARE message every single time the camera turned on or woke from sleep! I've never seen such an obnoxious camera before, blaming me for its own defective firmware. Geeze; if Fuji can't ship their cameras with working firmware, I'm duty-bound to report it.
As shipped, my 14mm's manual-focus ring didn't work. It never talked to the camera, which in turn never sent those manual focus commands to the lens. I'm sure if I was a computer guy instead of a photographic artist and had a way to update firmware in the middle of B. F. Egypt with no computer or internet connection (I never carry a laptop in the field; I bring enough cards and only an iPad - for entertainment) it would have worked — but I'm too busy shooting while in the field
I presume if you have the time and hardware to update the firmware it would work great, which is a great push-pull focus ring that is used to swap between auto and manual focus — which also shows distance and field scales when you're in manual mode, yippee!
I had no problems. My X-E1 ignored the ring and always focused in auto or manual mode as set on the camera's switch. Even manual focus was easy: I just tap the AFL button for spot focus, never needing the manual ring.
Bokeh performance top
I never looked for bokeh, the character of out of focus areas, not simply how far out of focus they are.
With ultrawide lenses, almost never is anything out of focus enough to show any difference in blur quality.
Distortion performance top
Distortion, as shot on the X-E1 which is probably correcting it, is completely invisible, whoo hoo!
For critical scientific use, plug this figure 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.
Distance |
Factor |
10' (3m) |
-0.4 |
© 2013 KenRockwell.com. All rights reserved.
Ergonomics performance top
Fuji XF 14mm f/2.8 for X-mount cameras.
Ergonomics are great! It feels great to have a real metal lens in my hands. The only other real metal lenses made today are almost exclusively from LEICA; even Nikon and Canon have been churning out plastic for too many decades.
The dedicated aperture ring is also mandatory, but absent on most other brands of lenses. One petty whine about the great aperture ring is that it needs a deeper detent at A, otherwise it's easy to knock it to f/22 by accident.
Falloff (darkened corners) performance top
Light falloff is completely invisible, even at f/2.8, as shot on the X-E1 which is probably correcting it automatically.
Filters, Use with performance top
There's no problem with vignetting, even with three stacked filters! You can't get away with this on LEICA, ha ha!
The filter ring doesn't move.
The all-metal filter ring is a pleasant surprise compared to the plastic crap from other brands.
Flare and Ghosts performance top
There's no problem with ghosts.
Even under the most devious conditions I could devise, all I got were a dim circle or two.
No problems here.
Lateral Color Fringes performance top
There are no lateral color fringes as shot on the X-E1.
Macro performance top
Rockwell's Watch at close-focus distance. f/11 at 1/450 on X-E1 at AUTO ISO 800.
Crop from above image in 50 x 33" (1.5 x 1m) print (100% pixel-to-pixel).
Mechanics performance top
Rear, Fuji X-mount XF 14mm f/2.8. enlarge.
The Fuji XF 14 2.8 is built much better than anything from Nikon or Canon today. It's built as well as LEICA lenses, with much newer technology to boot.
Hood
Plastic bayonet.
Filter Threads
Anodized aluminum.
Hood Bayonet
Anodized aluminum.
Barrel
All parts are anodized aluminum.
Focus Ring
Anodized aluminum.
Depth-of-Field Scale
Yes, engraved!
Internals
Metal.
Aperture Ring
Anodized aluminum.
Third-stop clicks.
Mount
Dull-chromed metal.
Markings
All engraved and filled with paint, except for laser-engraved certifications on bottom of lens and on its identity ring.
Identity Ring
Front ring, laser-engraved.
Serial Number
Laser engraved on rear of lens barrel.
Rain seal at mount
No.
Noises When Shaken
Very quiet clicking.
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 14/2.8 is super-sharp.
If you get out the microscope, it's a tiny but less sharp in the corners at f/2.8, but that's only in comparison to how super-sharp is everything else. The corners become as super sharp as the center by f/8, and even at f/2.8, they're good.
Rated MTF:
 |
 |
MTF at 15 cyc/mm (10 cyc/mm equiv.) |
MTF at 45 cyc/mm (30 cyc/mm equiv.) |
Spherochromatism performance top
I never saw any spherochromatism (called color bokeh by hobbyists). This means that out-of-focus highlights don't take on slight color fringes.
Sunstars performance top
The rounded 7-blade diaphragm rarely makes sunstars.
Recommendations top
Intro Specs Performance Recommendations More
The Fuji XF 14mm f/2.8 ASPH is an extraordinary lens. When a lens is just about optically and mechanically perfect, there isn't much to say, other than to get one.
Fuji says to please update the firmware of your camera body when using the XF14mm for the first time.
If you have an X-mount camera, you need one for ultrawide use. I wouldn't bother with the Voigtländer 12mm and lens adapters since it's so much more work, and about the same price anyway.
Forget slumming with LEICA or other off-brand lenses; you can't get anything sharper and any other lens won't autofocus or autoexpose or log data, and no other lens will have a diaphragm that opens and closes automatically as needed for focus and shooting.
If you've found my research here helpful, the support to run this free website comes from when you use these links, especially these directly to it at Adorama or at Amazon, when you get anything, regardless of the country in which you live. Please always use these links when getting any of your gear so I can continue to share what I know. Thanks! Ken.
More Information top
Intro Specs Performance Recommendations More
XF 14mm f/2.8 XF 18mm f/2 XF 35mm f/1.4 XF 60mm f/2.4 Macro
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