It was a blink of an eye that 2 years has passed since my last overseas holiday trip. It was in November 2019 and then covid-19 begans. Friends who know me and follow my Instagram are kinda irate about me sharing my belated Japan trip photos since early this year. (It is coming to an end… Soon…) People who love Japan wish to visit Japan as soon as the border is open, so am I. But this is not my point in this post.
The reason why I write this post is that it is going to be my last post in 2020 and I think it is a good opportunity to revisit some of my shots taken during my Japan trip. I pick some of the photos that I think are the essence of what Japanese is like in my own eyes and edit them in monochrome. (You can look for these shots in colours via my IG posts.)
Disclaimer: 1. All the shots taken here are shot by me. 2. Some of the shots are slightly edited in Lightroom Classic to my preferences. Otherwise, the shots are straight out of the camera. 3. The opinions are based on my experience. If there is any mistake, please kindly drop me a message and I will gladly make the amendment. 4. I reserve ownership of these images, if you wish to use my images, please notify me.
Thank you for reading.
If you like my works, please follow me on either one of the 2 Instagram accounts:
It’s the time of the year where people spend their holidays overseas. Although there are countries open up with the Vaccinated Travel Lane (VTL), we decide to have a short staycation in one of the hotels in the heart of the Singapore shopping belt.
All thanks to Mr. Keitaro So, Divisional Head of Fujifilm Asia Pacific, for providing the loan for X-S10 and XF23mm f1.4 WR, I have the opportunity to test out the lens during my stay.
I will be providing a review when I return the loaned units. But for now, I will just share what I have taken with this lens.
Disclaimer: 1. All the shots taken here are shot by me. 2. Some of the shots are slightly edited in Lightroom Classic to my preferences. Otherwise, the shots are straight out of the camera. 3. The opinions are based on my experience. If there is any mistake, please kindly drop me a message and I will gladly make the amendment. 4. I reserve ownership of these images, if you wish to use my images, please notify me.
Due to my work and other personal commitment, this short lens review takes me quite a while to write and share. Here is the review:
I win the TTArtisan 17mm f1.4 over an online photography competition early this year. Coincidentally, this lens completes the uncostly quaternity lenses of my Fujifilm camera setup. Together with the TTArtisan 23mm f1.4, 35mm f1.4, and 50mm f1.2 lens, these 4 lenses give a basic setup that covers most focal lengths for landscape and streets.
Special thanks to Den Poh for lending me the X-T20 for being the model for the lens.
Disclaimer: 1. All the shots taken here are shot by me. 2. Some of the shots are straight out of the camera while others are edited via In-Camera Raw Processing and Adobe Lightroom Classic. 3. I reserve ownership of these images, if you wish to use my images, please notify me. 4. The opinions are based on my experience. If there is any mistake made, please kindly drop me a message and I will gladly make the amendment.
By looking at the name of this lens, I am sure everyone should have noticed that this is an uncommon focal length for a prime lens. It sits right between the popular focal lengths from Fujifilm 16mm and 18mm. It seems to me that TTArtisan is trying to do away with the “common” focal lengths that Fujifilm has. This approach also gives the photographers more choices to look out for.
Fuji X-T20 . TTArtisan 17mm f1.4
Based on the full-frame equivalent, the focal length is 25.5mm. On paper, it is wider than 28mm but slightly narrower than 24mm. In this case, we already know that what is the purpose of this lens. But does it make a huge difference with the 1.5m? Personally, I don’t think so.
TTArtisan 17mm f1.4
When I first hold this lens in my hand, I can feel the metal-constructed premium quality built similar to other TTArtisan lenses. It is small but slightly taller than its 35mm brother. Despite its small size, I can too feel some weight on this lens (248 grams). It has a relatively small filter size of 40.5mm. Not a common filter size if you are looking to give extra protection to the front lens element (which I do not think is necessary to do so) or doing planning to do creative works. But it is also not that difficult to look for one.
The aperture gives a nice and satisfying clicky feedback when I change the aperture value. The manual focus ring gives a comfortable rotation with a little friction to hold me back.
TTArtisan 17mm f1.4
Like all the TTArtisan lenses, this lens also does not come with a lens hood. Hence, lens flare can be an issue when you are shooting directly towards the sun. Unless lens flares are intended for your shots, try to avoid it or try getting a third-party lens hood to overcome the lens flare.
Image Quality
The image quality is decent and sharp. However, if you are shooting wide open, vignetting is considerably strong at the corners, but it is easy to post-process to remove it.
For this lens, I prefer to use an aperture number from f2 onwards. It gives me an acceptable balance between image softness and image sharpness. At wide-open, it gives some sort of softness (or character) to the shot, and unfortunately, it is not my preferred kind of result.
As usual, I do not have high expectations for the third-party lens’ bokeh performance. At f1.4, it gives the overall picture a softer, dreamy look. I believe there are some photographers who actually know how to appreciate this kind of result. I am still learning to appreciate this. the background blur falls off remarkably nice from the subject and it does not give a harsh background blur too.
Sunny star effects are formed easily from F5.6 and the results are more beautiful and sharper from F8 onwards. But on a side note, flares can noticeable too if the lens is facing directly at where the sun direction is.
The MOD is 20 cm and it is considerably close for a compact wide-angle lens like this. With this MOD, we can create different perspectives and creative shots that we cannot achieve with our common lens.
To give you some sensing on how close it is as compared to the Fujifilm 16mm f1.4 and 18mm f1.4, it has the same MOD as the XF18mm f1.4.
Manual Focusing
The smooth yet gentle friction experience on this manual focusing lens is as enjoyable as the rest of the TTArtisan lenses. I can’t find any reason to complain about it.
The focus throw from MOD to infinity is about 160°. Unlike some other lenses which take a huge throw to reach from one end to the other, the TTArtisan 17mm f1.4 is considered reasonable. I suppose there are some benefits for larger focus throw but I prefer a shorter one.
Who is this for?
This focal length is not my commonly used focal length for my shutter therapy. But I will bring this lens along with my other lenses. After all, it is compact and easy to place inside my camera bag.
This lens is suitable for Landscape, architecture photographers, and probably astrography photographers who are on a limited budget and yet want a fast prime lens. I also tested this lens for portraits and I think it is a good lens to catch some environmental portraits with your loved ones.
If you are a photographer who wants to have experience shooting with a full manual lens, you are welcome to try this lens out but I will recommend TTArtisan 23mm f1.4 to start with.
Conclusion
TTArtisan is really good at striking a balance between the price and lens quality. I cannot find any player in the market that can compete with them without sacrificing either one of them. At USD118, I think the money is worth spending if you know what you can do with this lens.
First of all, I would like to thank TTArtisan for inviting me to review this lens and it is my privilege to do so. Nevertheless, you can rest assured that this review will be based on the lens I received and it is purely on my own opinion.
Special thanks to Den Poh for lending me the X-T20 for being the model to the lens.
X-T20 with TTArtisan 23mm f1.4X-T20 with TTArtisan 23mm f1.4
Disclaimer: 1. All the shots taken here are shot by me. 2. Some of the shots are slightly edited in Lightroom Classic to my preferences. Otherwise, the shots are straight out of the camera. 3. The opinions are based on my experience. If there is any mistake, please kindly drop me a message and I will gladly make the amendment. 4. I reserve ownership of these images, if you wish to use my images, please notify me.
Intro
While I am eagerly waiting for TTArtisan to release their first autofocus lens for Fujifilm, instead, they release this tiny lens in the market. I am not surprised by its arrival as TTArtisan had shared the news via Fujirumors as early as August 2021. But at that point in time, no one knows how does the lens look like.
TTArtisan 23mm f1.4
TTArtisan 23mm f1.4
TTArtisan 23mm f1.4 with metal lens cap
At 23mm (35mm in full-frame equivalent), this is one of my most commonly used focal lengths. My first prime lens is a 23mm lens and my most used camera is an X100V. Thanks to the versatility of this focal length, it is easily one of the favorites among street, documentary and journalist photographers. But can this lens become part of their photography tool? Only times will tell.
Design and Build Quality
The first thing that strikes me is the lens design. Unlike its peers, this lens has this sweet concave front element with a zebra-like pattern. I actually quite like this new design language and it is also distinguishable from the other players in the market. If you do not like this silver zebra-like version or you love your lens to be low profile, you can opt for the full black version.
Similar to the other TTArtisan lenses, the build quality of this lens is remarkable. The metal build is fantastic and it still comes with a rear metal bayonet. And also, this 43mm filter size lens does not include a lens hood.
In my opinion, this is presumably one of the good changes and it’s the lens cap. The metal lens cap is no longer a screw-in type, but rather, it is replaced by the cap-on type. This changes really saves my time from screwing and unscrewing the lens cap. Not only that, it also gives a satisfying cushion feedback whenever I cap it onto the lens. Personally, I welcome this change.
When you change the aperture, the aperture ring provides gentle and comfortable clicky feedback. The rotation of the manual focus ring from one end to the other is about 160°. It gives a buttery smooth experience when you rotate it.
At 224 grams (and 240 grams with the lens cap – according to my kitchen weighting scale), the weight is well distributed and I do not experience any front element heavier than the other and vice versa. Overall, I have zero complaints in this department.
Image Quality
In my fair use of TTArtisan lenses, I habitually increase 1-stop of aperture instead of using the widest aperture. Not anymore with this lens. For the first time ever, I am happy with the image quality produced with the shots taken at f1.4 wide open. The result is sharp and has good contrast. Of course, the image quality improved further from f2 onwards, especially on the corners.
Unless you love to pixel-peep, otherwise, the chromatic aberration is mild and it is hardly noticeable for day-to-day shoots. For a budget-friendly lens like this, I could say this lens does a good job of managing chromatic aberration.
Like most of the TTArtisan lenses, it comes with 10 diaphragm blades too. This means that this lens is also capable of producing bokehlicious results. I will share my opinion about achieving the best bokehlicious result with this lens.
Minimum Focus Distance
While Minimum Focus Distance (MFD) might not matter to some photographers, but this is one of the key things when I am looking for a lens. Understanding a lens’ MFD allows me to know what kind of shots I can achieve with it.
It has a MFD of 0.2m and I am impressed with the TTArtisan design team again. It has the shortest MFD as compared to the XF23mm f1.4 (@0.28m) and XF23mm f2 (@0.22m). This also means that I can take a slightly closer shot of the subject and give a slightly different perspective of the shot.
In my opinion, in order to achieve the best bokehlicious result with this lens is to shoot at its MFD wide open and with a good amount of depth background. That is because I notice that the bokeh is not that beautiful in other focusing distances.
If you want to shoot at infinity, the result is not sharp at the infinity marking. you have to rotate the focus slightly backward to get the right infinity shot. I think this is quite a common issue as the manufacturer is designed for various mounts and different mounts have different flange focus distances.
Another observation is that I notice there is some barrel distortion and this is within my expectation for a wide-angle like this one. But it can be fixed easily in post.
Who is this for?
In this day and age, one might ask who actually wants a manual lens where an autofocus lens is much superior in every aspect? I think there is no right or wrong answer. But rather why does the photographer wants to use a manual lens? The photographer himself/herself should have the best answer. It could be the price factor for such a fast prime lens. It could also be the compact form factor of the lens and the list of possible answers go on.
Fuji X-T3 . TTArtisan 23mm f1.4 @ 23mm . f1.4 . 1/850 . ISO 160 . Post Edit
But in my opinion, if you are a new photographer who wishes to experience a fully manual focus lens; or you want to give your old camera a reason to bring it out and shoot again; or does not wish to spend a fortune for a fast prime lens, then this lens is the one to start with. It is easy to pick up and use for everyday shoots.
However, if you are a commercial photographer or commissioning a project, you know the answer.
Conclusion
I have used this lens for about 2 weeks and what TTArtisan does impress me with is its image and build quality. Its usable f1.4 gives me a taste of what it is like to have it on 23mm. This lens is totally enjoyable and easy to use. And also, this lens makes me look forward to the autofocus lens.
Special thanks to Cles Distribution of Tamron Singapore for giving me the opportunity to loan the Tamron 18-300mm F3.5-6.3 Di III-A VC VXD (Model B061) for Fuji mount for a review. At the time of releasing this review, I have returned the loan unit to Cles Distribution.
Disclaimer: 1. All the shots taken here are shot by me. 2. Some of the shots are straight out of the camera while others are edited via In-Camera Raw Processing and Adobe Lightroom Classic. 3. I reserve ownership of these images, if you wish to use my images, please notify me. 4. The opinions are based on my experience. If there is any mistake made, please kindly drop me a message and I will gladly make the amendment.
Tamron 18-300mm F3.5-6.3 Di III-A VC VXD
Before I start, I wish to highlight that this is a lengthy sharing session of my personal experience with this lens but not too much on the technical specification. You may skip to the Conclusion if you wish to or just browse the photos.
Fuji X-T3 with Tamron 18-300mmFuji X-T3 with Tamron 18-300mm
A Little History
Tamron has a long history of producing lenses and they are the pioneer of producing high-ratio zoom lenses. AF 28-200mm F3.8-5.6 was the first all-in-one zoom lens that was launched in 1992 and since then, Tamron has never stopped innovating and creating many “first” in the photography industry. In other words, Tamron is an expert in this field.
As the name of this lens has suggested, it is an ultra-zoom lens that features a 16.6x zoom ratio. Besides having a focal length from 27mm to 450mm (full-frame equivalent). At 18mm focal length, this lens is capable of shooting at a Minimum Object Distance (MOD) of 15 cm with a maximum magnification ratio of 1:2 and MOD at 1 meter at the tele end with a maximum magnification ratio of 1:4. That is a pretty remarkable piece of engineering to me as I love to shoot close up a lot.
It is a plastic lens body with a metal rear mount bayonet. To be honest, the experience is not as good as the metal-constructed lens but it is still feels solid and does not feel cheap on my hand. Rotating the zoom ring is smooth while giving you some little friction. Do note that when the lens zooms to 300mm, the physical length of the lens does extend to almost 3/4 times its original length.
Unlike most of the Fujifilm lenses, it does not come with an aperture ring, that’s means you have to control the aperture via the frontcommand dial on the camera body. If you wish to purchase a filter to protect the front lens element, it has a filter size of 67mm, which the cost is on the affordable side.
It weighs 620 grams which are acceptable for an ultra-zoom lens. By looking at the numbers, the lens seems to be heavy. Fear not, the weight distribution is evenly throughout the lens.
Image Quality
During the day, the image quality across all focal lengths is great. I am surprised that the images are decent and beyond my expectation. Of course, the image quality is not comparable to prime lenses but not too far behind from the shorter zoom ratio lenses. Different lenses are created for different purposes, so it is not a fair comparison if you are comparing it with other lenses directly.
Also, I am not expecting creamy, nice, and beautiful bokeh produces by this lens, the result is quite acceptable for me. It still does its job well for separating the subject from the foreground/background. The good thing about its bokeh is that it still produces smooth and nice fall-off and it does not give harsh and disturbing background blur.
If someone is concerning whether the aperture at F6.3 for 300mm does not give a good background bokeh, well, I think this has to depend on what genres you are shooting with. At least for my shoots, I think the bokeh is okay.
Focusing
Thanks to the VXD (Voice-coil eXtreme-torque Drive) linear motor focus mechanism, the focusing is pretty fast at all focal lengths and silent under the sun. The focus is quite accurate at most focal lengths but I do miss some shots at 300mm. I am wondering if it is due to the small aperture at 300mm.
As for dim lighting situations or nighttime, the focusing speed is noticeably reduced. At 18mm, the focusing speed is still not too bad. However, as the focal length increases, the focusing speed is getting slower and more focus hunting is observed too. I think this is also due to the small aperture value at 300mm.
Optical Stabilization
This lens is equipped with Tamron’s proprietary VC (Vibration Compensation) image stabilization, which helps to compensate for unwanted camera movements, especially under low light situations. While the official statement does not indicate the number of f-stops the lens can deliver, I tested and I manage to get decently sharp photos at 1/14 sec at 300mm. I think I can confirm that VC does work reasonably well under such a situation.
I have mentioned the MOD earlier. But what I want to mention here is how impressive the MOD is. If you want to shoot at 18mm, basically your lens is very close to the subject. It is surprisingly a fun perspective to shoot with.
Soft vignetting is observed throughout the focal lengths but it can be easily correctly via post-processing. Also, I notice some softness at 300mm at F6.3 for some shots but it gets slightly better if the aperture is lower to F8 onwards.
Left: Fuji X-T3 . Tamron 18-300mm @ 300mm . f8 . 1/210″ . ISO 160 . Classic Negative Right: Fuji X-T3 . Tamron 18-300mm @ 300mm . f8 . 1/220″ . ISO 160 . Classic Negative Both shots are taken at the same spot of the previous photo.
This lens comes with a Zoom Lock switch where it locks the zoom ring at 18mm and prevents the lens from creeping due to the weight of the lens while on the move. This mechanical switch is common among all long barrel lenses and I am glad that the Tamron engineers do include it in this lens as well.
This is another thing that I like about this lens and I think it is worth mentioning. If I want to change the focal length from 18mm to 300mm, all it takes is to rotate the zoom ring 45° and I have arrived at 300mm.
This lens is actually quite a versatile lens and it’s a great lens of its class. If the image quality is not much of a concern, this lens basically can shoot anything under the sun.
This lens also gives a good focal length for a photographer who is exploring different kinds of genres without breaking his wallet. If a photographer wants to travel light for his overseas trip, this is one good option too. Besides, if the photographer wants to do a simple product shoot with budget studio lights, this lens is capable of it too.
This is Tamron very first lens for Fujifilm users and I think this is a wise choice to start off with. That’s because Fujifilm does not have this level of the all-in-one zoom lens in its lens lineup. The closest that Fujifilm has is the 18-135mm and it is nowhere near what Tamron has to offer. Not only that, it is selling at USD 699 (SGD 1088). With such competitive pricing, I think it will attract lots of interested photographers.
Frankly speaking, I am excited to see more and more 3rd party manufacturers stepping into Fujifilm X-system. Not only this gives Fuji users more lens varieties to choose from, but also provides healthy competition with other APS-C manufacturers.
By the way, if you are in Singapore and interested to buy this lens, do drop by SLR Revolution. As far as I know, they are one of the leading local retailers carrying this lens.
Thank you for reading.
If you like my works, please follow me on either one of the 2 Instagram accounts:
Before all else, I would like to thank Mr. Keitaro So, Divisional Head of Fujifilm for providing the loan for X-E4 and XF33mm F1.4. The units were loaned from Fujifilm Asia Pacific and had returned back to them.
Fujifilm XF33mm F1.4Fujifilm XF33mm F1.4
Disclaimer: 1. All the shots taken here are shot by me. 2. Some of the shots are straight out of the camera while others are edited via In-Camera Raw Processing and Adobe Lightroom Classic. 3. I reserve ownership of these images, if you wish to use my images, please notify me.
XF35mm F1.4 is one of the “epic” lenses that Fujifilm ever created. On paper, it is not the perfect lens but to many photographers, it is much more than just perfect. I am one of them. XF33mm F1.4 is by no means to replace the magical characteristic of XF35mm F1.4. But I believe it will be the magical lens for the next decade.
Fujifilm X-E4 with XF33mm F1.4Fujifilm X-E4 with XF33mm F1.4
In this review, I will discuss less technical and more on my personal experience with the lens itself. At the same time, as much as possible, I will try not to compare the XF33mm F1.4 with the XF35mm F1.4. It is not a fair comparison by any means. So I hope I can achieve a more independent review of this new lens.
One last thing before I start my review, here is my suggestion to all the X-E4 users. If you are interested to buy this lens after reading this review, I will recommend you to use an additional grip to have better overall balance when you equip this lens with your X-E4.
For a start, it is made in Philippines. But we should dismiss that the product is poorly produce if the product is made in other countries other than Japan. To be honest, this metal- built lens is fantastic and I can feel it is a great quality lens when I hold it in my hand. The manual focus ring has a gentle smooth rotation. The aperture ring has that same nice and gentle clicky feedback when you are rotating it. Like the newer lenses, it has also come with the “A” (Auto) position lock which locks the aperture ring and prevents any accidental movement. Also, it comes with a plastic hood instead of the metal square hood that XF35mm F1.4 has.
It comes with a 58mm filter size. The weight distribution throughout the lens is good and I can’t really tell it actually weighs 360 grams when I am holding it. There are some 3rd party lenses that are slightly lighter than this lens feel heavier.
Weather Resistant
Like all the new XF lenses, the XF33mm F1.4 also equips itself with the weather-resistant. This is a good direction from Fujifilm because it does help the photographer to have one thing to less worry about.
Fast, accurate, and silent are the 3 keywords that best describe this gem. It is probably one of the lenses that nail the subject so fast that I sometimes wonder if I have half-press the shutter. Even under dim light conditions, I did not notice the focusing speed slowing down at all.
I even test this lens with an X-E3 which has the previous generation X-Trans sensor. The lens performs is exactly the same as the one with X-E4. At least, I am not able to notice the difference in terms of speed.
The image quality coming out from this lens is absolutely stunning! The results coming out of this lens is incredibly crisp and sharp. Basically, I did not notice any flaw with these mind-blowing images.
The foreground and background blur fall off very smoothly, creamy, and gently. This is one of the nicest bokeh that I can recommend photographers to use this lens to shoot wide open. Besides that, I also hardly notice any distortion, vignetting, and obvious chromatic aberration.
This is one of my favorite parts because this is one of the features when I am looking for a lens. Its minimum focus distance (MFD) is 30 cm which is pretty impressive. I love to shoot close up for certain subjects and understanding the MFD of this lens will allow me to visualize what result I can achieve.
On photos, the XF 33mm F1.4 may look bigger than XF 35mm F1.4 but please do not deceive by its size. It is actually relatively small and compact when you look at it on its own. Nevertheless, the lens hood indeed makes the lens looks much taller than it is.
Fujifilm XF33mm F1.4 and Fujifilm XF35mm F1.4Fujifilm XF33mm F1.4 and Fujifilm XF35mm F1.4
Apart from that, XF35mm F1.4 is noisier, slower (depends on which camera body you are mounting with), and more retro style to me.
Who is this for?
XF35mm F1.4 is here to stay and will continue selling side by side with the XF33mm F1.4. Both lenses are fantastic and have their pro and con. As a wise photographer, you know what works best for you and your budget.
From my standpoint, if you do not own the XF35mm F1.4 and you are into street, documentary, and/or portrait photography, then the XF33mm F1.4 is a wiser choice to have. Its accuracy, fast focusing speed, and fantastic image quality are something that I think you will love it. Yes. it is more expensive but I think it is worth to be part of your arsenal.
If you own the XF35mm F1.4, it is really up to you if you want to sell it away and purchase this lens. Personally, I will keep my XF35mm F1.4 a little longer with me.
Conclusion
XF33mm F1.4 is really excellent and I am undoubtedly impressed by its optical and focusing performance. This lens also show how much effort are the engineers in Fujifilm had put in and raises the bar of what flagship APS-C lenses can be. If I have to point out the disadvantage of this lens, it will be the price of this lens. Like Mr Shinichiro Udono said in the X Summit, the XF33mm F1.4 should become Fujifilm new “epic” lens.
Before I begin, I would like to thank Mr. Keitaro So, Divisional Head of Fujifilm for providing the loan for GFX 50S II, GF 45mm, GF 50mm, GF 80mm, and GF 32-64mm. The units were loaned from Fujifilm Asia Pacific and had returned back to them by the time of releasing this review.
GFX 50S IIGFX 50S IIGFX 50S II
Disclaimer: 1. All the shots taken here are shot by me. 2. Some of the shots are straight out of the camera while others are edited via In-Camera Raw Processing and Adobe Lightroom Classic. 3. I reserve ownership of these images, if you wish to use my images, please notify me. 4. I have posted my preview photos in my previous post. You can see it here.
In my own words Allow me to start off with my conclusion to this review. GFX 50S II is set to be the cheapest medium format camera in the industry. Every camera does come with pros and cons and this camera sure has them too. Instead of making comments on why there is missing hardware or function in its gut, we have to really understand what really serves our needs, achieve our goal, and we have to ask ourselves if we can actually live with the cons.
GFX 50S II . GF 32-64mm F4 @ 64mm . f8 . 1/105″ . ISO 100 . Nostalgic NegGFX 50S II . GF 45mm F2.8 @ 45mm . f2.8 . 1/80″ . ISO 2000 . Nostalgic NegGFX 50S II . GF 32-64mm F4 @ 32mm . f8 . 1/105″ . ISO 200 . Nostalgic NegGFX 50S II . GF 32-64mm F4 @ 64mm . f4 . 1/1000″ . ISO 200 . Nostalgic Neg
I have had the opportunity to test out this beauty for merely 2 weeks. And in these 2 weeks of testing, I am flooded with stunning photos that this camera can give. This makes me believe that if you are someone who is looking for fantastic image quality but do not dare to tip your toe in the world of medium format because of the price, then this camera might be the one you are looking for. I am sure that you will be rewarded handsomely with the results from this medium format camera. If you are interested to find out why, please continue to read.
Left: GFX 50S II . GF 32-64mm F4 @ 64mm . f4 . 1/850″ . ISO 100 . Nostalgic Neg Right: GFX 50S II . GF 32-64mm F4 @ 64mm . f4 . 1/1600″ . ISO 200 . Nostalgic Neg
Introduction
Remember that GFX 50R was once the cheapest medium format camera? Now it is GFX 50S II. Fujifilm promise of making affordable medium format cameras and they still keep their promise. This also means there they are also creating more opportunities for more photographers to have a taste of what it is like to have the “more than full frame” experience.
GFX 50S II . GF 32-64mm F4 @ 64mm . f4 . 1/1300″ . ISO 100 . Nostalgic NegGFX 50S II . GF 32-64mm F4 @ 64mm . f32 . 1/125″ . ISO 320 . Nostalgic NegGFX 50S II . GF 32-64mm F4 @ 32mm . f4 . 1/500″ . ISO 200 . Nostalgic Neg
GFX 50S II . GF 32-64mm F4 @ 64mm . f4 . 1/170″ . ISO 200 . Nostalgic Neg
In this review, I am sharing more of my personal experience and not much on the technical side of this camera.
Design
It is actually the same as the GFX 100S. Every single bit of it is identical to its brother except for one thing. There is a label on the left of the camera to indicate it is a GFX 50S II. I quite like the look of it and I am happy that Fujifilm has brought the same look to the 50S II too.
GFX 50S II . GF 50mm F3.5 @ 50mm . f3.5 . 1/30″ . ISO 3200 . Nostalgic NegGFX 50S II . GF 80mm F1.7 @ 80mm . f1.7 . 1/450″ . ISO 200 . Nostalgic NegGFX 50S II . GF 32-64mm F4 @ 32mm . f4 . 1/90″ . ISO 3200 . Nostalgic NegGFX 50S II . GF 50mm F3.5 @ 50mm . f3.5 . 1/1500″ . ISO 200 . Nostalgic Neg
Handling
The weight and the build of this camera assure you that you are holding professional and quality workhorse gear. Although it weighs 900 grams, it comes with a comfortable handgrip. The grip is deep enough to allow you to hold the camera well and confidently with one hand. To be honest, I think the grip is even better than the DSLRs I had previously.
The Shutter
This is probably one of the most enjoyable and satisfying mechanical shutters I have experienced so far. When I click the shutter, I can feel the gentle mechanic shutter feedback it gives and also a sense of assurance that I have clicked the shutter. The shutter sound is actually considerably silent and hardly anyone else notices it when I shoot with it.
GFX 50S II . GF 50mm F3.5 @ 50mm . f3.5 . 1/340″ . ISO 100 . Classic ChromeGFX 50S II . GF 50mm F3.5 @ 50mm . f5.6 . 1/250″ . ISO 200 . Classic ChromeGFX 50S II . GF 50mm F3.5 @ 50mm . f3.5 . 1/125″ . ISO 2500 . Classic ChromeGFX 50S II . GF 50mm F3.5 @ 50mm . f5.6 . 1/125″ . ISO 400 . Classic Chrome
The Viewfinder & The LCD Screen
GFX 50S II is equipped with the 3.69M-dot OLED electronic viewfinder (EVF) with a magnification of 0.77x. Although it is not the best EVF I have tried, but it still gives me a comfortable viewing experience.
The LCD screen is my preferred kind of screen and this is one of the reasons why I do not upgrade my X-T3 to X-T4. I love and enjoy using this 3 ways tilted screen for my shooting. I am pleased that Fujifilm keeps this 3 ways tilted screen in their professional workhorse.
GFX 50S II . GF 80mm F1.7 @ 80mm . f1.7 . 1″ . ISO 3200 . Post-editedGFX 50S II . GF 50mm F3.5 @ 50mm . f3.5 . 1/320″ . ISO 1250 . Classic Chrome
GFX 50S II . GF 50mm F3.5 @ 50mm . f3.5 . 1/125″ . ISO 320 . Nostalgic Neg
Image Quality
This is really where the medium format sensor shines gloriously. My words might be over-exaggerating but this is my way of expressing how awesome it is. The bokeh really falls off nicely and renders smoothly. To be honest, the image result is quite distinguishable from other image sensor sizes.
GFX 50S II . GF 50mm F3.5 @ 50mm . f3.5 . 1/42″ . ISO 3200 . Nostalgic NegGFX 50S II . GF 50mm F3.5 @ 50mm . f3.5 . 1/100″ . ISO 3200 . Nostalgic Neg
Unless my photos happen to be slanted a little, I am not a person who loves to crop my photos. Nonetheless, this camera has a whopping 51 megapixels for me to experience the fun of cropping without sacrificing the details. The photos will speak for themselves. Frankly, I am stunned by the cropped results.
GFX 50S II . GF 50mm F3.5 @ 50mm . f3.5 . 1/125″ . ISO 200 . Classic ChromeGFX 50S II . GF 50mm F3.5 @ 50mm . f3.5 . 1/125″ . ISO 800 . Nostalgic Neg
GFX 50S II . GF 80mm F1.7 @ 80mm . f8 . 1/800″ . ISO 100 . Post-edited
Dynamic range is absolutely stunning and it can recover most of the data very well. Although the color might be off a little, I believe the professional should be able to recover the color back to the desired one easily.
GFX 50S II . GF 80mm F1.7 @ 80mm . f1.7 . 1/100″ . ISO 1000 . Post-editedGFX 50S II . GF 80mm F1.7 @ 80mm . f1.7 . 1/110″ . ISO 640 . Post-editedGFX 50S II . GF 80mm F1.7 @ 80mm . f1.7 . 1/80″ . ISO 500 . Post-editedGFX 50S II . GF 80mm F1.7 @ 80mm . f1.7 . 1/340″ . ISO 640 . Post-edited
Performance
Unlike the other medium format cameras I have played before, the focusing speed on this camera is incredibly fast and I have also experienced less hunting too. I think it has to do with the X-Processor 4 in its gut because I can hardly tell that I am shooting with a medium format camera.
But on a side note, I do experience somewhat slow focusing speed with the GF 80mm, probably unlike the other lenses, it lacks the Linear Motor (LM).
GFX 50S II . GF 50mm F3.5 @ 50mm . f4 . 1/150″ . ISO 100 . Nostalgic NegGFX 50S II . GF 50mm F3.5 @ 50mm . f3.5 . 1/27″ . ISO 3200 . Nostalgic NegGFX 50S II . GF 50mm F3.5 @ 50mm . f4 . 1/340″ . ISO 125 . Nostalgic Neg
When I first learned about the 50S II will be using the 4 years old 50S sensor (based on the year it went on sales), I give my disappointment. But on second thought, given that it is the cheapest medium format camera, the manufacturer has to reduce their cost somewhere. However, after using this camera, I dismiss my misconception that this sensor is “old” and “unusable”. Instead, this sensor still stays strong for at least another 5 to 10 years.
GFX 50S II . GF 32-64mm F4 @ 64mm . f4 . 1/125″ . ISO 320 . Nostalgic NegGFX 50S II . GF 32-64mm F4 @ 32mm . f5.6 . 1/200″ . ISO 200 . Nostalgic NegGFX 50S II . GF 80mm F1.7 @ 80mm . f1.7 . 1/4700″ . ISO 200 . Nostalgic Neg
GFX 50S II . GF 80mm F1.7 @ 80mm . f1.7 . 1/1300″ . ISO 200 . Nostalgic Neg
Since the 50S II uses the original 50S sensor, this also means that it comes with contrast detection only. Hence, it is missing the hybrid system with phase detection technology that most of the modern mirrorless camera has. Despite lacking phase detection, Fujifilm has actually reworked the algorithm and together with the new processing engine to improve the photographer’s overall shooting experience. In other words, the shooting experience is far better for 50S II than the 50S. In short, I have no problem shooting in most of the scenarios in my testing period.
IBIS
On paper, 50S II offers an incredible 6.5 stops of compensation. How does it translate into real-world usage? A successful 1-second handheld shot. Of course, it comes with a few tries before I manage to get a decent shot. This pretty much has become an achievement for me.
GFX 50S II . GF 50mm F3.5 @ 50mm . f6.4 . 1″ . ISO 100 . Nostalgic NegGFX 50S II . GF 50mm F3.5 @ 50mm . f9 . 0.8″ . ISO 100 . Classic Chrome
Feedback
Actually, I am struggling to say this but I do miss the retro dials that Fujifilm has in most of their X system cameras but they replace the dials with the top-panel status LCD. I am not saying it is bad because both of them serve their purposes well with useful information for individuals. But it is just me that I love those retro dials and I am going to miss them if I ever own one.
GFX 50S II . GF 45mm F2.8 @ 45mm . f5.6 . 1/900″ . ISO 200 . Nostalgic NegGFX 50S II . GF 32-64mm F4 @ 32mm . f8 . 14″ . ISO 100 . Nostalgic NegGFX 50S II . GF 45mm F2.8 @ 45mm . f11 . 1/280″ . ISO 100 . Nostalgic Neg
When I need to use the exposure compensation function, I need to press the exposure compensation button together with the rear command dial. This is different from the X-system I am using, where I can assign the exposure compensation function to the front command dial and use it straight away. It is a personal preference and personal habit and I hope that Fujifilm can allow users to have straight away access to the exposure compensation.
GFX 50S II . GF 45mm F2.8 @ 45mm . f2.8. 1/100″ . ISO 3200 . Nostalgic Neg
GFX 50S II . GF 45mm F2.8 @ 45mm . f5.6 . 1/125″ . ISO 2000 . Nostalgic Neg
GFX 50S II . GF 80mm F1.7 @ 80mm . f1.7 . 1/340″ . ISO 200 . Nostalgic Neg GFX 50S II . GF 80mm F1.7 @ 80mm . f2 . 1/125″ . ISO 1250 . Nostalgic Neg
Who is this for?
If you are thinking to purchase a full-frame camera but does not rely on fast burst rate for your shoot, you may consider this powerhouse in your next purchase. This camera is suitable for photographers who are looking to advance their image quality to the next level. Whether you are a landscape photographer, portrait photographer, documentary photographer, or travel photographer, by pairing with some decent GF lenses, I believe you can harness the power of GFX 50S II and enjoy every single moment of it.
GFX 50S II . GF 80mm F1.7 @ 80mm . f1.7 . 1/125″ . ISO 2500 . Post-editedGFX 50S II . GF 80mm F1.7 @ 80mm . f1.7 . 1/120″ . ISO 3200 . Post-editedGFX 50S II . GF 45mm F2.8 @ 80mm . f2.8 . 1/125″ . ISO 2500 . Post-editedGFX 50S II . GF 80mm F1.7 @ 80mm . f1.7 . 1/125″ . ISO 1250 . Post-editedGFX 50S II . GF 80mm F1.7 @ 80mm . f1.7 . 1/160″ . ISO 800 . Post-edited
If you are a commercial photographer, I believe you know what you need to deliver your jobs. So I leave it to you to decide.
Thank you for reading.
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It was a last minute arrangement with Mr. Keitaro So, Divisional Head of Fujifilm for providing the loan unit of GFX 50S II and 4 GF lenses (GF 45mm f2.8, 50mm f3.5, 80mm f1.7 and GF32-64mm f4). We discussed over the night and the gears are on my hands the very next day. I am very grateful to Mr. Keitaro So for the effort and time for this arrangement and support.
GFX 50S II . GF 45mm F2.8GFX 50S II . GF 45mm F2.8
This is my first time holding the GFX camera and I happened to have a short staycation at Sofitel Singapore City Centre. So, I think this is a good opportunity for me to test out this large format camera.
GFX 50S II . GF 45mm F2.8
I will be sharing my full experience in another blog post and that will be available in a few weeks time. Meanwhile, I will not share too much about the details over here but photos!
Disclaimer: 1. All the shots taken here are shot by me. 2. All the shots are straight out of the camera with some shots are edited via In-Camera Raw Processing. 3. I reserve ownership of these images, if you wish to use my images, please notify me.
GFX 50S II . GF 45mm F2.8
GFX 50S II . GF 45mm F2.8
GFX 50S II . GF 80mm F1.7
GFX 50S II . GF 32-64mm F4GFX 50S II . GF 50mm F3.5
I think I can see the stars…
GFX 50S II . GF 50mm F3.5
Couples…
GFX 50S II . GF 50mm F3.5
GFX 50S II . GF 50mm F3.5
GFX 50S II . GF 50mm F3.5
GFX 50S II . GF 32-64mm F4GFX 50S II . GF 32-64mm F4
The Depth of Field is so impressive at F4.
GFX 50S II . GF 32-64mm F4
Flower on the pool…
GFX 50S II . GF 32-64mm F4
Can you see the man at work?
GFX 50S II . GF 32-64mm F4
GFX 50S II . GF 50mm F3.5GFX 50S II . GF 50mm F3.5
Morning sunrise…
GFX 50S II . GF 50mm F3.5
Breakfast at Racines.
GFX 50S II . GF 32-64mm F4GFX 50S II . GF 32-64mm F4
The only mini cooper I can afford.
GFX 50S II . GF 80mm F1.7
Thank you for reading.
If you need helps, you may direct message me in either one of the 2 Instagram accounts:
Since we are just a few months away from the year 2022, please allow me to jump into 2022 instead of 2021. First thing first, yes, you can still use it to shoot. A camera is a camera, it is still capable of doing what it is designed to do. What I cannot answer is whether it is still viable in the year 2022. I do not own the X-Pro1 but I managed to borrow it from a friend for about a month to have a total hands-on experience with this classic rangefinder every day. Why am I using X-Pro1? That’s because I come across friends asking me these questions many times:
Fuji X-Pro 1 . XF35mm F1.4
“I am on a budget and I am interested to start to learn photography, do you think X-Pro1 is worth getting it?”; or “Is X-Pro1 a usable camera as a second camera system?”.
Fuji X-Pro 1 . XF35mm F1.4
Unfortunately, I cannot share my opinion with my friends because I do not have one. Hence, I always recommend my friends to rent it from a camera rental store or borrow it from someone who has it for at least a week. And in this one week, he/she has to try to bring it with him/her and do some shoots every day. So that he/she can see what does this camera lacking for his/her shooting preferences.
But now, it is a whole new different story for me.
Disclaimer: 1. All the shots taken here are shot by me. 2. Most of the shots are slightly edited in Lightroom Classic to my preferences. Otherwise, the shots are straight out of the camera. 3. The opinions are based on my experience. If there is any mistake, please kindly drop me a message and I will gladly make the amendment. 4. I reserve ownership of these images, if you wish to use my images, please notify me.
A little of my Fuji history
My first interchangeable mirrorless camera was the X-T2 and then now X-T3 and X-E3. I have never held an X-Pro1 and shoot the outside world with it. That is why I am lacking experience with the first mirrorless camera from Fujifilm. How is the experience using it in the outside world? I was always told that the first generation was slow and sometimes the focusing can let one person frustrated, and the list goes on. I think this is a good opportunity for me to experience the good and the bad about this classic guy.
Before I start to share, I believe everyone is familiar with the X-Pro1. Thus, other than my experience, I will not share the technical specification.
Build Quality
When I hold this camera, the grip, the touch, and the weight of this camera give me a premium touch. I cannot believe this camera was made 10 years ago and the craftsmanship of this camera still looks amazing today. The dials and buttons feedbacks are great. I know some people do not like the ergonomic of the rangefinder-style camera but I quite like the ergonomic with it. Looking through the optical viewfinder is a joyful experience. It reminds me of the DSLR days but this experience is way better.
Fuji X-Pro1 . Fuji 35mm F1.4 @35mm . f2 . 1/125” . ISO 500 . Pro Neg HiFuji X-Pro1 . Fuji 35mm F1.4 @35mm . f2 . 1/125” . ISO 640 . Pro Neg HiFuji X-Pro1 . Fuji 35mm F1.4 @35mm . f4 . 1/1250” . ISO 1250 . Pro Neg HiFuji X-Pro1 . Fuji 35mm F1.4 @35mm . f16 . 1/125” . ISO 1600 . Pro Neg Hi
Shooting Experience …
For the shooting experience, I think it is good to split into 3 segments, the first is with the first generation Fuji lens and the second is with the Fuji newer generation lenses.
Fuji X-Pro1 . Fuji 35mm F1.4 @35mm . f2.8 . 1/1900” . ISO 200 . Pro Neg HiFuji X-Pro1 . Fuji 27mm F2.8 WR @27mm . f2.8 . 1/850” . ISO 200 . Pro Neg HiFuji X-Pro1 . Fuji 27mm F2.8 WR @27mm . f2.8 . 1/90” . ISO 3200 . Pro Neg HiFuji X-Pro1 . Fuji 27mm F2.8 WR @27mm . f2.8 . 1/450” . ISO 800 . Pro Neg Hi
i) With Classic Lens
I have one and only one classic lens and that is XF35mm F1.4. It is one of my most favourite lenses in my whole entire Fujifilm line-up. Needless to say, the combination of both XF35mm F1.4 and the X-Pro 1 is incredibly beautiful and it seems that they are a match made in heaven. From the moment I start to focus on an object, I finally know what do people meant by slow. The focusing really takes a longer time than the current newer Fuji cameras to lock onto the subject. There is some focus hunting. Sometimes I even encounter this during broad daylight, not to mention how bad it can be under challenging light conditions. Despite the worse, I still can bear with it and get the shot I want. Patience is the key.
Fuji X-Pro1 . Fuji 27mm F2.8 WR @27mm . f2.8 . 1/125” . ISO 800 . Pro Neg HiFuji X-Pro1 . Fuji 27mm F2.8 WR @27mm . f2.8 . 1/125” . ISO 1000 . Pro Neg HiFuji X-Pro1 . Fuji 35mm F1.4 @35mm . f2 . 1/125” . ISO 800 . Pro Neg HiFuji X-Pro1 . Fuji 27mm F2.8 WR @27mm . f2.8 . 1/1000” . ISO 400 . Pro Neg Hi
ii)With Newer Lenses
I have tried with a few newer generation lenses such as XF18mm F1.4, XF23mm F2, XF27mm F2.8 WR, and XF70-300mm F4-5.6. To my surprise, they do not give the same slow focus experience like the XF35mm F1.4 does. But rather, in my opinion, they do give a faster focusing lock and less focus hunting.
Image Quality
I have nothing to gripe about when comes to image quality. Coming out from the X-Trans first-generation CMOS sensor, the result is really impressive. From 100% viewing with the Lightroom Classic, the details are well preserved. Another surprise for me is that the dynamic range is decent too, it is capable of recovering quite an amount of details with the post-processing.
Fuji X-Pro1 . Fuji 27mm F2.8 WR @27mm . f2.8 . 1/280” . ISO 800 . Pro Neg HiFuji X-Pro1 . Fuji 27mm F2.8 WR @27mm . f2.8 . 1/55” . ISO 3200 . Pro Neg HiFuji X-Pro1 . Fuji 27mm F2.8 WR @27mm . f2.8 . 1/200” . ISO 800 . Pro Neg Hi
The Drawbacks:
I have a few drawbacks to share but these are based on my own preference and it may not be a drawback for you in your preference.
i) Front Command Dial
What I miss the most is the Front Command Dial and X-Pro 1 do not come with it. I usually use it for changing my exposure compensation and scroll through photos, etc, which I had gotten used to with the newer camera bodies.
Fuji X-Pro1 . Fuji 35mm F1.4 @35mm . f8 . 1/320” . ISO 200 . Pro Neg Hi
Fuji X-Pro1 . Fuji 23mm F2 @23mm . f2 . 1/20” . ISO 3200 . Pro Neg HiFuji X-Pro1 . Fuji 23mm F2 @23mm . f2 . 1/125” . ISO 1600 . Pro Neg Hi
Fuji X-Pro1 . Fuji 35mm F1.4 @35mm . f2.8 . 1/125” . ISO 320 . Pro Neg Hi
ii) Exposure Compensation Dial
In order to use the Front Command Dial, I set this exposure compensation dial to Custom (C). Unfortunately, this camera does not have the C in the dial.
iii) Using Fuji Remote App
Yes. This app gives me minor problems such as unstable network connectivity and file transfer connectivity. But it still comes in handy when I wish to transfer photos from camera to mobile phone and doing shooting via remote control. Since this camera does not come with Wi-Fi or Bluetooth module, that also means I need to go through the old-school way of file transferring.
I test the focus peaking with TTArtisan 17mm F1.4 and the result is awesome. There is no complaint about the image quality. The problem that I have is that I am too relying on the “Red” or “Blue” as my focus peaking highlight whereas X-Pro1 only comes with “High” and “Low” options. While it is not something that is not difficult to use, it is just personal preference.
v) The Menu System
The menu system from this rangefinder is not difficult to use, however, the current menu system is way better. I did use the old menu system before with my X10 but I am so used to the current menu that I feel a bit lost to use the old one. Again, this is about adaptability.
Fuji X-Pro1 . Fuji 27mm F2.8 WR @27mm . f5.6 . 1/3200” . ISO 400 . Post-editedFuji X-Pro1 . Fuji 35mm F1.4 @35mm . f2 . 1/125” . ISO 2500 . Pro Neg HiFuji X-Pro1 . Fuji 23mm F2 @23mm . f2 . 1/320” . ISO 640 . Pro Neg Hi
vi) The Little Focus Stick
Some people hate it, some people love it and I belong to the latter. In fact, I use it more often than the 4 directional buttons, also known as selector buttons. Whenever I try to navigate the menu system, my thumb will unknowingly move to where the focus stick position is. Then I only realize that this camera does not equip with it when I try to push the “stick”.
vii) The In-Camera Raw Processing
The newer lineup of Fujifilm cameras comes with a good suite of film simulations and basic editing tools to do some simple post-processing or fine-tune your photos, so you can share them with your family and friends immediately.
I love to use this function, especially when I can make some fine adjustments inside the camera during commuting or between breaks. However, the raw processor included in this first generation is rather slow. But if you want to do some simple post-processing in the camera, you can still do it.
It is a good camera with minor drawbacks. 16 megapixels (mp) is certainly enough for the magazine size print and more than enough for your social media sharing. I am totally fine with 16mp as I hardly crop my photos by a lot. So should I get one? Probably not the X-Pro 1. Don’t get me wrong. This camera is still capable of shooting amazing shots. Having said that, I might consider getting a used X-Pro2 instead of X-Pro 1. That is because X-Pro 2 at least eliminates my drawbacks. (Sorry for the disappointment.)
To answer both questions stated in my second paragraph. If you do not mind the drawbacks that I have mentioned, you can get one for your photography learning adventure or for a second camera system. I always prioritize great quality lenses first over the camera body. Hence, pick up one or two good primes lenses (or zoom lens if you prefer) together with this camera.
In My Own Words
The evolution of the technology in the camera industry has been improving from time to time. I always think of the longevity of the camera technologies one can optimize with. When I am purchasing a camera, I will weigh the cost and the longevity for myself. As this X-Pro1 is hitting its 10 years mark in 2022, this also means the technology inside its gut is 10 years old too. I’m not saying this camera cannot be used. But what I am suggesting is that if one person is to invest in a camera system, probably can consider cameras that launch in recent years. At least you can stop “chasing” after a newer camera when you get the more recent one. If brand new is not an option, you can also consider getting the pre-owned newer camera models at a better and affordable price point.
Thank you for reading.
If you need helps, you may direct message me in either one of the 2 Instagram accounts:
Recently, I have written a short review on the TTArtisan 7.5mm F2 lens and I have had this TTArtisan 50mm F1.2 with me for about 6 months now. So I think it should be nice to share my opinion with this lens as well.
I am no stranger to a 50mm (75mm in 35mm equivalent) focal length. My second prime lens from Fujifilm is an XF50mm F2 lens and I have been using it for quite a long time. And I have also had some hands-on experience with the XF50mm F1 lens before. The reason why I bought this lens is because I am very interested in the usability of the fast aperture it offers with just USD 98.
Disclaimer: 1. All the shots taken here are shot by me. 2. Some of the shots are slightly edited in Lightroom Classic to my preferences. Otherwise, the shots are straight out of the camera. 3. The opinions are based on my experience. If there is any mistake, please kindly drop me a message and I will gladly make the amendment. 4. I reserve ownership of these images, if you wish to use my images, please notify me.
TTartisan 50mm f1.2
About The Lens
The build quality is fantastic. Again it is TTArtisan quality standard for such a sturdy build. It is heavy (at 336 grams) for a manual lens like this and it seems to be common thing among the manual lens manufacturers. To give you some sensing about its weight. It is 68% heavier than Fuji 50mm F2 (200 grams), it is about 20.5% lighter than Fuji 56mm F1.2 (405 grams) and it is about 250% lighter than Fuji 50mm F1 (845 grams). Do you think the weight is acceptable for you?
The aperture ring rotates the opposite of the Fujifilm lenses. So take note of it when you are changing the aperture without looking at it. Apart from this, the aperture ring gives you a very satisfying clicky experience when you rotate it. Besides that, the manual focus ring also gives you nice rotating friction when you turning it. The full rotation from 0.5 meters to infinity focus is 180°.
Like most of the other TTartisan lenses, this lens does not come with any lens hood but it comes with screw-in lens caps. In my opinion, for a lens to be this cheap, they have to lower down the cost somewhere and this is where it is. By the way, this lens is not weather-resistant and I do not think it is necessary.
Fortunately, this lens comes with a common filter size of 52mm, and if you need a lens hood for this lens, I think it is easy to source for a third-party one.
At aperture F1.2, it does give you a good shallow depth of field, soft-focus feel but it is also easily prone to a small amount of chromatic aberration. It has 10 diaphragm blades which allow a creamy and nice fall-off between the subject and the background. But I prefer how the results look at F2 because it gives a good balance of the overall sharpness and blur background.
The Minimum Focus Distance (MFD) is 0.5 m, which in my opinion is not the closest I have experienced with for this focal length. In comparison, it is better than XF50mm F1 (MFD at 0.7 m) but not as good as XF50mm F2 (MFD at 0.39m). But does it really matter? It depends on individual usage, but nevertheless, it can separate the main subject with decent blur background.
Like all other 50mm lenses, this lens is also suitable for portrait shoots. I have tried both outdoors and studio shoots and I have no complaints about using this lens on both shoots. The sharpness and the details are well-preserved.
Fuji X-T3 . TTartisan 50mm F1.2 @50mm . f2 . 1/750” . ISO 160 . Classic Chrome (lens flare on the bottom left)
I cannot say I have 100% perfectly sharp focus on the models for all photos I have taken. I do have some missed focus shots which is probably a slight movement from the model or myself. Luckily, there is a focus peaking function in modern mirrorless systems which helps me reducing the focusing errors a lot.
If you are the type of street photographer who wishes to stay at a certain distance away from the subject (i.e. not to distract the person or you are not comfortable shooting close to the person), this focal length is really suitable for you.
Furthermore, when you get used to manual focusing, using this lens for the street shoot is actually a fun experience.
Before I give my suggestion, let me emphasize that this is not a lightweight manual lens. The weight of this lens is on par with most of the Fujifilm ultra-fast prime lenses (exclude XF35mm F1.4). But it is way cheaper than any of the Fujifilm ultra-fast prime lenses available on the market.
If you are a photographer who is curious about the full manual lenses and wish to have the experience of using them, you can choose to buy this or the TTArtisan 35mm F1.4 (although the latter is much lighter and more portable).
If you are a photographer who needs an ultra-fast prime lens like this focal length for the casual shoot (not limited to any genres) but on a tight budget, you may consider getting this lens to be part of your arsenals.
If you are a photographer who needs it for a paid assignment, I probably will not recommend this. Unless you know what you are doing, and if it is a statics work like studio photography, then I think you can give it a try and having your autofocus lens(es) standby with you. If the paid assignment is covering an event such as a wedding, then you cannot have my recommendation and I believe you know why.
This is TTArtisan’s second released APS-C lens and it does wow me with everything it can offers. The image quality is decent but it does have some lens flare if you are facing the sunlight.
Yes. it has its flaws but the image coming out from this piece of glass is fantastic and hence this is already exceeded my expectation for a USD 98 lens. For this price range, I cannot find any other manufacturers which are as good as this modern manual lens is.
Alwin Kok 