I've shot Fuji off and mostly on since the X-Pro1. I've dabbled in other mounts and formats, and recently came back heavy to Fuji after a year or so with Nikon ZF.
I never let go of my X-Pro3 and just added an X-T5. I've got back in the habit of the Pro3 for everyday, street and travel; the X-T5 so far has been some landscape and still life.
One thing the ZF reminded me of was how much I love the 40mm (in FF) length, and I particularly adored the Z 40mm SE. Lots of character, perfect size.
I'm looking for thoughts and impressions on the various X-mount 27mm lenses. Nothing seems to hit the sweet spot.
Fuji XF 27mm is small, but a little slow. Voigtlander's is manual focus, Viltrox is a giant beast. All have trade-offs.
If you've used one or more, what do you like?
(I have the XF 23mm f2 and 35mm f1.4... XF 33mm f1.4 is probably too close to 35?)
I suggest checking out the Viltrox 25mm f1.7 air. It's sharp wide open, and quite small though not a pancake like like the fuji 27mm. Build quality is good high grade plastic. It doesn't have an aperture ring, so aperture will need to be controlled by the body, which is pretty easy on the X-T5. It focuses quickly enough and accurately.
It feels narrower to me than a 23mm, which is good. I don't think you would notice the extra 2mm compared to a 27mm.
It replaced my 23mm f2, though I have kept the 27mm because of its size.
The Viltrox 27 was a glorious optical device, but as you said it’s a relative beast and why I sold it. I’ve replaced it with the Viltrox “air” 25. I find it more than good optically, and actually leave a light diffusion filter on it. (Ditto the 56 1.7 FWIW.) Also the 25 seems a bit longer than marked, so closer probably to a 26.
I too loved the FoV from the Z40 and it was my goto street and night prime when I was in the Z system. That said, I feel the little Viltrox 25 renders even better and sharper than the Z40, or at least appears to be on my 40mp sensor.
While it’s not a true pancake like the 27, it’s very light and the f1.7 is quite good. Plus it’s cheap!
I’ve posted a few images from it in the X image thread, probably 6 or 8 posts back by now. Also posted a short series in the B&W thread from it in my Pasta and Pizza post (2 of those are just B&W versions of the 2 color in the x image thread.). For all of these images I had the K&F cineswirl 1 filter mounted.
PS: Geoff apparently posted about when I started writing — sorry to have repeated a lot of what he said!
I had the Fuji 27mm for a while (the newer WR version). I liked the images it could produce, but I did not like the mediocre AF (for static subjects it was fine, though) and I really disliked the MFD (34 cm). I found the build quality to be a bit lower than most of the other Fuji lenses I've used.
I now have the Voigtländer 27mm which I much prefer. Obviously it doesn't have AF but I enjoy manual focusing some of the time and it has a markedly better MFD (25 cm) than the Fuji. Image quality to me is excellent but still with a bit of character. The aperture ring is one of the most satisfying that I have ever used with perfect resistance between each click stop.
I've read good things about the TTArtisan 27mm although it is known to have quite heavy vignetting. It has about the same MFD as the Fuji version though. At its price I think these compromises are worth a shot if you really like the 40mm FOV.
I also own a Zf and the Z 40mm. Out of the two X mount equivalents I've used, I think the Voigtländer is closer in terms of character. If you're willing to manually focus it's worth the price, especially if you can snag one used. I got mine used from Camera Quest and I see them showing up there every month or two.
I have had several copies of the Voigtlander 27 f2 X mount manual focus lens. Manual focus is easy with today's high rez Fuji viewfinders. (My 80 year old eyes have no problem with focusing this lens.)
The colors are always oustanding and this is a very sharp lens in my opinion.
Rick
X-T4VOIGTLANDER ULTRON 27mm F2 lens27mmf/4.51/400s200 ISO0.0 EV
My 27 is the Voigt. Great colors, nice & sharp though not razor sharp in the corners at any aperture. But more than sharp enough for real images. Fabulous sunstars at just about any aperture.
But, my 23 and 35 are also Voigts so perhaps I'm a bit biased :-)
I briefly owned the original Fuji 27mm and the newer WR version. Small and decent (but not great) optically, but the AF and external focus bothered me.
Picked up a copy of the Voigt 27mm Ultron in Japan and I had it for a year. I think it's somewhat optically better than the Fuji 27mm, but still not great in the edges and corners. More importantly, the slippery focus tab and narrow focus ring made manual focusing quite difficult - I could never get a decent grip on the focus ring. Maybe my fingers were too short to comfortably reach the focus tab, but any small encumbrance in the manual focus experience is exceptionally exasperating on a lens that doesn't have AF.
I've all but given up on finding a 40mm-equivalent lens for Fuji X that suits me. My favourite 40mm-equivalents for other systems that I've kept around are the GF50mm f3.5 and the Lumix 20mm f1.7. But as Geoff and Jack have mentioned (as have some other reviewers), the Viltrox 25mm f1.7 Air is quite a good lens, and I might pick one up to give my search one last shot.
It depends on what and how you are photographing, but I’m a big fan of the Fujifilm 27mm f/2.8. Even though I have a bunch of other Fujifilm lenses for the camera, it is the one I use most often, and by a large margin.
Image quality is generally excellent. I’ve produced excellent prints at 15” x 20 from photographs made with the lens.
The smaller aperture may or may not be an issue. Obviously, if you r thing is extra large apertures for extra narrow DOF, you won’t get that on this lens. But f/2.8 is enough to throw the background OOF on many subjects.
As to low light, well, I use mine to shoot urban nigh street photography. With an IBIS-equipped camera and the ability to use higher ISOs on modern cameras, it works fine.
Adding a few images from the Viltrox "air" 25/1.7 just for thread posterity. Note that for all of these images I have a lightish diffusion filter (a K&F Cinebloom 1) on the lens.
I had the Fujinon 27mm (both versions), the TTartisan 27mm and now the Viltrox 25mm f/1.7
The Fujinon I don't recommend really, it's optically good, but IMO it's overpriced and has a cluncky AF motor. Fuji should be able to do better (as they should with the new 23mm pancake).
For a small pancake lens I recommend the TTartisan 27mm. It has better, smoother AF and while the optical quality isn't as good as the Fujinon it's like 90% as good. The price is also fair for such a lens.
The downside is the vignetting, wide open it's strong. While I like the effect aesthetically, it affects the light transmission robbing about half a stop of light of the f/2.8 aperture (but you can choose center-weighted metering to somewhat mitigate this). I had 2 of these lenses in the past, sold them to get other lenses but I'm preparing to get a 3rd copy, this time in chrome to match my new X-E5
The Viltrox 25mm f/1.7 is a hell of a lens for the price. Not 27mm exactly, but feels like one in use. It's not a pancake lens, but still small, lightweight and good AF. The downside is it hasn't an aperture ring, which makes it not as fun to use. I consider it the Fujifilm equivalent to the OM System 20mm f/1.4: a lens I love and this Viltrox delivers images very similar to that pro lens at a fraction of the price.
Me and other members shared samples on this here: https://www.fredmiranda.com/forum/topic/1896285/0#16783045
There's also a 7Artisans 27mm f/2.8. Never had one but it's supposed to be better than the TTartisan optically, probably with better light transmission and better AF. It's small but not really a pancake and it doesn't have an aperture ring.
Thanks…all great input. Thanks for the honest feedback on the Fuji, the Voigt comparisons to the Z 40mm, and the samples (and recs) from the Viltrox 25mm. I hadn’t considered that, and don’t mind (even prefer) a little vignetting.
I think I might give the Viltrox a try (though will miss aperture ring I am guessing), maybe compare it to the Voigtlander and choose from there.
For anyone debating this versus the Fujifilm 27mm f/2.8, a few examples, after a comment or three...
I've never understood the issues with the AF motor on the 27mm f/2.8. It focuses quickly and accurately, and I never notice any noise when actually out photographing. A while back I made a video recording of me testing the sound, and I can share if anyone is interested.
Optical quality is surprisingly good for a lens that seems so modest in appearance. I've made rather large prints from it, including one test-case monitor that was about 40" wide.
The cost seems pretty modest for a Fujifilm lens and well worth it for the functionality and optical quality and full integration with the Fujifilm cameras.
You're right, I think the Fuji 27 would be a great option if it were f2 instead of f2.8.
Then it would be somewhat comparable to Sony's popular 40mm f2.5.
For me the Viltrox 25 is too close to Fuji's 23. And the Viltrox 27, as you noted, is too big. You may as well just go with a FF camera if you want that extra DOF control.
One option not mentioned so far is getting a 23mm lens, of which are there are more choices, and then cropping in to a 27mm focal length.
mdude85 wrote:
You're right, I think the Fuji 27 would be a great option if it were f2 instead of f2.8.
The aperture question is a matter of preference and intended usage.
As you can see, the f/2.8 lens (on the XT5) works really well for urban night photography. I know that these are only “low light,” but I shoot street at night with it. (I didn’t share any in this set, but it is also good for many kinds of interiors.)
The “big” pluses of this lens are its very “small” size and weight, its very good optical and functional performance and clean integration with Fujifilm cameras and their controls and automation.
f/2.8 is enough to through a background OOF in many cases, as with head shots and other kinds of close subjects. Yes, a much larger aperture will do this to a greater extend… but they we are back to the much larger lenses
gdanmitchell wrote:
For anyone debating this versus the Fujifilm 27mm f/2.8, a few examples, after a comment or three...
I've never understood the issues with the AF motor on the 27mm f/2.8. It focuses quickly and accurately, and I never notice any noise when actually out photographing. A while back I made a video recording of me testing the sound, and I can share if anyone is interested.
Optical quality is surprisingly good for a lens that seems so modest in appearance. I've made rather large prints from it, including one test-case monitor that was about 40" wide.
The cost seems pretty modest for a Fujifilm lens and well worth it for the functionality and optical quality and full integration with the Fujifilm cameras.
Well I am just buying back into Fuji APS-C after being away for a few years and I got lucky enough to find a mint used
XF 27mm f/2.8 R WR at a great price and in mint condition. Haven’t had enough experience with it to properly judge its optical qualities yet but as a stills only shooter I’m not worried about any potential focus noise. I bought it even after reading about this because because I really like 40mm equivalent focal length already owning two other full frame 40mm lenses for one my other systems, the Sony 40mm f/2.5 G and Zeiss Batis 40mm f/2 CF.
Just thinking here and wanted feedback from others if it is possible to create a pancake lens, with AF, that has an aperture faster than f/2.8. I based this looking at the lenses available for various systems. So is the Voigtlander pancake only able to achieve f/2 because it is manual focus so it does not have any autofocus motors in the lens?
swldstn wrote:
Well I am just buying back into Fuji APS-C after being away for a few years and I got lucky enough to find a mint used
XF 27mm f/2.8 R WR at a great price and in mint condition. Haven’t had enough experience with it to properly judge its optical qualities yet but as a stills only shooter I’m not worried about any potential focus noise. I bought it even after reading about this because because I really like 40mm equivalent focal length already owning two other full frame 40mm lenses for one my other systems, the Sony 40mm f/2.5 G and Zeiss Batis 40mm f/2 CF.
Just thinking here and wanted feedback from others if it is possible to create a pancake lens, with AF, that has an aperture faster than f/2.8. I based this looking at the lenses available for various systems. So is the Voigtlander pancake only able to achieve f/2 because it is manual focus so it does not have any autofocus motors in the lens?...Show more →
Did want to ask if anyone using the new XF 23mm f/2.8 is seeing any issues with it? It’s been reported that there might be an issue with its front element being built to close that certain filters may cause a problem if the filter does not have a very small enclosure ring able to fit through the space that the lens is moving back and forth through?
Agreed, great looking photos, and I'd include the shots in the link Sr.Cordeiro posted as well!
Gdan, I do have the XF 23 f/2...it's a utility length for me and I don't gel nearly as well as the 27mm length. Interesting question, swldstn, on the physics of the pancake form factor. I'm not particularly needing a pancake, but that seems to be the prevailing style for Fuji 27mm's (except the Viltrox, which I decidedly *don't* need size-wise).
It would be cool if Fuji made a faster "Summilux" version of the 27mm and made it closer to the size of the 35/1.4. That 33 is too long for small bodies.
Both the original and WR versions of the 27/2.8 that I have had were biting sharp. This is the WR version I got in an XE4 kit:
ottokbre wrote:
It would be cool if Fuji made a faster "Summilux" version of the 27mm and made it closer to the size of the 35/1.4. That 33 is too long for small bodies.
Both the original and WR versions of the 27/2.8 that I have had were biting sharp. This is the WR version I got in an XE4 kit:
That is my most wanted lens for a long time, but I guess that now it is here in the form of the Viltrox 25mm f/1.7. Would still be cool to have a Fujinon version with WR and an aperture ring though.
