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The Fujifilm 35mm f1.4 is my favourite lens, so I’m not sure why it’s taken me so long to write a review.
I should be bursting at the seams to write a review, but perhaps it’s because I’m too busy shooting on it 📷🤭.
It’s my oldest Fuji lens, besides the kit lens that came with my original X-Series camera – the X-T10.
This was where my Fujifilm journey began and the camera that changed travel photography for me.
And if there were only one lens I could shoot on ever again – it would be this one.
I’ve taken an incredible amount of pictures on this lens.
It’s hard to narrow some down to include in this post, but if you look around the rest of the site, you will likely find examples from this lens on almost every page.
Read my other lens reviews:
Fujifilm 50-140mm f2.8 lens review
Fujifilm 16-55mm f2.8 lens review
Fujifilm 35mm f1.4 Review
The Fuji 35mm 1.4 has quite a following in the Fuji world and has grown to become a beloved classic lens among Fujifilm X-series users.
Despite being one of the older lenses in Fujifilm’s lineup, it’s still a popular choice.
It’s developed a solid reputation since it was released in 2012.
And it’s still selling over a decade later.
Three things set this lens apart – its focal length, aperture and size.
Fuji 35mm f1.4 Pros
- Wide aperture
- Small
- Lightweight
- Robust
& Cons
- Chromatic aberrations when wide open
- Not weather sealed
Optics & Image Quality
At 35mm, it equates to around 53mm on full-frame, a classic focal length, possibly because it produces a similar perspective to the human eye.
The perspective of the 35mm represents the three-dimensional world on a two-dimensional sensor, giving the correct impression of a subject’s relative width, depth, height, and position as we see through our eyes.
However, it doesn’t offer the same field of view.
The lens optics have their problems, though.
It suffers chromatic aberration when shooting wide-open at f1.4, but not on all subjects.
It seems to struggle the most with highlights.
The pictures below are heavily cropped so you can see the aberration.
Below that, you will see my beloved Bronica ETRSi medium-format camera, where the brand name on the camera suffers the same problem.
I would say this is an unusually bad example.
You won’t notice it most of the time, and by the time you’ve stopped down a bit, it has gone, certainly by f2.
Don’t let this put you off buying this lens; almost every shot throughout this post, and nearly every shot I’ve ever taken on this lens, was taken at f1.4.
It’s not a problem, but you will notice it occasionally, so you can decide whether that adds or detracts from the lens.
Build & Handling
It’s small, light (at 187g), and robust but not robust enough to withstand the elements because the Fuji 35mm f1.4 has no weather sealing.
I don’t think this is a problem; it certainly hasn’t been a problem for me.
My 35mm has been everywhere with me, and although it has had a few scrapes along the way, it’s still going strong.
My Fuji 35mm no longer has its original lens hood because I dropped it, and the hood took the brunt.
Unfortunately, it was damaged and needed to be replaced, so the one you see in these photographs is a third-party replacement. Oops.
If you’ve been following the photography side of this blog for a while, you will know that size and weight are important factors for me when it comes to travel photography gear.
This is where the Fuji 35mm 1.4 comes in handy.
Not only is it a pleasure to use, but you won’t notice you have it with you because it takes up so little room, is so small and light, and helps put the fun into shooting.
Autofocus
The Fujifilm 35mm f1.4 isn’t at the head of the pack regarding autofocus.
It has an older autofocus motor than the latest linear motor found in more modern lenses, resulting in slightly slower and noisier AF than newer lenses.
The AF is, however, accurate and rarely misses a beat, which is always a bonus in a lens!
Again, don’t let this put you off.
In most cases, you won’t notice it, and its speed and noise are not significant enough factors to be a problem.
What’s important is that it’s accurate and fast enough for day-to-day use.
Fuji 35mm f1.4 Specs
- Mount Type: Fujifilm X
- Focal Length: 35mm (equivalent to 53mm in 35mm format)
- Maximum aperture: f/1.4
- Minimum aperture: f/16
- Weight (approx): 187g
- External dimensions (DxL): 65×54.9mm
- Filter size: 52mm
- Lens construction: 8 elements in 6 groups
- Angle of view: 44.2°
- Number of diaphragm blades: 7
- Focus range: 28cm – ∞
- Max magnification: 0.17x
Sample Images
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